I was working as a flight instructor in my early 20’s. I’d occasionally get “So, how long have you been…flying?” from new students I was meeting for the first time. “Oh, since about 9 this morning” was my usual response.
That shit usually stopped after about 20 minutes in the air. They’d try level turns or even leveling off at altitude and slosh all over the sky, then I’d hook a pinkie on the stick* and the plane would magically straighten right out. You could feel the moment they realized “Oh, this kid genuinely is qualified for this job,” and man was that satisfying. Youth does not equal useless.
*This plane had a single stick in between the seats, and for training an extension would be added above the grip so the student and instructor can hold the controls at the same time. It meant if I touched the stick students usually saw me do it.
I was working as a flight instructor in my early 20’s. I’d occasionally get “So, how long have you been…flying?” from new students I was meeting for the first time. “Oh, since about 9 this morning” was my usual response.
That shit usually stopped after about 20 minutes in the air. They’d try level turns or even leveling off at altitude and slosh all over the sky, then I’d hook a pinkie on the stick* and the plane would magically straighten right out. You could feel the moment they realized “Oh, this kid genuinely is qualified for this job,” and man was that satisfying. Youth does not equal useless.
*This plane had a single stick in between the seats, and for training an extension would be added above the grip so the student and instructor can hold the controls at the same time. It meant if I touched the stick students usually saw me do it.