Lesson #22: My incredible day - solo long cross country

After the previous day's exploits (and joys) I followed up with an even better day. This was my first solo long cross country. And what a day. I would say this was one of the best experiences of my life.

 

Once again the weather was absolutely beautiful. When the sun is out like this (and it's out far more than people believe when they think of Seattle), there can be few better places to live. We are very lucky and my flying gives me an ever greater sense of this as I see the area in a different context. Anyway, to the solo...

A Little More Than Needed

Part 141 calls for at least five hours cross country solo time and that one of the trips should be over 150 nautical miles, with one leg over 50 and landings at three airports (including the home airport). I wanted to make the most of my day so I threw in an extra 16 miles and an extra airport.

First Up, Lynden

The first leg was a northerly trip to Lynden. This is often thought of as "the other" border crossing when traveling (on the ground) to Canada, Blain and its Peace Arch being the more traditional route.  So, Lynden is jus about as north as I could possibly go as a student pilot.

The trip up as a delight and given its length (68 miles, if memory serves) was my first real chance to take stock of what I was doing as student pilot all on my own in a plane. I handled the discussion with Whidbey Approach just fine and settled into a wonderful trip. In fact, the lack of "action" was no doubt a good sign - I took care of the basics just fine and was able to really enjoy the flight.

As I got abeam Bellingham I could see Lynden in the distance but, as Aaron has highlighted, the airport was tricky to find. It was basically right in town and surrounded by buildings. In fact - and I haven't seen this before - there are houses on one side of the runway, with their unfenced gardens set right up against the edge. Must be an interesting place for the kids to play.

Lynden is also - by my newbie standards - a relatively short field (at least compared to Paine). And it did cause a bit of a concern as I came in on final. I am not too good at "hitting the numbers" and so always find myself a little down the runway. I flared a fraction early, which is quite common for me right now. So, here I was, some way down the runway and floating along and starting to wonder if I have space. This was a student at work. After a brief thought about going around I did sink down onto the runway and find that I actually had plenty to play with. But I do need more practice here...

I taxied around and had the unexpected experience of another plane entering the pattern - unusual only because Lynden averages about 13 landings per day. After taking stock of my situation, I was off again. To...

Friday Harbor and It's Delights

The trip across the San Juans was just stunning!!! There was some cloud cover towards the north of the area - to the extent that I asked FSS if Friday Harbor was VFR, but it was just fine. It was pretty busy at Friday Harbor so I was on guard. But the entry to the pattern was fine. Unlike my landing...

When a landing doesn't go well for me it's generally because I flare early. I "decided" to try another form of bad landing at Friday Harbor - multiple bounces. Nothing particularly scary, but very ugly for me, especially with one or two planes enjoying the action from the taxiway.

I must admit that I wished I had time to park and wander around. Friday Harbor looked like a wonderful little place and the harbor is a short walk from the airport. It remains my location of choice if I realize my dream of taking Mum for that ride when she comes over at the end of the year.

I taxied back and took right off. Within a couple of minutes after turning south there was some action back at Friday Harbor. Someone coming in declared an emergency - I think it was a fire in the cabin. He got in OK but it was pretty disconcerting there for awhile.

Next Up, Sequim Valley

And then across the water to Sequim Valley. I climbed to 6,500 feet and took in the beautiful view again. Finding Sequim itself was pretty easy because of its sand spit. It took me a short while to find the airport (which turned out to be quite distinctive) and my landing wasn't great (crooked). But I came in, taxied back aside the field and then had to taxi back on the active for a while (I don't like back-taxiing). A nice departure and I was on my way back to Paine.

And Home Again and Reflecting

The trip east to Paine was lovely too and I didn't do anything wrong (goal one for the student pilot!). Again, the landing wasn't great but I had completed a wonderful trip.

This really was an awesome experience for me. I'd traveled 166 miles and had "held my own" in a plane. I'd landed at three airports I had never even seen before and even remembered to close my flight plan! Although there is always room for improvement I really felt quite comfortable. This was a breakthrough journey for me.

I walked around with a huge grin for a long while after this one...