First Solo XC.. the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Mafoo]

Well, I did my first solo XC yesterday.

I am alive, and the plane is in one piece, so that's good. It's amazing how quickly you realize what you don't know when you're all by yourself.


The good: I found all three airports, landed at all three (a touch and go, and a back taxi on a short field). Also, my final landing back in KLEB was the best I have ever done. I honestly could not tell when any of the three wheels touched the ground. That smooth.

The Bad: I was so overwhelmed, I forgot to check the time when I took off, and didn't use my navigational markers correctly. I navigated the entire way with GPS. One of my marks was a railroad line that I never saw. Navigation was really bad. I didn't worry to much, because I had an iPad, and knew I was always south west of the airport. Our airport is on a north/south river, so at any time, I could have just headed east to the river, and then north to the airport. When I went to open up my flight plan, I tuned in the radio, but forgot to swap, so I told the tower my plan. Ops.

The ugly: So I got to KGFL, and the sun was going down. I could not see a thing. So I went a little farther south, so I could enter the traffic without the sun in my eyes. It was busy with as many as three planes in the pattern at any given time, and there is no tower. So I announce my position, and that I was entering from a long final for runaway 01, but no answer. I inform everyone I am a student pilot on my first solo XC, and that I don't see any traffic, but still no answer. I then hear someone is taking off on runway 01, I ask if he is holding short for me, no answer, so now I have no clue what I should do.

The pattern altitude is 1,128 feet so not wanting to run into anyone, I announce I am going to fly over the runway at 2,000 feet, and enter for left traffic. I enter, and am in position two. I announce all my turns, make the worst landing I have ever done, retract flaps, full throttle it and get the hell out of there.

I climb out, head east, announce I am leaving to the east, and collect myself. That was a little more trial by fire then I expected. I know my radio was working, but not sure why I was not getting conformation from anyone.

So I head back to Leb without any issues. The flight home was very nice, over the green mountains of Vermont.

I land back in KLEB, taxi, park, and done. Oh, and 10 min later when I realize I forgot to close my flight plan, I call up, and it was already closed. They must have called the tower.

So it is a flight I won't forget, but not entirely for positive reasons. At least it was a VERY good reminder of what I need to know, and why I need to know it.

 

[saracelica]

What did your CFI say when you shared the good/bad/ugly?

 

[dukeblue219]

Awesome! Congratulations... I remember it felt great that I was able to navigate someplace and back. Like I was really a pilot now

Obviously you had some things come up during the flight, but nothing major, and you handled everything fine I think. As far as not starting the clock, while of course you DO want to remember to do it, especially on your checkride, it's something we all did repeatedly. No big deal and you had a backup form of navigation as well.

Have you flown into uncontrolled fields often? It sounds like you're training from a towered field and somewhat unsure of procedures at non-towered/uncontrolled fields. By that I mean you usually won't get any "response" from other traffic in the pattern if you don't ask for it. Calling up and saying you're on a long final is not going to elicit a peep from the other traffic, although they should at least be making their own calls if they're radio-equipped. Even asking for positions from other traffic in the pattern doesn't always work, so don't necessarily expect that anybody is going to answer when you ask. Keep the eyes and ears open! If you were actually concerned about the radio functioning you can always just ask "Cessna 123AB radio check please" and somebody might be more likely to answer that.

Hope you had enough time to enjoy yourself along the way!

 

[Mafoo]

What did your CFI say when you shared the good/bad/ugly?

He said well, you won't forget that stuff next time will you? He was not worried. Knows I know how to fly the plane. Just need to get better at everything else

 

[Jeanie]

What great trip! You sure learned a lot....

Sometimes if you don't hear others on the radio it's on the wrong freq., your volume has accidentally been turned down, or they just aren't talking. I would think that you should have heard something from the pilots in the pattern at KGFL but who knows. You did it and you managed it all on your own and that's what counts!

 

[Mafoo]

Have you flown into uncontrolled fields often? It sounds like you're training from a towered field and somewhat unsure of procedures at non-towered/uncontrolled fields.

When I started that flight, I had 20 hours, so I have not flown anywhere often .

Before that airport, I had flown to 5 uncontrolled airports, but there was more traffic at this one, then all the other 5 combined.

Another thing I struggle with, is spotting aircraft. I hear them all calling there position, but I have a hard time picking them out of the sky. This I think will come with time.

I did have time to enjoy it all. The flight to springfield, landing, and departure were great. I enjoyed all of it, even the screwups, except for the part in Glens Falls.

