In the air

I was instructed to get up early Saturday. My friend Jan told me to get my camera and move along. He would not say where were going. I eliminated the coast because the sun was already too high for sunrise pictures. So I just went quietly.

He pulled into the Plant City Airport and we met John Veltman at his airplane in the far stall of the long hangar. Now I was getting the idea: We were going for an airplane ride. Jan had said he went flying with John often.

John is a dentist from Maryland and spends time in Plant City. I met him last night at a Game Dinner fund-raiser sponsored by the Plant City Rotary.

Jan conspired with John to remain mum about the airplane. I have wanted a private pilot license for years, but it was never to happen. I do seem to run across people, though, who are willing to satisfy my appetite from time to time.

John lectured for about an hour, explained every gauge in detail and explained how an airplane flies (You might be surprised.) He talked in detail about his preflight check, then announced, “I'm going to have you flying.”

Damn if he didn't.

He took the craft to the air. Jan was in the back seat taking pictures and gawking out the window. John gave me a thorough lesson and let me have the plane for almost all the time we were in the air. It was a long time. I think well more than an hour, but who was counting? John is not an instructor that I know of, but he should be.

I was flying over central Florida, and I had almost no time to look at the scenery. Scan the horizon, look for other airplanes, watch gauges and be thankful John was there, his soothing voice in low tones.

He had me fly into stalls, when the airplane quits flying, or at least flies as well as a manhole cover. I always had thought stalls were very bad. Well, they are not very good, but a cool pilot doesn't stall and if he does he recovers calmly. John showed me how to do it.

He taught me how to use the rudder by pushing the pedals on the floor. I had never done that before. I turned and banked, and John said I was going aerobatic and to stop it. I did.

It was a Saturday and a surprise I will not forget. And old friend and a new friend made it possible.