by Adetokunbo Desalu

Adetokunbo "Toks" Desalu is a 22-year-old American-born deaf student pilot who grew up in Nigeria. He speaks, lipreads and signs, and has worn a hearing aid all his life. A full-time student at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., he will graduate next year with a bachelor's degree in aviation administration and a minor in computer science, and may go on to a graduate school in engineering. His lifelong goal has been to work in the aviation industry. The following article is excerpted from his journal on flying.

I knew the start of my flight training was quickly approaching and I pondered that as I drove along Lewis Airport next to to the college I attend in the Chicago area. Looking at the downwind leg of runway 18, I could not help wondering what it would be like looking down on the landscape I had driven past so many times before.

Having my family split from Pennsylvania to the shores of Africa had helped me rack up quite a number of frequent flier miles, but always as a passenger and never a pilot. I had always dreamed of commanding an aircraft and soaring like an eagle, and soon my time would come.

On March 27, 2001, I set up an appointment with Patricia Knight, my soon-to-be flight instructor at Clow Airport in Plainfield, Illinois, so that we could go over my flight plan.

I glanced at the dashboard clock as I climbed into my car. It was 1 p.m., I observed as I started my car and started the journey out to Clow.

"I hope that I'm gonna fly today," I muttered, looking up to the sky. The weather appeared to be a bit murky.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived, feeling thrill rushing over me. I tried hard to control it, but to no avail. I arrived, parked my car and sent my eyes skyward. The sky was murky, but I did notice a couple of planes in the heavens.

"Looks like I'll be able to fly after all," I thought as another dose of excitement washed over me.

"Calm down," I told myself, "or you'll die of an adrenaline-induced heart attack before you ever get off the ground!"

I got out of my car and headed for the A&M Aviation office. There I spotted Pat. She greeted me, and as she spoke to a few other people, I glanced around the room. A lot of people everywhere chatted in aviation terms and my excitement waned: replaced by a flood of nervousness. Pat called my name several times and eventually caught my attention.

"I'm a little hungry," she said. "Let me grab something to eat before we go."

"Go!" echoed through my mind several times before I could nod. I sat down and waited for half an hour as Pat finished her lunch, and then we went to her office.

"A little change of plans," she said as she pulled out a map. On it she drew lines indicating the route we would travel, then turned to accompany me to the plane.

"Let me grab my equipment," I said. She nodded.

I rushed to my car, grabbed my things and made a beeline toward the airplane.

I could feel rising tension and confided my feelings to her.

"Relax!" she said. "You're going to be fine."

"I am trying," I replied.

It felt as if every muscle in my body was frozen. I pressed onward in a somber trance, but nobody seemed to notice. We approached the shining Cessna 172 and Pat told me to untie the ropes around the plane and check the fuel. I did so while she completed the pre-flight checklist. We climbed aboard and waited for a third person to join us. We would drop him off at another airport.

He finally arrived and we went through the pre-takeoff checklist and started the engine. Pat taxied the plane and had me put my feet on the pedals. She wanted me to get the feeling of it. There were two planes taxiing in front of us, and when they were clear, it was our turn next.

"Oh God, help!" I thought. "This is it. History is about to be made!"

I watched as Pat announced her intention to take off and tried to follow what she was doing. She maintained her professional demeanor and taxied down the runway.

She looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?" I nodded.

She pushed the throttle to the stop. The engine roared and my body began to press back against the seat as the airplane picked up speed. Every muscle in my body was rigid with terror.

"Is this normal?" I thought.

Once the plane reached takeoff speed, Pat pulled the yoke and the airplane swooped skyward. My eyes widened to the size of saucers as we soared into the heavens and I lost all train of thought. My nervousness was gone. I just looked around and beamed a smile brighter then the sun. The scenery was breathtaking and far beyond any words I could attempt to put down on paper.

Pat asked me to take the controls.

"Oh, boy!" I thought as my nervousness rushed back.

I grasped my yoke and began to experience the taste of flight. Seconds later, Pat let go of her yoke and I panicked. I held my yoke so tight I thought I'd draw blood. I fought to keep the plane straight and level as Pat warned me that the air wasn't particularly smooth today. But I already knew that it wouldn't be smooth owing to the poor weather.

What I didn't realize was that I had to make a lot of adjustments just to keep the plane straight. The plane was bouncing all over the place. I was so scared that it was all I could do to stay focused and not panic. I also wasn't paying too much attention to the instruments. Pat tried to explain that I had to pay attention to them, but I wasn't paying attention to her, either. Pat finally noticed that I was strangling the yoke.

"You don't have to hold it so tight," Pat said reassuringly. "Just let the plane fly itself."

I tried to follow her suggestion but it took five minutes before I could relax enough to let go.

All my hard work was finally starting to pay off. I finally felt as if I was actually flying the plane. Suddenly, a gust of wind batted the plane and I fought like crazy to keep it flying straight. I looked over to Pat for some guidance and noticed that she was about to take the yoke, but she backed off. She just smiled and told me that I handled the plane really well.

I was able to keep the plane straight without a problem but I wasn't able to stabilize the attitude.

Pat was very impressed and carried on, emphasizing that this was my first flight ever. She then took over the airplane and made a crosswind landing at an airport: but I had no idea where we were. I hadn't been paying attention to the ground during the whole flight. We parked, dropped off our passenger and then were ready to head back home.

Pat asked me to taxi to the runway, so I put my foot on the pedals and pushed the throttle just enough to get the plane moving. It was a struggle to get the airplane to turn right. I thought I had pushed right rudder but the plane still moved straight. Pat explained that my feet were in the wrong position on the pedals and I had to readjust my feet.

I made the necessary adjustments and then was able to taxi like a professional. I had no problem staying on the yellow line and smiled over at Pat.

"You can taxi well," she said.

I nodded as I turned back to the runway, and my heart dropped through the floor. The plane was all over the place. I could feel Pat helping me get the plane back on the yellow line.

She took over the plane, announcing her intentions to take off, and off we went. I was able to keep the plane straight, but the altitude was all over the map.

"Where are you going?" Pat asked.

"What? I'm going this way." I pointed.

"No, you were supposed to go the other way," she said as she pointed in a direction about 30 degrees to the left of where I was pointing.

"Oh!"

"Look for Lewis Airport. It will help you find Clow Airport."

"What? Where?" I asked. I searched the ground until I finally found a familiar site, finally recognizing Lewis Airport. Everything looks so different from the air. I found Lewis, but was still having trouble figuring out where Clow Airport was. I was too scared to take my eyes off the horizon. Pat pointed where I should go, and I just followed along. She found Clow and pointed it out to me. The fact was that I had not seen the airport until we were about a mile out. Pat took over the plane and landed it.

"What a day!" I thought.

Pat taxied to the gas pumps and let me do the post-landing checklist. She asked me if I had logged any hours before the trip, and I reminded her that it was my very first flight ever in general aviation. She seemed surprised. I figured that I had done a pretty good job, and after we fueled the plane, we taxied it to the ramp. We completed the checklist and tied the plane down. Finally, we went to Pat's office to plan out the next appointment.

I hopped into my car and headed for home.

"Wahoo!" I screamed.

I can't wait to fly again.

CFI Pat Knight and deaf student pilot Toks Desalu with a Cessna 172 at Clow Airport in Plainfield, Ill.