I became a private pilot 20 years ago, not long after my 19th birthday. Like every new pilot, I couldn't wait to take my first passenger for a ride. The day after the check ride, I called one of my best college friends and invited him to the airport for a sightseeing flight in a Cessna 152 around Cincinnati. He didn't hesitate and appeared at the airport a few hours later. We departed from the Clermont County Airport in the middle of the afternoon. It was a typical Midwest winter day with a steady breeze and choppy turbulence down low (strike one). I didn't provide any guidance on what to wear, so like any normal person preparing for an outdoor activity in the winter, he bundled up in a snow-suit like Ralphie from A Christmas Story (strike two). After takeoff, I quickly modified the sightseeing plan, climbed up to 3,000 feet, and asked him if he wanted to see something cool (as if flying in a Cessna for the first time wasn't cool enough). He said yes. So I proceeded to show him a maneuver that my flight instructor once demonstrated to me during training called the "pen trick" (strike three).
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