Misadventures in Studentpilotism

Until 3pm Friday, August 29th the largest aircraft I had flown was a Cessna 182RG. It was a little faster than the C172’s and manipulating the landing gear lever and the constant speed prop had me convinced I had finally “made it” into the next realm of aircraft. Let us take a moment of silence for my delusions of grandeur are no longer with us……. At precisely 3:30pm that day, as I ripped down the runway at the controls of a Cessna 310, I realized I had no idea what the hell I was doing. With 570HP at my fingers and the heaviest control yoke I had ever felt in my hands I became momentarily infantile. Have no fear because as quickly as I lost my mind I regained it and again felt like Maverick. Climbing out at 120kts and 1300fpm really makes you feel like you’re flying an actual airplane. You have to plan much farther ahead, accomplish your tasks at a more rapid pace and suddenly a 3000ft runway feels inadequate for your needs. You, my friend, are flying a whale amongst a sea of minnows. That is of course until you get lapped by a Learjet and again feel like the pee-on of a student pilot that you are. Maybe I’ll get to land the thing next time…