First solo

Before the flight

12 December 2025 was meant to be a normal circuit lesson at Barton with my instructor, Tony Partakis.

Getting there had taken a while. A couple of weeks earlier I'd finally got my Class 2 medical, after the arduous process obtaining it with my Type 1 diabetes. With that sorted, going solo was finally possible, although I hadn't been flying much in the run-up.

The weather wasn't promising either. The wind was 270 at 4 knots, which was fine, but the cloud base was sitting around 1,000 feet. Going solo wasn't on my mind.

“Would you like to go and do one by yourself?”

We carried on with circuits and the flying was going well. On what turned out to be our last one together, the cloud completely cleared as we climbed out.

As I vacated the runway after landing, Tony asked if I'd like to go and do one by myself. I hadn't seen it coming. A quick brief, the door shut, and the right-hand seat was empty.

I felt excited but oddly calm. I called the tower as Student G-LACB and taxied to holding point Alpha 3.

The go-around

My first approach was too fast. Rather than try to rescue it, I went around. One of my other instructors, Ian Hoolahan, once told me:

If it doesn't feel right, throw it away.

That was exactly the situation. And honestly, I was quite happy to get another circuit in.

A longer solo than planned

Between the go-around and the runway being occupied, my one circuit turned into 45 mins.

The right-hand fuel gauge had an INOP sticker, so I was relying on the left. I added tank selection to my downwind checks so it didn't slip while I was busy flying the circuit. It never became a problem, but it would have if I'd stayed up much longer 🤣.

The landing was better than I expected and I had a GoPro running, so it's all on video. Not a bad first solo.

Debrief

• If it isn't right, throw it away. It's tempting to force a landing when you want to prove you can do it. Going around was the better call.
• Know the aircraft's quirks. An INOP gauge is easy to notice once and then forget. Building it into my checks kept it in front of me.
• Confident, not complacent. I could fly the circuit on my own, but the go-around was the most important decision of the day.
• Trust the training. Despite a delayed medical and gaps between lessons, the work from earlier sessions was there when it counted.

Outside the cockpit

I feel that flight training translates to other areas of my life, including my day job! Making a call when there's nobody next to you, changing course when something isn't working and knowing the my limits before it causes a problem.

Mostly, I'd spend less time worrying about whether I'm ready for the next step and more time trusting the preparation that got me there.