Pressing the ‘push-to-talk’ button on my control yoke, I called the radio operator at the Collingwood Airport.

“Aircraft calling Collingwood, go ahead”, was the reply.

“Collingwood Unicom, this is Cessna 172, Golf Mike Whiskey India, 12 miles to the east, 3,500, inbound for landing, request airport advisory.”

“Golf Mike Whiskey India, this is Collingwood Unicom. Winds light from the west, runway 31 in use, traffic reported in the area.”

“Golf Mike Whiskey India”, I acknowledged.

“OK” I said to myself out loud. “So I’ll approach from the north, fly overhead and join the mid-left downwind”. My husband Jeff, in the passenger seat, smiled delightedly. I announced my intentions over the radio to other aircraft in the Collingwood area and made a right turn to the north, positioning myself over the gorgeous shoreline of Georgian Bay.

This was a milestone flight. Two weeks previously, I had passed my flight test and this was my first flight carrying a passenger. Of course, my first passenger was Jeff – which was fitting, as it was that first flight that he took me on that had sparked my interest in aviation.

The flight was from Oshawa, our home base, to Collingwood, for my first ‘$100 hamburger’ flight, as Pilot In Command. $10 for the hamburger and $90 for the fuel to get there! It’s really about the flight, not the food – ask any pilot. Any excuse to go for a flight!

We didn’t actually eat hamburgers, as the “Beyond the Clouds” restaurant at the Collingwood Airport serves a great ‘all day breakfast’. So we had $100 omelets!

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