I started flying in October of 2007 and have accumulated over 330 hours since then. I have taken many trips to many places and enjoyed the company of my three children, my cousin, my brother-in-law, my father and many friends. The one person who has never been in the plane with me, however, is my wife Mary Beth. Well all that changed this past Monday.
Our daughter Kelsey has decided to attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall. June 15 & 16 was a freshman and parent orientation on campus in Durham, NH. The program started at noon on Monday and concluded by noon on Tuesday. During our previous two visits, Kelsey & I had flown up to a nearby airport, Portsmouth International, and rented a car to get to the campus. The flight takes 1 1/2 hours verses driving time of 4 1/2 hours. So, our options were to leave at 7am on Monday and drive to UNH or leave at 9:30am and fly. Kelsey appealed to Mary Beth, "Mom, I really want you to attend this orientation as you've never seen the campus and I want you to come with us, but I am not driving 9 hours in the car for a 24 hour program. Can't you just fly with us?" And much to my surprise, Mary Beth said yes.
The weather was not ideal for a first flight. I had hoped for clear skies and calm winds. We got the calm winds, but the skies were not clear. There was a slight overcast leaving White Plains that we had to get above and a thick layer at Portsmouth for our arrival. The departure went fine and we got up to 7,000 feet without really penetrating any significant clouds. The trip across Connecticut and Massachusetts was made in bright sunshine above the cloud layer which appeared to top out at 4,500 feet. Mary Beth seemed quite calm and was even able to sleep during this portion of the trip. Kelsey zoned out with her iPod.
As we got into New Hampshire, the clouds tops were higher and we had to start our decent to the airport. We entered the clouds at about 5,000 feet and were in and out of layers down to about 2,500 feet. I had hoped to avoid IMC conditions during Mary Beth's first flight, but that wasn't to be the case. The good news was there was no turbulence at all. Below 2,500 feet we entered solid IMC conditions during the remainder of the approach to Portsmouth. We got established on the ILS 16 localizer and began our decent to the runway. We broke out of the clouds at 800 feet and the runway was dead ahead -- this seemed to please my passengers! We made a smooth landing and taxied to the parking area. I must say, Mary Beth remained calm through the entire flight.
We had a great visit at UNH and while there, Mary Beth received a call from a friend that was over in Vermont looking at horses for sale and had one that she wanted her to see. Mary Beth asked if we could fly to Burlington on our way home and I told her it was only an hour away. On Sunday, we left New Hampshire around noon and flew to Vermont, spent two hours looking at a few horses and then flew home in time for dinner. Each flight involved some flying in the clouds, but without much turbulence, Mary Beth didn't seem to mind. The two days offered a great demonstration of the utility of general aviation and I hope she will fly with me again. We'll see........
Our daughter Kelsey has decided to attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall. June 15 & 16 was a freshman and parent orientation on campus in Durham, NH. The program started at noon on Monday and concluded by noon on Tuesday. During our previous two visits, Kelsey & I had flown up to a nearby airport, Portsmouth International, and rented a car to get to the campus. The flight takes 1 1/2 hours verses driving time of 4 1/2 hours. So, our options were to leave at 7am on Monday and drive to UNH or leave at 9:30am and fly. Kelsey appealed to Mary Beth, "Mom, I really want you to attend this orientation as you've never seen the campus and I want you to come with us, but I am not driving 9 hours in the car for a 24 hour program. Can't you just fly with us?" And much to my surprise, Mary Beth said yes.
Mary Beth texting her last Will & Testament
The weather was not ideal for a first flight. I had hoped for clear skies and calm winds. We got the calm winds, but the skies were not clear. There was a slight overcast leaving White Plains that we had to get above and a thick layer at Portsmouth for our arrival. The departure went fine and we got up to 7,000 feet without really penetrating any significant clouds. The trip across Connecticut and Massachusetts was made in bright sunshine above the cloud layer which appeared to top out at 4,500 feet. Mary Beth seemed quite calm and was even able to sleep during this portion of the trip. Kelsey zoned out with her iPod.
As we got into New Hampshire, the clouds tops were higher and we had to start our decent to the airport. We entered the clouds at about 5,000 feet and were in and out of layers down to about 2,500 feet. I had hoped to avoid IMC conditions during Mary Beth's first flight, but that wasn't to be the case. The good news was there was no turbulence at all. Below 2,500 feet we entered solid IMC conditions during the remainder of the approach to Portsmouth. We got established on the ILS 16 localizer and began our decent to the runway. We broke out of the clouds at 800 feet and the runway was dead ahead -- this seemed to please my passengers! We made a smooth landing and taxied to the parking area. I must say, Mary Beth remained calm through the entire flight.
We had a great visit at UNH and while there, Mary Beth received a call from a friend that was over in Vermont looking at horses for sale and had one that she wanted her to see. Mary Beth asked if we could fly to Burlington on our way home and I told her it was only an hour away. On Sunday, we left New Hampshire around noon and flew to Vermont, spent two hours looking at a few horses and then flew home in time for dinner. Each flight involved some flying in the clouds, but without much turbulence, Mary Beth didn't seem to mind. The two days offered a great demonstration of the utility of general aviation and I hope she will fly with me again. We'll see........
