First Solo Cross Country

[Lucas]

I completed my first solo cross country this weekend between Mc Clellan-Palomar Airport (KCRQ) and San Bernardino - International (KSBD). Just thought I would share the experience. Click watch in HD it will make it 10x better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-clvKJ6ArA

 

[DaveCombs]

Congrats! Getting a pilot's license is on my list of stuff I wanna do before I keel over.

 

[Microspeed]

Congratulations! What kind of plane did you fly? My dad has a 1946 Cessna 120 that he flies on the occasion; I'd also like to get my pilots license sometime . Nice landing.

 

[Lucas]

Thanks!

That looks like a beautiful plane! I was flying a Cessna 152.

 

[Pantherjon]

Nicely done Lucas! Nice landings too..One step closer to that Private Pilots License!

 

[AKPilot]

Congrats! When are you going to take the practical and oral?

I love cross country flying! It's when you really get to relax and enjoy the moment.

I've done a few in my time, privately. My favorite was Tokyo to Okinawa (300 miles open ocean in a 172RG). Flying over an open ocean is calm and surreal. And hey, if you ever hit engine problems you just look for the nearest ocean freighter and land in front of it, to the right. LOL!

 

[mach7]

Excellent!

Nice job, flying solo sure is fun. I never get to fly alone anymore.

Good job with the swivel head. How far along are you?

If you think that was fun wait until your long cross country!

Love the 152, Cessna sure build nice trainers.

Do you always fly the same plane? I'll listen up next time I'm in the LA area.

I last flew into KSBD in 1984, but it was called Norton AFB then. Time sure flies.

 

[Lucas]

Flying the 172 out there must have been an experience! I am hoping to take the practical next week sometime. I keep putting it off because I can't decide if I know enough, but I really just need to go for it I think. I am not completely sure about the checkride, maybe a week or so after that.

I am doing my long cross country Saturday! Palomar-Redlands-Hemit-Palomar. And no I don't always fly the same plane... There's N152SM, N89815, N5447L, N4711B, and N757JB. hahahahahah

 

[mach7]

Oh man that photo looks familiar! I took my private pilot flight test in a 152 that was it's twin! Same paint, tail number N49985. Of course that was Aug 14 1980!

Have a great time Sunday! Do you know who you will take your checkride with? As for knowing enough, your instructor won't let you go if he is not sure you will pass.

 

[CharlaineC]

geee i raly feel like an old chick because well i flew and trained on an old sopwith camel and a fokker. never flew closed cockpit. never finished getting my licence either seeing its a pain to transfer ga to ri

 

[Handeman]

Congrats! Getting a pilot's license is on my list of stuff I wanna do before I keel over.

You're saying that it's on your Bucket List?

 

[GuyNoir]

I am hoping to take the practical next week sometime

My flight exam was given by an ex-Navy instructor who did nothing by constantly berate my flying for the entire hour we were in the plane together. I thought for sure I had flunked, but after I got through refueling the 150 (!), I walked into the office and he had an ancient portable typewriter (this was in 1980) typing out my ticket.

I've told my wife that if she has the misfortune to write my obituary, she d*** well better say I was a pilot.

 

[AKPilot]

My instructors were Japanese, in Tokyo. They all carried those expandable metal pointers. They were always leaning across hitting my instruments to improve my scan and to correct me when I went out of PTS standards on all my tickets. To this day when in trouble I still hear in my head, "Troy-san you trying to kill me?!" LOL!

Needless to say when I returned to the states and was flying their techniques paid off, I was pretty precise on everything. Paid off as well flying, some, bush in Alaska.

 

[mach7]

Lucas,

One thing to remember is The check pilot is not looking for perfection. They are looking to see if you are safe. Being a safe competent pilot is better than being someone with great hands, but no airsense.

It's very gratifying to see young people getting into aviation. With the costs involved, shrinking uncontrolled airspace, and many of the mom and pop airstrips disappearing it amazes me that anyone starts flying.

 

[SwingWing]

My flight exam was given by an ex-Navy instructor who did nothing by constantly berate my flying for the entire hour we were in the plane together. I thought for sure I had flunked, but after I got through refueling the 150 (!), I walked into the office and he had an ancient portable typewriter (this was in 1980) typing out my ticket.

I've told my wife that if she has the misfortune to write my obituary, she d*** well better say I was a pilot.

I flew with a similar instructer once, (not on a flight exam). We were doing pattern work at a (now gone) small grass strip, and he kept complianing about me flying "bomber patterns". Any pattern wider than could be landed from in a power off, full on slip was too big for him. I moved on.

 

[GuyNoir]

I flew with a similar instructer once, (not on a flight exam). We were doing pattern work at a (now gone) small grass strip, and he kept complianing about me flying "bomber patterns". Any pattern wider than could be landed from in a power off, full on slip was too big for him. I moved on.

If it had been my instructor (God bless Tom Goldthorpe), I would have moved on. The only time I can recall Tom being upset, even with the bone headed stunts all students commit from time to time, the conversation went something like this:

"Full right rudder. . . . full right rudder!. . . FULL RIGHT RUDDER!!!!"

 

[Pat_B]

I had a guy for my check ride who weighed over 300lbs. Everyone in the local flying community knew that the plane would be over its weight limits with this guy aboard, but no one dared mentioned it. So it was an unwritten rule that it was OK to be be too heavy with this guy on the plane and he never asked to do a weight and balance check.

