So when a representative of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) contacted us about taking an introductory lesson at a local flight school, I said, sure I’ll try it. I’ve done a little flying in small planes, and a little more in large planes, but never enough to get over the combined exhilaration/terror actual flying seems to cause in me.

The AOPA is trying to let people know that the best way to see if flying might be for you is to give it a shot and take that first lesson. Most flight schools will offer a cut-rate for a first lesson, often for only fifty bucks or so to see how you like it. I was set up with Kevin Davison, an instructor in Biddeford. Kevin works for the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) Cumberland and York Aviation. That’s the company that offers services at Biddeford. They offer lessons, sell and lease airplanes, do aircraft maintenance, sell fuel -- pretty much any service offered at Biddeford comes from C&Y.

Davison is a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). He’s licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to give flying lessons. For most professional pilots, being a C.F.I. is an essential step for a career in aviation. In order to get advanced certifications, pilots must log a certain number of flight hours. Paying for those yourself is an expensive proposition, so working as a C.F.I. allows you to get other people to pay for the hours you log on your way to a more lucrative piloting position, either with an airline or a cargo carrier or a corporation.

Davison explains that most of his students are either young people or middle-aged folks. Young people are often taking the first steps to a career in aviation. You can take flying lessons at 16 and get your private pilots license at 17. Older folks are often hobby fliers who have reached a point in their lives where they have disposable income and are chasing a long-delayed dream.

By far, most of Kevin’s students are male. Women can be excellent pilots, but fewer women than men actually pursue lessons.

Spring is the prime season for starting to learn to fly, which is one reason why the AOPA is looking for publicity right now, and why they offered me this chance to try it. Now I’ve spent a lot of time pretending to fly on the computer, but I’ve also spent a lot of time pretending to golf and I can’t do that for real either.

Before we fly, Kevin does a thorough pre-flight check of the exterior of the plane. He looks at bolts and hinges and makes sure everything is normal, and in good repair, and that nothing is going to fall off. That accomplished, we climb in, me in the pilot’s seat and Kevin beside me with his own controls.

We go through the pre-flight checklist, start the engine, and then position the airplane, a 1972 vintage Cessna 172 four-seater, at the corner of the ramp where he can run up the engines. As we go through the list…fuel…gauges…spark plugs…carburetor heat… we make sure that all the systems are as they should be.

When Kevin is satisfied that the plane is airworthy and safe, he taxis us down to the end of the runway and spins us around into the wind and takes the plane off. Almost immediately he tells me to take the yoke. I was actually surprised to be in control so soon, and every muscle in my lower back was tight. I’ve never really been a white-knuckle flyer, but there wasn’t much blood flow in my fingers at this point. It also was pretty bumpy so I had to keep constant attention on the instruments to try and continue to maintain our climb and our general heading.

Once we hit two-thousand feet Kevin had me head for the coast and everything was fine, except I couldn’t help but think about the number of times I had crashed in those computer simulations. Kevin was right there to take over if I got in trouble, but it was tough to feel confident and in control when I only kind-of knew what I was doing and knew any number of ways I could screw it up. The Cessna 172 is a plane that’s designed to be very stable, which I knew in my head, but my gut wasn’t always listening.

I tried to relax my back. I tried to relax my death grip on the yoke. I knew that flying takes very subtle movements of the controls, just differences in pressure sometimes, so I didn’t yank things, but I didn’t relax either. Every time I thought I was mostly with it, we’d hit another big bump of turbulence and my confidence was rattled again.

Despite my tension, the view was amazing. It was a crystal clear day, and you could see forever. The town of Kennebunk and the city of Biddeford spread out below us, the bright sunshine twinkling off the rivers and lakes. If not for the fact that my eyes were glued to the vertical speed indicator and the turn and bank indicator I would have just gazed out the window the whole time.

I’ve always had a problem with motion sickness and this ride was pretty bumpy. With the intense concentration I was spending on keeping the plane going where I wanted it to be going, I was getting kind of queasy. When we hit one major pocket I’d had enough and let Kevin fly us back.

Part of my nervousness, particularly when I was in control of the plane, was due to my inexperience with the situation. I know that if I could do the same thing every day for a week, by the end of the week, I would be much more confident and therefore much more comfortable with the process.

In order to get your private pilots license you need at least thirty hours of flight time at the controls. At least twenty of that must be with and instructor and at least ten more will be solo. Those are minimums and Kevin says most people will require a total of sixty or more hours before they’ll be ready to go for their license.

Flying isn’t cheap, especially with aviation fuel running to $3.75 a gallon. So by the time you get your license you might have spent eight thousand dollars on the process, but over a period of months, rather than all at once. Kevin points out that while that is a lot of money, a lot of people have boats which they spent more for and use only a couple of times a year. Plus, you don't have to buy a plane to start flying. In fact, most pilots rent rather than own. Rentals typically run at $60-$75 an hour for a single engine plane. And you only pay for running time. If flying is something you’ve always wanted to do, or if it’s a career you’d like to explore, call your local flight school and set up an introductory flight for fifty bucks. Even if you decide it’s not for you, you’ve had an adventure.

If you have any more questions about learning to fly, the AOPA has a great website at www.projectpilot.org That will answer all your questions.

As for me, I don’t think I’ll pursue the flight school option, at least not right away, but if someone wants to offer me the chance to try again tomorrow, I’m up for it, if it’s not quite so bumpy.

Photos by Adam Cutter - who valiantly occupied the back seat.