Big XC - Signature at airports?

My instructor didn't require any signatures, but he wanted me to refuel at one of my stops (it was self training on the fly, I had never done it before).

I was kind of surprised that my school didn't require them, though...a few years before an instructor had flown to a nearby airport and saw one of the school's planes sitting on the ramp, engine idling. When he got back to the school he looked up who had the airplane checked out...it was a student that was supposed to be on a long XC flight. He chose to just run the Hobbes up by idling the airplane at a local airport and pretending he did the flight.

I never did understand that...the long XC flight was one of my best experiences, ever. Why phone it in?
 
I've refueled CFI's plane during my dual instruction. Paid for gas as my form of payment for training. I believe I am ok on my own in ground ops. My required landings in towered airport took me to a Class C airport nearby. CFI kept his mouth shut I I guess I did well.

He still won't sign me off to go there for my solo controlled airport requirement. Weird.
 
I think the signature thing must be something from the past. I flew some XC flights when training 20 years ago and had to get my logbook signed. When I started again with the same instructor last Spring, he told me that signatures were no longer necessary.

When I did my long XC I stopped at three airports before coming back home. I taxi'd off the runway at each of them and even got out for a quick break at one of them.

Doc
 
Jack Spectre said:
My instructor didn't require any signatures, but he wanted me to refuel at one of my stops (it was self training on the fly, I had never done it before).

I was kind of surprised that my school didn't require them, though...a few years before an instructor had flown to a nearby airport and saw one of the school's planes sitting on the ramp, engine idling. When he got back to the school he looked up who had the airplane checked out...it was a student that was supposed to be on a long XC flight. He chose to just run the Hobbes up by idling the airplane at a local airport and pretending he did the flight.

I never did understand that...the long XC flight was one of my best experiences, ever. Why phone it in?
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I agree, the long cross country is a hoot! I can't imagine someone cheating themselves out of it. I wonder why they're bothering to get a PPL if they don't want to go anywhere?

Doc
 
MSPAviator said:
I took this crappy picture on my solo XC. I had planned on exploring the islands before I got there. But once I saw that vast expanse of cold blue water for real, looked down on it, and thought "that water will kill you", I decided not to sightsee, since those outer islands are actually pretty far away and uninhabited.
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Madeline Island! I own a house on the lake a mile north of Bayfield.

That was a pretty long student XC! Good for gaining experience, but tough on the checkbook.
 
dmac5356 said:
Madeline Island! I own a house on the lake a mile north of Bayfield.

That was a pretty long student XC! Good for gaining experience, but tough on the checkbook.
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I have yet to meet anyone who claims to have topped Leslie's only student solo XC. IIRC, it was:

1C5 (Bolingbrook, just SW of Chicago)
MDH (Carbondale, southern tip of IL)
3LF (Litchfield, NW St. Louis area)
1C5

Total distance: 493.5nm

By no means do I think that there are others who haven't topped it, it's just that they haven't told me about it. We were going to meet up for lunch in Litchfield (just outside St. Louis), but I was late launching for my XC, so we only had a chance to see each other briefly.
 
All of my students help me fuel the plane. And I'm going to have them refuel it during there X/C flights too. The signature won't be necessary but I might suggest it so they have something in their logbook for memory sake.

To the OP: have you asked your CFI why he won't sign you off to do flying that is a little more open, like the other way around on the route or to that field that's only 30miles away. I'm really curious why he's so conservative. Do you live near a lot of complicated airspace?
 
gprellwitz said:
I have yet to meet anyone who claims to have topped Leslie's only student solo XC. IIRC, it was:

1C5 (Bolingbrook, just SW of Chicago)
MDH (Carbondale, southern tip of IL)
3LF (Litchfield, NW St. Louis area)
1C5

Total distance: 493.5nm

By no means do I think that there are others who haven't topped it, it's just that they haven't told me about it. We were going to meet up for lunch in Litchfield (just outside St. Louis), but I was late launching for my XC, so we only had a chance to see each other briefly.
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It might have been done that long so that the long XC for the Commercial was knocked out at the same time.
 
gprellwitz said:
I have yet to meet anyone who claims to have topped Leslie's only student solo XC. IIRC, it was:

1C5 (Bolingbrook, just SW of Chicago)
MDH (Carbondale, southern tip of IL)
3LF (Litchfield, NW St. Louis area)
1C5

Total distance: 493.5nm
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Hmmm.... mine was flight planned to be

76G (north end of Lake St. Clair, between Detroit and Port Huron)
APN (Alpena, MI)
TVC (Traverse City)
MKG (Muskegon)
76G

I just entered it in Skyvector and it comes out to 497.2 nm total distance. But I guess it doesn't really count because a Blue Angels TFR kept me from actually landing at TVC. I did fly the planned route though, to within about 7 miles of TVC (as close as I could get and still be sure of not busting the TFR).

In terms of actual distance flown, I think mine was pretty close anyway.
 
MBDiagMan said:
It might have been done that long so that the long XC for the Commercial was knocked out at the same time.
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No, it was because she had the check ride scheduled, weather had grounded all previous attempts at XC, and she had to do the entire 5 hrs in one flight.
 
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