Devin's Second Post as the Girls With Wings Private Pilot Scholarship Winner!

Congratulations to Devin who has resumed her flying lessons thanks in part to the generous donations that people have made to Girls With Wings. The Private Pilot Scholarship is to help defray the cost of flight training lessons in pursuit of a private pilot certificate. This scholarship, an award in the amount of $1000.00, targets those individuals who have soloed but have not completed the Private Pilot Course. Read more about our scholarship program.

Hello again! I just went flying yesterday and it was beautiful weather. My normal instructor was sick so I flew with Tom, and it’s great how much one can learn with a new set of eyes to give advice. Tom is a very experienced pilot and gave me all sorts of tips, but I was nervous at first to fly with someone I wasn’t used to. Tom was great but I have to admit my landings weren’t my best. I never really got the smooth touch down I was hoping for. I did improve in being coordinated and am getting used to the more irregular radio calls though. Since there was a Broncos game yesterday, there weren’t many people up in the air, but I have to say I was glad I was flying. There was a slight tailwind on my full stop landing and I landed flat (where the main tires and the nose wheel touch down at about the same time instead of the nose wheel touching down last, which is better for the plane). I’ve got to work on rudder control when touching down to make sure my wheels are parallel with the runway, so next time I’ll really focus on that. 

When we flew out to the practice area, Tom also opened my eyes to things to take into consideration “as a plane owner,” like getting to a nice cruise speed when flying strait and level to conserve fuel and not turning lights on unnecessary since it keeps the airplane in better shape. It was a really good experience, but I also hope Lance gets better soon so we can resume our regular flight schedule. Unfortunately, Lance getting being out of commission has delayed my plans for cross country, but we are determined to fit it in next month. I’ve been flying as much as possible, but that turns out to be only about twice a week (on the weekends) because of school. I’m always really busy with college things coming up (yikes!) and my homework, but I really look forward to when I’ll next be able to fly. 

I was looking down at the reservoir during one of my lessons near the beginning of the month, and I saw a bunch of little sailboats getting pushed along in the water. All the little sails were shining bright white and they were all very crisp shapes against the sparkling blue water. I could see their little trails all mingling together. It was a beautiful sight and I reminded myself to always take a little time to check out the amazing view from the airplane. I mean, I was a thousand feet in the air! 

Please note that the scholarships are funded by donations - so we need contributions from people like YOU to keep our program running. We always have way more deserving applicants than funds. Visit our donation page to help.