I was somewhat afraid to solo, sort of tied to the buddy box. But, one day, I went out and no-one was there so I decided to practice taxi'ing around. Well, one thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was airborne.. so what do I do next... so I flew it around as thought I was on the buddy box.. then said to myself.. well, it's time to see if I can do this or not. So, I lined it up carefully and greased the landing.

Little did I know that the club President drove in and was watching. I was do focused on flying that I didn't hear him coming in. He stood about 20 feet behind me and watched. After I landed it, he yelled "HEY.. YOU SOLO'ed!!! Congrats!!" Well, that was that and I was on my own.

What progressed after that was that I asked my instructor to buddy box with me for my next two planes for the first flight or two with them so I could learn the differences between the trainers and these more advanced planes. It didn't take me long, though, to get it so I could maiden my own without help.

CGr.