Long solo XC complete - write up

Irish_Armada

Irish_Armada

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Irish Armada
As is the apparent civic duty of all POA pilots-in-training, I figured I better post a write-up of my 150nm+ solo XC that I finished this morning in a C172. A couple of initial points though: 1) it was a total blast! the XC solos really do make you feel like an actual pilot; 2) the weather was beautiful this morning -- calm wind, clear, and 72F; and 3) this was my last requirement I needed to finish prior to prepping for the check ride. I think I can almost see the finish line...

So the plan was to meet my instructor at 6:30am this morning at University (EDU) (he is a good man by the way, to be meeting me that early) to finish up the flight plan and input winds, times, fuel needed, etc the morning of. I had prepped everything I could the night before for a XC from EDU to Modesto (MOD) to Livermore (LVK) and back to EDU, but if LVK was fogged over, my alternate was going to be to McClellan (MCC) instead. Either way, I'd be over the 150nm requirement. We call the flight briefer at about 6:40am for weather, notams, etc, and turns out that LVK will be closed at a couple sporadic hours today (maybe an airshow?) and that their self-serve fuel is closed. Our school requires that we refuel at every stop. Given all that, we decide to abort LVK and go instead from MOD to MCC and then back to EDU. No problem. But I had given the flight briefer an estimated departure time of 7:30am, which turned out to be way too ambitious in retrospect, since we now had to re-jigger my flight plan. More on that in second.

So after planning the leg to MCC, and basically relearning the mechanical E6B (it'd been a while since I'd used it, and talk all the smack you want about that thing, but whoever invented it was an absolute genius), I'm departing 17 from EDU at about 8:30am.

First up, I call up FSS on 122.05 and inform the lady that I'd like to open my flight plan. She says "uhh looks like you called this morning for a briefing but never filed a flight plan." Odd, since we did file one, but I always error on the side of the student being wrong. I basically responded "Well we did file one this morning I thought, unless we didn't..." I'm sure that was helpful. I wasn't really sure what else to say other than to let her know that I was 1 hour behind schedule. That did the trick though -- apparently if you don't open your flight plan within a certain amount of time, it sort of falls off the system and they have to go dig it up. Which she did. Lesson learned and flight plan open.

I basically had an uneventful flight down to MOD and made a great landing on 28L, and taxied my way over to refueling. Fueled up, texted my instructor that all was well and good so far, and then headed back out the run-up area at 28L. This was a good lesson for me to alllllways do a run-up -- even if I only just refueled -- because during my mag-check procedure, my right mag was terrible! I'd never felt it run so rough before, so that surprised me. With the brakes on, I throttled up to full power for about 20 seconds, reduced power back to 1700 RPM, checked the right mag again and it was smooth as could be. The left mag was fine all along. Why would so much carbon buildup on the right mag on just a 50 minute flight down from EDU? I leaned the mixture and everything so...?:dunno:

Anyways, departed MOD and headed north for MCC, with NorCal approach providing flight following along the way. Again, smooth trip up to MCC. As I was getting close to Lodi (my course had me flying past Lodi so that I was east of the city), the approach controller let me know that there was parachute jumpers going out over Lodi airport (1O3), so he asked me to turn left 15 degrees. Now, the Lodi airport was at my 10 o'clock and I thought ... hmmmm, I think he meant right, but I'm the student so probably not, but seriously he must have meant right. Better check. "Approach, just wanted to confirm for 70G that you want me to adjust my heading 15 degrees to the left, or to the RIGHT?" ... "70G I meant 15 degrees to the right, sorry about that." Phew. So I guess ATC can make little mistakes now and then, so never hurts to ask.

