kenjr
Line Up and Wait
Well, it wasn't necessarily intended to be a night flight...but thankfully I had gone up with my CFI a couple weeks ago to get night current since I hadn't flown at night since we did the night XC back in May.
I took my brother in law over to Galveston, TX (from Austin, TX) for some beachy golf and seafood. On the way out I got to call Flight Watch for the first time ever - we never even did it when I was in training. It was pretty cool. When we got off from KGTU I could immediately see a layer over the Houston area that was pretty low and stretched for miles out towards the coast. Of course, I had done all my homework and knew that there was going to be some low stuff lingering around until around 11AM (which was about an hour from then...ETA to destination was 1.5 hours). Flight Watch was awesome...reassured me that the weather would be fine (it was already fine...just would get better by the time I got there).
I had told Austin Approach that I was going to go off frequency to talk to Flight Watch and called back in when I switched back. He welcomed me back with no additional info. We're flying along and I'm looking down at my chart and realize we're about 20 miles from the Houston Class B. In my previous flight to KGLS, Austin approach handed me off much earlier. So, I called him and asked, "Austin Approach...Cherokee 13W...did I miss a radio call to switch to Houston?" He said, "Yes, I've been trying to get a hold of you...they know you're coming...frequency change approved...". That was odd - we had comms going full time in the headset and never once heard them calling for us. Good lesson to learn - just because you're on flight following don't hang around and count on them to tell you what's going on - know where you are and what SHOULD be happening...jump on and ask what's going on if something's not right.
By the time we got to KGLS though the winds were well above what the METAR's had shown me. On final I was dealing with a 15 knot / 25 knot gusting (and it was gusty!) wind that was one of the fiercest I've encountered. Even the Houston Approach controller when handing me off and giving me the current conditions said, "Well, it's pretty windy down there...". For him to say that I knew we were going to get a ride coming in. Wind was from 220 and I was landing on 17...so, that was fun. I've flown out to KGLS before (in fact it was my first XC as a PPL) and it was ocean breezy but nothing like this. I got her down with no issues - wasn't the prettiest landing - but my brother in law, who was on his very first flight in a GA plane commented that it was a great landing. So, I'll take it.
We didn't get off until a little after 5pm and the winds had changed a bit so Houston Approach sent us a good 15 miles south and out of our way to make room for Houston Hobby traffic. We were also fighting the 20 knot headwind that we enjoyed on the way out.
So, it was a longer flight than expected but absolutely gorgeous. Never seen a sunset like this from the air. I was glad I had my good camera with me in my bag and remembered to pull it out to snap a picture. I couldn't help but keep repeating to myself, "Man, this is why we fly...".
As you all know, this picture doesn't even come close to doing the full view justice but it was a pretty fantastic end to a great flight with a lot of new learning experiences.
I took my brother in law over to Galveston, TX (from Austin, TX) for some beachy golf and seafood. On the way out I got to call Flight Watch for the first time ever - we never even did it when I was in training. It was pretty cool. When we got off from KGTU I could immediately see a layer over the Houston area that was pretty low and stretched for miles out towards the coast. Of course, I had done all my homework and knew that there was going to be some low stuff lingering around until around 11AM (which was about an hour from then...ETA to destination was 1.5 hours). Flight Watch was awesome...reassured me that the weather would be fine (it was already fine...just would get better by the time I got there).
I had told Austin Approach that I was going to go off frequency to talk to Flight Watch and called back in when I switched back. He welcomed me back with no additional info. We're flying along and I'm looking down at my chart and realize we're about 20 miles from the Houston Class B. In my previous flight to KGLS, Austin approach handed me off much earlier. So, I called him and asked, "Austin Approach...Cherokee 13W...did I miss a radio call to switch to Houston?" He said, "Yes, I've been trying to get a hold of you...they know you're coming...frequency change approved...". That was odd - we had comms going full time in the headset and never once heard them calling for us. Good lesson to learn - just because you're on flight following don't hang around and count on them to tell you what's going on - know where you are and what SHOULD be happening...jump on and ask what's going on if something's not right.
By the time we got to KGLS though the winds were well above what the METAR's had shown me. On final I was dealing with a 15 knot / 25 knot gusting (and it was gusty!) wind that was one of the fiercest I've encountered. Even the Houston Approach controller when handing me off and giving me the current conditions said, "Well, it's pretty windy down there...". For him to say that I knew we were going to get a ride coming in. Wind was from 220 and I was landing on 17...so, that was fun. I've flown out to KGLS before (in fact it was my first XC as a PPL) and it was ocean breezy but nothing like this. I got her down with no issues - wasn't the prettiest landing - but my brother in law, who was on his very first flight in a GA plane commented that it was a great landing. So, I'll take it.
We didn't get off until a little after 5pm and the winds had changed a bit so Houston Approach sent us a good 15 miles south and out of our way to make room for Houston Hobby traffic. We were also fighting the 20 knot headwind that we enjoyed on the way out.
So, it was a longer flight than expected but absolutely gorgeous. Never seen a sunset like this from the air. I was glad I had my good camera with me in my bag and remembered to pull it out to snap a picture. I couldn't help but keep repeating to myself, "Man, this is why we fly...".
As you all know, this picture doesn't even come close to doing the full view justice but it was a pretty fantastic end to a great flight with a lot of new learning experiences.
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