Whether this be merely my own nostalgia or narcissism, perhaps for some it may recall similar memories, or be an inspiration for others to create their own memories.
First flight! Lincoln's Birthday was a school holiday, and my parents gave me a sightseeing ride with an instructor at Fullerton Flying Service. There were two more such sightseeing rides (Cessna 182D N9977T, and 182D N109Y) before I took my first real flying lesson on 24 Nov. 1963, in Cessna 150A N7208X, also at Fullerton. N9304X and N7208X are now registered in northern California; N9977T in Arizona, and N109Y in Michigan.
Flying lessons came few and far between in the early stages. I began taking lessons from instructor James G. Gelder, who used a taildragger Champ for primary training. I never got as far as soloing this or any other taildragger, but it was valuable experience. N8905R still flies in the Los Angeles area.
Total hours: 4
On a car trip with my grandparents to Banff, Alberta, Canada, we stopped in Coeur d'Alene, where I wangled a flying lesson. This was my introduction to basic, rural flying, in a 1946 Champ in its original fabric and paint ("NC" numbers on wings and tail, and stenciled "Aeronca" logo), and no electrical system. Today it is still based at Coeur d'Alene.
Total hours: 7
In addition to the yellow 150F N8188S shown here, Jim Gelder had a fleet of blue 150G's and H's, all with registration numbers ending in "JG". Unfortunately I have no photographs of N733JG, the 150G in which I had my first solo flight.
Total hours: 19
On a Washington's birthday holiday, a friend's dad took several of us teenagers to a soaring center in the high desert. We took turns flying in the sailplane, towed by a Cessna 305 (L-19), and I logged 3/10 of an hour of dual instruction. Thirty years later I discovered N5728S still at work at North Plains, Oregon.
Total hours: 37
Landings: Brackett (Pomona, CA); Riverside, CA (shown)
First solo cross-country! By this time my father started taking flying lessons as well, and we joined Fullerton Pilots Association, a flying club with a good variety of airplanes on the line. N4795X operates today in Alaska.
Total hours: 40
I passed my private pilot checkride on my 17th birthday, the first day I was old enough to take the test. Abe Paster was the examiner. My dad passed his checkride three weeks later in N22589, a blue 150H which has since been converted to tailwheel configuration and now operates in Missouri. N22639 is still registered in Southern California.
Total hours: 73
With the ink still drying on my new temporary private pilot license, the next order of business was to get checked out in a four-seat airplane. This was done in one of the club's brand new Cessna Cardinals. Many pilots had trouble with the handling of the early Cardinals, but I never had any problem with it. After a few short trips in FPA's two Cardinals (N3120T and N3340T) in 1968, I did not fly a Cardinal again until 1994.
Total hours: 75
Late in 1968, my dad bought a three-year-old Cessna 150 for $3600. It turned out to need an engine overhaul and a paint job, but once these were done it was a fine airplane. The next summer, he and I decided to take a "long" trip together to Northern California. Shown at right is a refueling stop at Livermore, CA.
Total hours: 174