Cleared For Takeoff
Ever since I can remember, I have had the urge to become a pilot. As a child I would often find myself looking toward the sky every time I heard the sound of an airplane and, in a childish play, stretch my arms out and run about making airplane noises. A few years ago, I decided to make my childhood dream a reality. Unfortunately, I had no knowledge of how to go about finding a flight school, but after a few days of looking in the phone book and calling different airport offices, I got a lead on a few flight schools at Addison Airport.
On the next clear day, I was standing at the door steps of Monarch Air, like a first grader going to school for the first time. I had no idea what to expect, both from the school and from the experience of flying an airplane. After a few seconds of daze and confusion, I was approached by a man who barely looked over eighteen years old. He introduced himself as Mike and asked if he could help me. I responded with a slight nervousness and hesitation in my voice, “I would like to learn to fly an airplane.” Upon hearing these words, Mike’s eyes lit up. He explained all the available pilots’ licenses and asked which one I was interested in earning. After a few minutes of explaining each one, he decided that a Private Pilot Certificate would serve me the best. Before I knew it, he had a set of headphones and a pilot’s log book sitting on top of the counter for me to purchase and asked if I were ready for my first flight.
Next thing I knew, he led me through a back door, through the hanger, to an area where twenty to thirty airplanes were parked and, with a spring in his step, started walking toward one of them. In a way, the airplane was beautiful with white paint and intertwining red and blue strips dancing from one end of the airplane to the other. Even though that airplane was over twenty years old, it looked as if it had just rolled out of the factory. But it also scared me a bit....