Well, we did it. Mr. Wonderful and I took our first flight together. There was a lot of sweating and many waves of nausea, but I overcame and ended up enjoying myself overall. The motion sickness during take-off turned out to be way worse than the actual fear of being in a plane the size of my car.
Mr. W was cool as a cucumber and kept me well air-conditioned when I thought I might get sick. I can see why he enjoys this as a hobby. The view was spectacular.
We flew up to Santa Ynez and stopped at the airport’s cute little picnic area for pita chips, hummus, cheese and apples. I tried to buy some mints from the vending machine, and when it gave me an error message, the nice man behind the airport desk offered me a pack of his own gum to help quell my queasiness. What a lifesaver. Totally helped during our next take-off and landing.
My sweaty palms returned as we banked west and flew over the ocean for bit on the way home. I actually stopped to think about the hammer I had seen in the center console, wondering if I’d be able break open my window should we plummet into the sea. Thankfully, this was a non-issue.
I loved seeing the green hills and the cotton candy clouds. I loved seeing Mr. W fiddle with knobs and say things like “Alpha Bravo Niner Romeo” and “left downwind departure” into his mic. I loved following those up with my own cool flight lingo, like “Bogey six o’clock” and “Permission to buzz the tower.” I asked him he would call me Goose and he said no.
I’m not sure when I’ll be going up with him again. We may negotiate a quarterly flight schedule. But I do know that I’m glad I went today. And glad we’re safely back on the ground.
** I tried to fix the fonts in this stupid post about twenty times. I don't know what the issue is... But for any of you who pay attention to that sort of thing, I apologize.
20 comments:
My best friend's husband is also a pilot; he proposed to her on a flight just like this. Just something to think about. :P
Or ignore me and enjoy the moment for what it is.
That's so cool! The Hubster is an air traffic controller so I always giggle when I hear him say "niner". They kicked me out of the tower when I said "Negative ghost rider, the pattern is full", but I think it's because they hear that alot.
What a fantastic experience! And we'll call you Goose as long as you sing in a bar. Are you taking requests?
Yay! That's great-- I'm so glad you went! And I would have made the Top Gun jokes too. I mean, how could you not?!
Is Mr. W flying us to Santa Ynez in May? I'll bring the hummus!
You remind me a lot of my sister. Her husband is a professional pilot, he flies a big Gulfstream for some Canadian bazillionaire. Her husband owns a small plane to fly in his free time and it took my sister a long time to be able to fly with him. She's much better about it now. I'm impressed with both of you overcoming your fears.
Glad you enjoyed the flight!
It's probably the photo coding that is messing with the font sizing. I've had that happen to me too.
I love that you asked him to call you Goose.
Glad it was fun!
this is so cool! im so glad you went out with him. and i love that you made the bachelor reference (i'd be dissapointed if you HADN'T!).
on the wings of loooove....
Beautiful pictures. Glad you had fun.
I thought you were being a wuss about your fears of flying. But you won me back quickly with your Top Gun fun. What would your real fighter pilot handle be if you had to pick one?
I was acutally really disappointed that it wasn't Mr. W who buzzed mom's house...I thought maybe he had a little wild side that would come out when he was flying. Glad you had fun and came home safely. I will continue to live vicarioulsy through you, until he gets a bigger plane, some more flight hours, and some Ativan for me, on the off chance I am ever invited to go along....
You're a better woman than I. I'm quite certain that the requirement to fly a puddle jumper would be a deal-breaker for me.
girl, you have way more cajones than me. i am 1000% sure i'd have the nausea that you experienced so probably wouldn't have enjoyed the scenery. plus, i don't think i could've stopped myself from saying "roger, roger. what's the vector, victor" while the pilot was trying to be serious with his calls. the pictures are really beautiful and another memorable addition to add to your scrapbooks.
Yay! You flew!
You are getting all brave and stuff.
Jane - Believe me, I would be thinking it even if I didn't read your comment. :)
Coconut - Hahaha! I wish I would've thought of that one. The Niner thing is fascinating to me.
Dingo - For you, I will only sing You've Lost that Loving Feeling or maybe New York, New York.
Lesley - Exactly. Too bad you weren't in the back seat to chime in.
Laura - Haha I don't think so. But if you and Danny want to fly with him sometime, I'm sure he'd take you!
Mandy - I'm still reeling from your other comment about being in a plane crash. Eek!!
Sizzle - Damn photo coding. He didn't want to be called Maverick either...I'll blame Sarah Palin for that. :P
Brookem - We will HAVE to talk about The Bachelor finale!!
Danielle - Thanks. :) It was pretty neat, even though it was scary.
WowTWA - I think maybe my pilot handle would be Barbara. Or maybe Helen.
Sister - You and the husband could totally both go with us sometime. Maybe just a loop around the cit and down.
Nilsa - I sort of just pretended I was on a scary amusement park ride the whole time. Knowing there was a parachute there helped, too.
Anita - Do you get motion sickness too? Man it sucks. I love the Roger Roger remark. Hilarious.
Mike129 - It's all a shame. No bravery here...Move along. ;)
Thank you Mr. W for bringing my daughter home safely and for showing her a wonderful time. I have great faith in you - but don't bother asking me to go along.
Mom
'Scuse me while I give you a Sunshine Award. Check it out at my site: http://aftertheartistsway.blogspot.com/
It's true. You win! Just for being you!
"I asked him he would call me Goose and he said no."
Why not!?
wow mel, what an amazing experience. the photos are great. the smallest plane i flew in was just now in costa rica, for 12 passangers. i know that is still big compared to yours but the flight was incredible, so i can only imagine how much better yours was.
Well, if you don't want to go with him next time, I will. It'll be a nice reminder of the times I flew with my dad in a little Cessna 150 as a kid, before the fuel costs made the hobby just too expensive.
Piece of advice on nervous flying: have Mr. W start teaching you everything about what he's doing. The more you know about what the plane's doing and why, the more comfortable and safe I'll bet you'll feel.
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