Now MCC is a huge former military airfield of a runway that is buried under Sac International's (SMF) Class C airspace, and the only way to get under SMF's Class C shelf at 1600-4100 and into MCC from my direction was to go through Mather's (MHR) Class D airspace. Again I figured I wanted to be at 1400 ft max when I got to the outer shelf of the Class C to stay under it (accounting for my non-precision flying and altimeter error). I wasn't completely sure how this process was supposed happen either so I basically just asked ATC as I got closer to MCC. "Approach, this is 70G. I'd like to stay under Sac International's Class Charlie airspace if I could, but I think that means I'll have to go through Mather's Class Delta. Please advise." .... "70G roger, Mather has you on radar since you're with me, so you can proceed with your descent into McClellan." Sweet! Again, just asking for clarification seemed to do the trick both times.

Landed on the enormous runway 16 at MCC (747's fly in and out of this place from time to time) with no problems and refueled (took forever to taxi to the self-serve ... again, big airfield), texted my instructor that I was heading back to EDU, and then headed back to the run up area at 16. No mag problems this time around. Now getting back to EDU was going to be a bit interesting for me because SMF's Class C outer shelf (1600-4100ft) overlapped with Sac Executive's (SAC) Class D (surface-2500ft). To avoid both of them would have meant that I would have to follow a very narrow corridor (basically above I-80 west) back to EDU. So instead of doing that, I decided that after departure from MCC, that I'd just call up SAC tower and ask to transition through his airspace. Plus, bonus of doing that is that I could fly over downtown Sacramento, which I had yet to do in my training. So I depart MCC (caution wake turbulence, C172 departing) and call up SAC tower.

Here's where the big question of the day came up for me that I don't know the answer to. So I call up SAC tower and ask to transition through his airspace for EDU, and he responds: "70G roger, transition approved, stay at or above 1,500." :yikes: Hmmmmm ... so the Class C shelf at SMF that I'm currently under starts at 1,600, right above me and which I can't enter into, but I have to stay at or above 1,500 for SAC's Class D. Was I right to think that as long as I'm under the Class C shelf and in SAC's Class D, that I have a 100 foot section of altitude that I'm allowed to fly in? Would that be the right interpretation of their instructions? I almost asked the tower controller but decided not to and instead just made sure that I kept my altitude between 1,500 and 1,599 feet. Was that the right interpretation and decision? :dunno:

I finally landed back at EDU at 11:02 am, but porpoised a little bit on my final landing. Ah well. All's well that ends well. :rolleyes:

Oh, and I have to say that ATC all around was great today -- very friendly and helpful and plenty of "see ya's" and "have a good one's" to go around. Makes a student feel cool when even the controllers seem to be cool with you.:D
 
Congrats! Sounds like you did great. Someday I'll join you. I'm curious about the answer to your 1500-1599 question.
 
Sounds like you had a blast.

I'd suspect you didn't lean enough, or perhaps you didn't lean for extended ground ops (aggressively!). I doubt overpriming could do it, but maybe. 172s are quite easily fouled. But the run-up took care of it.

FWIW, I did my long cross country to MER (and FCH). MER is the largest runway I've landed on, and the second biggest I've seen -- 12000x200 (painted down to 150); it's a former SAC base intended for B-52s, and not too far from you. Check it out sometime.
 
Sweet I am also based out of EDU! Nice write-up I hope my solo xc goes as smoothly as yours. I am also curious about that question you posted.
 
Hmm. you didn't have flight following? With that airspace, that's really advisible. And with flight following, Class C is (almost) a non-issue, as are Class D transitions (though the latter are seldom necessary).

I transition San Jose Class C every time I go south. It's not a factor. I try to transition San Francisco Class B when I go north, and that's occasionally a factor (and it was always a factor when I was a student pilot). It's all NorCal (at least at reasonable crusing altitudes).

Is it common to forgo flight following on student solo cross-countries? I never did it as a student, and I still don't. The extra pair of eyes on my six is just too good to pass up.

What you did was 100% legal, but there is an easier way.

As for your airspace question, to transition Class C, you have to be in contact with the ATC providing services in that sector. You can't know who that is without asking. It was probably Executive tower, given the proximity, but it may have been NorCal. What you did kept you safe as long as your altimeter was sufficiently accurate. There is no accuracy requirement for VFR (IFR, it's 75 feet)! What I would have done is ask Tower if you can enter Class C, or failing that, aim for 1501 feet. It's not an airspace bust if you're 5 feet below that 1500 (though it is a failure to follow instructions).

