Flight Training Part One: Blood, Sweat, Tears, and Belly Laughs

May 11th, 2020: After months of preparation for a trip to Tanzania to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, I got the news that the flight was cancelled. Devastated and determined to get there one way or another I decided if they were going to cancel flights I’d fly myself. I signed up for flying lessons the next day. They say you should do something everyday that scares you. It’s what makes you feel the most alive. Before I do anything I ask myself two questions: Is the risk worth the reward? And what’s the worst that could happen? I showed up to Milwaukee’s Timmerman Airport early in a hoodie, jeans and flip flops not knowing what to expect for my discovery flight with Mark Roeder, who would become my flight instructor for the next year. It is an hour flight where you get to actually take the controls to see if flying is something you want to pursue.

I thought it was only fair to fill him in on my track record before he agreed getting into an airplane with me. At age 18, I made 60 people jump out of a moving vehicle when the accelerator got stuck on the zoo tram. People were screaming, arms and legs flailing and a child was rolling down the side of the road after I asked everyone to “exit in a fashionable manner.” In 2019, I gave everyone whiplash on safari in South Africa while driving a manual Land Rover for the first time since last attempting to drive stick when I was 16 years old. My record driving motored vehicles doesn’t stop there and these are the stories I failed to mention. A friend started a new business and allowed me to borrow his boat for the day. I invited a dozen friends on a warm summer day and met Derek at the dock. I had never driven a boat before, unbeknownst to him, and was under the impression that left was right and right was left in a boat. Derek said, “No Amy. Left is left and right is right,” as he reluctantly handed over the keys. While cruising down the Milwaukee River I underestimated the height of a bridge and would have got us all stuck if my passengers didn’t scream for me to stop. Upon arriving back at the dock after a day on the water, I added power rather than slowing us down and nearly missed taking out the dock. Back at work, I always wanted to drive the zoo train. The conductor that day, Ken, said I could drive it out of the garage on the south end of the zoo. While I realize I didn’t ask him how to stop it, he also failed to teach me. Shortly after I left the garage he was in a full out sprint trying to stop the train yelling, “I’ve never seen it move so fast!”

Back at Timmerman, my discovery flight was hilariously scary. Mark, a deer in headlights, got into the plane and showed me how to plug in my headset. Watching me struggle he said, “you just did that in every combination of wrong.” He allowed me to taxi to the active runway after the headset debacle and showed me how to use the rudder pedals to steer the nose wheel. Not knowing to also apply the brakes simultaneously, I was using all my strength on the rudder as we barely turned and almost went off roading. Mark said, “oh shit” and took back the controls. I was thrilled to be flying the same plane my uncle used to own, out of the same airport my uncle and grandpa used to keep their planes. Mark let me take back the controls once we were in the air. It was windy and bumpy and I started feeling nauseous. He dropped the nose briskly and I screamed. I thought I’d never get back in the plane again. During my second lesson, I flew over my brother’s house in Colgate because I wanted to show my nieces and nephews that they can do anything they put their minds to. I had a cheerleading crew as we flew over and Mark asked if I was there to learn or have fun and I said, “both.”

I showed up wearing a pink sweatshirt for my third lesson. While taking fuel samples, Mark asked me what color the fuel should be. I said, “pink” and he quickly responded, “NOOO, it’s blue!” I asked why I thought that and he responded, “you like pink.” We went over communicating with the tower and he let me talk. Mind you, during my zoomobile days, there was a list kept by my coworkers with all the incorrect information I gave to guests during my tours. I mistakenly said that giraffes have an 18-foot tongue instead of 18 inches, that a rhino’s horn can grow up to 30 feet instead of three and the capybara was called a papa bear just to name a few. In my defense when you give the tour so many times, you’re on autopilot and your mind starts thinking about other things. My first call to Timmerman tower was on par with those days. I did such a poor job they didn’t even respond. Luckily, I wasn’t alone in this category. When approaching the airport for landing, a call must be made to the tower letting them know your location, elevation and intentions to land. Another student was inbound for landing and never made the call. Tower called him and said, “say intentions.” He responded with, “intentions” and landed the plane. We laughed until we cried. A different student said, “holding short of 22 elf,” instead of 22 left. Something important to remember while communicating with tower is to repeat back the instructions you’re given. One student was given clearance to land and he said, “ok thanks!” I wonder what their zoomobile tours might have sounded like.

