2nd Day ... plane is fixed! Repairs went well. Beefed up the weak spots and recovered. Covering went smooth except for the fact that the origional covering reacted at a lower temp than the monokote I bought for repairs. After I figured it out, it went good.

Went to the field. A great day. I warmed up with my instructor and then went straight to take-offs. I was pretty nervous, but made it with no problems. Did 3 or so and then a cross wind picked up. My instructor loves it when this stuff happens. Another chance to teach me something I guess. I had to "fly" a bit on the take off to keep the wing down and then release the pressure after leaving the ground and fly as normal. It feels great to see things work.

Then, my first landing ... a bit shaky, and steered it off the runway after touchdown a couple feet, but SUCCESSFUL!! It felt great. I'm loving the plane, engine, and radio. I'm truely grateful for this site and all the information. It made things easy!

3rd Day ... got to the field .... windy! Didn't unload my plane, didn't think I'd fly. Watched a bit and was getting ready to leave. Sure enough, the instructor stopped me and convinced me to fly. Another chance to teach again. He said he would take off and land and we could play in the wind a bit. I agreed. The skill level of these guys is impressive, especially considering the changing conditions. Anyway, good lessons on making smooth turns with the wind. Entering the turn easy into the wind with a strong exit ... then entering the turn hard with the wind with a shallow exit. It worked great. I was still able to make consistant figure 8's and maintain my elevation and direction. Then he showed me how to slow the throttle down to idle and sit in one spot in the air. It was awesome! Kept the nose up and played with the rudder to keep it straight into the wind and the ailerons to keep it level. He claims its great practice for landings. I stayed in one spot for what seemed like a long, long time. Not sure how long it really was, but it was very cool to work the controls to keep it steady aginst the changing wind. Pretty cool.

Well ... thanks for all the help. Good flying to you all!

Kevin