Nonetheless, a few of my landings were rougher than normal in the small Piper Tomahawk. You pretty much had to fly it into the ground in order to preven stalling.

One of this guy's favorite things to do was to take out an aviation sectional and point to some markings that consisted of two round circles that appeared to be gas storage tanks. In reality it was the number "8" that appeared on the map.

This guy was an ornery son of a gun too- I wonder if Mark's guy was the same one I had. One time he had me under the hood to do some IFR work then he told me to take off the hood. He then immediately requested to do an extreme maneuver that would qualify as aerobatic according to the FAA, and one that could not be performed over a populated area. Of course, he had me over a populated area when I was under the hood and I took it for granted that when he requested the extreme maneuver that HE was granting me permission. Nope- he blew up at me for my unsafe move despite that fact that he had directed it. He later ended up in prison for a pretty serious crime.

 

[GuyNoir]

I had a guy for my check ride who weighed over 300lbs. .... I wonder if Mark's guy was the same one I had.

Don't think so; he didn't weigh anywhere near 300 lbs.

I was a bit annoyed when he simulated the engine failure on me during 60 degree turns around a point during the check ride. . .

 

[Pantherjon]

Don't think so; he didn't weigh anywhere near 300 lbs.

I was a bit annoyed when he simulated the engine failure on me during 60 degree turns around a point during the check ride. . .

YIKES! That's a little drastic!! I was all fired up and ready to get my PPL a few years back..Then as a line in a song goes 'the engine blew up and the money ran out'..sigh..

{Best Ralph Crandon voice} One of these days...ONE OF THESE DAYS!!...{/Ralphy's voice}

 

[mach7]

Hey Lucas, any updates?

 

[sandman]

My instructor use to love to open the window of our 152 at about 50' above the ground just as I was climbing.

Do you have any idea how loud that is at full throttle when you're concentrating on the climbout! The firsat time he did it I thought the wing fell off!

After a few time I'd watch him out of the corner of my eye..."Max, get your hand off the window latch!"

My instructors name was "Max". Ya just gotta learn to fly from a guy named "Max".

 

[Pantherjon]

I had a friend that when he went for his check ride the evaluator OPENED his door on take off! Let's just say some 'not so nice' words were said to the evaluator for him to shut his door!

He passed his check ride anyway..

So, any news Lucas?

 

[Thrustline]

First X-C was in 1979 from Northampton to Nashua. My X-C, I got the fright of my life landing in a gusty X-wind in what was Waterford airport. Went to Sowell Aviation in 81/2 and got all my tickets...Comm, Multi, CFII. Worked as instructor for 4 years and then went back into the Airforce.
Favorite aircraft I've flown...
J3 w/85hp...once landed on RC field & girlfriends backyard (showoff)
Twin Commanche...won $200 bet fro greasing a landing!
Piper Aztec N62497...way too many trips in this bird.
Piper Aerostar.....steer nose wheel with fingers...that's crazy.
Cessna P210 with Conversion....fun at low level,,,great roll rate!
Mooney 231....fast...nasty in X-winds.
Cher 140, 160,180....training & more training
C-150/2....rather the 152 thank you very much.
Cher "T" Lance...a little yaw anyone?

Biggest Thrill
L-100 right seat time.

 

[dr wogz]

how to impress your instructor.. Show him how to check the plugs..

 

[Pat_B]

A friend of mine who now flies for Continental got his early experience doing Grand Canyon tourism flights out of Henderson, NV. I'd take a cheap flight to Vegas and spend the weekend with him flying. His father-in-law owned the operation and was an WWII pilot. This guy (father-in-law) onced landed on top of a mesa and broke one of the landing gear off the plane. He proceeded to clamp it back together with two pairs of vice grip pliers and took off from there!

They had pictures of this same guy water skiing in the Colorado River by dipping one of the tires into the water as he flew.

Had some great times flying with my friend in the canyons even though he was a bit crazy. I never liked the idea of being 1,000 feet or so below the Canyon rim and having to turn around by basically making a tight turn while being entirely surrounded by rocks. My friend knew which areas he could successfully do a U-turn while still providing quite the thrill as the rock face would only be a few hundred feet of way when the plane finally completed the arc of the turn. There were also some twin spires that he would fly through that left just enough room for clearance at both sides of the wing tips.

He never did answer the question as to how he could be sure that another plane wasn't nearby. They got in the habit of flying directly over the National Park Service boats in the river so that they couldn't see the plane's ID number on the tail. I understand that they no longer allow flights below the rim.

 

[mach7]

I'm not sure I should admit this,but it was a long time ago.

I took a T-38 into the canyon in 1984. That was FUN!

 

[BsSmith]

I've always wanted to do this, I love flying in small planes.

Now I need to find out how old I need to be to do this.

 

[Lucas]

I've always wanted to do this, I love flying in small planes.

Now I need to find out how old I need to be to do this.

You can start whenever. You need to be 16 to solo and 17 to get your license.

 

[GuyNoir]

First X-C was in 1979 from Northampton to Nashua.

On my longer solo cross country, I was headed into Galesburg, IL, and something didn't look quite right about the airport. As I got closer, the tower called and said "rock your wings . . . . OK, you're lined up on the wrong runway. Winds are calm, go ahead and land anyway."

Favorite aircraft I've flown...

Hands down: Jay Apt's Beech N35. Sweetest handling airplane EVER!!

 

[mach7]

We have kind of hijacked Lucas's thread.

Lucas any more info? Did you take your check ride?