Anyone do anything special for a first solo?

Mavmb

Well-Known Member
I was just wondering what people did to celebrate the safe return of a first solo flight. All we do is take a picture. I know alot of places tear up a tshirt and hang it on the wall. Anybody dump the victim in gatorade or anything?

And believe me, if you think you're nervous about your first solo flight, just think about your instructor! Whiskey doesn't just stand for W in the alphabet; it's also what flight instructors may drink while the solo is taking place!
 
I got doused with at five gallon bucket of ICED water!! And I mean .... ICED!!

Thank God it was in the 90's and August in FLorida and it actually felt GOOOOOOOD!!!

Oh - and they took pictures too.
 
mavmb1 - my CFI made up the most hilarious plaque for me. Plus, I had a little 'incident' during my solo in which the carb heat knob and assembly came completely out of the panel when I pulled it on downwind on my last trip around...my CFI of course gave it to me as a 'keepsake', but then 'borrowed' it and mounted it on my plaque!

Sarah
 
Heheh. I never did a solo. (just yet). But I would have pretended I was a captain.
Good morning travels. Our temprature outside the window is below -0. You can unbluckle your seat belt when we climb to an altitude of 10,000 feet. Penuts will be passed around shortly. Oh and we only have two of them and im not giving em up. We will be at hour destination in an hour so sit back relax and enjoy the pirated movie "Matrix:Reloaded" Sponsors from KaZaA.
 
The cut the back of my shirt off and painted a picture of Tomahawk 2455C on it with my name and solo date.
it.

Then the flight school closed about 8 years later and I have no idea what happened to it. I'd like to have it back but I actually understand why the owner wanted out of the business entirely.
 
As soon as I shut down the engine and hopped out of trusty old N73105, one of the linesmen came over and started asking me a bunch of questions to distract me
"how did it feel?", "were your landings good?", etc.....

Then the Airport Manager snuck up behind me with a 5 gallon bucket of ice and water and dumped it on my head!
 
SPC= Student Pilot Certificate.

Has it been that long Doug? Shouldn't have let the almighty CFI expire....................
 
My instructor told me if I go up in flames my body better be on the center line. Pretty good confidence builder prior to soloing!
 
I got my shirt cut off, then they hung it on the wall of the school. I gave my CFI a little extra motivation to cut me loose. I refused to change my shirt untill I soloed
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It was getting pretty stinky towards the end.
 
I got my t-shirt cut up. When I was getting close, I wore some nasty t-shirts so that I wouldn't care about it getting ripped apart. There's a disgusting lime green t-shirt hanging on the wall at my FBO with the first solo thing on it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The cut the back of my shirt off and painted a picture of Tomahawk 2455C on it with my name and solo date.
it.

Then the flight school closed about 8 years later and I have no idea what happened to it. I'd like to have it back but I actually understand why the owner wanted out of the business entirely.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Traumahawk Doug? Those are scary airplanes aren't they?

Anyway, I like the idea of dumping ice water on the victim. Sounds like a plan to me. Watch out potential solo students!
 
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The Traumahawk Doug? Those are scary airplanes aren't they?

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I can answer that'n.....

if you don't mind the plane rocking almost sideways when a bird flaps it's wings nearby..... then no... not scary at all.
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The way I look at the Traumahawks at my FBO is - they've been around since 1972 and haven't spun yet.... and I don't plan on being the first to let'm.
 
I liked to Tomahawk!

But of course I was in high school and still weighed 140 lbs and had a thin instructor so it wasn't much of a problem.

I thought it was pretty cool except for practicing full stalls and hearing the bangs and the rattling of the empenage.
 
I really don't understand the bad reputation of Tomahawks. Apparently, several years ago before the AD came out for a reinforced empennage there were some problems. But they're perfectly safe airplanes now, they spin just fine, and just because it's not as stable as a damned 152 certainly doesn't make it a lesser trainer. In my opinion, it makes it better because it forces you to learn how to handle the aircraft instead of sitting back and relying on the engineer's design characteristics. I've flown both, and I learned a lot more about being a good pilot in the Tomahawk, and had a hell of a lot more fun in it. Not to mention there's a ton more room and 1000 times better visibility.
 
Well, it's not just the empennage that causes problems. The wings were orignially designed with heavy wing spars and 11 ribs to re-inforce the stability of the wing.

However, "the most significant production changes noted by one design engineer were the use of light sheet metal aluminum stock for the wing spar and the reduction of 11 to only 4 ribs in each wing." - Aviation Safety Magazine, Vol. XVI, Number 20, October 15, 1996.

NASA and Piper engineers concluded that a "stiffer" wing was required to prevent variations in lift and drag during spin and stall maneuvers. However, somewhere between design and production - the wing spar material was changed from a more sturdy metal material to a thinner material and the 7 wing ribs removed - giving the wing a little too much flex.

According to that same article, "Using accident statistics from NTSB'S own database, it is obvious that the Tomahawks' stall/spin accident rate is 20 times greater than comparable aircraft."

Those are the facts, man. Whether you agree with `em or not.
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That being said - I do agree with you regarding the roominess and the visabilty! I REALLY dig being able to see pretty much all the way around!!

And as - for maneuverability - it's comparable to a 150/152 - if not better.

Basically - as in any case - if you stay AHEAD of the aircraft, you should not have a problem.

I don't hate the T-bird at all. But knowing what I know now about it's characteristics - it DOES tend to keep me more on my toes.

R2F
 
I always cut off the shirt-tail. A lot of students told me that they would feel cheated if I didn't do it. At some of the smaller schools, we'd put the name, date, N#, etc. on it and hang it on the wall. From time to time, we'd take down the old ones and give them to the pilot if they wanted it.

FSI students also get a certificate signed by the Chief CFI and a copy of "High Flight."
 
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