It was a beautiful day out. No wind and bright sunny skies, as we headed out to Van Nuys. At the Newhall Pass, we had the first hint that things were not as we expected, over in Van Nuys. High winds were blowing debris all around. So we continue to drive and we can see the planes off in the distance, flying reverse pattern work. That basically told us that there would be no solo on the agenda today. When we pulled up, that was exactly what we heard from the instructor. It was going to be IFR practice over at the Simi Practice area. The instructor offers to put me somewhere warmer then the hanger, but I ask to take down 2 of the three doors and I will tough it out. I love shooting pictures and watching the planes, so I will be fine, even though it is chilly and windy. So we do so and they get the plane ready to go. Being the winds are from the North, the take off's were indeed on 34 Left, instead of 16 Left. So they go to the run up area, that is right outside my hanger and hold. I get to watch them up close and personal as plane after plane gets within feet of them, upon that planes final landing. It always looked like a serious accident was going to occur, from my angle, but I knew they would be fine and they were. Finally, it is their turn and they head out. I do my usual work/watch routine, with gloves on. Lots of large planes taking to the skies, due to the beginning of the holiday weekend. Ah, to have money...
An hour later, they are back with me, right on time. Trust me, it has not warmed up any here in the hanger. I am glad to see them. :-)
They were both in a very good mood after the flight and that made me happy. My son said that the take off was really rough, due to the winds bouncing the plane around, but that out in Simi, it was just fine. He loves flying "under the hood" which is what they put on the pilot to get him to learn to fly via the instruments only. It is to simulate night flying, with no visibility. I was glad to hear that they used the time wisely.
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