Your Best Moments

bc2209

Well-Known Member
What are some of your best moments/memories from flight training all the way through where you are at today.

I am coming up on my first solo in a couple of days. From the few people I've talked to, they all agree that the first solo is one flight you will never forget.

Do any of you have any big memorable moments or memories you'll never forget?

Thanks for your replies.
 
Makes me think of something that happened today. They closed the runway after we departed and were climbing and said, "22 left closed due to FOD".

What I heard was, "closing 22L due to a Fox on the Runway".

Had to clarify that with my instructor after on the ground. Made me laugh. Stupid brain.
 
Solo X-country KBUR-KSBA-KBUR, on the way back late afternoon/early evening Chick Hearn calling the Lakers on the ADF and perfect weather. Was pretty sure it was my own little piece of heaven.
 
Makes me think of something that happened today. They closed the runway after we departed and were climbing and said, "22 left closed due to FOD".

What I heard was, "closing 22L due to a Fox on the Runway".

Had to clarify that with my instructor after on the ground. Made me laugh. Stupid brain.
The tower advised us that there was a dog on the runway and it was our discretion to taxi around and take off.
 
My first overnight at a 121 carrier was at a Best Western in MOB. My feet hung over the end of the bed, the room was dirty and smelly. Gunshots went off a few times that night and as I stared at the ceiling I remember thinking to myself "this is not the way this is supposed to be, right"? Then I went to Akron...I will never ever forget those first two overnights.
 
My first solo.

Passing my private pilot check ride on a morning when I skipped first and second period in high school.

Watching my first student solo.

My last landing at Skyway and 30 minutes later, having the assistant chief pilot who tried to get me fired hand me a resume (Oh yeah, bro, I got your back…)

Passing any recurrent.

Passing any type ride.

The last landing of the rotation.
 
I have a number of them, but two that stick out (I've mentioned both before, I'm sure):

-Seeing Greenland for the first time.

-Hand flying a visual into Crete on a beautiful day. Up until that point, I wasn't sure I was really into long-haul. That changed my opinion. :)

Oddly, both of those happened on the same trip with a great crew.
 
Greenland is cool isn't it? Do you have those rapid decompression blocks on the 767 at your carrier?
 
A dust devil popping up and crossing the runway right before I touched down. A nice welcome to Arizona in the summer!
 
Let's see...what stands out to me.
- First solo, and finally getting that "I can do this feeling"
- Seeing the Shuttle Columbia launch for the last time while holding over the outer marker for RWY 7 at JAX.
- First student solo, and then going to drink at lunch afterwards/taking the rest of the day off
- Driving a Ferrari on St. George Island...(student bought a house there for a couple million, his buddy was the real estate guy there, he owned the badass car)
- Flying into Sun'N'Fun for the first time
- First day on the line at QX...SEA-MSO-FCA. Taking off and getting that "OH SNAP, it's really happening feeling", then not having an abortion of a landing on my first try. Going to Moose's in FCA for beer and pizza on the check airman, because he was/still is a badass.
- Day 3 of that first trip on IOE...7 legs + 1 leg DH back to PDX, 4am van for a 5am departure...released at 6.30pm...going to my apt, dropping everything at the door and sleeping for 13 hours in my uniform because I was that tired and drained.
- First time flying the Bay Visual landing on the 16's at SEA with the sun setting over the Olympics...it really, really doesn't get any better than that.
- Mountain tours galore.
- Hitting 515kts GS in a turboprop
- Deciding that a bowtie should be a standard uniform piece.
tumblr_m3rtyerfHZ1qir45xo1_500.gif
 
Landing after completing my first real NDB approach in actual to minimums! I only had my instrument for two weeks at that point! Like a Boss!:cool:
 
Landing after completing my first real NDB approach in actual to minimums! I only had my instrument for two weeks at that point! Like a Boss!:cool:

My first NDB approach to mins was in a 737-200 into Allentown.

Scared to death but the captain, who is the head of the 717 program, kept saying "you got it, you got it, you got it" and it stuck in my head.

I think you might have actually seen him when I was in the CBT's. "Jeff X"
 
Well, there was last night doing a low approach down 28R at SFO around 2:30AM with 2 of my friends and some random hot Asian chick one of them brought from the club. :)
 
I once happened upon a cloud cover with peaks and valleys and towers in perfectly smooth air and 1 mile/clear of clouds mins. It remains one of my best moments... and probably wont ever happen again.

There have been sunsets, and a sunrise or two that were amazing.

The night SF Bay Tour is not to be missed on a cold clear night.

I once got a ride in a 1929 KR-34

I hope I never stop having moments like those :)
 
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