The examiner has signed your certificate of independence, you have reserved your steed for the upcoming revolution, and you’ve won your liberty from your flight instructor’s tyranny of oppression and taxation. It’s time to celebrate your freedom to fly.
OK, so your instructor wasn’t a tyrant, and your steed is less fifteen-hand quarter horse and more $130-an-hour Cessna. But liberty is liberty, so mount up!
This month we’re making a not-so-subtle nod to our nation’s annual celebration of independence and focusing on what makes flying so great, and all the amazing things a pilot can do with a certificate.
The first few flights after the checkride will most likely be a mash-up of rides, lunch runs, and pattern hops. As you travel outside that comfortable bubble you’ll begin to really appreciate all that flying has to offer. You’ll find that your definition of freedom changes, especially when you gain freedom from the schedule. Buying an airplane is every pilot’s dream. Make sure it doesn’t turn in to a nightmare by reading our story about the process, “Mine, all mine,” beginning on page 32.
Maybe you’re looking to be free from fear of crosswinds or bad weather. The best strategy is to push yourself and keep growing after training. Senior Editor Al Marsh explores a few of these tips in his story, “Staying Skilled, Having Fun,” beginning on page 38.
As you gain confidence, try new things, and go to new airports, you’ll quickly find that you want even more freedom of choice. You’ll acquire an unrelenting need for more space to roam and more adventures to conquer. There are myriad ways to enjoy flying, a few of which we detail in “Seize the Sky,” beginning on page 28.
Ultimately, aviation thrives on three things: people, places, and aircraft. As long as you continue to have one ingredient in the recipe, you’ll sustain an immense feeling of satisfaction and fun. My current obsession is airplanes that evoke a certain feeling, and those that long to be flown simply for the sake of getting in the air. Anything that blows the wind in your hair, and goes as low and slow as possible, scratches the itch. One of my recent favorites is the Pietenpol Air Camper, an open-cockpit homebuilt designed in the 1930s.
The Piet is aviation at its best—it’s flown low enough to see details on the ground, slow enough to linger, and open to the world with all its smells and sounds. It’s freedom from gravity at its finest.
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