Did my night XC!

[Ted]

After several weeks of waiting for a night when the weather cooperated, my flight instructor was available, and I was available, the stars finally aligned (pun intended) and last night I was able to take my night cross country.

I arrived at the airport before dark, pulled the plane out and pre-flighted it. My instructor decided we were going to fly to Allentown (ABE). With club rules, all night flying (except within a 3 mile radius of the airport) needs to be instrument. So he filed the instrument flight plan to fly there and back. This gave me some practice doing instrument radio work, which was good. It was also some very good practice, having to spot an airport I was completely unfamiliar with (having never been there before) at night.

A better night would be difficult to ask for. There were no clouds in the sky at all, and no bumps, either, with about a 10 kt wind. The flight went smoothly. I couldn't find the airport until we were 5 miles out, but this is the first time I've had to find an airport at night, and I had no references.

One of my friends from work wanted to come along, as he has had very limited time in small planes and has never been in one at night. Thanks to the club rules, it is rare to get night flights in our planes, so this was a good opportunity and my instructor didn't mind. He seemed to enjoy himself greatly (we're trying to get him hooked), and certainly loved the view.

He took this picture, which is coming into Runway 27 at IPT:

Sadly, it will probably be a while until my next night flight, I suspect, simply because I can't fly these planes unless it's instrument, and no instrument rating for me for a while.

 

[tonycondon]

cool ted.

i did the night XC with one of my PP-ASEL's tonight. was a beautiful (but damn cold!) night to fly in Iowa

 

[KennyFlys]

I love night flight.

Except for an early AM photo flight when someone wants to take pictures of traffic with the window open.

I'm glad ya had a great flight.

 

[nddons]

My night XC was a defining moment for me. We did a daylight XC from Monroe, NC to Spartanburg, SC, and up to Ashville, NC in the mountains. We waited for dark, and left into VERY black surroundings, until we got over the mountain and saw the Piedmont area lit up and leading to Charlotte. It was beautiful. Charlotte approach gave us flight following, and vectors around and below Charlotte's Class Bravo airspace. Their vectors took us DIRECTLY over the Catawba nuclear power plant - we could tell we were over it when we hit some decent turbulence from the heat coming off of the cooling towers. Wild.

I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. Nothing says you can't do more of this with an instructor for the experience!

 

[t0r0nad0]

Good job Ted! You're even further on your way!

 

[stingray]

Did you get to land without the lights on? Night flying is a blastNot a bad policy on the IFR during night time flights by the way.

Dan

 

[Ted]

Stan, my instructor's wife is who says I can't do more night XCs with him! I know that more opportunities will come up. My first night XC was actually in November flying an Aztec from Maine to Williamsport with my instructor. We were doing a favor to a friend of his who needed a one way ticket to the north eastern tip of Maine. A more perfect night could not be asked for for that trip. There was no moon, not a cloud in the sky, and we were flying over the middle of nowhere at 6500 ft. It was just us and the stars, the engines humming away on either side. The same guy seems to keep on wanting to fly up there, so there may be another trip like that.

The runway lights were on both places. I'm not sure if Allentown has a localizer that you can follow. IPT does, and so if the runway lights had been off we could have followed that in. As to landing with the landing lights off, we did that a few times when we did the night landings training.

It was a great experience. I have to say I prefer night flying to day flying overall. I am really looking forward to the experience (after I get my instrumet ticket) if flying in IMC at night and then breaking out and seeing the ILS at Williamsport. Given the tendency to have lots of clouds around here, it's about guaranteed to happen sometime.

Onward and upward - hopefully some more time tomorrow and I will be close to the check ride!

 

[AuntPeggy]

Good for you. Night flying is the best.

 

[Everskyward]

A more perfect night could not be asked for for that trip. There was no moon, not a cloud in the sky, and we were flying over the middle of nowhere at 6500 ft. It was just us and the stars, the engines humming away on either side.

Isn't that so cool? It makes you feel like you are the only ones in the universe.

My first flight at night was actually the end of a day dual cross-country. A little before sunset my CFI had me put on a hood. I think I must have flown quite a long time that way because when he decided to have me take it off he said something like, "Here's what the (San Francisco) Bay Area looks like at night." We were crossing the last ridge southeast of Oakland and the towns and cities below were lit up like jewels. I've always thought that it did it intentionally and it made a big impression on me, one that I remember all these years later.

