First solo x-country!

Meliss

Meliss

Pre-takeoff checklist
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San Diego, CA
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goodjoojoo
So two weeks ago I did my first solo cross country! [I haven't been on here in a while to share-- but this is a really big accomplishment for me]

I will start from the VERY beginning. The day before my scheduled solo x-country - I checked the weather forecast religiously every hour. The weather was forecasted to be beautiful, calm, and clear. I get a call around 8pm from my instructor letting me know my plane went in for its 100-hour, and I won't be able to fly. [not going to lie-I was a bit bummed.] But okay, that is the way things work. So I went to my flight school and did ground all day. Got to see my plane with its cowl off.

Next day I went in to my flight school for another day of ground - the following day I was re-scheduled to do my solo. As I'm getting ready to leave the manager of the flight school informs me that my plane might still not be ready. So I was expecting to do my flight the following week.

Early in the morning the next day though, I got a call that my plane was good to go! Awesome! Now to finish my flight plan, get the weather, and file a flight plan. Checked the weather online and it looks great! I call for a weather briefing and I tell the briefer my route of flight. The FIRST thing she says is "You're not going to be able to make that flight today." My heart honestly felt like it plummeted. All I kept thinking was that maybe these were all signs from someone, somewhere. She continued on to tell me about TFR's in place directly under my route of flight, and that unless I wanted F-16's following me that she suggested I don't fly it. OK. Well I don't want that. So I made an alternate flight plan to an airport down south [I had a choice for my solo of two airports.]

Time to go to the airport.... I get there and the first thing my instructor says to me "Did you check the TFR's?" Yep, I made a flight plan to Ramona.

He looked at me puzzled and said "well if you're more comfortable flying there, then that's fine." I asked him if he thought I could still make my flight to Camarillo? And he told me I wouldn't have any problem since the TFR's went to 3,000 and my lowest route of flight was 3,500. Called for another weather briefing, this time the briefer didn't advise me against flying my route. And off I went.

SO... onto my flight. Weather was beautiful, though hazy through LA. I flew from John Wayne[SNA] to Camarillo[CMA]. I opened my flight plan on the ground in santa ana, got flight following, and off I went. I had to go through the LA Special Flight rules to maneuver the Class B airspace. I didn't have any problems with the radios [which is not my strong suit! But I made sure every one I talked to knew I was a student pilot!] and my flight went so smooth! I am still soo excited.

It's weird, I was super nervous before my flight. But the second I got in the plane, it's like a strange calm came over me and everything felt like normal again. Ahhhh... I love flying. :D
 
Sounds like fun! The solo xcs were my favorite part of PPL training. That weird calm feeling I had for the first 20 or so hours solo. It is indeed strange.
 
Congrats on the x/c flight. I recall making my first solo x/c and it was perhaps even better than the first solo flight. They were all magical in their own ways though.
 
CMTowner said:
Congrats on the x/c flight. I recall making my first solo x/c and it was perhaps even better than the first solo flight. They were all magical in their own ways though.
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Thank you! My first solo was indeed magical, but my first x country solo... well, there are no words. Or maybe there are, but I can't think of the right ones ha. When I first started learning x/c's... everything was so difficult for me. Weight and balance/performance/radio communications. There was a point I honestly wasn't sure I'd get to this point; but I just told myself if I kept at it and worked hard enough it would come. And I know I still have a LOONG ways to go, but I am so proud to have come this far. [And I don't mean this in an egotistical way at all] This was just a massive personal accomplishment for myself.
 
Congratulations on the solo XC! It sounds like it's been a difficult training for you, but the more difficult the task, the greater the feeling of accomplishment when we actually meet the challenge. Own it, you deserve to be proud of what you've done!

And oh yes, my long solo XC left me glowing for a week. I think you're right, there really aren't words for it. But beware: this is why flying is so addictive!
 
After your first Solo, you're a pilot.

After your first Solo XC you've started down the path of being an Aviator.

Congrats! ;)
 
Great work. I remember when I landed at the first airport I went to on my first solo x country( KGON in Groton CT) I was so relieved and happy. I actually took a picture of the control tower to prove to people I made it! I remember taxing so slow back to the runway and spent the time thinking about how much fun I just had!

Do you have to do your long x country still?
 
Excellent, good job! I'm glad it all went well and that you enjoyed yourself!
 
Meliss said:
Thank you! My first solo was indeed magical, but my first x country solo... well, there are no words. Or maybe there are, but I can't think of the right ones ha. When I first started learning x/c's... everything was so difficult for me. Weight and balance/performance/radio communications. There was a point I honestly wasn't sure I'd get to this point; but I just told myself if I kept at it and worked hard enough it would come. And I know I still have a LOONG ways to go, but I am so proud to have come this far. [And I don't mean this in an egotistical way at all] This was just a massive personal accomplishment for myself.
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Awesome! I can relate to this.
Congrats:wink2:
 
I loved my first solo x-country, I was getting tired of training, flying is supposed to be fun, but after awhile flight training feels like work, this was during the middle of summer and flying rectangles in the heat gets old after awhile. My first solo x-country reminded me what flying will be like when I can do it for fun.
 
