Transformation through / 1st Flight / Lesson 1

Since starting my "101 Mistakes and What I Learned" series a friend of mine had an idea. They asked why don't I tie my life lessons to flying (since flying is one of my greatest passions). She advised I could call the series: Transformation thru flight. I thought her idea was brilliant. So here we go!

Lesson 1, flight 1-

To know your limits and how far you can reach, you must first start. 

Case in point, in our 1^st flight, my friend Bryan and I originally wanted to do a long cross-country together.

(Cross-country as per FAR  -Federal Aviation Regulations:
(ii) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements (except for a rotorcraft category rating), for a private pilot certificate (except for a powered parachute category rating), a commercial pilot certificate, or an instrument rating, or for the purpose of exercising recreational pilot privileges (except in a rotorcraft) under Sec. 61.101(c), time acquired during a flight--

(A) Conducted in an appropriate aircraft;

(B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

(C) That involves the use of dead reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigation aids, radio aids, or other navigation systems to navigate to the landing point.)

Since I hadn’t flown consistently in 6 years I wasn’t sure how I’d be on a long flight. Many years back when I first started training, I would get extreme nausea.  We decided we’d go to Block Island (about a 1 hour trip) for our 1^st flight and have lunch, and then see how I felt. If I felt fine, we’d continue flying some more.  That is exactly what we did. In the end we flew to Block Island and then to Hartford-Brainard Airport. In total we flew almost 4 hours that day. I wouldn’t have known my tolerance had I not gone through with this flight. So if you are not sure how well or how far you can get with something, just start, and see where you end up. You just may accomplish way more then you thought possible.