Tuesday morning was my instrument written test. To be honest, I was not all that anxious. I was well prepared and ready to just have it over with. And isn’t that really how it should be? I made a 97% in case anyone was wondering. Didn’t want to leave you hanging there.

I am wondering if test flights are the same. If you have confidence in the machine, you still need to be a little nervous, but is it really nerve wracking? I wonder how I will feel when I fly my own plane for the first time. I don’t intend to be the test pilot for it. I will hire someone who is far more experienced than myself to do that. But the first flight of just me and my machine. Hmm.

Having not done anything like this before, it is hard to imagine. I suspect my mother and my bestie will be pacing, just ready for me to get back on the ground. My father, who is also a pilot and has been flying my whole life, might be even more nervous than they are since he knows exactly what could go wrong. Or he could be more confident because he knows just how much can go right. And that is really my quandary.

Taking risks is necessary in life and taking the risk to build a plane is a biggie. But I don’t think the risk is about the flight. I think the risk is about the journey. I suspect I will learn as much about myself in this process as I learn about the plane and I am pretty excited about that.