That's right! I'll be honest. I didn't expect Gennett to go flying until I had a gazillion hours on my plane. Then the other day she surprised me. It was a really nice day, so what the heck, I asked her. "Wanna go up?"
I didn't get a no! I did get a few pre-conditions, mainly just that I would behave and keep the airplane right-side up. No problem. I know that Gennett would never get in the plane again if I felt sneaky, so there was no chance of a surprise roll.
That afternoon, she was having lunch with her friends, so we agreed just to meet at the airport afterward. She was easily the best dressed at the airport that day, showing up all fancy in a nice sun dress. Jamie Painter was putting up his plane as we rolled into the airport, so he got a quick intro and later concluded that I had "married up". Jamie, you're not the first nor the last to think that.
We cruise on over to my hangar, and within a few minutes we're ready to roll. I help Gennett climb in and showed her how to do a 5-point harness seatbelt. I walk around, climb in, do my own seatbelts, and pull the canopy down. At that moment, Gennett takes a deep breath. You can tell that she just got that "closed in" feeling as if the coffin lid just closed. She's hanging in there. Good girl. The canopy is actually the furthest thing from a coffin lid. Once airborne, you can see the world unblocked. Let's just get this thing in the air. "Gwinnett Ground, Experimental 5-1-7-Delta-Golf at north ramp with information, vfr to the north". "Experimental-7-Delta-Golf, taxi via Zulu to 7".
At this time, I'll take a minute to give you a quick reminder of another first flight. Many years ago, Gennett was going on her first flight with me in my ole '75 Archer. We were taking a day trip to Calloway Gardens. As we took off, the cockpit was filled with a loud rushing of air. Voila idiot! I forgot to latch the door. This is not a danger condition, but it's downright noisy. No problem, I figure I'll just put the airplane into a slip and reach over and slam the door shut. Putting the airplane into a slip means flying a little sideways, with the right wing a little down. As I open the door, all Gennett sees is, well, open door and ground. I must be trying to throw her out. About 1/1000oth of a second later, I realize the open door is better left open. Obviously to Gennett it's better to crash the plane than be thrown from it. A few reassuring words with the hands off the door handle restored order to the cockpit. We ended up having a nice trip, but that was never forgotten.
Fast forward back to day. As I'm cleared for takeoff, Gennett faithfully reminds me, "Don't forget to close the canopy!". Thanks honey. As I roll out onto the runway and apply power, Gennett bites her thumb. She's silent, and I can tell she's scared. The plane is quickly off the ground, and I'm trying to perform the most gentle climb that my plane can muster. Slowly but surely, Gennett starts to relax. My normal intro flight is a quick spin over the lake, maybe check out the house, and look for the kids. We do all that, and I decide it might be nice to show her how easy cross country travel can be, so I set the plane in a nice easy climb toward the north. Now Gennett goes camera crazy. snap snap snap. Nice pictures. snap snap snap. Goofy pictures. snap snap snap. How many pictures can we take in flight? Answer: a lot. After a short run up north, I turn back for Lawrenceville. snap snap snap. Right down to final. snap snap. And one more off the taxi way, snap.
Our first flight was a total success. There will be others.
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