For anyone that followed my Somethin' Extra build, this is a repeat of information at first, but here it goes.

My dad has Stage 4, terminal lung cancer. He was into control line airplanes before I was born, and always took us to airshows after I was born. In 1986 (I was only 5) he bought a Sig Kadet Seniorita, he always regretted never building/flying it. Well 5 weeks ago, he dug out the kit and gave it to me. I built it and had it done 2 weeks ago and drove the 6 hours to go fly it with him. Sadly, it rained the entire weekend. I drove home pretty disappointed. Well this weekend I decided to make the trip again. On Thursday I had an intructer from the local club meet me at the field and he took it up and made sure it was good to fly, it was pretty late so I didnt get a chance to buddy box it.

Well I was determined to fly it this weekend. I arrived Saturday afternoon to 35mph winds, nope not gunna fly on Saturday. Sunday, 25mph winds, again no flying. I was starting to get worried. THis morning (Monday) I got up, mowed the lawn for my dad, and then my prayers were answered. The winds dropped suddenly to 5-10 mph. I had my mom get my dad up and out we went.

There is no field where my parents live, so we went out to an undeveloped piece of land in town that had the road, but no houses/buildings/powerlines etc around for ~1 mile in 3 out of 4 directions. After explaining to my club my situation, they loaned me a buddy box to use with my dad. I got the plane all filled up and ready to go, and got it started. My heart was pounding. I handed the buddy box to my dad, and taxied down the road and took off. WOW What a smooth flyer!!!!!! I did a few laps, getting the feel for the plane since I have never soloed, and I only have 1 other flight under my belt.

Now came the time for my dad to try, I get it all nice and level, and high for him. I get him and ready and he took the helm. He did alright, but sadly, he's been dizzy the last several days and could only focus on the plane for about 30 seconds and he had to quit. I was dissappointed, but he seemed to enjoy himself just watching me fly around. He's promised me that the next time I come up, he will do much better

At any rate, I flew for about 15 minutes, allowing my mom to get some good pictures of the plane. Then I had to start thinking about landing .... and the heart started pounding again. I let my family know, and they all clear away from the road and I do my approach. ANd bam!!!! Great landing, until I bounced (Eh, I am new at this after all) it nosed forward and the prop struck the ground, but she came back on all three wheels, not a bad landing all in all, and the prop is still in good shape!

At any rate, I still have that goofy grin that comes from soloing for the first time! Talk about a rush!

I know everyone frowns on non-instructer learning, but under the circumstances, I Think I did a good thing. Here are some pictures!!

1) Take Off!
2) My dad and me (notice the buddy box on the ground already)
3) That goofy grin you have whilst flying solo
4) That good landing (the plane looks close b/c my mom was using a telescopic lens [everyone was 50ft from the road for landing and takeoff])
5) Post Flight glory shot!

Congrats on the solo and Kudos for getting the plane done and letting your Dad fly it! I'm glad everything worked out for you.

thats awesome, the little things do make a difference something wanted you to share that moment with your dad. my father passed from lung cancer a few years ago I wish we had something in common like you and your dad do I hope my kids do for me .

Great story - thanks for sharing.
My father was a flight instructor for the Navy. He had lung cancer and just before I had finished building my ultralight he passed. He got me started in flying, at an early age, with a control line plane, and I had wanted desperately to take him up in my plane. So, cherish the time spent with your dad doing something you both love.

Great job KC, I'm truly happy for you and your Dad. I hope that your Dad can fight off his horrible disease for as long as possible.

I Can't wait to see the SSE fly!

Tony

KCRemoteFlyer,
Absolutely nothing wrong with doing something like this for your dad. You did great. Give yourself a pat on the back. I hope that you and your dad get to put in a lot of airtime in the time that the two or you have left. Good luck and have fun.

A solo flight is a great accomplishment and that wins you one genuine RCU ATTABOY (Suitable for framing, wrapping fish, or lining trashcans).

Ken

Assuming the road is not heavily travelled, the only advice I can give you as an instructor is:

When landing, don't try to fly in slow and chop the throttle waiting for the plane to drop (chop and drop). Fly the plane down to the runway. As you approach the ground, relax, and let the wheels come down. Its hard to get used to, but control your speed with the elevator (up elevator will slow the plane down on approach) and throttle controls your elevation (too low, add throttle-too high, reduce throttle).

Congratulations on flying solo. Don't give up on getting some buddy box time with a club instructor if you can. It will help you improve all the faster.

Brad

I still plan on using an instructor as much as possible, I still have alot to learn! At my field I need to solo with a certain set of skills to get my 'pilots license' from the parks and rec department to legally fly at our field alone. Speaking of which, begineers nights is every Tuesday night and the wind report looks good!

Tuwood, funny story with that SSE ... We were going to finally maiden her 2 weeks ago. Got her rolling down the runway, just about to lift off and the gear dropped into a prop strike. Sheared off the axle for the right wheel. THen the landing gear dug into the ground and broke the landing gear right off of the plane. I was in shock a good 20 seconds. I have it all fixed, just need to go get a new axle for it yet. I have now expoxied the landing gear block into the fuse, and used some 1/2" triangle stock to help secure it and spread the load. Needless to say, I was dissapointed .... I'll head to the LHS today and get that axle and hopefully give a flight report next week.