The next flight, Mark told me not to be alarmed if the door flies open mid flight. “It happens all the time,” he said. He adjusted the air intake vent pulling it completely out of the plane leaving a gaping hole to the outside and said, “oh shoot.” That’s something you don’t want to hear 4,500 feet above the ground. I usually chose to fly early in the morning before the winds picked up or later in the afternoon for the same reason but also to see the sunset from the sky. While living in Hawaii for four years, it was easy to take the beauty for granted but I never did. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t watch the sun go down over the ocean. Hawaiian sunsets couldn’t be matched until watching them from the sky.

On one of my sunset flights, I was looking all over for my sunglasses. I asked Mark if he saw them and he said, “oh my god, you’re wearing them. Turn the plane around.” That same flight he tried taking a picture of me with the sunset in the background. He asked me to turn to the right. I turned my head like I was getting glamour shots taken and he said, “I meant the plane!” I laughed so hard I jerked the yoke, causing Mark to go airborne as he quickly grabbed the controls. I’ve never seen him move so quickly…until I landed. We headed back to the airport after the photo shoot and he had me call the control tower. I repeated what he told me to say but at that point we were at a lower elevation and closer distance so he said, “well don’t lie to them.” As we were on final approach about to land, I pushed the throttle in instead of pulling it out and Mark yelled, “woah!” as he quickly grabbed the controls once again. As if it wasn’t already an adventurous flight, after landing, I started following the take off checklist instead of the after landing checklist. I got some speed on the taxiway to the point where Mark thought I was about to take off again and let it play out. He was on high alert the first few months.

Due to Covid, ground schools were closed but due to quarantine I had plenty of time to teach myself. I was never a good student in school. I skipped often to surf, go camping or hiking and once to get a tattoo. I believe you learn through living, traveling and experiences and I didn’t like books until after I wasn’t forced to read them. I do realize the importance of getting a degree though which is why I got one. The knowledge you learn flying however, will keep you safe and alive. Each lesson, I learned something new and I studied constantly. When I passed my written exam with a 97% I couldn’t have been happier. The work I was putting in was paying off.

My lessons were progressing and I was starting to land the airplane on my own. The annual spot landing competition was quickly approaching at Timmerman and Mark suggested I enter because he thought I had a good chance of winning. The airport was closed to normal operations for the contest. Officials painted a line across the runway where competitors were challenged to land. The pilot who landed the closest to the line but not before it won $250. The year prior, the winner landed within 15 feet of the line. After watching a few contenders make their two attempts and not qualify, I was up. While still working on my technique and nervous to perform in front of other pilots as well as spectators online, I was coming in hot and dropped the plane 5 feet from the line. It was a harder landing so we bounced a couple times. The texts started flooding in. My sister-in-law said, “there’s nothing wrong with landing in style” followed up with, “you’re stirring up a controversy.” I later learned that I landed the closest to the line but since I bounced there was a debate whether I was still in the running. My friend Molly thought I’d have better luck as the commentator and my instructor thought I might make a better flight attendant. I earned the name, “Amy Angry Bounce Andree” and “Bouncy McBouncerson” that day. Even though I didn’t win due to technicalities it was still a lot of fun competing and I know for next year the landing also has to be, “pretty.”

The comments didn’t start or stop there. My friend Sean asked who let me fly a plane and said the people on the ground should have signed off on this. Another friend said, I shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything with a motor. A coworker of mine said if I crash I’ll have failed driving a car, boat, train and plane. Sometimes I didn’t even have to be driving. My boss, coworker and I spent well over an hour cleaning up after seven elephants at the Kansas City Zoo before zoo close. As we were driving the truck down the hill, the truck bed started slowly lifting up dumping 500 pounds of elephant dung down the hill. I didn’t realize I was sitting on the control until it was too late. I thought that might be my last day on Earth with the look on my boss’s face as he asked why my ass didn’t feel that. We had to stay late cleaning it up…again and I didn’t help matters laughing at his anger. A few lessons later I was getting more confident and was given my pre-solo quiz. If I could land the plane 5 times in a row with no assistance from my instructor he would sign off on my solo endorsement. Later that day, I got the signature. September 28th, 2020 was an overcast, rainy and windy day. After four take offs and landings in crosswinds my instructor got out of the plane.

Taking off is a rush, flying is freedom but landing requires skill. They say flying is 80% knowledge and 20% skill. Teaching myself ground lessons taught me determination, flight lessons taught me persistence and soloing taught me that you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. I couldn’t wait to continue to learn. Little did I know what was to come…