1st solo xc today!

captainphil

Well-Known Member
It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I went from brookhaven to hartford connecticut using landmarks , on the way back I just used gps and made sure I was flying where I was supposed to. For fun and practice I tuned the Calverton vor to find my position and get me back to brookhaven so I did that and when I saw calverton I got my weather , did my approach checklist and brought in the plane back to it's home at brookhaven. I made one mistake though during my flight, I was still on the NY approach frequency when I thought I had put the frequency for brookhaven unicom on the top and asked for a traffic advisory and radio check. NY approach was like , wutttt? That won't happen again. Tommorrow I am doing my three legged from HWV>Hartford(HFD)> Gabreski (KFOK).

One quick question that I would like to know before I actually receive my PPL( I feel it coming soon), let's say I wanted to fly me and my family somewhere to spend vacation for a few days when I get my certificate, will any FBO let me park my aircraft or how do I go about finding out where I can park and how much it will cost, I checked the AFD I didn't see anything for the one I flew to today..
 
nice!

yeah i mean really though, none of us have EVER forgot to swap a freq or punched one in wrong before. never ever. :p
 
It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I went from brookhaven to hartford connecticut using landmarks , on the way back I just used gps and made sure I was flying where I was supposed to. For fun and practice I tuned the Calverton vor to find my position and get me back to brookhaven so I did that and when I saw calverton I got my weather , did my approach checklist and brought in the plane back to it's home at brookhaven. I made one mistake though during my flight, I was still on the NY approach frequency when I thought I had put the frequency for brookhaven unicom on the top and asked for a traffic advisory and radio check. NY approach was like , wutttt? That won't happen again. Tommorrow I am doing my three legged from HWV>Hartford(HFD)> Gabreski (KFOK).

One quick question that I would like to know before I actually receive my PPL( I feel it coming soon), let's say I wanted to fly me and my family somewhere to spend vacation for a few days when I get my certificate, will any FBO let me park my aircraft or how do I go about finding out where I can park and how much it will cost, I checked the AFD I didn't see anything for the one I flew to today..


hey dude congrats on your first solo x/c, definitely an experience you wont forget.

In regards to your question, the best thing to do is consult your AFD, or a website such as www.Airnav.com and just call the FBO's on the field, and they will give you all the necessary information. And usually an FBO wont charge for parking, if you fuel up with them.


Have Fun and Stay Safe.
 
Dang so I really must have messed up , hope the faa didnt take down my tail number for that one . :nana2:

The FBI are probably on their way to your house right now. :rolleyes:
But really, awesome, the first cross country was probably the the most memorable for me; more memorable then the solo.

For your question, you have to read the policies at the individual FBO's they vary. Some airports charge tie downs, everywhere that I've overnight'ed I managed to park it for free. Tie down not hanger, hanger will always cost you extra. If the airport isn't huge they usually will let you park for free.
 
let's say for all intensive purposes I where to buy a plane, how would I go about finding a place for it to stay, and is that really expensive?
 
let's say for all intensive purposes I where to buy a plane, how would I go about finding a place for it to stay, and is that really expensive?

You can park it at just about any airport. Airnav.com will have the FBOs listed at the bottom of the page. Usually there is a link that will take you to services, including hangers and tiedowns. Usually hangers are quite expensive (200 or 300 a month or more!) and tiedowns can be as cheap as 20 a month to over $100. I would recommend calling some local FBOs where you would want to park the airplane.

AOPA has a site too under "flight planning" for airfields, but I have found that the airnav is better and usually has remarks from fellow pilots.
 
Didn't you start your PPL like two years ago?

I started a high school program where I was flying like 8 times a year and I was in the program for 2 years( I only flew a total of about 13 times with the school program), but I really started the majority of my flying last year and have had alot of factors slow me down whether it be my intructors getting picked up by companies(had to wait a month and a half a few months ago til I got my new instructor) ,weather,sickness,etc. At least im making progress even though this school takes for ever to get one certificate.But like someone on this forum stated, its not about time. However it is about money :banghead:
 
let's say for all intensive purposes I where to buy a plane, how would I go about finding a place for it to stay, and is that really expensive?
Congrats on your first solo x-c. I sang Opera and show tunes on mine.

One thing, a pet peeve of mine. The phrase is intents and purposes instead of intensive purposes.
 
Didn't you start your PPL like two years ago?

Nice job...way to pee in his cheerios!



Congrats on the solo x/c. Everyone does the freq swap thing. I swear every day at work I hear someone say "Oops, forgot to flip the switch" after checking in with the same center freq they were just on. Live and learn. Congrats though!
 
let's say for all intensive purposes I where to buy a plane, how would I go about finding a place for it to stay, and is that really expensive?

Generally speaking, if you cant afford the fuel or costs associated with owning an airplane, you shouldn't be buying one.
 
Congrats on the X-C It is some fun stuff!!:nana2: Keep up the good work!

To answer a few of your questions. Airport fees, Once you decide to go on that vacation with the family obviously you have decided on a destination. Call the airport you would like to land at (The fbo, or fbo's if more than one) and ask them if they have tie down fees. Many fbo's give a discount on the tie down fee if you purchase gas.

Keep in mind taking a rental plane for an extended period of time usually has a min number of hours per day they will charge you. Around my part of the word I think its still around 3 hours per day! doesn’t matter if you fly it or not!

Same thing for buying and housing a plane. You find the airport you would be interested in and call them/or stop by and ask them about tie downs. Hangers etc. Some fields might have two different prices for tie downs. One field I fly out of a lot has a pavement tie down and a grass tie down.
The tie down will probably be about the cheapest expense you will have on the airplane.

I owned 3 different planes and I always figured If I didnt fly MORE than 13 hours per month it cost me more to own than rent! Of course I get a rental rate that’s cheaper then anywhere I have found in the country!

Dont let any of this discourage you now, just keep up the good work, and worry about the rest later once you have you certificate. :D
 
Congratulations! I remember when I first joined JC I started my private also, I remember you were starting yours as well. I wasn't sure what happened, but had same the problem in high school too. Thought I had enough money, but I was way wrong. Good luck with the rest of your training.:)
 
Good job! Glad that everything went ok with the flight. Reference your other question, I just made my first call to an FBO at an airport that my wife and I are flying into on Saturday. They are not charging a tie down fee if I buy fuel. (Which I would need to anyway). I'm sure it's similar terms at most smaller airports.
 
Congrats on the solo XC.

Just wait til you're flying for a living and are flying across the same area that you started out flying in. . .but this time you're being paid, and are cruising along at 11,500 to 410.
 
Did my second x/c today , from HWV>HFD>FOK back to HWV. Everything went well. Last ones tommorrow to HFD and i'll have 5 hours!
 
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