 

[tonycondon]

most of my students are also astounded on their first night flights. i always try to get one flight on a cloudy (not fun) night and another on a beautiful clear (fun) night. almost all of them are surprised at just how many lights dot the landscape of flat ole iowa. all those farmers have at least a light or two in their yards at night and it really looks neat.

 

[vontresc]

I remember my night XC. We flew from OSH to ATW to do the 10 night takeoffs and landings, and then went down to MKE for the XC bit. I made the "mistake" of mentioning that I was a student pilot at some time, so I think they turned on every damn light at the MKE airport, and vectored me for one of the main runways. I felt so small landing that old Cherokee 140 on a 9700x200 foot runway.

The other thing I remember that day was when we were taxing back to the rwy we had the door open for ventilation, and before we knew it our chicago sectional got sucked out the door never to be seen again .

We flew back without a sectional, but I hope the statue of limitations is up on that far violation by now...

Pete

 

[tonycondon]

my first night XC was also my first time to a control tower, and to an airport any bigger than estherville, ia municipal. i spent the entire time in the pattern at sioux falls completely confused as to where exactly the runway was. and my headset wasnt working very well and i was missing radio calls. when i went back, solo, during the day, everything went much better.

 

[Ted]

Isn't that so cool? It makes you feel like you are the only ones in the universe.

That's for sure! Flying a twin at night, especially through the middle of nowhere (where you legitimately are the only one in the sky) has to be among the coolest things I've ever done. You really do feel like the whole universe is yours. Especially when the ground is nothing but pitch black below you, it's probably the closest you can come to being in space.

My first flight at night was actually the end of a day dual cross-country. A little before sunset my CFI had me put on a hood. I think I must have flown quite a long time that way because when he decided to have me take it off he said something like, "Here's what the (San Francisco) Bay Area looks like at night." We were crossing the last ridge southeast of Oakland and the towns and cities below were lit up like jewels. I've always thought that it did it intentionally and it made a big impression on me, one that I remember all these years later.

That is very cool. It is my thought that any good instructor (at least one who "gets it") will make sure that you get some kind of big impression experience (or more than one, preferably) that will really get you hooked on how great this flying thing really is. While Missa is responsible for me starting the journey, I can think of a few things so far that have really made big impressions on me. Listed in chronological order:

1) My second lesson, an IFR flight in his Commanche from IPT to PIT to pick up my fiancee at the time. In 3 hours we did what would've been an 8 hour drive. That was just a cool. How many students have as their second entry in their log book a 2.7 hour cross country with 1 hour of real instrument time in a complex?

2) The Aztec ride mentioned.

3) Flying my fiancee at the time from IPT to Princeton in his Navajo.

4) Flying his son from IPT to Wilkes-Barre in his Navajo. That was a really cool flight. The clouds in Williamsport were a thin layer, but they had ice in them, and were snowing slightly. There was a light dusting of powder on the runways and taxiways as we taxied the plane over for takeoff. The big TIO-540-A2Cs spinning their props blew the powder away, and we took off into the sky with the white powder blowing all around. Then we broke through the clouds and it was a very pretty day.

Of course, all these experiences have done is reinforce that I want a twin.

 

[tonycondon]

ted - all of us CFIs who give a damn wish we had the resources to give our students the experiences you have gotten from your CFI.

 

[AdamZ]

My night XC was KPNE to KABE to KLNS refuel and back to KPNE

 

[Ted]

ted - all of us CFIs who give a damn wish we had the resources to give our students the experiences you have gotten from your CFI.

Of course, but such experiences don't necessarily need to be so extravagant. I've just been very fortunate.

 

[Everskyward]

That is very cool. It is my thought that any good instructor (at least one who "gets it") will make sure that you get some kind of big impression experience (or more than one, preferably) that will really get you hooked on how great this flying thing really is.

I have to give this particular individual a lot of credit. He spent a lot of time trying to sink the hook and was always encouraging me to go further in aviation although that was not really my original intent. I don't quite remember what my original intent was. He was my CFI all through my private and also gave me checkouts in the 172 and 182. We lost touch after I moved away but about 6 or 7 years ago, on a lark, I looked him up in the FAA database and sent him a letter. We have kept in touch ever since and he is still the same way, wanting to encourage me in my career.

I don't actively instruct now so I don't get to meet a lot of new pilots, however, I'm always happy to have people come up while we are in cruise and ask questions about the airplane or whatever. It's always fun when people express some interest in what we are doing.