Double report for last week
December 11 - KCHS -> KMYR -> KGGE -> KCHS (at night)
It was my birthday, so for my gift, I did a night flight with my instructor, and I still need to work on my night landings. I was talking to him about doing a tower visit, and the controllers at KMYR sounded like that would be a good tower to visit. They were friendly, and were nice when I altered my approach to suit them, and the other airplane coming in to land. We're the slow one, so I gladly accommodate them. Heck, I'm in the air, flying, living the dream, so why not spend another 5-6 minutes there practicing 2 minute turns?
So, we landed at Myrtle Beach, went into the FBO, and relaxed for a minute, checked the weather, then was asked at the desk, "Have you checked in with us? No? Here you go..." I told her that it was my birthday, so I had my $15 landing fee waived, and thanked her, and went to the airplane, did a mini-pre flight (I always check the gas and oil. I can fly with less than that, but gas/oil? Makes the flight much shorter.
On to Georgetown, and that was my first time clicking on the lights. They were already on, but doing the 7 clicks affirmed my observation as them as the destination.
On to Charleston, and got to check another runway off the list. For some reason, I like to land at all of the runways at an airport (33/15, 03/21), and so far I now have 3/4 of them done.
Another 2.7 hours in the logbook...
December 13, 2017 - KCHS -> KOGB -> KCHS (solo cross country)
First Cross Country, and this one was exciting... (ha! got you interested!)
I put my flight plan forward for my instructor to see, and he approved it, signed off my logbook, and I went to the airplane with these instructions:
1. Text him when I get to Orangeburg
2. If I can't get there and back before 6:13pm, turn around.
3. Bouncing the landing doesn't count. I have to do a full stop. (that's a joke between us. My night landings had one bounce each)
3:30
Preflight looks good, and I am making a conscious effort to suppress the "get there itis". To keep this in check, I do the pre-flight twice, and I did not miss anything. Confidence builder. Pay attention, religiously to the checklist. If I don't fly today, there is always tomorrow.
Arrange the cockpit how I like it, well...
I put the iPad on the right yoke, and I found that I didn't like it there midway to Orangeburg. No worries, it was a little thing.
Get everything set up, frequencies where I want them, on my kneeboard, but I think I want to get a separate sheet of paper for them.
Clear the area, start the engine, taxi to the run-up area, and when I did the mag check, on the left mag, the engine dies.
Hmmm... Maybe I should do the run up at 2000 rpm, lean, to clear things out.
R mag, check. L mag it it dies, and backfires. I taxi back to the starting area, let the flight club owner know, and he replies back that it sounds like I turned it off.
Start engine again, noting where the mags are. Do right mag - good. Do left mag - good. Do no mags -dies, and exhibits the same symptoms I felt before. Taxied to run up area, and repeated run up, and all was good.
Lesson learned - Don't fly when things don't go well on the ground. They're only going to get worse in the air. Ask questions when things don't work right.
Take off - good. Ground wished me well on my "Student Solo"
About 10 miles out, my iPad rings - Amythequick is calling me, and won't let up. I answer the call, affirming that I am on course, and let her know that I'm flying an airplane, call ends. 20 seconds. We have a "hang up" deal, where, if one of us needs to, we can hang up on the other without the customary "love you's", and I took advantage of it.
I get handed off to Columbia Approach (CHS guys wish me luck, and they'll talk to me on the way back), and call them, and they don't reply back. I call them again, and no reply. I can hear them, but they don't contact me, but I'm getting close to Orangeburg, and I switch to CTAF there, and make my calls. There was another airplane on 7 mile approach, and I was on short final, and I asked if they could hear me, and they didn't respond, either. I was thinking a few things:
First, there's something wrong with the radio, or second, they just can't hear me, or third, they can hear me, and are just not responding. Figuring the odds were on #2, I continued the flight, with the proviso that if I couldn't be heard, I'd squawk 7600 and land at the nearest airport.
Took off from KOGB, got past pattern altitude, switched over the KCAE, made my call, and got the squawk code (to my amusement), and continued on to KCHS. Got handed over pretty early (usually at I-95 they transfer us, but this one came about 5 miles north of it), and climbed to 3500, and relaxed and enjoyed the flight. The sun went down just past I-95, and I had another hour to be on the ground, with a tailwind. I'd be at KCHS in 19 minutes, and that gave me 40 to spare, so I was feeling good.
On the vector in, I was told, "continue runway 15", which I missed, and was reminded to do so, and got back on final behind a C-17 taking off. I wanted to be sure that I landed well behind where they took off and did so, got off the runway, to ground, where there were two of them (not sure who the other person was) congratulating me on my solo, and warning me about getting my tail cut off. I told them that I already had that on November 6, but they congratulated me on the XC just the same.
The logbook is looking like this:
Logbook: 38.1
Checkbook: $4253.50 (I did a report on my bank records, and this is how much I’ve spent, total, so far, in CFI, tools, books, and airplane rental)
PIC: 5.4
Night: 4.2
Simulated Instrument: 2.6
Next up: Long XC KCHS->KMYB->KMNI->KCHS, 12/19/17
) descends at that rate at 70kts with no engine (or engine at 1000 rpm).