I remember mine well. My instructor required that in addition to the FAA requirements, both airports had to be ones that I had never flown into, and one had to be Class D. It was great. Learned a lot.
 
Congrats! I remember landing at Atlantic City and taxi-ing past the terminal and enjoying the different perspective. Flying the SoCal area look nice scenery-wise.
 
Meliss said:
Thank you! My first solo was indeed magical, but my first x country solo... well, there are no words. Or maybe there are, but I can't think of the right ones ha. When I first started learning x/c's... everything was so difficult for me. Weight and balance/performance/radio communications. There was a point I honestly wasn't sure I'd get to this point; but I just told myself if I kept at it and worked hard enough it would come. And I know I still have a LOONG ways to go, but I am so proud to have come this far. [And I don't mean this in an egotistical way at all] This was just a massive personal accomplishment for myself.
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You should be proud of yourself. Over coming fears and dealing with new situations is a huge accomplishment.
 
Congrats, Meliss!

I remember my first solo cross-country. Butterflies on take-off, a sense of euphoria when I acquired a good visual on the destination airport, and a constant smile in between!
 
Nice work, my first solo XC was cancelled today with all the crappy weather up here in Minneapolis. Sounds like you did a great job, congratulations.
 
Congrats on the first x-cnty solo. I had to go to my logbook to see when mine was, I couldn't even remember. February of '85 in a 152, a round-robin from Ferguson (82J) in Pensacola to Bay Minette AL (1R8) to Middleton AL (39J) and back. 2.0 hours. Followed up a month later with another 2.1 hour round-robin.
 
Good job! Sounds like you tackled some new flight-planning challenges and learned a lot. Nowadays, especially, when it comes to NOTAMs, you ultimately have to read the fine print yourself.
 
Congratulations!

I actually had to abort my big solo. And sucks too. My training airport is 100 miles away, so I got a motel, thinking I am better off flying well rested and with fresh mind. Briefer did not mention anything about turbulence that was about to hit me. Took off, went east from downwind, 15 minutes later, plane is being tossed all over the place. I was relatively low as well (about 1000 AGL) and a gust of wind put me almost in a steep turn attitude. This is when I said screw it, gained more altitude, slow turn back to the airport and land.

Thought I'd rather fly another weekend, instead of wrestling the aircraft and the wind for control.
 
Meliss said:
. And I know I still have a LOONG ways to go, but I am so proud to have come this far. [And I don't mean this in an egotistical way at all] This was just a massive personal accomplishment for myself.
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You should be proud, and a big part of the "magic" is that strong feeling that you have indeed accomplished something difficult. As to the "Loong ways to go" part I think you will find that WRT the PPL you're a lot closer than you might think. From this point forward you'll see mostly skill polishing (and maybe a little confidence building along the way) plus a lot of review (making what you've already learned stick better so it remains automatic under the stress of a checkride).:)

Of course once you pass the checkride there's still plenty of stuff to learn but that's half the fun.:D
 
jspilot said:
Great work. I remember when I landed at the first airport I went to on my first solo x country( KGON in Groton CT) I was so relieved and happy. I actually took a picture of the control tower to prove to people I made it! I remember taxing so slow back to the runway and spent the time thinking about how much fun I just had!

Do you have to do your long x country still?
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Yes, I do. I started classes the week after my x/c, and as I am taking classes every day (18 units... kill me now) on top of the fact my instructor only works tuesday thru thursday, it has been tough getting lessons and having time :( We are trying to work it out so I can fly on the weekends, he is just busy as well right now. The weather has been so perfect here the last few days too, it is agonizing to be stuck in a classroom all day!
 
Meliss said:
So two weeks ago I did my first solo cross country! [I haven't been on here in a while to share-- but this is a really big accomplishment for me]

I will start from the VERY beginning. The day before my scheduled solo x-country - I checked the weather forecast religiously every hour. The weather was forecasted to be beautiful, calm, and clear. I get a call around 8pm from my instructor letting me know my plane went in for its 100-hour, and I won't be able to fly. [not going to lie-I was a bit bummed.] But okay, that is the way things work. So I went to my flight school and did ground all day. Got to see my plane with its cowl off.

Next day I went in to my flight school for another day of ground - the following day I was re-scheduled to do my solo. As I'm getting ready to leave the manager of the flight school informs me that my plane might still not be ready. So I was expecting to do my flight the following week.

Early in the morning the next day though, I got a call that my plane was good to go! Awesome! Now to finish my flight plan, get the weather, and file a flight plan. Checked the weather online and it looks great! I call for a weather briefing and I tell the briefer my route of flight. The FIRST thing she says is "You're not going to be able to make that flight today." My heart honestly felt like it plummeted. All I kept thinking was that maybe these were all signs from someone, somewhere. She continued on to tell me about TFR's in place directly under my route of flight, and that unless I wanted F-16's following me that she suggested I don't fly it. OK. Well I don't want that. So I made an alternate flight plan to an airport down south [I had a choice for my solo of two airports.]

