My First Flight at MTSU

Colton and I flying over Nashville in the DA40


This week I was able to do my first flying here at MTSU! As part of the requirements for my Theory of Flight class, I had to fly for 30 minutes in a simulator, followed by two and a half hours of actual flight time. I must say, I had a blast.
My day started with meeting my instructor for the day, Colton, at the airport. Colton was a fantastic instructor. Colton served in the military for six years as a flight dispatcher before deciding to peruse his dream of becoming a pilot, which is what led him from Florida to MTSU. I was excited to hear that Colton has already graduated from MTSU last Spring and will be joining Republic Airlines this December.
As for me, after checking out the last (and least) of the Diamond DA40s, Colton showed me the basics of how to check the plan before flying. Per my request, we took off and headed for Huntsville, Alabama. Landing at Huntsville and seeing Colton interacting with ATC was an interesting opportunity. I was able to fly most of the way to and fro Huntsville which was great. After this, we flew back to Nashville and circled around the city and the lake. At this point, Colton was at the controls. I was surprised to see that we were able to fly directly over Nashville International Airport, obviously with guidance by ATC. Being able to see all of the airliners from above with some even taking off was awesome. With the few minutes remaining, Colton then performed several stalls and spins, along with several high and low g-force maneuvers. This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the trip. After a short stop landing at Murfreesboro, we took off again and flew another approach into Murfreesboro, concluding our flying adventure. Another exciting part of the trip was the fact that I was able to log my first flight time. Overall, this was my most exciting day thus far at MTSU, and I look forward to beginning the rest of my flying in the near future. 

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