mmilano
Pre-takeoff checklist
Well I did it, and everything went pretty smooth till I got back to the airspace of CRQ.
I departed CRQ (carlsbad) for RAL (riverside).
Shortly after departing, I got my frequency change and opened my flight plan. Then I called So Cal approach for flight following. They advised me that 4500ft was below their radar and to call on another freq a few miles north of F70 (french valley)
Conditions were great, and by the time I was where they told me to call, I would only have been using FF for a few minutes, so I opted to go without.
I found RAL pretty easily and had an uneventful landing, just as I had hoped. I parked in transient, got a drink, and departed back to CRQ.
Everything is just great until I get about 3 miels from the field. This was my 4th flight from this airport, so it is not as familiar as the one where I did most of my training. I knew the basic route to get me headed toward the field, but I could not see it.
CRQ can be a very busy airport at time. It's class D, but they do have commercial jet traffic there a lot.
I'm entering the pattern on right base ( as I was supposed to ) but I had inbound traffic to my right, my left, and other traffic on long final.
When he called me #3 to land, I embarrasingly admitted I do not have the field in sight. He tells me to make a 90% left for the downwind at which time I saw the field.
So I do, but here's where it gets a little fusterating. He told me turn base, so I did. Then he tells me to make a box turn following with the instructions "that is a sharp 90 degree turn" .. so I did and immediately realized this turn put me facing into downwind traffic .. I was not on base long enough. As I start making the correction to aim toward the runway, he sternly tells me to make my turn wider.
Ok, I'll live with the embarrassment that I kind of screwed up his flow by not seeing the airport immediately, .. but then I get close and he tells me to start doing S turns to slow down so traffic in front of me can land and get off the runway.
I've never done this before, but ok, I know what he means... I'm about 1/2 miles from the runway and traffic in front of me was just touching down .. As I'm realizing there is no way this is gonna work, he tells me to go around, make left traffic and move south of the runway over the tower.
After extending downwind a little, things got back to normal and I landed just fine.
This landing experience definately knocked my confidence down a few knotches. I have mixed feelings about it. I think that I should have known exactly where the field was in the first place, .. but then, it was probably some real good experience with knowing instructions the tower might ask me to do in the future.
This XC helped with both my confidence and humbled me a little at the same time. I'm still looking foward to my next XC which will be a lot longer.
I departed CRQ (carlsbad) for RAL (riverside).
Shortly after departing, I got my frequency change and opened my flight plan. Then I called So Cal approach for flight following. They advised me that 4500ft was below their radar and to call on another freq a few miles north of F70 (french valley)
Conditions were great, and by the time I was where they told me to call, I would only have been using FF for a few minutes, so I opted to go without.
I found RAL pretty easily and had an uneventful landing, just as I had hoped. I parked in transient, got a drink, and departed back to CRQ.
Everything is just great until I get about 3 miels from the field. This was my 4th flight from this airport, so it is not as familiar as the one where I did most of my training. I knew the basic route to get me headed toward the field, but I could not see it.
CRQ can be a very busy airport at time. It's class D, but they do have commercial jet traffic there a lot.
I'm entering the pattern on right base ( as I was supposed to ) but I had inbound traffic to my right, my left, and other traffic on long final.
When he called me #3 to land, I embarrasingly admitted I do not have the field in sight. He tells me to make a 90% left for the downwind at which time I saw the field.
So I do, but here's where it gets a little fusterating. He told me turn base, so I did. Then he tells me to make a box turn following with the instructions "that is a sharp 90 degree turn" .. so I did and immediately realized this turn put me facing into downwind traffic .. I was not on base long enough. As I start making the correction to aim toward the runway, he sternly tells me to make my turn wider.
Ok, I'll live with the embarrassment that I kind of screwed up his flow by not seeing the airport immediately, .. but then I get close and he tells me to start doing S turns to slow down so traffic in front of me can land and get off the runway.
I've never done this before, but ok, I know what he means... I'm about 1/2 miles from the runway and traffic in front of me was just touching down .. As I'm realizing there is no way this is gonna work, he tells me to go around, make left traffic and move south of the runway over the tower.
After extending downwind a little, things got back to normal and I landed just fine.
This landing experience definately knocked my confidence down a few knotches. I have mixed feelings about it. I think that I should have known exactly where the field was in the first place, .. but then, it was probably some real good experience with knowing instructions the tower might ask me to do in the future.
This XC helped with both my confidence and humbled me a little at the same time. I'm still looking foward to my next XC which will be a lot longer.