Seggy
Well-Known Member
Well, today my instructor and myself went on my first cross-country. A few notes I would like to add here about what I could have differently and about the day.
My instructor gave me two options. Go for an 'easier' cross-country to Milleville, an airport 60 NM away (where most students at my flight school go on their first cross-country) or a more challenging one to Lancaster, PA which would be about 100 NM each way. After discussing it over with him we decided long ago to try the more challenging one. I'm glad we did this. As a pilot I know I will be in unfamiliar areas A LOT so might as well challenge myself now with the naviagation skills I will need to continue my progession in learing to become a pilot.
We sat down on Friday and planned and planned for 3 hours not only going over the flight today but navigation, weights and balances, and other cross-country ideas and theories. Today, once airborne, I quickly saw how important flight planning is and even though we spent a ton of time Friday and about an hour today going over the flight today I wish I was more prepared and planned some more the previous days. That is a lesson I will take into future flights.
The plane I was using is great. Its a 1999 C172SP with all the bells and whistles. Even though it has the GPS we didn't even have it on. We navigated with pilotage and using checkpoints.
I got into a little bit of trouble right after takeoff and didn't turn right away onto the heading I was suppose to. Doing this made me see how important that first heading is as it set the tone for the rest of the flight. I was offcourse for the first portion of the flight. Once we were to depart BLM we were going to use the RBV VOR for our first checkpoint and I was a little to the south of there. Over Philly I mistaked Northeast Philly for the Willow Grove, NAS and I was South of Willow Grove instead of on my route which was on the North. Doing so made us go through the Bravo Airspace, not a a problem we had the clearance to. I was able to see my next checkpoint of PTW and over PTW made my course change into LNS. I was able to see LNS at about 20 miles out as it was a clear day.
On the way back it was a lot easier. I was able to see the towers near PTW I was using on the outbound and then turned for home after that. On the way back it was neat as we were over the Willow Grove, NAS and on our right was downtown Philly and to left, the Northeast, we could see the NYC skyline.
I couldn't believe the weather. It was such a great day here in the Northeast with a big high pressure area dominating the region. I booked this flight three weeks ago before I went to Europe and I definetly lucked out with the weather. It was very turbulent throughout the flight and I was struggling to keep the altitude constant with what I filed and planned for.
Sitting back a few things I will change for my future cross-country flights. It is one thing to sit at the flight school and draw lines on the map, it is another thing to fly those lines. I will not skip any corners in the planning phases of the cross-country for the future and double check my headings. Once airborne I now see how important to turn to that heading ASAP you need to get to your first checkpoint.
I am glad my instructor allowed me to make the mistakes I did instead of immedietly telling me what I was doing wrong. This way he allowed me me learn by my mistakes. I also learned how important flight following is, for example, 169LP cleared through the Bravo Airspace
and we filed the flight plan with FSS.
I am scheduled to fly Tuesday and Wednesday night. Then I have two four hour blocks one on Friday and then one on Saturday. I hope to go out to Long Island one of those days and perhaps Salisbury, Maryland, both lengthy trips. Maybe on Sunday I will go on a solo one, but we will see how I do.
Another important thing I learned today, perhaps the most important lesson of the day is that a PPL is AWESOME to have and I can't wait till I get it. However, IFR is the way to fly so your not in the air trying to figure out or look for a tower, lake, or airport, or figure out were in the world you are.
Hope I wasn't to lengthy or made to many mistakes in writing this, I am exausted from today but I wanted to get this stuff down.
My instructor gave me two options. Go for an 'easier' cross-country to Milleville, an airport 60 NM away (where most students at my flight school go on their first cross-country) or a more challenging one to Lancaster, PA which would be about 100 NM each way. After discussing it over with him we decided long ago to try the more challenging one. I'm glad we did this. As a pilot I know I will be in unfamiliar areas A LOT so might as well challenge myself now with the naviagation skills I will need to continue my progession in learing to become a pilot.
We sat down on Friday and planned and planned for 3 hours not only going over the flight today but navigation, weights and balances, and other cross-country ideas and theories. Today, once airborne, I quickly saw how important flight planning is and even though we spent a ton of time Friday and about an hour today going over the flight today I wish I was more prepared and planned some more the previous days. That is a lesson I will take into future flights.
The plane I was using is great. Its a 1999 C172SP with all the bells and whistles. Even though it has the GPS we didn't even have it on. We navigated with pilotage and using checkpoints.
I got into a little bit of trouble right after takeoff and didn't turn right away onto the heading I was suppose to. Doing this made me see how important that first heading is as it set the tone for the rest of the flight. I was offcourse for the first portion of the flight. Once we were to depart BLM we were going to use the RBV VOR for our first checkpoint and I was a little to the south of there. Over Philly I mistaked Northeast Philly for the Willow Grove, NAS and I was South of Willow Grove instead of on my route which was on the North. Doing so made us go through the Bravo Airspace, not a a problem we had the clearance to. I was able to see my next checkpoint of PTW and over PTW made my course change into LNS. I was able to see LNS at about 20 miles out as it was a clear day.
On the way back it was a lot easier. I was able to see the towers near PTW I was using on the outbound and then turned for home after that. On the way back it was neat as we were over the Willow Grove, NAS and on our right was downtown Philly and to left, the Northeast, we could see the NYC skyline.
I couldn't believe the weather. It was such a great day here in the Northeast with a big high pressure area dominating the region. I booked this flight three weeks ago before I went to Europe and I definetly lucked out with the weather. It was very turbulent throughout the flight and I was struggling to keep the altitude constant with what I filed and planned for.
Sitting back a few things I will change for my future cross-country flights. It is one thing to sit at the flight school and draw lines on the map, it is another thing to fly those lines. I will not skip any corners in the planning phases of the cross-country for the future and double check my headings. Once airborne I now see how important to turn to that heading ASAP you need to get to your first checkpoint.
I am glad my instructor allowed me to make the mistakes I did instead of immedietly telling me what I was doing wrong. This way he allowed me me learn by my mistakes. I also learned how important flight following is, for example, 169LP cleared through the Bravo Airspace
I am scheduled to fly Tuesday and Wednesday night. Then I have two four hour blocks one on Friday and then one on Saturday. I hope to go out to Long Island one of those days and perhaps Salisbury, Maryland, both lengthy trips. Maybe on Sunday I will go on a solo one, but we will see how I do.
Another important thing I learned today, perhaps the most important lesson of the day is that a PPL is AWESOME to have and I can't wait till I get it. However, IFR is the way to fly so your not in the air trying to figure out or look for a tower, lake, or airport, or figure out were in the world you are.
Hope I wasn't to lengthy or made to many mistakes in writing this, I am exausted from today but I wanted to get this stuff down.
