My First Solo Cross Country

flyguy

Well-Known Member
This morning, OAK (Oakland) to STS (Santa Rosa).
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Not quite as exciting as my first solo, but still hoards of fun!
 
outfrigginstanding !! I can still remember mine like it was yesterday

happy flying
 
my first solo x-country was pretty exciting . . . I was so nervous during the run-up (yes, using a checklist), I skipped over fixing my directional gyro with the compass, heading sw instead of south . . . fortunately my instructor taught me to use my resources and I never go on a x-country without flight following . . . they got me vectored to my destination SHD from MRB . . . encountered clouds and got diverted to a small apt out in the middle of nowhere 8W2-I believe, New Market.

Called my instructor to tell him what happened, he didn't seem as concerned as I thought he might . . . I guess he signed me off since he was confident I could handle whatever I encountered.

Called FSS to cancel flt plan, tell 'em where I was, file new flt plan with new course home . . . using VORs to help navigate.

Needless to say nervousness isn't an excuse for forgetting to set compass, but it was a learning experience, and I have yet to forget that part since.
 
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my first solo x-country was pretty exciting . . . I was so nervous during the run-up (yes, using a checklist), I skipped over fixing my directional gyro with the compass, heading sw instead of south . . . fortunately my instructor taught me to use my resources and I never go on a x-country without flight following . . . they got me vectored to my destination SHD from MRB . . . encountered clouds and got diverted to a small apt out in the middle of nowhere 8W2-I believe, New Market.

Called my instructor to tell him what happened, he didn't seem as concerned as I thought he might . . . I guess he signed me off since he was confident I could handle whatever I encountered.

Called FSS to cancel flt plan, tell 'em where I was, file new flt plan with new course home . . . using VORs to help navigate.

Needless to say nervousness isn't an excuse for forgetting to set compass, but it was a learning experience, and I have yet to forget that part since.

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Totaly Awesome!! I can't wait for mine!
 
Congratulations, it is a big accomplishment. It will always rank second to your first solo flight (atleast for me), but it will still be something you will remember forever.
 
I can remember my long xc and I was tracking a vor but kept crossing the road on my map and was getting off course. Then I rememberd that the vor was 8 miles NE of the field. oops... trust your instruments. I have not made that mistake since.
 
My first solo x-c was BTL > BEH, a safe choice b/c if you get lost you can pretty much follow I-94 the whole way (I, of course, had no need for it
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). I could even see my apartment along the way.
 
for my long night solo x-country, flew home to DE after work . . . my most favorite flight round-trip by far. Flew to DMW Carrol Co. Regional, then across the Ches. Bay to EVY, called parents to let 'em know I was about 10 min away, 35 min by car (how awesome is that), then to 33N where I met my parents, went out to dinner, then made the long straight shot home . . . flying over Baltimore at night at 6500 is awesome.

was flying toward a NWA 757 on his way to BWI and had to decend to avoid turbulence . . . then it all hit me . . . how awesome is it to fly home, skip traffic jams on the DC Beltway, and fly around in the same space as major airlines and their 757's and such.

Truly awe-inspiring!
 
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details?

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Okay I'll talk,

The weather was beautiful the whole way. Smooth air, clear sky, unlimmited visibility. I wasn't very nervous at all. OAK and STS both have VORs so I tracked OAK out and STS in, I felt like I ws cheating but I was taught to utalize all of my resources. I suppose I was only monitoring the VORs rather than tracking, to ensure I was on course, and I used a navigation log & followed my pre-planned headings. But I wasn't afraid of getting lost. On the way back the only instruments I needed to use were my altimeter and tachometer because once I got up to altitude I could see San Pablo Bay which is one of our pracice areas and I am very familiar with the area past that point. I also did a quick landing at Pentaluma (O69) on the way back because the syllabus said I had to land at 2 different airports not including my departure airport, and my instructor wanted me to land at an uncontrolled field. I did almost lose my comm radios though which kind of worried me. They got kind of scratchy while I was on with Oakland Center, but the problem went away once I got on with Norcal Approach. Other than that it was uneventfull.
 
I think my first solo xc was more memorable than my first solo. I think just getting from point A to B to A without getting lost just seemed amazing to me at the time. Either way, congrats!
 
Actually my most memorable flight was my first solo out to the practice area. I really felt like I was a pilot, and was flying and getting around on my own at that point. I'll never forget it.
 
Nice safe trip. You can fly airport to airport on that route, and as long as you are a few thousand feet, always be within gliding distance of something, between all the closed military fields, and the active small stuff. I like going up that way because to get there, I go up along the coast of HAF, and SFO, then do a little bay tour lap or two before heading on up.
Petaluma is a good stop. Cool little pilot shop on that field, and good eats too. Up in that area, I'd suggest you go to Sonoma Skypark, next time you are with an instructor. It is a great field to see why you practice short field work, and a steep angle to clear stuff at the end of the runway!
A little up past STS, Healdsburg and Cloverdale are both fun little stops in the area, and cheap gas.
 
Cool, thanks for the tidbits. Its good to have someone else familiar with the area that can give me ideas.
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Don't forget to do some softfield work at Frazier Lake (just North of Hollister). When I was there (at the end of last summer) it was a little strip of green grass surrounded by lots of dry, brown landscape. At least that made it easy to find!
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Great Job
I am impressed with pilots learning to fly in crazy airspace like that. I learned on a grass runway and basically in the country.
 
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outfrigginstanding !!

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Ditto.

Oh...fly4free.... get your own saying. "Outstanding" and any variation thereof... is mine.


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Oh...fly4free.... get your own saying. "Outstanding" and any variation thereof... is mine.


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I knew it sounded familiar. Sorry
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How about ......

GotDangDiggityDog

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Congrats!!! My instructor sent me to a field that was really hard to find for my private x-country. Talk about a challenge! I just did a commercial multi-engine x-country last night from FPR (Ft Pierce) to TMB in Miami. I have never seen so many lights in my life!
The controller vectored us right over Miami International on the return leg! You can't beat it!

Happy flying!

Tommy Leverett
 
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