Taking Flight: My first Few Hours Flying

Hi all! I hope you are all having an excellent start to 2024.  Happy New Years! This post is an update on my journey after receiving the FMA Solo scholarship and a sincere thank you to you all at FMA and out sponsors such as Hartzell, Gleim Aviation, MyGoFlight, and more who have given me wonderful tools like flight bags, logbooks, and pens to aid me in my flight training journey.

After receiving the 2023 scholarship, I immediately picked out a plane, N66459 a 1974 Cessna 150M. Though small, this plane is amazing! I initially had some issues finding a CFI. After months of searching and changes in my choice of instructor, I finally landed with my CFI, Mr. Cameron Kissler, who is an absolutely wonderful CFI passionate and very knowledgeable about what he does.

A few weeks after finding my flight instructor, on January 17, 2024, I flew my first flight lesson. It was everything I had hoped for and more. It was exhilarating, freeing, and a realization of a lifelong dream. During my first flight Mr. Kissler and I practiced preflight preparation, taxiing, run-ups, takeoffs, climb, turns/steep turns, descents, and radio calls. And after my first flight lesson I knew I was even more passionate about aviation. I promised myself while driving home that I will do anything and work extremely hard to achieve my goal of being a commercial airline pilot, because I loved my first few hours of flight lessons that day and have continued to cherish every lesson I have had since.

Since that day, I have had a total of three light lessons which have now put me at 4.5 hours of flight time towards my short-term goal of soloing, my intermediate goal of obtaining my private pilot’s license, and my long-term goal of being a commercial airline pilot. I have completed everything in stage one of my flight school’s syllabus such as things like steep turns, ground reference maneuvers, stalls, and more which puts me 1/3 of the way closer to soloing once I pass my stage checks, and practice more.

Without the assistance of you all at Flying Musicians Association, from the regional ambassadors to the members, former FMA Solo recipients, and FMA President Mr. John Zapp, who constantly pushes me and checks in with me even on LinkedIn when I began my job as a part time sales associate at Nordstrom, my dream of flying would have been so much harder to realize. Everytime I fly, I always remind myself that it is because of the generous people behind this amazing organization, that I have the opportunity to jumpstart my dreams, and experience such deep-enriching joy. I owe everything to FMA. Thank you, and let’s keep soaring!