Eric Wegryn - Flying

I have been flying since July 1991, and it's one of the great pleasures in my life. I earned my Private Pilot's license in March 1992, in Long Beach, CA (LGB). As of 1 Jan 1999 I have logged over 140 hours of flying time, in various single-engined Cessnas, Pipers, and one Great Lakes aerobatic biplane. This beauty was the hottest thing I have flown so far. I was given an exhilarating introduction to aerobatic flight, revelling in the power and maneuverability of the biplane as I performed loops, rolls, and spins. As I've said many times, it's like a rollercoaster without rails.

In contrast, I have also flown a sailplane over the California desert. Flying a sailplane is a quiet, relaxing experience, which unfortunately doesn't last very long if you are inexperienced at finding thermals. I always enjoy flying to new places, and have landed at over 70 different airports throughout the country. Although this country has a wealth of small, uncontrolled (i.e. no tower), rural airports, I find it exciting and challenging to land at large metropolitan airports, including:

Meigs Field

Los Angeles International (LAX)
San Diego Lindbergh International (SAN)
Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS)
Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)
Detroit Metro (DTW)
Indianapolis International (IND)
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)

The flight I made to Chicago in May 1994 was an opportunity to do something I had always dreamed about - we first landed at O'Hare, then flew over downtown Chicago and made a landing at Meigs Field, the small airport on the shore of Lake Michigan, near Soldier Field. We left our Cessna there and took a cab uptown to watch the Cubs beat the Giants at Wrigley Field. It was quite a memorable day.