Like an eagle

Once a year T. my collegue and i think of a 'big" event to do with our employees. Last yr we went ski-ing in the south of the Netherlands, this year we decided to take a flying lesson.

In the morning we took lessons in the flying simulator (where pilotes-t0-be learn how to do a landing with no visual control outside; in other words; you can only rely on your meters coz you're in heavy fog).
That is hard !
Depending on the work the co-pilote is doing for you (he has a total identical set of meters and stuff) you can barely put it on the ground. There's just an overload of information. No kidding you have to look all the time and at the same time at at least 5 meters !!

Big fun though.
The first 3 of us couldn't keep the plane on the landing strip and ended in the grass.
Minor detail our instructor said.
By now, we would have been dead already.

After that we visited the DDA (Dutch Dakota Association) where from one of the volunteers we learned a lot (i mean A LOT) about DC-1's and DC-2' and so on.

And then after lunch it was time to try the real thing. We all had little Cessna's for 2-3 passengers,
After 2 flights, where we changed places, i felt really sick.
There's always this funny guy who needs to proof something.
This time it was our instructor.

It all started when he said quite casually to my collegue in the front, "well i haven't done this for about 15 yrs, but not to worry, normally i fly a 737 with a big airline"
OK, let's pretend he was joking.
Then while up in the air, he said; do you know how astronauts must feel weightless? I said no, but i have an idea. And he showed us.

See, all you need for that, is climbing reeeeel steap in the air and then putting the nose of the plane in the opposite direction. For about 3 seconds you're loose from your chair.
But everything inside you is loose too. And rapidly falling out of you.
I swear my uterus was between my legs.

Then he said (while i was sitting beside him at the wheel)
O i think we forgot to check whether your door is closed.
And then opened it.
At 1100 feet.
I. Absolutely. Kid. You. Not.

If i remember clearly, that's the point where i asked for the sickness bags.

Kept it in though!
Big girl.

We had a half-hr break where i convinced myself i could take the last flight back but there were several of us who decided to take the car back to our starting point. (and one of them threw up in the car on the way back.
The new car of my collegue.
Way to go Lucia!)

That did mean, i could swap places to another pilote !
I am glad i did fly back tho. The view was really really pretty.
It was a bit foggy (and COLD!!), but still there was so much to see!
And from the air it looks like we have so much land and water, while here on the ground i would say we're almost "full" with buildings, cities and stuff.

After a drink, some snacks and a real certificate to proof it all, we went home.
Next year, it will be our 5th yr anniversary.
Anybody got ideas?