Lesson 35 - First Solo Cross-Country
December 14, 2023
This is the coolest entry of my flying career so far. Today for the first time, I stepped in the big boys’ shoes and flew to an airport that is about 60 nautical miles (i.e. about 70 miles of straight line), and flew back.
All by myself.
That’s right ! I received a bunch of new endorsements, including local cross-country endorsement. Winter weather in Pittsburgh is usually very overcast, and windy, so getting a nice sunny day with favorable weather in December is like finding a four-leaf clover. It’s funny because all the big junctions on highways are looped around to allow the efficient exchange of the traffic, and colloquially these junctions are referred to as clover leaf. From top-view they look like kind of clover leaf, and they are actually four leaves.
Beyond the Prep - A Peek into My Mind
Before I embarked upon my cross-country flight, I prepared as much as I could. I got the weather briefing, I observed all the NOTAMs, TFRs, chair-flew my flight plan, chair-flew my comms, etc. But there are things beyond this preparation, and until now, that was Drew. He was my “ fall back guy ” for past 50 hours of my training. While he was fighting his own battles in getting type-rated for a different plane (which is very cool), here I was getting ready for my first solo cross-country trip, without my safety net in the right seat. All the things he and I have gone over, suddenly had a pronounced influence. Things that you don’t want to think about, but are very plausible:
Am I really prepared if engine quits on me?
Am I really prepared if radios and/or GPS stops working?
What if there is a smoke and fire in the cockpit?
Never been in these situations myself, but I have demonstrated my tendencies to the following in the past:
Lack of awareness of potential risks and consequences of stalls and spins. This is one of the biggest concern that Drew and Justin have about me.
Flat-spotting tire upon landing. What if the tire bursts upon landing when I am in Clarksburg. What are my options? Have someone drive down there to get me? Perhaps uber myself back to Pittsburgh?
I was preparing myself to all these potential situations mentally, but not really. I promised Drew that I will not take any unnecessary risks, and he can hold me accountable. If weather deteriorates, if pre-flight inspection is not to my standard, if winds start to pick up, I am staying on the ground. I would not fly until I am completely confident.
The Journey
I won’t go into any technical details, because frankly there isn’t anything different than I did before. What was different was my experience, being all by myself, owning my actions and being responsible for the consequences. There were some interesting things that I observed and experienced during my maiden cross-country trip. Some were spooky, some were fascinating, but all were educational.
Radio Trouble
I left Rostraver and switched the radio to Pittsburgh Departure Center to request flight following. In all my previous trips, the response has been immediate, but today, for over a minute I did not hear any acknowledgement, or response. I started to get nervous, and many reasons for it started to cloud my mind. The most prominent effect was that I started to question if there is anyone out there listening to me. I repeated again - “ Pitt Departure, Cessna November One Niner Six Eight Zero with a request. ”.
No Response for over a minute, again.
I started to think how I could troubleshoot. One thing I have experienced before is the noise-cancelling feature on my headset failing me sometimes. I immediately turned off noise cancelling feature and repeated again -
“ Pitt Departure, Cessna November One Niner Six Eight Zero ”
This time, the response came back, and I was relieved.
“November One Niner Six Eight Zero, Pitt ”
Today was particularly busy day for air traffic, so perhaps the delay was because of that factor, or perhaps my headset was giving me trouble, that is something for me to test before I fly next time. But from what I understood later, that what I experienced is not unusual. On a busy day, and/or center is short-staffed, getting delay in communication is possible, so that is something that I have to judge for myself in my future trips.
In the Wake of Jet’s Departure
As I landed at Clarksburg, I taxied back to runway 21 to fly back to Rostraver. Clarksburg (KCKB) is a big airport, and commercial airlines such as Allegiant, and Contour have regular routes to and from Clarksburg. As I was approaching to land, I saw that there was a jet holding short for me to land. I landed and as I was taxing back, I saw that the jet had started its take-off roll. I think it was Airbus 320. I was keeping track of where the jet would be taking off from. I certainly wanted to avoid wake turbulence, and for that I needed to take-off earlier than from where the Airbus 320 took off. These are the moments when you feel safe having CFI next to you.
NOT TODAY !
As I taxied and watched the jet take-off. It was a fascinating sight to see. Just like everybody else, watching a plane take-off is absolutely captivating to me, but as a pilot, I could not forget that I was in control of another plane, and that sense of increased accountability helped me get my focus back on task at hand - “ To take-off safely and get en route to Rostraver. ” I remembered my training well, and took-off well before jet’s wake and started my return journey, back to Rostraver.
Watching Parachute Jumper
When I was preparing my flight plan, I made a note of potential encounter with parachute enthusiasts. There was a defined parachute jumping area near Morgantown, and my flight path was intersecting right through that area. One of the added benefit of flight following is that, since they have all the information, when necessary, they vector you around the potential danger and get you back on the safe course. As I was flying back to Rostraver, at a distance, (if I have to guess may be 30-40 miles away), I saw something shining and floating. The reflected sunlight caught my attention and as I looked closely, I saw that that shining object was swirling and descending slowly in circles, and that’s when it hit me - parachute jumper. Watching that parachute jumper from 3500 feet was dazzling, and I was simply amazed to witness that.
You don’t come across such spectacle everyday, even if you are flying everyday.
But I am proud of myself for not letting go the control of my plane. Today, it was not only expected out of me, but it was of paramount importance, because there was no one in the right seat to save my ass. But if I fail, it affects not only me, but it reflects badly on my CFI as well, and somewhere back in my mind I know that I cannot let that happen.
The Return
Today was quite busy as everyone wanted to come out and fly. As I neared Rostraver, I saw that there was one plane in downwind and another plane was taking off of runway 26. I continued with my course, and communicated over radio that I was joining downwind for runway 26. But knowing that there was traffic around, I decided to join downwind a little farther away from my usual downwind leg. As I joined the downwind, I heard the guy behind me announcing that he was doing 360 degree turn to maintain separation for the incoming traffic, vis-a-vis, me.
As I think about it after the fact, perhaps the right thing for me to do was to do a 360 turn so that I would maintain proper separation for the traffic that is already in traffic pattern. If a plane is in traffic pattern, that plane has a right of way. In that moment, I did something that perhaps was not ideal, but I was decisive in my action. I remember sometime ago Drew had done the same thing - 360 degree turn to maintain separation - for another passing traffic, and I might have to do it for someone else in future, who knows? Being decisive and following the basic communication principles - who you are, where you are, and what you are doing is vital for any pilot, as it can avoid unnecessary difficult situations.
Leaving the home field and come back to it safely holds tremendous value and it is a very big step. AVIATE-NAVIGATE-COMMUNICATE - these three skills need to come together in order for you to demonstrate it. As I reminisce about today’s trip, I can tell that removing my safety net made me more accountable, more focused and committed, and sharpened my senses. My usage of checklist in different phases of flight showed that I was not complacent, and I tried to use all the help that was offered to me. Whenever potentially dangerous situation was presented, I followed the instructions provided to me and made everyone’s flying experience safer.
I can certainly sleep without bother tonight.
Very important stage to pass. Well done.