Reminiscing: the most exhiliarating and terrifying moments in my life

Back in the mid Eighties, I was taking flying lessons at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. This probably wasn’t the best place for a student pilot to fly, because Teterboro is one BUSY airport with a LOT of general aviation and commercial air traffic.

Anyway, I was doing touch and goes one afternoon, which simply means I was taking off and as quickly as possible I was landing and then taking off again. This is the way you practice how to enter the pattern, lower flaps, turn on de-icer, talk to the air traffic controller, slow the plane down enough to land but not crash, etc.

And then after doing this a few times, my instructor said, “Pull off to the side the next time you land, and do the next touch-and-go on your own.”

He said it very matter of factly and opened his door to get out.

I frantically pulled him back and screamed “What the hell are you doing?!”

And very patiently, he said, “You’ve been doing this for awhile now, it’s no big deal, just do the next one on your own.”

And then he got out and I lined up again to request permission to take off.

He was right! It was just like I’d been doing. I went by the book. I flew the plane!

All was going well until I heard the controller in my headset say, ”Will unidentified aircraft approaching this controlled airspace please rock your wings and identify.”

And I see, heading right for me, an airplane rocking its wings!

Holy Moly! (edited for PG rating)

And then the plane entered the pattern right in front of me. Very close in front of me. Too close for comfort in front of me. Damn.

I decided that the best thing to do was to put some space between us, so I made three tight 360-degree circles, and then reduced my power. 

It worked. I was now a safe distance behind this errant pilot.

I landed and taxied off the active runway and my instructor congratulated me.

Looking back, I greatly appreciate that my instructor didn’t tell me I was going to solo after my PREVIOUS lesson. I’d have been a basket case worrying and getting no sleep for the week, haha. Good move on his part.

So the most exhiliarating and terrifying moments in my life happened at the same time — when I soloed in a Cessna 152.