ACS Aviation invited me to see their operation at Perth Airport and on Tuesday I hugged my family goodbye and promised to come back safe – I was off to fly a plane.
The company has been training pilots since 2007 and provides flight training not just for people wanting to get a taste of flying for pleasure but also to get commercial qualifications.
Many of us are aware of the comings and going of planes out of Scone but the small and perfectly formed airport is rarely considered for its role as a major draw for outsiders to come to the area.
But with attractive costs, outstanding varied flying space and ‘real weather’ to learn with, for years Perth has been on the map for flight instruction with the central Scotland location highly rated for its overall experience.
ACS Aviation currently has 252 students working to gain a qualification, 52 of these at it full-time, Monday to Friday.
It has 17 small planes on the airstrip at Perth Airport. Five are used for commercial training and 12 for PPL, private pilot licence.
When I arrived at the ACS office next to the cafe at Perth Airport I was met by my instructor, Shashank Pratapa.
He was super helpful and reassuring that within my four hours in his company I would be able to fly a plane. We were booked to take up a Piper single propeller aircraft and go for a little sightseeing over Perthshire.
First he showed me the flight simulator, to give me a chance to try out. It was a room with a wraparound screen and a replica cockpit identical to the one we would soon be in. This is usually only used by commercial trainees and for assessment purposes so I was being treated to a bit extra on this special tour.
As the lifting lid was shut on me and the lights went off, Shashank explained that what I was seeing through the window was exactly as it was for real. We could see the Perth Airport control tower, the other planes lined up on the tarmac and the surrounding buildings.
My first moves – hand on throttle, foot pedals for steering and brakes – were pretty pitiful. I clipped the wings of the plane parked beside me and drove us straight onto the grass.
Second time around my concentration was getting better.
I looked inside the ACS hangar where about 10 little planes were being worked on, some being fixed, another being built, one or two getting refitted.
In other side rooms students were being examined, there were spaces for studying weather maps and model aircraft, some just for hanging out. It was an exciting place to be – businesslike, organised and animated. Now it was obvious why people from across the world have been picking Perth as a location to get their qualifications.
Next we went outside and Shashank led me to the plane, a Piper PA28-161.
We got comfortable and I reviewed the controls which, hearteningly, were now not just a blur of dials.
We did a long list of checks and I was encouraged to do everything myself safe in the knowledge my instructor had trained at Perth before completing thousands of hours in this aircraft before becoming fit to teach.
Like learning to drive a car, he could take control on his side of the cockpit the second I faltered or took too severe a turn.
Despite knowing this, it wasn’t till we manoeuvred to the end of the runway that I started to believe this was going to feel okay and the anticipation of forward thrust and up, up, up became the reverse of fear and inadequacy.
I won’t tell you every step of the flight but let me say, you cannot beat it.
This was an adventure I could not have visualised. Freedom, power, the brain in perfect clarity.
Looking down I saw how reality was distorted and yet somehow all the familiar geographical points – the A9, Big County settlements and fields – were linked in a way you can’t work out from the ground.
Our speed was obvious – travelling at 100 knots we reached Pitlochry in about seven minutes – but the progress felt slow and effortless, languid and relaxing.
We are approaching Perth again. The instructor offers to take back control and he expertly banks us over the city.
I see the cranes at the Cross Tay Link Road site. I see the Motor Mile, St Catherine’s Retail Park, the expanse of Perth Academy, Friarton Bridge and the fields around Scone Palace. I gasp at the privileged view I’m getting.
Other aircraft are spotted in the distance. We are all gently heading for the runway at Perth.
Somehow he talks me through making a landing. Bump, bounce, breathe. I did it! Back on solid earth. Amazing!
Off with the headset, the rotors still. Disorientated, buzzing, a little unsteady, I’m back where I started.
I feel like a convert. How will sitting in roadworks and waiting for the traffic lights to change be bearable ever again when I know that alternative, straight line transportation is possible? I feel like a land crawler, laboriously making my way home.
I think I want to do this again. Thanks to ACS Aviation for taking care of me.
Trial flight experiences begin at £140 for 30 minutes in the air. Visit www.acsaviation.com or call 01738 550 003.
If my experience struck a chord, there is a big day is coming up when ACS Aviation invites the public to come and see what’s on offer at Perth Airport.
On Saturday, April 8 from 10am-5pm a fun day, open to all ages, is being held.
The Festival of Flight will see a barbecue, kids’ entertainment and music plus the opportunity to see behind the scenes.
There will be the chance to take a trial flying lesson or check out the ACS Flight Training simulator.
