Flight #24 — 3.1 hours (38.3 total)
This was my longest flight yet and will probably be my last cross country before getting my certificate. I flew from Thun Field (PLU) to Yakima (YKM) to Ellensburg (ELN) to Wenatchee/Pangborn Memorial (EAT) and then back to Thun Field. Total distance was about 260 miles with 3.1 hours logged in Garmin Pilot, all actual flying time. No dilly dallying on this flight!
Let me first make the point that I
never could've imagined that I would land at 16+ airports before even getting my Private Pilot Certificate! I have to say it's been pretty cool to land at all these places.
I planned for certain winds, but very shortly before the flight I called 1-800-WX-BRIEF. It was the first time I'd talked to them aside from with my instructor last week, but I was prepared, rattled off everything they needed, and the call went fine. He gave me higher wind figures, but it was a little late and I didn't get those figured in to my crosswind correction.
On the first leg of the trip, I was constantly being blown south of my desired course. On top of that, I was either over my checkpoints (and thus couldn't see them), or I had chosen a peak that appeared on the sectional but which was one of among a hundred peaks in the area, and which therefore was nearly impossible to pick out. Pilotage and dead reckoning have been much harder for me than I anticipated they would be. On the positive side, there were a few very good checkpoints available—and which I had chosen—for this leg. I was happy when I was able to locate those and when my times weren't too far off. Regardless, I was using my iPad to verify my course and position, since, if I couldn't locate a checkpoint or was off course, I wouldn't really be learning anything, other than that I was clueless, if I couldn't verify my actual position.
About 12 miles out from Yakima, I called the tower. I'm still quite inexperienced talking to tower and ground, but, truthfully, it has gone pretty well every time I've done it. This was no different, except for one minor glitch:
A few of the first words out of my mouth: "...12 miles east of the airport."
A few of the first words out of the controller's mouth: "...did you mean
west of the airport?"
D'oh!
He was totally cool about it and the rest of our intercourse went what I would consider perfectly. One thing that Gene has taught me that I've appreciated is, when I talk to tower or ground, "just tell them what you want. Just have a normal conversation with them." I think that has helped me to relax some and is great advice. I'm anal enough on my own to worry about all the little details and the perfect phrasing. Gene's advice is just what I need. After parking next to the museum—which is next to CubCrafters—I got out, took a few pictures, and stretched my legs. I did the same thing at each of the 3 airports at which I landed.
From there, I took off, departed the pattern with a right turn to the north, and flew up the Yakima river through a valley to Ellensburg. As I was approaching, I called out my position well in advance of arriving.
Me: "Ellensburg traffic, Luscombe 1813-kilo, 10 miles south of the airport, coming up the river valley, Ellensburg."
Someone else: "Is that an 8A?"
Me: "8E."
Someone else: "48?"
Me: "46."
I have a really horrible time picturing wind directions and runway directions in my head. It helps to study the chart ahead of time, but when I'm approaching, I have to work
really hard at picturing things in my head, like a map in my brain. I listened to the ASOS, held my hand up in front of my face to help me visualize the various directions, did a little math, and figured out which way I would land. I made a 45 to a left downwind for 29. Winds were supposed to be 10, gusting to 15, but they were just barely off the runway. If it was a bit too interesting, I thought I'd try a low pass, working on my lateral control and longitudinal alignment, then come back in. I came in a bit hot, planning on doing a wheel landing. Wind was no problem and I made a great landing. There was something like a Long-EZ over near the pumps. He fiddled around a while and took off as I was getting ready to go.
Next stop, Wenatchee/Pangborn. Pangborn Memorial airport is named after Clyde Pangborn, the first pilot to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean, which he did in 1931. Both my external video cameras died about 4 minutes before I landed, so there aren't any pictures of my approach. There's not much to say, though; it was another good approach and landing. The only runway of the trip which had a right-hand pattern was 12 at Wenatchee, and that's what the winds favored, so I flew directly into a 45 for a right downwind for 12. I spent the longest time on the ground here. Probably 15 or 20 minutes. It was so quiet and peaceful. I even enjoyed hearing the barely-audible distant gun shots in the hills. The weather was like a perfect summer day in Tacoma, probably low-to-mid 70s. When I was coming in, I heard a glider on the radio announce his position. Several minutes after I landed, I saw him approach and land. That was cool. I also enjoyed a delicious apple as I relaxed—not a Red Delicious, just delicious. Just as I was getting ready to fire up, a 185, who had been refueling, taxied past. We waved at each other.
"Wenatchee traffic, Skywagon 1-niner-charlie will be departing runway 1-2, be a climbing right down, er, yeah, climbing right downwind departure, uh, headin’ for Cashmere."
The last leg was the longest. I flew directly into the sun for more than an hour—1.4 hours, to be exact. That made it more difficult to locate checkpoints, but a few of them were really, really good checkpoints and were easy to spot. A couple big lakes—Cle Ellum Lake and Kachess Lake—and a radome were easy to spot. I added more crosswind correction than I had on the first leg of the trip and did a much better job staying on course (about 270, instead of the 244-246 I had planned). A few clouds had me concerned, but I was easily able to navigate around and over them. After getting past the Cascades, I flew into what I expected—lots of haze backlit by the sun. By that point, I wasn't even trying to use my map and checkpoints—I was referencing the GPS—but the last few miles, I just decided I would find the airport on my own, which I was able to do without difficulty.
It was a satisfying trip and is the kind of flying I am doing all this learning for. I absolutely love the mountains, but I love the desert, too! Flying right past Mt. Rainier was absolutely awesome! My navigation sucks, but I'll keep working at it. My flying is okay, but I need to keep working at that, too. At this point, I need to figure out what I have left. I have some more hood work, my instructor mentioned something about getting radar vectors from approach or some such thing, and probably a few others odds and ends. I'm preparing for my written and need to find an available DPE. Gettin' close. Onward and upward.
To see all the pictures from this trip, go here:
https://www.jpwphoto.com/p1049287722
... great thread.