Time to go to the airport.... I get there and the first thing my instructor says to me "Did you check the TFR's?" Yep, I made a flight plan to Ramona.

He looked at me puzzled and said "well if you're more comfortable flying there, then that's fine." I asked him if he thought I could still make my flight to Camarillo? And he told me I wouldn't have any problem since the TFR's went to 3,000 and my lowest route of flight was 3,500. Called for another weather briefing, this time the briefer didn't advise me against flying my route. And off I went.

SO... onto my flight. Weather was beautiful, though hazy through LA. I flew from John Wayne[SNA] to Camarillo[CMA]. I opened my flight plan on the ground in santa ana, got flight following, and off I went. I had to go through the LA Special Flight rules to maneuver the Class B airspace. I didn't have any problems with the radios [which is not my strong suit! But I made sure every one I talked to knew I was a student pilot!] and my flight went so smooth! I am still soo excited.

It's weird, I was super nervous before my flight. But the second I got in the plane, it's like a strange calm came over me and everything felt like normal again. Ahhhh... I love flying. :D
Click to expand...

Good for you! I've been told if you can fly in / around that area, you will be pretty much prepared to fly most places. I understand LA has some busy airspace. I, unfortunately, did very little ATC talking during my primary training (I flew out of an untowered airport and we only got flight following a few times in my training). Nowadays, I do it a lot on my "Bay Tours" around / in the SFO Bravo airspace.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Congrats! I remember landing at Atlantic City and taxi-ing past the terminal and enjoying the different perspective. Flying the SoCal area look nice scenery-wise.
Click to expand...

Was that Bader Field in Atlantic City proper or the international Atlantic city airport some 30 miles away?

When I was a kid from 12 - 16 years old, I traded work putting the banners together that flew over the Atlantic city beaches for flight instruction. That was at Bader Field. Back in those days the international airport was a Naval Air facility. Some useless trivia, Bader Field was the first airplane park to be called an Airport. That is where the term originated. (at least that what was written on a plaque in the OPS shed.
 
Congrats on the XC solo! Its a great sense of accomplishment isn't it? Keep learning and keep us up to date on your quest for your certificate!
 
Congrats!

jspilot said:
Great work. I remember when I landed at the first airport I went to on my first solo x country( KGON in Groton CT) I was so relieved and happy. I actually took a picture of the control tower to prove to people I made it! I remember taxing so slow back to the runway and spent the time thinking about how much fun I just had!

Do you have to do your long x country still?
Click to expand...

Mine too! 4B8-SFZ-GON-4B8

<---<^>--->
 
Congratulations! I LOVED my cross-country student solos; they were my favorite part of flight training.

What kind of TFRs only go to 3000 feet? Smoke?
 
Brian,

I've seen the stadium restrictions listed as both a security notam and a TFR. Those are set for 3000' agl and 3 nm radius.

That's the only thing I can think of right now.
 
SNA requires good preparation and radio skills. Very impressive. I flew into and out of there once, when I was training, with an instructor.
 
ScottK said:
Brian,

I've seen the stadium restrictions listed as both a security notam and a TFR. Those are set for 3000' agl and 3 nm radius.

That's the only thing I can think of right now.
Click to expand...

Ahhh...stadiums...that makes sense. Well, it doesn't, but that's another whole issue. :rolleyes:
 
BrianR said:
Congratulations! I LOVED my cross-country student solos; they were my favorite part of flight training.

What kind of TFRs only go to 3000 feet? Smoke?
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VIP. Someone told me Biden was in LA at the time...
 
BrianR said:
Congratulations! I LOVED my cross-country student solos; they were my favorite part of flight training.

What kind of TFRs only go to 3000 feet? Smoke?
Click to expand...

Some of the smaller smoke TFRs go to 3,000
 
BrianR said:
So...Obama gets 18,000 feet and Biden only gets 3000? Really? :confused:
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I'd make jokes about bomb fall and fuse activation times but it'd probably get some government weenie's hackles up.

As if any of those politician twits were worth wasting good ordinance on...
 
BrianR said:
So...Obama gets 18,000 feet and Biden only gets 3000? Really? :confused:
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Correct. Biden and, I believe, other major candidates get 3 miles and 3000 feet. Only the president gets the 30 mile zone of death.

And every day, 9-11 style aircraft still fly in and out of DCA. :dunno:
 
It serves no good purpose to punish the law abiding pilot's with regs that terrorists would never follow.

<---<^>--->
 
Today I finally did my long solo cross country! After the last few weeks continually having to push it back due to me either having conflicts with school or the weather not cooperating. But it was completely worth the wait because today was the most perfect possible day to fly! It was just amazing. I took a couple of pictures because the view was just too good. A week and a half now to check ride! Ahhh. :D

IMG_4967.jpg


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Way to go Meliss, and thanks for the pictures. Great shots. Flying makes us appreciate the things we get to see that most people on earth do not. Awesome.
 
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