Small Planes+Julie=Not Good

Ever since Jacob got his private pilot's license, he's been asking me when I'm going to go flying with him. Being terrified of heights and wondering how I would possibly be safe in a plane that is almost as small as my car, I've come up with all sorts of excuses. However, the weather has been so beautiful lately (with the exception of last week's snow storm--UGH, still bitter about that...) that I finally ran out of excuses and agreed to go.

Sunday was the day--we drove to the Spanish Fork airport where Jacob had rented a plane for a couple of hours. I was so impressed and pleased watching him do the pre-flight inspection of the plane; he is very thorough and takes the time to check everything properly, which is important because if you don't you could die. And I like Jacob, I want him around for a while. When he ran out of things to check, we strapped ourselves in and headed for the runway.

Before I knew it we had taken off and were rapidly ascending--there were a few bumps on the way up but nothing too scary (only slightly alarming). I relaxed and enjoyed the view...snapped a couple pictures...

...and was generally enjoying myself until we got up a little higher where the air was quite choppy. At which point the color promptly drained from my face (or so I'm told) and I began to fight the urge to throw up. Jacob tried to make it better by going back down to the less choppy air, but it was too late--my nausea was not going away and our only option was to get me back down to the ground where I could sit very, very still and wait for it to pass.

For the record, I managed not to throw up (although it was extremely close), and Jacob's landing was amazing--smooth as silk. Literally it was better than any landing I've ever experienced while flying a large, commercial airline--so I was very impressed, he's an awesome pilot. And after a couple hours sitting on the couch sipping a Dr. Pepper (it makes everything better), I started to feel a bit better.

I think I'd better get me some Dramamine.