First Solo Cross Country

A

alland

Pre-takeoff checklist
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alland
Well folks I hope you don't mind me telling you....

I completed my first solo cross country this morning, KLAL - KOCF- KLAL

I can tell you I was pretty nervous waiting to go this morning, but once on the way it was an incredible experience, and I've had a smile on my face ever since...
Weather permitting, to-morrow morning I'm going to do my long solo c/x
via 3 class delta airports.
 
Its a great feeling of accomplishment isn't it?
Congrats!
 
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It sure is an incredible feeling, thanks Adam.

Feels even more incredible for me, I'm 64yrs old and just realizing a lifelong dream to become a pilot !
 
It's great isn't it?! That long solo cross country is that "I really can do this" moment, or it was for me anyway. Enjoy it and remember to look out the window and take it all in every once in a while.

Have fun!!
 
This is the best part!

Remember, "...student pilot..." and request flight following if you've been told how to.
 
AuntPeggy said:
This is the best part!

Remember, "...student pilot..." and request flight following if you've been told how to.
Click to expand...

Yes important to tell ATC that you are a student pilot, today, they were great, didn't rush me and made sure I understood their instructions.

And at Ocala he even stayed with me for a while after I had climbed out of pattern and turned for home.
 
alland said:
Well folks I hope you don't mind me telling you....

I completed my first solo cross country this morning, KLAL - KOCF- KLAL

I can tell you I was pretty nervous waiting to go this morning, but once on the way it was an incredible experience, and I've had a smile on my face ever since...
Weather permitting, to-morrow morning I'm going to do my long solo c/x
via 3 class delta airports.
Click to expand...

Congrats! This is what it's all about!
 
Nice work. You can now officially call yourself a full fledged pilot. Nothing different from what you did today than what us private pilot's get to do except the check ride. You also don't have to say "student pilot" anymore- always felt weird to me even though I always did it.:D

Enjoy the feeling and make sure to take a picture when you land of the airports you land at during your long XC. I did and 100's of pictures from flying later those are still my favorites to look at!
 
You never have to say student pilot.

Some people (and the AIM) think it's a good idea to do so, just to give a heads up. My strategy was to use it if I felt I was getting overwhelmed or otherwise needed it; I never had to pull the trigger even once.

Controllers (for the most part) want to be understood, and won't overdo it.

This is the fun part of training. Enjoy it.
 
Congrats!

I would always forget to tell ATC I was a student whenever I soloed. I would be too preoccupied with the flight to remember.
 
Awesome, thanks for sharing. Solo is a big deal, but getting the craft somewhere on your own starts building airmanship. Congrats!
 
Congrats! Did the weather permit the long solo XC? (My wife only did one flight that incorporated all of her solo XC work. It was only 10nm short of qualifying for the Commercial XC!)
 
Congrats.

Did my first night to KLAL during my PPL. Nice airport. Have not been there in a few months. Maybe next weekend if I do not go to the east coast.

Doug
 
alland said:
Yes important to tell ATC that you are a student pilot, today, they were great, didn't rush me and made sure I understood their instructions.

And at Ocala he even stayed with me for a while after I had climbed out of pattern and turned for home.
Click to expand...

Even after 15 years if ATC gets surley I tell them I'm a student. Amazing how they slow down and help! ;)
 
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gprellwitz said:
Congrats! Did the weather permit the long solo XC? (My wife only did one flight that incorporated all of her solo XC work. It was only 10nm short of qualifying for the Commercial XC!)
Click to expand...

Yes I did my long XC yesterday took off from KLAL, called and fueled the airplane at KZPH, departed for KGNV, arrived and stretched my legs for a few minutes then I departed for KOCF, did a full stop landing there and taxied back to depart for my home field KLAL?
Weather when I left Lakeland in the morning was good and nothing bad reported when I checked with the weather briefer during pre flight, but once I was on route the clouds started to build at a lower altitude than I would have liked, but I listened in to the radio at airports in the areas I passed through and all seemed pretty stable as far as staying VFR, so I continued with the flight as planned it got a bit bumpy and I descended a couple of times to avoid clouds and i have to admit i was more than a little nervous at times, but i didn't take any unnecessary chances and was prepared to turn for home if things looked like getting worse ahead, but the weather behaved and I was happy the flight went well.
Total flight time 3.4hrs.

All my requirements are now completed, so I am going to have a couple days of no flying and no studying and relax before starting my check ride prep. Which my CFI says as far as he is concerned,when I am happy to go for it he is happy to book the check ride.
Now that will be the day I become a nervous wreck ....:yikes:
 
I did a really long solo cross country as well, probably for the same reason. You have to have 5 hours of solo time.

I did KPAO -> KMER -> KFCH -> KPAO. Yup, I went all the way to Fresno. Anyone who lives there will tell you it's far from anything (one old joke is that it's closer to the Sun than anything to do). KMER was a blast to land at. It's a former SAC base, with a 12,000 foot runway 200 feet wide (striped down to 150), intended for B-52s.

There is something to be said for that -- I learned that my aircraft, despite being 34 years old, was indeed capable of performing to the POH surprisingly precisely. The estimated top of climb out of Fresno at 8500 feet was in exactly the right place and at the right time. Measured fuel burn over the whole flight was right on (8.5 GPH -- POH says 8.4).

My CFI said I could do some solo landing practice to burn the time. That didn't seem like the point to me, so I opted to plan a more distant flight instead.

I needed 3.1 hours. I burned 3.3. One hell of an experience.
 
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Congratulations! My long solo xc was also my "I'm really a pilot!" moment. Mine was KORL - KOCF - KBKV - KORL. That was 2005. I had to wait about 4 weeks due to the combination of weather, my schedule and my CFI's schedule.

John
 
Thanks for sharing this. Always love hearing about xc's, and I totally agree - don't feel like a pilot when you're just flying in circles around a pattern or in the practice area. I'm happy for you!
 
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