Hello everyone! Last month I got the chance to take to the skies for the very first time. This is my experience of how it went.
Training Organisation - National Flight Centre
Airport - Weston Airport
Aircraft - Cessna 172N // EI-OFM
Flight Time - Approximately 30 minutes
This flight involved taking off from Weston’s runway 07, departing to the west following the M4 motorway westbound until reaching Maynooth. Due to a fairly low cloud base, we could not climb above 2000ft for most of the flight. We then continued on to Kilcock, after which the area below us was fairly rural. I then got the chance to take the controls and was shown the basics in effects of controls and attitude. Due to the proximity of Weston to Dublin International Airport, we were in contact with Dublin ATC for a part of the flight. This was a great experience, knowing I was on the same frequency as some of the inbound airliner traffic. We then turned back towards Weston, with a last minute change from an overhead to join left downwind, to a right downwind entry. Due to this change, we had to use an idle descent to lose enough altitude to land safely. After landing, we headed back to the ramp and disembarked.
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Credit in Photograph
And that was my experience of my introductory flight! This has definitely inspired me to go on and seek a career in aviation, and begin training for my PPL. My Class 2 Medical takes place in just under two weeks, and should I pass that, my training awaits. I hope you’ve enjoyed this account of an introductory flight at Weston, and that it inspires some of you with an interest in aviation to go out and take one, to give you a better idea of if it’s something you’d like to pursue. Thanks for reading!