Last night was a pretty special evening. One of those nights that could only come as the result of a year of hard work, dedication and support. I was able to take Christina flying to see the city and airport lights from the skies for our Valentines evening.
After a nice dinner, we dressed warm and headed out to the airport. I had already visited two hours earlier to take a look at the plane's fuel levels and test the position, beacon, strobe and landing lights while there was still sunlight.
The ceiling was low and broken with what appeared to be a dark stratocumulus layer. From the ground it looked completely overcast over Alpine, and obscurred mountains to the north around Ramona. Not wanting to get stuck away from the airport after dark, we elected to just do a few touch and go's. (The airport lights are the prettiest thing to see out there anyways.)
It turned out to be a nice brief flight with smooth air and little traffic. I logged my first pilot-in-command night flight and we went home to some dessert. One of the nicest things about having a passenger in the right seat is someone's finally taking pictures of these adventures.
Christina seems to be enjoying the flying more than I expected. I warned her of a potentially uncomfortable side slip to lose some altitude, and she actually called it fun!
