First Solo flight today!!

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Congratulations. I soloed in a Cessna 150. My 230 lbs instructor told me
that I would get to find out how much better the plane flies without
230lbs of lard in it. He then signed my student pilot certificate for
solo and off I went. The cessna 150 definitely climed better, I kept
finding myself turing downwind, 100 feet above pattern altitude. On a
hot day with him and myself in it you would battle to reach pattern
altitude by the time you turned downwind.



When Cessna introduced the new 172 and 182 models, many had hoped for a 152 as
well. Cessna's reply was that it would cost them about as much to make a 152 as
a 172, so the justification was lost. I'll bet they were also concerned about
liability, because with what people weigh these days the 152 is not really a
two-person airplane any more.

I also did my first solo in a 152, and much early training in 150's and 152's
with an overweight instructor. We were always overweight, which no one seemed
to worry about that much. I'll bet it's taken more seriously these days. If
anything it's a poor example for a student learning to fly.

GF