First Solo Cross Country

[MAKG1]

That's 5 seconds you do not need for any aviation purpose whatsoever.

Spend it on something you DO need. Like a traffic scan.

That's assuming it really is 5 seconds. Worrying about how you look on camera tends to be quite a lot more than that.

Have you ever seen how fast an opposite direction Mooney comes up on you? How about IFR traffic 500 feet below clouds? Hint: there is a reason for that 500 foot VFR cloud clearance. The sky may be big, but it isn't infinite, and a few seconds of inattention can be enough, particularly close to an airport.

Task saturation is a problem, always. But you don't seem to understand the distinction between necessary and unnecessary. Cameras are NEVER necessary for a private pilot.

 

[SoloEqs]

That's 5 seconds you do not need for any aviation purpose whatsoever.

You must be a lot of fun on a scenic flight.

Have you ever seen how fast an opposite direction Mooney comes up on you?

Nope.

However, I HAVE seen how fast a flight of F-16s come up on you at 12-level, and the last I heard, those are faster than a Mooney. A 600-kt closure rate (them = 500 + me = 100) gave me more than 20 seconds of buffer after identification.

More than enough time to grab the camera and set it on the glare shield for some video.

How about IFR traffic 500 feet below clouds?

A student pilot isn't permitted to fly on top of a cloud deck.

 

[MAKG1]

You must be a lot of fun on a scenic flight.

Nope.

However, I HAVE seen how fast a flight of F-16s come up on you at 12-level, and the last I heard, those are faster than a Mooney. A 600-kt closure rate (them = 500 + me = 100) gave me more than 20 seconds of buffer after identification.

More than enough time to grab the camera and set it on the glare shield for some video.

A student pilot isn't permitted to fly on top of a cloud deck.

I'm not a student pilot. The OP is. And when I give scenic flights, the passenger handles the camera.

And 500 feet below the clouds is not above the cloud deck.

You must have superhuman eyesight to spot an aircraft on a collision course 3-4 miles away that you don't know is there when you aren't even looking. Collision courses are hard to spot because they don't move. They just get bigger, and they can come up real fast.

And this is a STUDENT PILOT. Fly the plane, no extraneous distractions.

 

[Scott@KTYR]

CONGRATS!!!

Finished my solo cross country! Had to change the destination airport due to weather! But it was a great flight and I am a lot more confident in my skills! Thanks for all of the tips!

 

[SoloEqs]

And 500 feet below the clouds is not above the cloud deck.

Sorry, I misinterpreted your comment above.

Collision courses are hard to spot because they don't move. They just get bigger, and they can come up real fast.

Yep. And an airplane doesn't look a lot like the horizon, at least not to anybody I know.

If it's so dangerous to use 5 seconds for the camera, it's far more dangerous to scan instruments, set the radio, check waypoints, change from one chart to another, etc, because they take at least twice the time. If he can afford eyes in the cockpit long enough to do any of them, he can afford 5 seconds for the camera.

 

[MAKG1]

Yep. And an airplane doesn't look a lot like the horizon, at least not to anybody I know.

Are you a student pilot? Yes, a small airplane can look exactly like the horizon miles away on a collision course, especially in MVFR or with a background of terrain. It's even worse when there are buildings on the terrain.

You still don't get the distiction between necessary and unnecessary either.

 

[SoloEqs]

Are you a student pilot? Yes, a small airplane can look exactly like the horizon miles away on a collision course, especially in MVFR or with a background of terrain. It's even worse when there are buildings on the terrain.

You still don't get the distiction between necessary and unnecessary either.

Nope, I've been flying since the late 1960s. And in all that time, I haven't seen an occasion (in metcon where a student would be making his first solo XC) in which you would have only 5 seconds to spot a plane and react, even on a mutual 12-level heading.

Since more than once I've had F-16s on that mutual 12-level heading (it happens now and then in places where I fly), and had plenty of time to assess and respond, I really don't see the reason for panic.

And yes, I understand the difference between necessary and unnecessary, but I also understand that flying solo XC gives you a lot of opportunities to safely put your eyes in the cockpit, and some of those can be used for a camera.

 

[dell30rb]

Relax and enjoy it. I've felt since my own first solo XC on 8/27/69 that this is what really marks you as a pilot -- the ability to get in a plane, fly it somewhere else, and then fly it back all by yourself.

What I took away from my first x/c solo on something/something/2011 is pretty much the same. In many ways it felt like more of an accomplishment than my first solo.

 

[david0tey]

Oh, and be ready to ask for and make use of Flight Following. This is great experience to train your ear and brain to pick up your tail# out of the ATC chatter when the controller needs to give you an instruction.

For an additional challenge, your instructor might ask you to switch to Flight Service to open your flight plan. Have the correct frequency ready in your crib notes will make that easy.

Funny story. On my first solo cross country, my instructor told me to do just this. I was incredibly nervous talking to a controller other than our Class D tower guys and it showed. The controller gave some corporate jet (that had a similar tail number to mine) instructions to climb to 2-0 thousand. Without even thinking, I acknowledged the instruction from my 172 struggling to climb through 4000 on a hot day. I heard the controller chuckle at me as he repeated the instructions to the other guy.

My advice? Don't do that.

 

[SoloEqs]

Relax and enjoy it. I've felt since my own first solo XC on 8/27/69 that this is what really marks you as a pilot -- the ability to get in a plane, fly it somewhere else, and then fly it back all by yourself.

Concur.

First solo is like the first Mercury flight. Up and back down.

First solo XC is like Apollo 8. You don't just fly, you TRAVEL.