Monday, August 02, 2010

Sundays Adventure

from csnstores.com  they are a compilation of over 200 stores

The heat in South Texas combined with the humitidy is enough to .... well,  I will let you fill in the blank.
Anyway, regardless of the heat I wasnt  going to pass up the opportunity for my son to take his first glider flight ( or any flight)  yesterday.  The boy has never been up in a plane, period, or out of Texas.  I think I can safely say he has never been north of Dallas, or west of Luling.  Here are a few shots of the experience that he took... bless his heart, his knees were up around his chest. After it  was over all he could do was grin from ear to ear.  He is fourteen and had to keep up appearances but he did describe it as "stupid sick".








Getting ready to fly




Tow line connected and waiting for take off as another glider comes in overhead for a landing - remember the size of that line. This facility has a nice covered patio where you can watch out of the direct heat of the sun. So most of the parents are waiting there. 




We have liftoff!  I had liftoff also about this point, but it was liftoff of my stomach.  It was a mix of excitement when I saw my son in the front seat of the glider, followed by that mild nausea when you see the size of the rope that is holding my son in the air.   That passes quickly, and he was in excellent hands.




Up in the air







Gaining altitude


Still Climbing


Brandon at the controls



Look Mom! No tow plane 


the view out the vent window.  I am standing just outside of the building right there watching the approach.


Turning  and getting ready to land

He took an awesome video.  Since the instructors takeoff and land he was able to document both. I will see if I can post it separately since it isnt loading.

Brandon was able to do this due to being a member of the Civil Air Patrol Cadets.  If you have a kid interested in avaiation,  I was just told by one of the other parents about the Young Eagles,  On their website, their objective is listed as follows "Our mission is to provide a meaningful flight experience – free of charge – in a general aviation aircraft for young people primarily between the ages of 8 and 17."  I hope to look into that very soon.






3 comments:

  1. Hi! Thanks so much for following me. I'm now your newest follower! :) How wonderful for your son. My boys love CAP and it has given them so many incredible opportunities. My oldest earned his pre-solo glider wings through the CAP National Flight Academy and wants to do powered flight next year.

    Lisa xoxo
    http://RaisingFutureLeaders.blogspot.com

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  2. Bonnie, I was reading an old post of mine and saw your comment, so I dropped by. I just noticed this post! My son took glider lessons too! We spent many a Saturday at the glider port volunteering and me praying my scatterbrained 16 yr.old wouldn't crash the plane. :o) He soloed on my 40th birthday. It was so exciting! I still have the video. Thanks for bringing back some fun memories. I think gliding is to flying what ballet is to dance. It's the 'classical' version...beautiful, graceful..peaceful..awe inspiring! I will never forget my one flight. Great post!

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