First solo cross-country

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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Cowman
Well ok not much of one, only about 58nmi.... which just happens to be the distance from the airport my instructor lives by and my home airport, imagine that!

Nobody got hurt, the airplane is undamaged, didn't get lost, and didn't bust any regs so I'm calling it a success.

Granted it was kinda hard to screw up navigation with a garmin 430, a VOR to home in on, an iphone loaded with foreflight, and a familiar road to follow but still I'm damned happy about this. I have now done all the things I need to do to travel in my own airplane from point to point without help. Now I just have to get better at them and be ready for less perfect days and less familiar territory.
 
The difference between a long cross country and a short cross country is how many times you stop. A long cross country is just a bunch of short flights put together for a great adventure.you can always land and reconsider our objective.
 
The longer cross countries will be really fun.........I did KPOC-KPTV-KSBA-KPOC......taking off out of Santa Barbara over the ocean was just a thrill for a newbie......it all gets easier.................enjoy the ride.............
 
Did you look out the window and see any cows? ...and if so, did you notice the direction they were facing?
 
Congrats! My first xc was 3CK to KVYS and back - so only 5 nm more - but man, that's just a start. Congrats again!
 
nosehair said:
Did you look out the window and see any cows? ...and if so, did you notice the direction they were facing?
Click to expand...

Is that like flying toward College Station?

Coming down from Dallas, I know I'm getting close when I see all of the sheep on the north side of the pasture.
 
nosehair said:
Did you look out the window and see any cows? ...and if so, did you notice the direction they were facing?
Click to expand...

Hint: That's the only way to tell where the _______ is coming from in East Texas, because there's no water or trees. :)
 
Congratulations!

Doing my first solo XC tomorrow - KMYF to KHMT, probably around 55 NM or so. Beautiful ride, especially if the marine layer clears and I can do the first leg up the coast.
 
Congrats on your first trip! About 30 minutes?

Long cross countries are done the same way, visual checkpoints every few miles, won't always have that road to follow, or an airplane with GPS.

Long trips, broken down into 3 to 3.5hr legs, cross country becomes "across the country".
 
Congrats on the solo cross-country. Now learn how to do it without all the crutches.

In a pinch, you should be capable of getting around with pilotage and/or ded reckoning alone.
 
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