Thanks for the tips in uncontrolled space. I will ask for a radio check the next time.

 

[PBristolJr]

You learn quite a bit when things don't go perfectly smooth! Good job.

 

[Mafoo]

What great trip! You sure learned a lot....

Sometimes if you don't hear others on the radio it's on the wrong freq., your volume has accidentally been turned down, or they just aren't talking. I would think that you should have heard something from the pilots in the pattern at KGFL but who knows. You did it and you managed it all on your own and that's what counts!

Thanks. Yes, I was hearing a lot. But when I would talk and expected a response, like "I am on final, are you holding short for me?" when the guy announced he was departing the runway I was coming in on, I got nothing back.

There is the chance I was on com 2, and talking to the weather announcement, but I think I would have recognized that when I talked to the tower back at KLEB.

 

[MAKG1]

If it was busy, it's also possible you got stepped on multiple times.

S*** happens during solo cross-countries. Learning how to deal with those is a big part of your training. I had to deal with rapid fire rerouting from NorCal due to high traffic into Oakland, a nearby aircraft with engine trouble that lost contact with NorCal as they made a precautionary landing almost directly below me (NorCal asked for a relay), another student coming into the airport I was leaving over the exact same really obvious checkpoint (required some radio work to avoid), and another confused student turning in front of me in the pattern as I arrived.

Now, for the next one, you know to be much more careful about your timing. Leave the I-pad behind while training. At best, it's a crutch, and at worst it's a distraction when you're already overwhelmed. You should be able to get out of that situation without it. Not just by thinking about it, but by executing it. Pilotage is absolutely adequate.

It doesn't sound like you had flight following. This is highly advisible whenever leaving one airport for another.

 

[iWantWings]

Great stuff! You got where you wanted to, and safely came back! And all the time you were the pilot in command. Great job.

(you remembered to open your flight plan - on one of my x/cs i forgot to open it and only found that out when I tried to close it (at least i filed it).

(regarding the uncontrolled field, when i am unsure if my calls i heard and I do know someone is in the pattern, I ask for a "radio check please". I might get a confirmation (or not), but I think it is a not very intrusive way to get a piece of mind that someone out there does hear you. Has worked for me on occasion).

 

[EppyGA]

Good job!! A couple of years from now it will all seem like second nature.

 

[denverpilot]

Good write-up. Now you know what you need to work on. We've all been there.

 

[rottydaddy]

Not bad, if you ask me... you learned a lot, which is what it's all about.

Your post prompted me to look at my flight journal entry for my first solo XC... I learned a lot about marginal VFR and pilotage on that one, and got my first exposure to a "mystery clicker" at my destination who made no reply to my various calls other than keying the mic (I suspect it was someone on the ground). Took me a few calls to figure out what that noise was, LOL.


Based on your first radio mixup when trying to open your plan, I'm going to guess that your problem arriving at KGFL was that you were listening on the right freq but talking on the KLEB freq.
If not, well, this sort of thing happens with CTAFs. The "radio check" request is a good idea, but even that does not always do the trick. Don't count on the radio to do your seeing and avoiding for you; don't even be tempted. It's a luxury item for VFR flying, not a necessity. Looking outside is a necessity. And it's a lot easier to do a bad job handling the radios and annunciator panel than to do a bad job looking outside.

If you're going to try a straight-in, just remember that even if you're unsure what that departing traffic is doing, you will ultimately just have to get close enough to see before you decide whether or not to continue the approach. It's no different, in that sense, than if you were making the same inquiry on the downwind leg. They will either be in your way when the critical moment comes, or not, regardless of what they say or don't say. Rather than puzzling over the lack of information on the radio, your attention should be on thinking about how you will go around, should the need arise.

Last time I was flying, while on the ground with my handheld I heard three student pilots in a row call their departure while they were still on the ramp, taxiing to the hold-short line. Yeah, really. Only one actually stopped at the hold short briefly to look up towards the final approach path, and none of them called again as they were actually rolling on the runway. These are the same guys who routinely fly two-mile finals... sigh. These are examples of how vital it is to treat the radio as your secondary collision avoidance tool, not the primary.
And yes, it should get easier to spot traffic as you rack up flight time... especially if you maximize your heads-up time and really scan, above and below the horizon.

 

[Mafoo]

Thanks everyone. Great advice. The more I think about the radio, the more I think they were just not responding to me.

I use com two for the weather, and if com one has a lot of chatter on it, I will click over to com two to talk, so I can turn com one off. When I have what I need, I go back to com one and turn com two off. Being you can't stop listening to the com your talking on, and I was hearing them, and not the weather, I had to be on the right com.

