Awesome CFI'ing Experience!!

mtsu_av8er · August 18th, 2004, 01:38

Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story.

A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm.

Well, 5 or 6 eyars ago, he started flying again and logged 20 or 30 hours, but stopped again because of work. Owns the farm, and he and his wife run it. They're successful and money wasn't the biggest issue - it was the time.

Well, today was his 36th wedding anniversary, and she wanted to buy him a flight lesson. I got the airplane ready, and met them at the door. The gentleman, his wife and his daughter. Since it was a surprise, the daughter was the only one that knew it was happening!!

I introduced myself, grabbed them some headsets and took them out to the airplane. The daughter wasn't going to go, but we talked her into it and we loaded up. I gave them a tour of the aircraft and it's safety features and off we went.

He didn't want to do the takeoff, but as soon as we were about 500 AGL, he was ready to go. We climbed out and headed to the west of the airport for a few miles, and let him feel the plane out. Keep in mind that the newest plane he'd ever flown was a 70's 172 with the bare equipment, so the moving-map was really blowing him away!! And he thought I was trying to trick him when I showed him the autopilot... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Well, after a few minutes of toying around, his wife said jokingly that we should fly over their farm. They laughed until I told them that we could do that with no problem. So, we turned south and got BNA approach to guide us through the edge of the class C and around to the south of the city about 15 or 20 miles. We flew and the fellow navigated us right over his property. His face lit up when we spotted his home, so I took the plane, descended and began to do orbits at about 1500 feet while they showed me where the fields were, and where they were building their new home.

After about 10 minutes of looking, we headed back up toward Tune and he was asking me why I insisted on using flight following even though we could skirt the class C and avoid everybody (you know, back in his day.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]). Just before I could explain, Approach gave me advisories for a Learjet, 2 King Airs and a 737 heading into BNA. That answered his question.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

We got up toward Tune and he spotted the airport before I did - really - and I asked him if he wanted to do the landing.

"ABSOLUTELY!!!" [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

So, I took us into the pattern and stayed with him on the controls while he gaves us an OK 3-wire! Well, felt like we made one (Navy guys know what i'm talking about [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]).

We got on the ground, taxied and shut the plane down. I took them back inside, chatted for a little while and before he left, he thanked me about 20 times and went on to celebrate the rest of his anniversary.

I think the gleam in that old man's eyes was well worth the BS I've put up with up to this point!!!

Just wanted to share that with you guys.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

AngelFuree · August 18th, 2004, 01:46

Sounds like a very wonderful and cool as hell experience Lloyd!
Cool. =)

stuckingfk · August 18th, 2004, 01:47

I bet that was a great feeling. I have been a CFI only for a couple weeks and I will more than likely have my first student one week from now.

Glad that made your day Lloyd, hopefully I can have a few of those experiences myself!

MikeD · August 18th, 2004, 01:51

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story.

A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm.

:

[/ QUOTE ]

Which branch was he in?

mtsu_av8er · August 18th, 2004, 01:52

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story.

A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm.

:

[/ QUOTE ]

Which branch was he in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

CaptainChris87 · August 18th, 2004, 01:55

well sounds liek you had a great experience, hopefully when I become a CFI , someday I can have an experience as fullfilling as that one. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

UAL747400 · August 18th, 2004, 01:55

Sounds cool. Thanks Lloyd!

Tom

H46Bubba · August 18th, 2004, 02:09

Lloyd, That story proves that the aviation spark is always lit, even though it remains unsused for some time. Glad you had a good time. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

MikeD · August 18th, 2004, 02:23

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story.

A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm.

:

[/ QUOTE ]

Which branch was he in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

During the flight, did you tell him that ATIS advises that the LZ is hot? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

mtsu_av8er · August 18th, 2004, 03:37

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story.

A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm.

:

[/ QUOTE ]

Which branch was he in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

During the flight, did you tell him that ATIS advises that the LZ is hot? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

could see it now...me fighting for the controls as he's having flashbacks... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

E_Dawg · August 18th, 2004, 04:12

Good story; I did a flight with an old wwii pilot... he flew p51s in combat, that was the last time he flew. Really great experience for both of us.

clrd4takeoff · August 18th, 2004, 18:51

Great story Lloyd!! Keep up the good work!!

