Finally, flying the S58T on my own.....

After months of flying the 58 with the chief pilot always sitting there in the left seat while I build time in the machine to get carded for fire and take my 135 checkride, I finally took my 135 checkride yesterday and passed! Today, Sunday, July 20, 2008 I made my first solo flight in the 58 to take it home. I flew from Moffet to Riverside. The weather was sketchy at first, so it was hard to enjoy the moment of being in the aircraft on my own until I finally saw blue skies while I skimmed under the overcast through the mountains to get over to the San Joaquin Valley to head home. As I came over those mountains and saw the sun and admired the rolling hills and the marine layer that soon was below me out my right door, I was finally able to enjoy my moment in the machine, alone. I landed at Shafter for fuel since prices are good there. Instead of flying direct to the fuel pit as I usually do in a helicopter, I took advantage of the runway, my wheels, and the long taxi to the fuel pit, to get used to ground taxiing the big machine. It was fun. Pulling up to the fuel pit and turning that massive machine on a dime was a good feeling. The rest of the flight home was great. I'm home now, for a little while, enjoying my little kitties, cleaning my house, and catching up on bills and paperwork and business calls. My forest service checkride will be the next checkride, hopefully soon. Then I will be on my own flying fires in the 58. Finally! Yay! It was really strange to fly such a big complex machine on my own today after spending the last 18 years of my flying career flying small single engine helicopters. It was strange, exciting, and another one of those moments I had wished my dad could see in person.