Oh we'll, radio check it is next time. I at least did remember that a radio in that airspace is not required, so they needed to be looking for me anyway.

 

[Velocity173]

On my first XC my DG failed right after takeoff. I continued on (didn't know any better). I landed at my destination and forgot to retract the flaps. Aircraft got airborne way too early and barely kept it under control in ground effect. Somehow made it home without screwing anything else up.

 

[iflyblog.com]

Congratulations! I still remember my first solo XC like it was yesterday.

Also, kudos for having the self-awareness to know what is good/bad/ugly. Many students are satisfied if the airplane is still flyable. Looks like your issues are pretty minor.

 

[MAKG1]

On my first XC my DG failed right after takeoff. I continued on (didn't know any better). I landed at my destination and forgot to retract the flaps. Aircraft got airborne way too early and barely kept it under control in ground effect. Somehow made it home without screwing anything else up.

What's wrong with continuing on with a hosed up DG? It's not required equipment for VFR. The magnetic compass is. It's not so easy to make turns with the magnetic compass, but it's certainly possible.

 

[BrianR]

Sounds like the trip served its purpose as a learning experience.

In the future, take the iPad. But leave it in your flight bag unless you're hopelessly lost. Nothing wrong with situational awareness, and I'm a big ForeFlight/iPad fan, but first, you need to figure out how to navigate by looking out the window and following the map. Once you are comfortable with that, then it's time to add in the electronic aids. You should not be using your iPad as a primary navigational device.

I've been into Glens Falls a few times. It can be busy, especially in the evenings or weekends. I've encountered a number of NORDO airplanes there. But they likely just weren't responding, for whatever reason. Not a big deal. Just expect it, and be pleasantly surprised if they do actually talk! And if you happen to be there when the restaurant is open, it's definitely worth taking some extra time for!

 

[douglas393]

Sounds like the trip served its purpose as a learning experience.

In the future, take the iPad. But leave it in your flight bag unless you're hopelessly lost. Nothing wrong with situational awareness, and I'm a big ForeFlight/iPad fan, but first, you need to figure out how to navigate by looking out the window and following the map. Once you are comfortable with that, then it's time to add in the electronic aids. You should not be using your iPad as a primary navigational device.

+1

Just add moving maps to iPad. My instructor forbade me to use moving map in any of my cross countries. It was there but I did everything by deadreckoning and dual VOR's. I learned a huge amount on my first country because of that, but most importantly I learned that if I lost all my electronic gadgetry, I still could find my way home. I am in southwest florida and the land marks are few and far in between.

BTW, I still fly at least once a month without my moving maps just for practice. It is some of the most fun I have flying, though the maneuvers I am doing for my commercial, just started three weeks ago, are just as fun but in a different way.

Doug

 

[MAKG1]

I seldom fly with moving maps. Especially ones with unknown failure modes.

They really don't add all that much to situational awareness, and they are distractions. They can easily become crutches. You fly the airplane, not the IPad.

Southwest Florida has plenty of landmarks. It just doesn't have mountains. But it does have canals, highways, transmission lines, lakes, islands, occasional towns, even airports in the middle of the Everglades. Mountains make ****-poor landmarks anyway, unless they happen to be isolated (that's unusual). If it's marked on the sectional using symbology (as opposed to terrain, which can be difficult to pick out), it's a decent candidate for a landmark.

 

[Mafoo]

my CFI has me learning with the Garmin 430. When I took off, I realized I had not taken enough time to learn it. He was telling me everything to do, but I must not of retained it.

So my options really were to turn around and land, or use the iPad and continue. I figured I would at last take the trip. I am going to need the hours anyway.

I have downloaded the free Garmin trainer and have learned how to use it (what I need anyway), so I can now set the flight plan in the 430 for the next time.

Not sure if he is going to make me use the VOR's. I suspect he will.

 

[denverpilot]

Mountains make ****-poor landmarks anyway, unless they happen to be isolated (that's unusual).

Says a flatlander. Haha. I can name most peaks on sight here. One can look at a mountain range, the drainage, and location of the roads and towns and know which drainage they're in. Better damn well know, too... Lest one go up a box-shaped one and have no room to survive the turn out.

Flatlanders do tend to say that one mountain looks like another, and we find them balled up into the side of them with regularity, so it's a learned behavior to know where you are and what the various mountains look like from the air.

 

[denverpilot]

Not sure if he is going to make me use the VOR's. I suspect he will.

He will. If he doesn't, demand that he does.

