I’ve decided to try a new airplane rental place located at nearby Marana Regional Airport. They have a couple of airplanes I’m very familiar with, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and I look to be flying them soon, but they also have a Cessna Cardinal 177 available for rent. Designed after the C172 and manufactured for a shorter time, the C177 is roomier inside and offers better views as it doesn’t have wing struts.
I’d never flown a Cardinal before and I had to get checked out by an instructor in the airplane before I could rent it. Instructor Austin is a younger pilot with many ratings, including flying private jets, so we went up and I showed him I could fly an airplane. It’s been my experience that it would take a couple flights for me to show my proficiency in a new-to-me kind of airplane, but the Cardinal 177 handled wonderfully through the required maneuvers and landing it was easy. I think after all these years I’m realizing I know how to fly airplanes.
I look forward to going up again soon.
