The traditional ritual was to cut off some of the fledgling's tie or shirt tails.

I always thought that was sort of barbaric, and I saw no benefit in mutilating my student's clothing.

Instead, I would crack open a bottle of inexpensive champagne for my student, to be shared with whoever was around at the time.

How did you memorialize your first solo?

Besides having the back of my t-shirt cut out, nothing.

It was summer time, just after graduating high school. I wasn't old enough to really celebrate.

landed without incident.

Instructor took my picture (Polaroid) and added it to a board in the FBO. No scissors involved.

V-Tail, what did you do to celebrate your solo? Shake hands with Orville and Wilbur?

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
V-Tail, what did you do to celebrate your solo? Shake hands with Orville and Wilbur?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:

V-Tail, what did you do to celebrate your solo? Shake hands with Orville and Wilbur?

August 1964, Colts Neck NJ, C-150, N5990E.

It was sort of a non-event. A few of us in the Bell Labs Flying Club stopped at Molzone's after we left the airport. Nothing unusual about that.

Molzone's . . . A ramshackle wooden building that sort of leaned to the left. Concrete pads in front where the gas pumps used to be. Pool table with moguls. Faint odor of urine wafting through the place. Bartender with a hairy belly that stuck out through the hole in his T-shirt. Cheap beer and the best cheesburgers in Monmouth County! Good times.

.

I also had the back of my shirt cut off and mounted on the wall with my name, solo date, AC tail Number & type written on it.

The cut-out remained on the wall until I completed my first cross-country solo then it was returned.

34 years later and I still have it with the out of date gear I don't use but hang onto as a back up.

I got down on my hands and knees and kissed mother earth.

I shook hands with my instructor.

Then we flew back to the school's home aerodrome, Dulles International Airport.

Yes... the first part of my training was at Dulles. Most of the time there was done at night, including my first flight, while my solo was at night flying from Leesburg.

I finished at Manassas Airport.

Things have changed.

I was so excited that I almost accidentally lifted off again on the taxiway. But other than that, nothing.

[IMG:left] [/IMG]

walked away happy.

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
V-Tail, what did you do to celebrate your solo? Shake hands with Orville and Wilbur?

We had a member here tell us several years ago, I think it was JAllen, that his Examiner showed his original ticket signed by one of the Wright Brothers.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
V-Tail, what did you do to celebrate your solo? Shake hands with Orville and Wilbur?

We had a member here tell us several years ago, I think it was JAllen, that his Examiner showed his original ticket signed by one of the Wright Brothers.

Very possible. Wilbur died young, 1912, following a fall. Orville lived until 1948.

Nothing special here. My first flight was in a 1947 J3 and my first solo was a few months latter in the same plane.

I drank some champagne. Spilled it all over.

Nothing. Good job, thanks for not crashing the plane. Birchwood, AK, 2004.

Got doused with a lot of water right before entering the FBO, then received a first solo t-shirt with the A/C tail number on it.

Civilian solo was simply a "Congratulations!" and a hand shake from my instructor. Being only 15 at the time probably had something to do with that. Mom was a nervous wreck as she drove me home.


Navy solo was celebrated at the O-Club on Friday afternoon with the rest of my class who'd soloed that week. We were told to buy cheap ties and wear them to the club, so our class bought some really outlandish ties to wear with our flight suits. My on-wing instructor was really new and I was his first student to solo, so I got to cut the belt off of his khakis and was allowed to tell one story about him being an instructor. He then cut off my tie and told a story or two about me. After all the ties were cut and stories told, our instructors bought us our next beer. It was a really good time, and I still have the stub of a tie and half his belt as a reminder.

Had the back of my shirt cut off (one that I specifically wore for the occasion as it had my college mascot on it and "BEER ME!" in large print). The instructor wrote an original witty verse on it with my name and the date and it got stapled on the hangar wall.

I changed shirts, went in, took care of the paperwork, went home, and then had a beer...or more...with my friends.