From the Flight Deck

Puffy white clouds dotted the air overhanging the approach to Runway 6. The kind of clouds we can’t help but want to fly into. So puffy they look like distorted marshmallows floating in a sea of blue.

Flight student Una Delabruere was up there somewhere. She was piloting one of Shoreline Aviation’s Piper Warriors. Vince King was sitting in the other cockpit seat. Vince is a certified flight instructor for Shoreline. Una was from New Hampshire and a student at Cape Cod Community College.

The Shoreline Aviation Piper Warrior piloted by flight student Una Delabruere taxis to Runway 6 for takeoff.

This was Una’s third trip up with Vince, and this sunny, puffy fall day they had flown down the coast along Marshfield, Duxbury and Plymouth to pristine White Horse Beach. It was her fifth time up with an instructor, having started with someone else and then flipping to Shoreline.

Flight instructor Vince King smiles after another great flight with student Una Delabruere.

Una took off on Runway 6 and before heading south went out over Cape Cod Bay to practice maneuvers, first making clearing turns, which means making broad turns to inspect the sky and ensure the maneuver area is free of other aircraft or obstacles such as terrain or wires. Clearing turns are always made to ensure safety and are performed within the Airman Certification Standards of the FAA. She also performed aerodynamic stalls, which slow the plane until it’s buffeting, and then recovering.

Finally, the Piper appeared from the puffs, drifted in and onto the runway for a smooth landing with a touch of squeak. Una taxied onto the ramp and into place, then shut down. The look as she emerged from the cockpit said it all.

Flight student Una Delabruere smiles through the windshield of the Piper Warrior she just landed.

Vince says Una will start moving into traffic patterns and work on takeoffs and landings.

Breaking into a wider smile, Una said, “Oh, I’m excited about that!”