There are plenty of reasons NOT to go flying, a lot of pilots use excuses to skip a trip to the airport and a flight just like others use excuses to skip the gym or volunteering… It’s time to get motivated though! The weather is finally getting better (warmer, less and less opportunity for snow) and the time is right. Spring/Summer are some of the best seasons for flying!

With a forecast for (mostly) clear skies, with winds developing later in the day, it was a perfect day to fly out to Nantucket for a birthday breakfast!

This morning I’m happy to report (that after getting current) I enjoyed a great flight with my friend (and former student) Peter out to Nantucket for breakfast! It was great to get back up in the air after not having flown for a while, sharing the flight with such a great friend made it all the more enjoyable!

With all the snow, and for a bunch of other reasons, I haven’t been able to do much flying recently, but April 2nd is a special day for me each year. Not (just) because it’s my birthday, but because it is the anniversary of my first solo flight! So, I always make it a point to go flying on 4/2 each year.

All those years ago, just after completing my first solo flight!

On April 2nd, 2003, I was a beaming 16 year old, skipping school with my parents permission. I was at the Mansfield Airport bright and early when KING Aviation-Mansfield opened for the day. With a group of family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles and of course my parents) watching, I made my first solo flight. Truth be told, I don’t remember much about the flight. I was so young and I didn’t realize on that cool Spring day how monumental an occasion it was… This is one of the reasons I always tried to impress the importance of the day on my flight students.

The “points” on Nantucket!

It’s time to find a reason to go flying! Maybe it’s a special date, maybe it’s because the weather is TOO GOOD to miss or maybe it’s because you miss it… Whatever the reason is, find a flight instructor and an airplane and get back up in the sky! If you’re reading this and you haven’t started your flight training yet, go visit the local airport, schedule a flight, I promise you’ll fall in love with flying immediately!

After some currency work, it was time to go find some great views!

As Peter and I passed Woods Hole this morning at 4500′ on our back back towards New Bedford, I sat a little further back, relaxed my grip on the yoke and said, “You know, this is an amazing thing we do…” Peter agreed. When you think about how few people ever seize the (all-too-available) opportunity to fly an airplane on their own, it makes you feel quite lucky to be one of the few people that actually do fly. I missed flying, too much and after landing at New Bedford, I told Peter we needed to go again soon, I can’t possibly go that long again without flying!

Woods Hole form 4500′.

To all of my flying friends out there, thank you for all of the happy birthday wishes you sent, I truly appreciated them and hearing from so many of you!

-Fly Safe, @MTElia1B9