 

[douglas393]

I seldom fly with moving maps. Especially ones with unknown failure modes.

They really don't add all that much to situational awareness, and they are distractions. They can easily become crutches. You fly the airplane, not the IPad.

Southwest Florida has plenty of landmarks. It just doesn't have mountains. But it does have canals, highways, transmission lines, lakes, islands, occasional towns, even airports in the middle of the Everglades. Mountains make ****-poor landmarks anyway, unless they happen to be isolated (that's unusual). If it's marked on the sectional using symbology (as opposed to terrain, which can be difficult to pick out), it's a decent candidate for a landmark.

True but if you are lost one canal looks like the next, and some of the towns are just a couple of buildings. You are right about airports, they are abound. My point in my posting was to say that flying by deadreckoning is important to me. If I get lost the landmarks in Florida are not like those in the Northeast or other parts of the country, but using what is available in landmarks, and what my plane offers me, will get me home safely. In that I have a G1000 I do this without VOR's and with VOR as well.

Doug

 

[MAKG1]

Says a flatlander. Haha. I can name most peaks on sight here. One can look at a mountain range, the drainage, and location of the roads and towns and know which drainage they're in. Better damn well know, too... Lest one go up a box-shaped one and have no room to survive the turn out.

Flatlanders do tend to say that one mountain looks like another, and we find them balled up into the side of them with regularity, so it's a learned behavior to know where you are and what the various mountains look like from the air.

I'm not a flatlander. Isolated peaks work great. Peaks where one is much larger than the others work OK. Peaks in a long range don't.

It seems you're relying on detailed knowledge of the area. This will fail you if you fly somewhere new. Or if you happen to be a student pilot and you haven't figured out what stuff looks like from the air yet.

Yeah, I can pick out most of the peaks in the Diablo and Santa Cruz ranges, and I don't hesitate to use those for checkpoints. I can't out of the Santa Lucias. With a couple of exceptions, using mountains as a student pilot would have been a big problem for me.

 

[douglas393]

my CFI has me learning with the Garmin 430. When I took off, I realized I had not taken enough time to learn it. He was telling me everything to do, but I must not of retained it.

So my options really were to turn around and land, or use the iPad and continue. I figured I would at last take the trip. I am going to need the hours anyway.

I have downloaded the free Garmin trainer and have learned how to use it (what I need anyway), so I can now set the flight plan in the 430 for the next time.

Not sure if he is going to make me use the VOR's. I suspect he will.

I learned to fly about two years ago, and did not even use GPS until I could prove I could navigate with VOR and dead reckoning. Has things changed that much or did I misunderstand your post, as it seems to me that you have not been using VOR's.

Doug

 

[Mafoo]

I learned to fly about two years ago, and did not even use GPS until I could prove I could navigate with VOR and dead reckoning. Has things changed that much or did I misunderstand your post, as it seems to me that you have not been using VOR's.

Doug

I have not been using the VOR's. However I have been setting the HSI based off of the GPS, and using dead reckoning to navigate.

I suspect once I get everything I am doing down, he will show me how to do the same thing with the VORs.

probably just the order he choses to do things.

 

[douglas393]

I have not been using the VOR's. However I have been setting the HSI based off of the GPS, and using dead reckoning to navigate.

I suspect once I get everything I am doing down, he will show me how to do the same thing with the VORs.

probably just the order he choses to do things.

Interesting...very interesting.

Doug

 

[texasag93]

My first 90 hours was without GPS. I learned dead reckoning. VORs came late in the game.

I sat out a while and then came back. GPS was the primary tool of my relearning CFI.

VORs are a piece of cake if you can dead reckon.

Point where you KNOW you are (if you KNOW where you are using reckoning) and play with the VOR. You will get it.

 

[douglas393]

My first 90 hours was without GPS. I learned dead reckoning. VORs came late in the game.

I sat out a while and then came back. GPS was the primary tool of my relearning CFI.

VORs are a piece of cake if you can dead reckon.

Point where you KNOW you are (if you KNOW where you are using reckoning) and play with the VOR. You will get it.

I guess I just assumed that everyone learned VOR navigation in conjunction with dead reckoning. I wa exposed to it prior to my first dual cross country, and was expected by my CFI to know how to use it before I did my first dual cross country.

Doug

 

[jFlight]

Sounds like you had a great time!

My first XC solo was gravy. Then I did my long. It took me up into the high desert and was stressful, because by time I got up there, it was dark, and I had to find 2 new-to-me airports and...well...you may as well be Ray Charles flying over desert at night.

