Solo

The summer has flown by so fast it's hard to believe that the fall is coming once again here in Spokane. But, it is true, and the cool, rainy weather has perhaps been the biggest reminder that the colder seasons of the year are once again approaching. Meanwhile, we are busy attempting to work around the weather to get our new students the best conditions possible.

We have 15 new students who started flying with us this fall, 4 of which are mine. So, it is back to the basics; teaching them how to takeoff, land, navigate, and all of the other things they need to learn in order to earn their Private Pilot's license later this fall.

We've made it up to the time for them to do their first solo; that's right, after only 4 weeks of training, about 14 hours of flight time, and a week or two of 4:00 mornings to find the calm winds, they are going to go up and fly around all by themselves. It's always a time mixed with excitement and a little apprehension for both the students and myself as an instructor. They've shown me they are fully capable to safely handle the airplane by themselves but my heart rate always goes up a little when I watch them do their first takeoff alone. I suppose it's similar, in a very small way, to a parent sending their kid off on their first day of school, or out for their first drive in the car alone, or off to college their freshman year. You hope that they remember what you've taught them and that they will use it to keep afloat amidst all of the uncontrollable factors that will try and pull them down into a ball of flame. How enjoyable and rewarding it is to watch them succeed; to smoothly return the plane to the ground and taxi back up to the hangar with the biggest grin in the world!

A Year of Flight Instructing

As my first year of flight instructing is coming to a close, I've had several thoughts about my experiences. The first thought is that I have really enjoyed teaching other people how to fly. When I first started, I suspected that I would like instructing, and, for the most part, it has been even more fun than I anticipated. There is something about working with a few students over the course of a year and watching them go from not knowing how to start an engine, to doing a solo flight to Portland and back (6 hours of flying). It is so rewarding!

One of the benefits to flight instruction is developing a comfort and heightened awareness to the aircraft in which we operate. As a student, I always heard that when you fly one airplane a lot, you acquire a sensitivity to the various characteristics of that plane. I got to experience that for the first time this year and with it came a proficiency and comfort that further increased my enjoyment of flying.

I've learned a lot about myself, and instructing has challenged and pushed me in several ways. My confidence in my ability to instruct has been shaken, and then rebuilt. I've had the not-so-fun experience of needing to sit down with a student after a particularly rough flight and give "tough love." I've celebrated with students after their first solo in an airplane and after successfully passing a stage of training. It has been a year full of growth and change, both for the students and for me as a person and instructor. I'm continuing to process that growth and am excited about the changes that have happened; excited to move into the next year better equipped to teach the next group of students!

We realized recently that general comments are often made like: “It is so fun to watch God provide,” and often no details are included. One small way we have watched God provide in the last few months financially has to do with health care. We received a refund check in the mail from my (Ali’s) OBGYN for $20.00 that to this day we do not know why we received it. When you receive money in the mail, it does not have to have an explanation like when you receive a bill. We are blessed to have all our needs met in a month and more, yet our budget has little padding for unexpected expenses. Last week my ring finger swelled up. The experience was odd and painful. I was unable to get the ring off even after trying the suggestions from friends that are nurses, and Tommy trying almost every trick he could find online. I felt so funny about paying for medical care for a finger! However, I was told that permanent damage could be done to my finger if I kept the ring on and constricting my finger. We went to Urgent Care thinking they would need to cut it off. Tommy was present holding my other hand as the nurse forced the ring off my finger as I experienced excruciating pain. The co-pay for the visit was $20.00. God had provided the exact amount in the previous month.

The experience led to contemplation of blessings and life lessons. First, what a blessing to have a community of people around me that I was able to call and seek advice from. Second, what a blessing to have a loving, supportive, and compassionate husband who held my hand through a painful experience. Third, what a gift that we just deposited the amount needed for the medical services. I was humbled by all the to-do over a single finger, and through the experience was reminded how important each appendage really is. Every little part is significant, both to our physical bodies and to the spiritual body of the church.

To really stretch the analogy, it makes me ponder and pray about what parts of my spiritual body I need to un-constrict in order for the part not to die or be damaged. An area of growth for me is learning to have a Godly anger towards injustice and not a destructive anger. Join me in asking God to transform my heart through His Spirit and through His truth in Psalm 37.