I read once somewhere that if we really want something, the whole universe gets together all the energy and helps us achieve that.
It didn't seem so when I arrived at the airport on Thursday. The clouds were coming down, the sky was becoming darker and darker and I was sure - I will be driving back home with a taste of the sky only in my mind.
But how could I forget whom I have for an instructor?
Making a complete fool of myself, I asked him if we are able to fly. He looked at me strangely as if I were asking if the sky is up. He also ignored the first drops falling on our heads. So I greeted sweetly Princess Cessna, ask her to be gentle with me and pulled her out into the rainy air.
"Ready?" Asked my instructor.
"Ready!"
We drove to the runway and I did the preflight check. Wondered why airplanes like that don't have the wipers.
"We don't need them when we fly" my instructor said. I was happy the runway was so wide.
When I took Princess into the air, I had again that goofy banana smile on my face. So simple. Such a little thing (or is it really little?) can make me happy like nothing in the world.
I did the pattern but it didn't go very well, a lot of "too muchs" and "too fars". But what are second chances for - I thought and brought that baby up again. I love take offs. I just completely and absolutely love them.
Another pattern and I sat Princess on the ground in a pretty nice way. Happiness. I really start to be able to do that. The rain was stronger and stronger but my instructor didn't give up. "Let's go let's go", he yelled and the beauty of the start again.
By the end of the downwind the clouds came down to us and hugged us tightly. The Princess started shaking and basically did what she wanted to. A difficult conversation.
"Turn turn! Let's go! Faster faster!" my instructor jumped on the seat out of joy. I remembered how I loved my first experienced turbulences in a big jet and I was wondering, if I ever get to the point of being an aerobatic flier like this crazy man who had my life in his hands.
I gave him the yolk and allowed myself to be lazy at this point. Small steps. At some point, I hope, I will be able to land in a weather like this with no problems.
When the rain went away, we jumped into the Princess again and started the pattern. It worked!! Landing after landing, I couldn't believe, I am actually doing this! They were some hard landings and by one the GPS turned off but one I was especially proud of. And the "good job" made me feel so good.
After a little more than two weeks, when I thought I would never learn this, I came to the point when I landed 5 out of 9 times. And today, I opened "Flight Training" magazine and I read:
You're in the pattern today. Again. It seems like it's been a month since you went out and did anything else with an airplane, and probably a few weeks since you had any fun. [Is it even possible, to NOT have fun in an airplane??] At first, it felt good to finally get a chance to sink your teeth into some real landing practice. But now? Well, let's just say that your landings feel like one barely controlled crash after another, and they are hardly advancing your Top Gun dreams. /Rebecca Gibson/
So good to know I am not alone. But I will ace it and one day, I will laugh at all those problems with holding the plane pointed to the runway or keeping it right above it rather than next to it.
And after the start with the rain I see the universe's point. It's not always about the beautiful weather. Sometimes, it's all about seeing that the beauty is in learning how to turn a catastrophe to a bliss, just like Zorba did. And now I actually think, that flying in the rain is even better
than dancing in it.
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