Sorry, No TL;DR... review is too long, it won't fit!…read more
Anyways...
I am going to try and cover three things in this review... my experience at Horizon, experience with flying, and safety of flying (note: I am not a pro, this is based on my observations)
Scheduling was a breeze, they are open 7 days a week, and while officially they close at 5, I was offered a 6PM time slot (had scheduled a 10:30, called to see if it was possible for me to re-schedule)
I really like that I was asked to pay after my lesson. Not even right before I went in the airplane, but after I was already back on the ground. To me, this goes to say that they are more in the business for the flying than just making some bucks off the students.
The person at the desk explained everything in terms of next steps from an administrative/financial perspective should I continue this, such as booking lessons and prices.
The instructor explained what I'd be learning in subsequent lessons after the flight.
Alright, the flight lesson... I booked the Airman's package... I highly recommend this one as compared to the regular discovery flight. You have 30 minutes more flying time for a cost of $50 more than the $99 half-hour flight. Time flies (pun intended), so value is important. If you are serious about trying this, go for the Airman's package. If a friend put you up to it, or you lost a bet, or it's just a regular ol' bucket list item, then the 30-minute flight might be better.
My flight instructor was Victoria, and she was awesome! She went over a flight plan, which would take me over the ocean slightly, then over Gillette Stadium, and then back to the airport. After this it was right to the airplane, which was a 97' Cessna 172R. She was very competent, answered all my questions, and was just friendly!
What I also very highly appreciate is that the 60 minutes were in the airplane. There was no time out of those 60 minutes spent on other things. Most of the pre-flight (aside from a couple quick- and necessary checks) were already completed, and the airplane was fueled.
Once the pre-flights were done, tower was called, prop was started, and the instructor taxied out to the runway. I got to do part of the takeoff, which was really neat. The instructor handled the pedals (to keep plane on center-line) I gave the plane power, and pulled back on the yoke (a steering wheel in a plane) when the time was right (60-ish knots).
From then on out and until we went in for landing, I had control of the airplane, with the instructor helping out with minor adjustments, radios, and throttle. I was allowed to control the airplane, both in turns, and in maintaining course and altitude. This may seem like a piece of cake, and it is... after you've completed the lesson. It's just like learning to drive... it's a piece of cake once you have a feel for cars... if you've never been in a plane like this before, most of it is getting a feel for everything.
Flying itself was a blast. Taking off in a commercial airliner is fun because it's like a roller coaster. Here, you do not have that physical sensation... as the plane of only going at ~70MPH at takeoff (as opposed to ~200 for a commercial airliner. The sensation is more psychological, and it is a thrill to take off, and start to soar above the world. What distinguishes it from commercial is that YOU are doing the flying.
Once at altitude, it's rather serene, but doesn't get boring because you are still focusing on maintaining course and altitude, as it was on this day, where there were light winds... which have a surprisingly noticeable (although not severe) effect.
Now, for safety... Victoria makes the claim that flying is safer than driving, and I agree with her. What it comes down to is this... there are more things that can go wrong in a plane, certainly. But there are many more safety measures to save you in these cases.
Airplanes have two of almost everything, two magnetos, two radios, and loads of instruments that cover at least in part what some other instrument does. Even bigger than that is control... in a car you drive based only on your judgements and perceptions. In a plane you have control, and you can hear other planes on the radio, so you know what they are planning to do. Also, any change in course has to be approved by control, so people aren't going to, or at least really shouldn't change course or altitude on a whim.
Pre-flight on these things is really intense. Everything is checked... instruments/gauges, engine, brakes, magnetos, mechanicals (do the yoke and pedals control everything normally, do flaps work). This is before every flight... unlike a car where you only so something when there is a warning light, strange sound, or to change the inspection sticker.
Oh yes, and the maintenance schedule is intense! Engine overhauls happen very often to make sure a problem doesn't occur. In cars, engine overhauls are done after a significant problem occurs.
A well deserved 5 stars
