Well, it's not how I had thought I would spend my Sunday, but I guess it just shows that it's worth making some 'snap' decisions sometimes.
Steve, Jett and I were all set to have lunch with the wonderful Al Gosling of Extreme http://www.extrememediagroup.com/ ... we were going to get into the safe Volvo 4x4 and head off to the beautiful countryside for a very civilised lunch ... then Al called.
"Just had a thought, why dont you and Steve drive over to North Weald and park the car , get in the plane and we can head off to Mum's from there"
"OK, great" I said ... without even skipping a beat. What was I thinking?! I had sworn I would never get in a light aircraft again ( a long story, but a business associate had a fatal accident last year and well, it put me of - and there's not many things I can say that about.)
I told Steve and he thought it was a great idea ... he's always wanted to get his pilot's license (er, not me).
So we drove to North Weald and got in the plane, baby and all. Al had no idea of the thoughts running through my head (like was my will up to date?), but he was so calm, he put me at ease straight away (I'm sure the 800 flying hours helped!). He ran through every detail of the take off and gave a running commentary throughout the 15 minute flight ... which included checking on Jett, who unlike his mother laughed the whole flight. For once, I was lost for words.
When we landed, I filled Al in on my secret paranoia ... he was impressed that I had got on the plane, but not half as much as I was! It goes to show, sometimes you've got to just push your comfort zones a bit.
The rest of the afternoon couldn't have been more of an anti-dote to the previous stress fuelled 15 minutes ... Al's Mum is an amazing host who made us feel like part of the family... Al's friends were a hoot and Jett could have stayed in the pool all night. Alas we had to go home ... and the flight back was the most serene experience ever. It was like floating. And it made me realise just what a beautiful country we live in.
So Al, thankyou. Fear of light aircrafts over - at least with you as the pilot :) Just not applying for that pilot's license ... yet!