For aspiring pilots there comes a day when you solo. You get in and take off , fly, and land, with no instructor by your side. Soloing has to be a bit nerve-testing. I have only soloed once. I was a college student at Ouachita. A friend told me he had a plane rented for a half-hour. Would I like to go up with him> I had never been in a plane of any kind so I told him "sure". I met him at the local airport in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. They had a little Piper Cub-type plane already out on the runway.
We went to the plane and strapped ourselves in. After warming the engines he taxied to the end of the runway and took off. It was fun! We circled around the area and even over the campus. Thirty minutes can go by quickly and they were expensive minutes, so we prepared to land. I casually asked Jim how long he had been flying. He casually informed me this was his first time without an instructor! I was on his solo flight! That meant he had never landed an airplane on his own, but we were getting ready for that to happen. Fright took over. I couldn't believe I had volunteered to go on Jim's solo flight. After bouncing real good he got the plane on the runway and I deplaned, shaky but in one piece.
It is a good idea to check with any pilot who offers you a ride to see if he has ever done this before.
