First solo

What a morning.

My primary student did his first solo today, which I know for certain was more nerve-wracking for me than it was for him.

We'd gone through the pre-solo written exam yesterday then went flying. I wanted to solo him then but Crystal was incredibly busy and it was getting late so we decided to hold off and do it this morning.

When I showed up he was still pre-flighting the airplane so I grabbed his logbook and medical, made the required endorsements and had him take me around the pattern.

He made a nearly perfect approach and gentle landing so as we were taxiing back I asked him if he was ready to go it alone. He said he was, so I called tower and told them we'd be heading back to parking for a minute so I could get out.

Standing there on the grass half-frozen watching him taxi out was almost surreal. I knew he was well-prepared and would do a fine job, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking of the few hundred things that could go wrong.

Well, turned out I didn't need to worry. He took off on 14L, flew a perfect pattern and made a lovely landing. Tower then moved him over to 14R and I watched as he flew a right-hand pattern and made two more very nice approaches and landings.

After the first landing I started to relax and enjoy the moment. It was a beautiful morning, cold and calm and the air was smooth as could be. It was perfect flying weather. Traffic was light and it was fun to watch him ease down on final, round out and then hold the airplane off until it squeaked down on the mains.

He taxied back in and shut down, we shook hands and took a couple of pictures.

Then I borrowed his pocketknife, cut off his shirt-tail and signed it. It's a goofy old-school tradition, but I happen to like it.

It's days like today that make all the sweat and effort of becoming a CFI worth it.