My Flight of Faith: A New Experience

My uncle was in town recently and loves to go flying. I had an opportunity to go along with him and visit the airfield where he goes. Now to set the stage, he was formerly trained in the Swiss Army and as such (mostly due to the culture) is a very precise individual. So I was a little surprised when we walked up to the craft we did.

This particular flying device had a battery that wasn't charged at all which as such meant we had no radio communication with ground. There wasn't any air conditioning either, so if you needed to cool down, you simply stuck your hand out of the window to cause a little resistance which blows the cooler air into the cabin. Our most sophisticated instrument was both a piece of yarn and to watch the birds flying around us. And if you haven't already guessed, there was NO engine on board what so ever!

That's what I got into with him to go up flying in. Now please don't misunderstand the above paragraph as any tone of ungratefulness. I merely write it as I surveyed my approach to what is called a glider. It's an ultra light-weight flying machine capable of staying in the air for quite some time so long as there are thermals (warm air rising from the ground) for us to circle on and gain altitude. A tow-plane hooks us up and drags us down the runway and up into the air. On this occasion, we were towed to 2,000 feet and then the rope is released. That action alone can be very daunting the first time! From there we watched the birds to see where they were lazily circling about which gave us an indication of where to circle the plane. Even without an engine, we were able to double our altitude to 4,000 feet! That little piece of string I mentioned was taped on the outside of the canopy is known as a yaw string. It helps serve as an indicator to if we are making a balanced turn. If, while turning, the string points straight back, then we don't need to adjust our pitch.

Getting to fly as we did was such an amazing experience. You're up there with no noise but the passing wind rushing by. You're close enough to the ground that you can still see what's going on but high enough to just coast gently above it all. What was even more exciting for me (and also the scariest part I had in the whole experience) was being given the ability to fly it. I understand the basics of flying but once the wind shifted a little bit, experience is your best friend and I don't yet have that. Either way, my uncle was able to stay in control and allow me to successfully make some maneuvers.

I pass this story on because in flying it, I was challenged. My apprehensions and fears were put to the test and I got better myself as a result. It does help that I love to fly, but it was the act of being taken outside of my comfort zone which was truly where the growth, if any, was able to happen. If this encourages you to take off on your own adventure, hopefully one day I will see you up in the skies.