Up Up and Away
On one of my contracts with NASA in Texas I would rent a property from a local investor as my stay of residence. The homeowner would have the property positioned adjacent to an airplane runway. One in which he would have his own airplane hangar attached to the home. One weekend as I was reviewing so work in preparation for the week to come, the homeowner would stop by to retrieve the items from his hangar and take his plane out for a flight. In his preparation, he would approach me and another tenant to see if we would like to join him on a flight. To this point I have never been on a plane before and was hesitant. But I would end up agreeing. And I will say that I am glad that I did. The pilot briefed us on the necessary pre-flight preparations and made arrangements for our journey. Once aboard the aircraft, we received instructions on the various nozzles and gauges present in the cockpit. He outlined the safety protocols established for our protection. Subsequently, we commenced our flight, during which he detailed the takeoff procedures he was executing. He highlighted the essential gauge readings we needed to monitor, and before long, we found ourselves soaring hundreds of feet above the ground
Over the Horizon
As we continued our flight path, the pilot would turn to me, remove his headset, and ask if I would like to take the controls. Overwhelmed with a mix of nervousness and excitement, I responded agreeing. He gestured for me to occupy the copilot seat, handed me the headset, and started providing instructions. After what felt like an eternity but still brief guidance, he transferred the controls to me, and I found myself piloting the aircraft. I proceeded to apply the various instructions I had just received, and he remarked that I was instinctively understanding the concepts and nuances of flying. We would fly over many landmarks, and then literally off into the sunset.
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