When I arrived in Fort Myers, a friend picked me up at the airport in a four-seat Cessna, which we flew down to Naples. I’ve flown in a lot of planes, but never one that small. We took off on the same runway the 763 landed on 20 minutes earlier. It felt really small …
The flight was a blast, though. Flying at 2,000 feet is a much different experience. The view of the Everglades was incredible, including the black plume of a fire that was burning somewhere out there. We flew over the Naples airport and out over Marco Island. When we got over the water, he turned the controls over to me. I was hesitant at first, but after receiving a quick explanation of what to do, I took the wheel. What an incredible feeling. It made me start thinking about flying lessons. But it’s intimidating. There’s a lot to remember, and the radio traffic was totally confusing. I had a tough time keeping track of what was going on and spotting other planes as they announced themselves in the area. I guesss all that comes with practice. Needless to say, I didn’t get us killed …