My flight school operates out of beautiful South Lake Tahoe, California. Most of the first solos are done in Minden, Nevada, since high terrain and limited escape areas make South Lake Tahoe a difficult place for students to perform first solos. We operate two Piper Archers out of my flight school, but the one I was supposed to fly was down for maintenance in Minden and was scheduled to be picked up early in the morning and brought back up to South Lake Tahoe, so I could take it back down for my solo.
Name: Bobby Perez
Age: 16
Event: First solo
Where: Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Minden, Nevada
Airplane: Piper Archer
I learned that the airplane was never picked up, and I would be forced to fly the other Piper Archer. Everything looked good and soon I was in the air and en route to Minden, where I would perform my first three landings with my instructor. After exiting the runway I taxied over to the restaurant, shut the airplane down, and let my instructor hop out of the aircraft. “Have a good flight,” he said to me, which keyed the nerves to come into effect.
It’s a different but good feeling knowing there is nobody next to you to look out for you. My first solo landing soon appeared in the window. I crossed the numbers, got into ground effect, and the wheels of the Piper made contact with the centerline. The landing was beautiful and graceful and I remember it like it was just yesterday. The next two landings were made without any issues.
Then my instructor asked, “How would you like to take this airplane back to Tahoe so I can take the other airplane from maintenance and fly it back to the Lake?” My heart was racing already and hearing this put me at a loss for words. After some thought I agreed, so my instructor signed my 25-nautical-mile solo endorsement so I could legally fly it back to South Lake Tahoe. I was completely alone for the second time, but this time the flight wouldn’t be in the pattern. I shook the nerves and started up again and taxied behind my instructor to the active, where we would take off and make our journey back home. This day was an amazing day and it will forever follow me throughout my flying career.
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