By Michael E.C. Gery
- 1: Introduction
- 2: Preparing for Takeoff
- 3: Taking Flight
- 4: How to Be a Pilot
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Preparing for Takeoff
The Cessna 172R highwing was parked right outside the little terminal. The preflight inspection involves running down a checklist that makes you examine just about everything in and on the aircraft, beginning with your Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air-worthiness certificate and registration.
Then we climbed inside. The cockpit of this Cessna looks like the inside of a MG sports car from the 1960s. Narrow leather seats and a mass of dials right there in front of you on the panel. I was in the pilot’s seat (on the left) and Cheri described what each gauge and switch does, where the throttle is, the mixture control, the attitude indicator, the directional gyro, the fuel pump switch, the yoke (steering wheel). She told me I would taxi us out, and handle the controls while we take off. I said, “No problem.” She reminded me that she had an identical set of controls on her side of the plane. We buckled our seat belts and donned headsets. Then Cheri yelled, “Clear!” She told me to turn the key to start the engine and push in the throttle until we reach about 1,000 rpm.
To taxi out on a runway, your feet work floor pedals. The tops of the two pedals are your brakes. The bottoms steer the plane’s wheel left or right. That takes some practice, I can tell you. We weaved along the Franklin County Airport tarmac for a good while.
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