Long solo xc next week!

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48dodge

Line Up and Wait
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48dodge
As long as the weather blows through this weekend as planned. I have Wed and Thursday of next week set aside for the plane so hopefully at least one will be nice. Heading out of KLRO (Mt Pleasant, SC), to AGS (Augusta, GA large and pretty busy class D), then over to AIK (Aiken, SC my hometown) and then back home. Depending on time and wx I may try to go to another airport.

My CFI and I did a nice long xc yesterday. I'm still kind of mentally drained from it. Did a lot of things we hadn't worked on a lot in the past plus honed my other skills. My radio calls to ATC were much better yesterday. About halfway through the trip, it seemed to sort of click. Did about an hour of foggles, diversions (airport was on fire), soloed at a towered airport (big deal for me:goofy:), following VORs and using them to find your location, engine out from 8 miles away, pilotage and dead reckoning of course. And of course, my CFI did a good job of getting me behind the plane a couple times. I learned quite a bit about information and frequencies I need to jot down before climbing into the plane. For a normal flight I had pretty much everything I needed where I needed it. It was diversion and lost where I did a little too much rooting around when I really needed to be flying the plane.

Other than night flight and maybe a couple more hours of solo time, I'm getting close to done with the requirements. Maybe a few more minutes of instrument flying. I need to catch back up on my log book tally and see where I am exactly.
 
Good luck!

And enjoy it! I had a blast on my long solo xc (happened just a few months ago).
 
Yup, this is when you become a real pilot.

Just remember that s**t happens during solo cross-countries. Not necessarily to you. Be prepared.

For instance, during mine, another aircraft declared an emergency and landed at an airport I was using for a checkpoint at the time (3500 feet down). Approach lost contact with them due to their altitude and asked me to relay. I couldn't get them on the radio either (they probably switched to CTAF), but I reported them rolling on the runway.
 
Good Luck..I am sure you will Nail It! If you can be flexible and disciplined
at the same time (like when approach gives you 3 handoffs in 6 minutes):yesnod::yesnod::yesnod: it should be a piece of cake. Enjoy the ride!!!
 
I always used my flight plan as a ruler/plotter of sorts. Before I flew with the examiner or instructor I would place my plotter next to my nav log and make a mark every 5 NM on my nav log. So when I was told to divert to XYZ and I had to estimate time fuel and distance I could get a good accurate distance right away by placing my nav log right on my chart.

There are other things you could pre load on your nav log as well. Write down a small chart of mileages and the corresponding time and fuel at your estimated cruise speed. This kind of stuff also reinforces the basics of flight planning. It's a good ground exercise if nothing else.
 
Just have to keep the ice storms out of my area. If the weather happens as predicted. If it shifts a day or 2 in either direction I'll have to postpone.
 
Bring a camera.

BE SMART ABOUT IT!

you will be flying to a couple different airports alone for the first time.
Selfies at each stop to document the journey are acceptable.

On my first solo XC the weather was beautiful. There were so many planes in the pattern that I couldn't get off so I just sat there for a few minutes snapping photos of all the planes crossing the numbers.

Same thing at the other 2 airports. Got lots of photos to remember that day.
Put it away when the plane is moving though.
 
Is there really a requirement to document the landings on solo XC?
I never did, nor did anyone ask for it.
 
That's what I get for blabbing about it on the internet. It's nasty out. Rainy, cold and lowering ceilings. Looks like it will have to happen next week. My route has been changed to a couple of untowered airports I haven't been to yet. Then do a towered on the next one.
 
mtuomi said:
Is there really a requirement to document the landings on solo XC?
I never did, nor did anyone ask for it.
Click to expand...

Its not required by the FAA. I was required by my CFI to get my log book signed at every airport I landed at. Made my days longer and I also had a couple guys I asked to sign it say they had never heard of that. When I went for my check ride the examiner said he liked seeing I had proof of what I had done.
 
48dodge said:
That's what I get for blabbing about it on the internet. It's nasty out. Rainy, cold and lowering ceilings. Looks like it will have to happen next week. My route has been changed to a couple of untowered airports I haven't been to yet. Then do a towered on the next one.
Click to expand...

Hang in there and wait for good weather. You don't need to worry about that when your flying your solo XC. I learned a big lesson on my first solo XC due to thunderstorms and what can happen just before they reach you. Looked at the radar on the phone and thought I had a good 20 mile buffer. well.. I didn't realize something else could proceed the storm in that 20 mile range and it was a wild ride on departure and to this day I have only experienced something similar 1 other time in some nasty mountain turbulence.
 
Awesome! I agree with a prior poster, the long cross country is when you finally start to feel like a pilot. It was a bigger deal to me than the solo.

Since getting my license, my favorite flights are still the cross countries. I've long had a fascination with maps so climbing up on a clear day and seeing the world spread out below you like a map and going from point A to point B is awesome.
 
ugh, stooopid wx. don worry man, it's gonna happen eventually!
 
It's been following me since July. That's why I'm only just now planning out a solo xc.
 
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