To me, this is what flying is really all about. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

TL

August 18th, 2004, 01:38	#1
mtsu_av8er Old Skool Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Utopia Posts: 12,590	Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story. A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm. Well, 5 or 6 eyars ago, he started flying again and logged 20 or 30 hours, but stopped again because of work. Owns the farm, and he and his wife run it. They're successful and money wasn't the biggest issue - it was the time. Well, today was his 36th wedding anniversary, and she wanted to buy him a flight lesson. I got the airplane ready, and met them at the door. The gentleman, his wife and his daughter. Since it was a surprise, the daughter was the only one that knew it was happening!! I introduced myself, grabbed them some headsets and took them out to the airplane. The daughter wasn't going to go, but we talked her into it and we loaded up. I gave them a tour of the aircraft and it's safety features and off we went. He didn't want to do the takeoff, but as soon as we were about 500 AGL, he was ready to go. We climbed out and headed to the west of the airport for a few miles, and let him feel the plane out. Keep in mind that the newest plane he'd ever flown was a 70's 172 with the bare equipment, so the moving-map was really blowing him away!! And he thought I was trying to trick him when I showed him the autopilot... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Well, after a few minutes of toying around, his wife said jokingly that we should fly over their farm. They laughed until I told them that we could do that with no problem. So, we turned south and got BNA approach to guide us through the edge of the class C and around to the south of the city about 15 or 20 miles. We flew and the fellow navigated us right over his property. His face lit up when we spotted his home, so I took the plane, descended and began to do orbits at about 1500 feet while they showed me where the fields were, and where they were building their new home. After about 10 minutes of looking, we headed back up toward Tune and he was asking me why I insisted on using flight following even though we could skirt the class C and avoid everybody (you know, back in his day.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]). Just before I could explain, Approach gave me advisories for a Learjet, 2 King Airs and a 737 heading into BNA. That answered his question.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] We got up toward Tune and he spotted the airport before I did - really - and I asked him if he wanted to do the landing. "ABSOLUTELY!!!" [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] So, I took us into the pattern and stayed with him on the controls while he gaves us an OK 3-wire! Well, felt like we made one (Navy guys know what i'm talking about [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]). We got on the ground, taxied and shut the plane down. I took them back inside, chatted for a little while and before he left, he thanked me about 20 times and went on to celebrate the rest of his anniversary. I think the gleam in that old man's eyes was well worth the BS I've put up with up to this point!!! Just wanted to share that with you guys.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 01:46	#2
AngelFuree Old Skool Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: G-Forks, ND/ NYC Posts: 3,349	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Sounds like a very wonderful and cool as hell experience Lloyd! Cool. =)

August 18th, 2004, 01:47	#3
stuckingfk Old Skool Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: El Forko Grande Posts: 2,630	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! I bet that was a great feeling. I have been a CFI only for a couple weeks and I will more than likely have my first student one week from now. Glad that made your day Lloyd, hopefully I can have a few of those experiences myself!

August 18th, 2004, 01:51	#4
MikeD Administrator Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pinal Airpark Posts: 6,897	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! [ QUOTE ] Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story. A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm. : [/ QUOTE ] Which branch was he in?

August 18th, 2004, 01:52	#5
mtsu_av8er Old Skool Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Utopia Posts: 12,590	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story. A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm. : [/ QUOTE ] Which branch was he in? [/ QUOTE ] Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 01:55	#6
CaptainChris87 Old Skool Join Date: May 2004 Location: O.C. Posts: 1,784	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! well sounds liek you had a great experience, hopefully when I become a CFI , someday I can have an experience as fullfilling as that one. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 01:55	#7
UAL747400 Old Skool Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Grand Forks, ND (UND)/ Davenport, IA Posts: 2,204	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Sounds cool. Thanks Lloyd! Tom

August 18th, 2004, 02:09	#8
H46Bubba Old Skool Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: CVG Posts: 4,465	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Lloyd, That story proves that the aviation spark is always lit, even though it remains unsused for some time. Glad you had a good time. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 02:23	#9
MikeD Administrator Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pinal Airpark Posts: 6,897	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story. A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm. : [/ QUOTE ] Which branch was he in? [/ QUOTE ] Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] During the flight, did you tell him that ATIS advises that the LZ is hot? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 03:37	#10
mtsu_av8er Old Skool Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Utopia Posts: 12,590	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Well, I was on the schedule this afternoon for a discovery flight - well, kind of. Here's the story. A woman called the flight school a while back and said that her Dad had gotten his PPL many years ago, before he went off to Vietnam. He came back, and didn't get back in another airplane. Married, had kids, and ran his farm. : [/ QUOTE ] Which branch was he in? [/ QUOTE ] Army....we talked machine guns for a while before his wife changed ths subject.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] During the flight, did you tell him that ATIS advises that the LZ is hot? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] could see it now...me fighting for the controls as he's having flashbacks... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

August 18th, 2004, 04:12	#11
E_Dawg Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: chicago Posts: 4,311	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Good story; I did a flight with an old wwii pilot... he flew p51s in combat, that was the last time he flew. Really great experience for both of us.

August 18th, 2004, 18:51	#12
clrd4takeoff Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 71	Re: Awesome CFI\'ing Experience!! Great story Lloyd!! Keep up the good work!! To me, this is what flying is really all about. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] TL

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