Monday, October 15, 2007

Flight to the San Juan River

On Saturday morning, a friend from work and I flew in a little Cessna plane from Albuquerque up to the San Juan river to fish. My friend is ex-Air Force, and he's working on his commercial pilot's license (so he knows what he's doing). He belongs to the air club out at the Air Force base, so he can check out planes when he needs them.

The flight up was awesome. It was smooth and only lasted 1 hour, vs. the 3 hour drive that I normally take. We fished all day, and caught a few. The best part of the day was the flight home. My friend actually let me fly the plane for 15-20 minutes. He had me make a series of banking turns, and then climb and descent a few hundred feet at a time. It was one of the most stressful things that I've ever done in my life, but I had a blast! At first, I was only willing to turn the plane a tiny bit because I was so intimidated by the experience. Finally, my friend taunted me into making some pretty bold turns (at least they seemed bold to me!) After 15 minutes at the stick, I was exhausted. It was the first time in my life that I'd done anything close to that - what an experience!

4 comments:

Gmajoan&Gpapat said...

Wow, sounds like fun. I have flown here in Idaho with a back country pilot into Stanley and some of the Salmon River ranches. Gets interesting down in the canyons! The ballons are cool too. Ask Erin if she remembers when they landed next to the house on 9th street and in the cul de sac behind our current place. Joans brother called up and asked if you guys went. One of my clients is scouting restaurant locations in eastern NM (Hobbs, Alamogordo, etc.) which means field trips for me this winter or next fall. Will probalby fly into Elpaso and out via Albuquerque so I can see Mike and you guys. Will probably bring my measuring assistant (Mom) to help.

Blake said...

I'm glad you didn't die Ty.

Debi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Debi said...

Ty - the quintessential renaissance man - you not only fish and then prepare a gourmet feast - you now fly too! Wow - I am impressed. How fun for you!!