Writer takes the yoke for trip into the wild blue yonder

There's always a high level of anxiety when it comes to air travel.

Everything from the turbulence, crying babies and the fear that you'll miss the flight or hang out at the wrong gate makes the whole experience a little worrisome.

Now imagine packing those anxieties into a small Cessna 172 Skyhawk, a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing plane that you are flying.

Through Project Pilot, an initiative sponsored by the nonprofit Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, I got the experience of handling a plane, flying from Harlingen to South Padre Island on Friday.

The best part? I didn't feel an ounce of anxiety.

Project Pilot's goal, my flight instructor Mitri Garib from Gulf Aviation told me, is to introduce people to flying and its exciting and life-enhancing benefits. Potential pilots can take a 40-minute introductory flight at schools like Gulf Aviation across the Valley - about 3,500 across the country - for about $59-89.

"We focus on safety and having fun," Garib told me minutes before we walked on the tarmac.
One of my first questions was whether I should be nervous.

Edwina P. Garza, Valley Morning Star reporter, flies a small Cessna 172 Skyhawk as a part of Project Pilot on Friday afternoon.



Photo by: Theresa Najera/Valley Morning Star

"People say flying is really unsafe," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. You have more of a chance of getting into an accident in a car than in a plane."
AOPA's Web site shows that in the United States, there are about 572,947 pilots. In Texas there are 46,884 pilots, one of the top three states with pilots behind California and Florida.

"It'll be fun," Garib kept telling me.

So I wasn't worried. Along with photographer Theresa Najera, we walked toward our plane and Garib went through the 360-degree walk around of the plane to make sure it was prepared to go in the air. We checked the wings, the oil and gas and the interior of the plane.

Without really thinking that I was about to get into this tiny plane, I hopped in, put on my seatbelt and prepared to taxi out of Gulf Aviation.

The slow process of getting off the ground was exactly the same from every other commercial flight I've taken, but through my headset, I could hear the folks in the tower saying all sorts of codes and numbers I didn't understand.

Let's get this show on the road, I kept thinking.

Garib handled the take off and landing, as I know nothing about either, but as soon as we were off, any anxiety I had moments before was gone.

"I'm having a hard time getting used to the idea of not seeing the ground before me," I told Garib.

It takes getting used to, he assured me. All I could see before me were light blue clouds.
Once we got up to almost 2,500 feet above the ground, Garib said to me over the headphone microphone: "OK. Here's your chance, go for it."

I took the yoke, or wheel, and immediately, the plane began to go higher in the sky; I had pulled on the yoke. Pushing it back, I worked on getting the plane level with the attitude indicator, which used to be called an artificial horizon. It was such a strange rush to have this sensitive device in my hands. In no time, once I figured it out, I was level.
Garib said I did a pretty good job. Perhaps I should consider going beyond my introductory lesson, he said.

And it wasn't tough at all. Handling the yoke was a lot like driving around the Valley's many potholes, I told him.

"I never thought of it that way," Garib said.

We passed over Rio Hondo, Harlingen and San Benito and over the causeway into South Padre Island. When we turned back, I contemplated the thought of actually pursuing a pilot's license. After all, I do drive from Mission to Harlingen five days a week.

"If there were a landing site at the Island, I'd fly there all the time," Garib told me.
When we arrived back at Gulf Aviation, I stepped off the plane, felt the sweat that had gathered on the small of my back and tuned everything out. While ending my visit with Garib, who has been flying since 1992 and instructing students since 1999, I tried my hardest to listen but kept thinking, "I just flew a plane."

As I drove away from Gulf Aviation, I told myself driving was too monotonous; maybe I should consider becoming a pilot.