Flight 87
11-28-99

C-172
N07-N07

1.6 solo
1 landing

"Hudson scenic with Bill M.; gusty x-wind; no practice"


Frontal passage- clear and gusty

So now I'm legal again, to fly solo or with passengers. The next available morning turns out to be clear and quite blustery. I didn't know this the night before when I invited my friend and neighbor Billy to join me... after getting the weather brifeing I decide to skip landings and practice maneuvers, and just take him up to see if he minds the bumps, then continue on a tour down the river if he's OK.

I warn him about the conditions as we prepared to depart on his first flight in a light aircraft, and also insist that he sing out immediately if he is uncomfortable.
He will be quiet for most of the flight, busy trying to videotape it (although I warned him not to peer through the viewfinder too much), but his verbal responses were normal, and I never take a good look at his face, even after we take a vigorus plunge in turbulence that has us out of our seats briefly, straining the lap belts (15L has no shoulder belts, by the way).

We crab down the Hudson, then sneak around the Class B to a northwest approach to Lincoln Park. My first approach is awful (again), so I go around. As I'm about to turn base a second time, I hear a strange sound in my headset, and turn to see poor Billy, trying very hard to vomit only inside his nice leather jacket, and not all over the plane!!
Consciously, I took this in stride and just continued the approach, but unconsciously I was rushing because I felt bad for him. Came in high and hot again, and set 15L down just past the middle taxiway on 01, skidding to a stop with just enough room to turn off. I see J. on the line as I exit the runway, and pray he wasn't watching that one...

After Billy cleans himself up, I remind him that I told him to let me know if he got queasy, and ask him when he first felt funny.

"Well..." he says thoughtfully, "remember when we rolled down the runway and took off?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well... it was right about there."

     

All I can do is shake my head. Silly old Billy...I'm not surprised he said nothing; he didn't want to be a wet blanket, I guess But I will always feel bad about it, and I learn a valuable lesson: If you must tangle with gusty crosswinds when you're out of practice, at least leave your non-pilot friends on the ground.