So my partner Rebecca has a nice little habit of buying be life threatening presents for my birthday. These presents are usually in direct alignment with some of my major life goals and this is a very good thing! Past incarnations of this gift include paragliding from the top of Grouse Mountain in BC to bungee jumping from a tower crane over the Ottawa River. This year she bought me an introductory glider flight at SOSA, the local gliding club that happens to be 12 minutes down the road from our awesome new house.
Becoming a pilot has ALWAYS been on my life list but it wasn’t until today that I realized how close that goal actually could be. My Grandfather was a pilot in the war and eventually a glider pilot but I have to admit, like most of “those things”, I had no idea really what that meant (until today). Sure, I have seen gliders soaring up there on thermals and it looked interesting but that was pretty much that. I was too “busy” caught up in the day to day of life down here on terra firma. One day I would become a pilot and somehow I was happy with that reality.
Well, “one day” turned out to be today as we pulled up to the field in Rockton ON on a BEAUTIFUL Thanksgiving weekend fall day. There were people and dogs and gliders and tow planes everywhere. Not at all like a normal airport where humans are securely insulated from any and all forms of danger. Here, if you weren’t on constant lookout I am pretty sure that you would be mowed down in a heart beat. Me, I like scenes like that. I am a firm believer in natural selection and felt immediately at home.
Right away I knew I was in the right place as the field “field manager” turned out to be my original open water scuba diving instructor. He was one of the best instructors I had and I really liked him. Bit of a coincidence there but then I thought about it and realized, not really, as adventurous spirits tend to gravitate towards adventurous things (like gliding and scuba). Paul sorted me out and before I knew it I had upgraded my “tourist” single sight seeing flight to a more realistic 5 flight package leading directly into flight school and solo pilots license. Makes sense to me!
The first flight was amazing. Once we cut loose from the tow plane and the soaring world became quiet and all I had to do was point the stick in the direction that I wanted to travel. Magic! Not many thermals today but I got hooked on just what I had for that brief time up there. Man and machine become one and get to soar like a bird. Awesome!
By the end of the day I had three flights under my belt and I felt like I started to understand some of the stuff the instructor was saying. Things like:
-relax - let the plane fly itself.
-2 fingers! It only takes two fingers (and a thumb) on the stick to fly.
-Stop yelling so much, you’re hurting my ears!
Yes, it was awesome. I am hooked and I can safely say that I have another expensive hobby to contend with. I am on the path towards becoming one with the skys. I’ll add that to fire and water. What a terrific Thanksgiving and a wonderful birthday present. Thank you Rebecca and thank you life for providing oh so much fun!
