I first heard that I was going to fly at the Tuesday night meeting. First Lieutenant Fischler, the squadron commander, called me over and asked if I wanted to fly. It didn’t really register for a moment, until she told me that would fly on the CAP Cessna 172 on Sunday. When the day arrived, the skies were clear. It was almost unnatural for Texas not to have some clouds. My parents dropped me off at the airport and the adventure began. The pilot was going to be Second Lieutenant Joseph Merle, and he had already rolled the plane out of the hangar.

I was with another beginner cadet, so I didn’t feel too awkward. We took a long time to go through the routine checks, especially since the fan was in need of repair (it got fixed). We taxied all the way to the runway, the whole time being directed in the use of the cockpit instrumentation. Finally we were cleared for take-off. Our instructor, Lieutenant Merle, pulled a lot of switches one labeled “mix,” another centering on altitude, and such. The feeling of not being on the ground suddenly rushed in. It was almost as if we were in a time warp, because seconds after the wheels left the cement, we were at 1700 ft and climbing.

There was a lot of turbulence, but our instructor handled it with ease and explained that it was due to the hot air from the large highway beneath us. The coolest thing was getting to see what Texas really looks like from above. When you are on the ground it seems like the land dips and that a farmer’s field is all black, but I know better. From the sky, you can see from East to West because there are no mountains, and farmer’s fields have deep trenches that are brown. Fields are all different shades of green, and large forests seem like a few patches of lawn trees. Once we had steadied at around 4500-5000, our instructor directed me to take the controls.

He told me to keep the dash about two finger-lengths below the horizon. He also showed me how to make the Cessna turn without rolling. I found out just how much harder it is to fly than to drive. To remain steady with the horizon, you need to pull and push the yoke handle (steering wheel to land lubbers). To turn right or left, the pedal and the yoke must be turned, but they have to be opposite each other. Just moving the yoke causes the plane to tip dangerously.

Every minute of my time at the controls was an enjoyable struggle to keep the plane upright and on course. It tended to favor turning left as well as giving in to the turbulence at times due to the wind. Finally we had reached our destination and the instructor regained control. It was almost like parting with an old friend, because I had just figured out how to keep it going steady. We landed, took a break, and headed back. It was an amazing experience, and one I will never forget.

When I got back home, I began thinking about it as I told my parents and numerous family members about my flight. I noticed that in our drills, our group of cadets is called a flight and in order to keep from “barrel-rolling,” we all had to work together and do our jobs correctly. I wonder if maybe there is a connection between a drill flight and an actual plane flight?  Both require teamwork and doing things by the rules.