I earned my private pilot certificate in October 2006 at the age of 35. A few months later, in July 2007, a pilot friend of the family heard I was a new pilot and invited me along to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Even though I had just met Steve, I thought it was an awesome opportunity, so of course I said yes. It was my first real flying trip, and it was to Oshkosh! I was excited, to say the least. All my training was still fresh in my mind, so I felt like I would make a good co-pilot and also learn a lot from this guy who has his own airplane. His plan was to fly there and back in the same day. I had a whole 11 hours of PIC time and not much cross-country experience.
I met Steve at his hangar for our 7:30 a.m. departure. We departed in his 1970 Cessna 172 from the Detroit area (PTK) and headed directly toward Oshkosh, planning to fly over Lake Michigan. I was concerned about visibility and horizon issues over the lake, but I felt I wasn’t experienced enough to say anything. Steve told me that he wasn’t instrument rated, and I cracked half a smile when he commented, “The airplane doesn’t know it’s over water.” His comment was the first of many eye-openers for me. I remember the day was overcast with scattered rain showers over all of Michigan and Wisconsin.