Now, coincidentally, you mention something that earlier today, I discovered that I should have known about but didn't. I have a friend who I've casually kept in touch with, and older English guy who recently had his BFR to reinstate currency (CFI included). He heard about my checkride failure and was like, dude, come fly with me so I can see where you are at. Starting me about with a bit of ground stuff, he looked over my cross-country plan for last Monday's failed checkride. Found out I had never done a flight monitoring my dead-reckoning. And it's part of the checkride. F**K. I don't even wear a watch.

Really wish I went with an independent instructor instead of a 141 school catering to Egyptian (and other foreign) students.

 

[denverpilot]

Glad you know that guy. Learn airmanship not buttonology.

 

[Mafoo]

Sounds like you had a great time!

My first XC solo was gravy. Then I did my long. It took me up into the high desert and was stressful, because by time I got up there, it was dark, and I had to find 2 new-to-me airports and...well...you may as well be Ray Charles flying over desert at night.

Now, coincidentally, you mention something that earlier today, I discovered that I should have known about but didn't. I have a friend who I've casually kept in touch with, and older English guy who recently had his BFR to reinstate currency (CFI included). He heard about my checkride failure and was like, dude, come fly with me so I can see where you are at. Starting me about with a bit of ground stuff, he looked over my cross-country plan for last Monday's failed checkride. Found out I had never done a flight monitoring my dead-reckoning. And it's part of the checkride. F**K. I don't even wear a watch.

Really wish I went with an independent instructor instead of a 141 school catering to Egyptian (and other foreign) students.

Wow. This is how I see a checkride...

THe DPE is not checking that you know how to do everything. Your CFI should have alway done that. The DPE is checking that your CFI has taught you everything you need to know.

The CFI has to approve you for the checkride. That step, is your first "I have passes, and can now become a pilot" event. The Checkride, is the FAA "checking" his work.

This point of view is strengthened, with the knowledge that a poor fail ratio of students from checkrides, will cause the FAA to stip the CFI of his credentials. It does nothing to you. You entered as a student pilot, and you leave it as a student pilot.

So who are they checking?

Sorry that your CFI failed.

 

[MAKG1]

At one level, they are checking that the CFI did an adequate job. At another, they are checking that YOU are a safe (not perfect) pilot.

It's a good bet that any GPS in the aircraft will "fail" during a checkride.

 

[skyflea]

i still dead reckoning when i can
i just got back from a 100 dollar cheese burger run and never use the gps, tough i did use the daisetta VOR as instructed by Houston Approach on my back. hit all my marks on time, got pretty clear and easy to spot land marks over I10 corridor.
BPT - 11R
11R - CLL
CLL - BPT
windy and bumpy as hell. but a bumpy flying day is better than a not flying day.

kudos on your solo. keep the ipad at home and get your regional chart paper never fails.

 

[Gubbins]

That brought back some memories! My first XC solo had some tense moments on the radio! I turned down the volume on COM1 but not COM2 and promptly forgot. I made a complete fool of myself coming into Addison (towered airport) and trying to raise them until I realized I had the volume down. Never made that mistake again!

 

[Mafoo]

keep the ipad at home and get your regional chart paper never fails.

Well, in this case if I had not used the iPad, It would have meant I needed to turn back and just scrub the flight.

That wasn't going to happen

Next time, I will use the tools I am supposed to use, and less to no iPad. Let's hope it goes smoother .

Oh, and I have a paper chart in my flight bag, if I need it!

 

[skyflea]

Well, in this case if I had not used the iPad, It would have meant I needed to turn back and just scrub the flight.

That wasn't going to happen

Next time, I will use the tools I am supposed to use, and less to no iPad. Let's hope it goes smoother .

Oh, and I have a paper chart in my flight bag, if I need it!

also remember the golden rule become familiar with all aspect of the flight.
be sure to keep all the freqs for your flight in order on your kneeboard they are very important if you are not in flight following :wink2: deep breath and enjoy your flying, when in doubt go around the airport cross midfield and look down, small airports have all kind of weird ultralights and some of those guys don't use radios.

 

[MAKG1]

I thought you said you could have followed a river. Pilotage is entirely legit.

 

[jFlight]

I haven't allowed myself the use of my cellphone/GPS yet.

During my 2nd long xc, coming out of the east side of the Banning pass, I did have a feeling I was off course by pilotage references. I learned then that the winds were especially strong there, and previously would have had no idea of a 20+ degree wind correction angle needed there. It didn't take me long to figure that out...what...with a freeway intersection and Salton Sea reference and all.