Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 55

Let's go, Korry. You're ready. Just do it!
Feebly, I key the microphone to request
takeoff clearance. Permission is granted
immediately.
My heart feels like it's going to burst
out of my chest as I align the airplane with
the slightly downward-sloping asphalt.
Through the arc of the spinning propeller, I see opportunities and adventures.
To seize them, all I have to do is this one
thing. And yet doubt paralyzes me with
fear-of the unknown, that I'm not good

This is it!
Left and right. Left and right. Power in.
Power out.
Once over the runway, I pull the throttle to idle and pitch up, hoping to ease the
airplane onto the pavement. But I flare too
high. I'm floating a few feet off the ground,
wiggling the controls at a feverish pace,
attempting to settle the airplane's tires
onto the asphalt.
But there is to be no settling.
Wham! The airplane slams onto its

"WHO AM I KIDDING?" I THINK. "I'LL NEVER BE
COMPLETELY READY. JUST DO IT."
enough, that it's too risky.
Oh, to hell with doubt. Let's go.
I release the brakes and shove the
throttle forward. At just the right moment,
I haul back on the control wheel. The
wheels come off the pavement. I'm flying
solo for the first time in my life.
A massive smile spreads across my
face. Then I look at the empty seat to my
right, and I realize this time there is no
instructor to step in or correct my mistakes. This time, it's just me.
My fears and insecurities threaten to
bubble over. But there's no time for nerves;
there is only time to act. I concentrate on
flying the airplane as my instructor has
taught.
I fly a rectangular pattern and request
my landing clearance midfield on the
downwind leg.
"Cleared to land, Runway Two-Zero,
Cessna Niner-Three-Quebec."
I inch the throttle out. The airplane
drifts downward. I extend the flaps
like I've practiced. And when I see the
runway behind my left shoulder, I turn
base.
The ground angles across my windshield, and I attempt to time my final turn
so as to roll wings level with the runway.
I'm mostly successful.
I jiggle the controls, rocking the wings
left and right, noticing the dampness of my
clammy hands upon the control wheel.
You're almost there, I tell myself.
Nearby trees and buildings seem close
enough to touch. I crest the airport's
perimeter fence, less than 100 feet above
the ground.

wheels, bouncing immediately back
into the air. The landing's ferocity fills
me with terror. As I wrestle with the
craft, precious bits of airspeed slip
away, and the airplane drops again. It
meets the runway with another forceful wham! before bobbling from one
wheel to another for several frightful
seconds.
Mercifully, the craft finds its footing. I
press the brakes and exit the runway. As I
reach a complete stop, my legs twitch from
adrenaline.
Yes! I think. I'm alive! I did it! I landed
the airplane-twice-by myself!
An incredible sense of freedom floods
over me. I have faced my fears and risen to
this challenge.
This, I tell myself, is just the beginning.
AND SO IS THIS.

The 737's wheels are off the ground in
Chicago. The responsibility for getting us
safely to San Diego is mine. I feel twinges
of fear, but if I respect my limits, I will rise
to meet this challenge.
Time starts moving again.
"United Ten-Sixty, contact departure,"
instructs the O'Hare tower controller.
"Over to departure, United Ten-Sixty.
So long," Kent says.
So long, indeed-to the life I've known
before this moment, my life as a co-pilot.
I'm a captain now. FT
KORRY FRANKE is a captain for United Airlines.

This text is excerpted from his book 3 Feet to
the Left: A New Captain's Journey from Pursuit
to Perspective.
AOPA.ORG/FT  55

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Flight Training - March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - March/April 2020

Contents
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Intro
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Cover1
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Cover2
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Contents
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 2
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 3
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 4
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 5
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 6
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 7
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 8
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 9
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 10
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 11
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 12
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 13
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 14
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 15
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 16
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 17
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 18
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 19
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 20
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 21
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 22
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 23
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 24
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 25
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 26
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 27
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 28
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 29
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 30
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 31
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 32
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 33
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 34
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 35
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 36
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 37
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 38
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 39
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 40
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 41
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 42
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 43
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 44
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 45
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 46
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 47
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 48
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 49
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 50
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 51
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 52
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 53
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 54
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 55
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 56
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 57
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 58
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 59
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 60
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 61
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 62
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 63
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - 64
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Cover3
Flight Training - March/April 2020 - Cover4
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