The best day of my short sixteen years of living was probably a week or so after my most recent birthday. It was well known that I want to become a commercial pilot when I get older, so my dad and grandpa contacted one of their friends that had their license to take me flying! They did this so I would get a better feel and understanding to see if this was the field that I would truly enjoy and become successful in, and kinda spoiler: It was awesome!
We drove about fifteen minutes to a small local airport early in the morning. When we got there, my grandpa’s friend was already there readying his Piper Warrior for the two of us to fly. With a quick informational lesson, I learned the logistics and purposes for the various instruments and parts. Soon after, we were off! I sat in the pilot’s seat and had permission to fly the plane for the duration of the hour. I learned how to use the pedals on the floor to turn, go up and down, keep a steady altitude, making a fixed point, and so much more!
Towards the end, the headset was giving me a headache and the rising sun created a sauna-like environment inside the aircraft, but thankfully I was watching so much TV on my laptop at the time the soreness wasn’t too unbearable. As for the heat: firstly I was thankful that even in my sleeplike state that morning I remembered to put on deodorant, and that the front windows were able to open in an angle similar to older cars that don’t have air conditioning or rolling gear windows. The plane was quickly able to cool off and everything was ideal once more. When our time was coming to an end my co-pilot took an angled picture of me above the Hoover Dam, then he took the controls to land.
I would definitely relive this day again, and hopefully one day soon in the future I will. That day was definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me and was made even better when my instructor for the morning told me that I have a natural talent for flying. The fact that my family put so much thought and effort into making my sixteenth birthday so special really meant a lot to me.
I’ve never really liked big parties for my birthday, and I rarely have a clue what to ask for, so this was the best gift ever!
What was the best day of your life? Can you think of it quickly – or does it require a moment to decide which day was TRULY the best? We want to hear about it. Text “talk” to 602-786-8840 or email hi@listen.one – or post about it on your social media and tag us!