A third option would be to ask for a lower altitude. It's not likely, as that's equal to the jet pattern altitude already, and 500 feet above the light aircraft pattern altitude. But if it's quiet, maybe.
 
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MAKG1 said:
Hmm. you didn't have flight following? With that airspace, that's really advisible. And with flight following, Class C is (almost) a non-issue, as are Class D transitions (though the latter are seldom necessary).

I transition San Jose Class C every time I go south. It's not a factor. I try to transition San Francisco Class B when I go north, and that's occasionally a factor (and it was always a factor when I was a student pilot). It's all NorCal (at least at reasonable crusing altitudes).

Is it common to forgo flight following on student solo cross-countries? I never did it as a student, and I still don't. The extra pair of eyes on my six is just too good to pass up.

What you did was 100% legal, but there is an easier way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback. I had flight following for all legs other than the last one, from MCC to EDU. Because there's no tower at MCC I couldn't get any ATC or tower contact until I was up in the air already in the thick of my airspace problem (unless I'm wrong on that point) so I just decided to call SAC tower to make it quick. I also didnt do FF on this leg because its only a 20nm trip. But again, I wasn't really sure what the best approach to take would have been...

I will have to try out MER at some point, sounds cool.
 
If you look in the A/FD (or you wrote down the last frequency you had), you can find departure frequencies. For you, it would have been on 127.4. Since you're that close, you might have been able to reach them on the ground. That's the number in the magenta boxes on the sectional.

Technically, all you need to say to them is your callsign, and have them give it back to you, and you're good to cross Class C. But it's advisible to ask for flight following or explicitly request a transition, if only to verify you have the correct frequency.
 
Depart MCC, climb to 1200-1500, remain clear of the C & D airspaces and then you don't have to talk to anyone.

Or as stated above...AFD, Norcal on 127.4.

Don't be afraid to ask whoever you are on with if you want to do something else or are just unsure. They will point you to the right person or call them on the phone. I have only ran into one ahole in 230 hrs. I won't be going back there or recommending them for a lunch run and hope their tower gets closed due to lack of traffic. 99.9% of ATC have been super.

Don't forget to wait 10-15 minutes after refueling, then sample for water. Engine failure on takeoff would not be fun especially over that densily populated area.
 
Enjoyed reading the details of the flight. I think you did very well with your ATC comm and decision making.

Regarding the rough mag check -could it happen if you do not lean while taxing? So by the time you taxied to the runup, there was some deposit already? Just guessing.

100 feet under Charlie is not much to play with ;) Also good thing you had the altimeter correctly set.

Soon you'll have your certificate - great job!
 
Nice flight. It is an awesome experience to actually go somewhere as a pilot!

I give your credit for dealing with all that complicated airspace on a long XC. I fly out of a class C airport so I know you handled that part correctly. I'm curious as to what others more familiar with the airspace you described have to say but my initial reaction was that if ATC cleared you, at or above a certain altitude then you are cleared to fly at that altitude or higher. Although now that i re-read your post you were cleared by the tower. I'd bet they only have authority over their airspace and above their airspace is approaches.

I would have done what you did too and stay clear of any airspace above me but I'd guess you could have climbed higher as you were given a clearance to do so- cant honestly say I've had this experience so I'm hoping someone can clarify.

Did you ask your instructor?
 
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Tower had probably already coordinated with Norcal App. They all were probably seeing you on radar shortly after liftoff or getting xpdr replies before liftoff. I would still confirm I have permission to enter the C airspace. The times I have asked, they had already taken care of it for me. Never assume though.
 
You don't need permission to enter Class C. You need established two-way communications with the ATC unit responsible for traffic control in the area. In a "shelf," it's almost certainly Approach, not Tower.

14 CFR 91.130(c)(1)

The same rules apply to Class D (but it's 14 CFR 91.129(c)(1)). Just,
the airspace is a lot smaller, and Tower is more likely to be in charge (no shelf).

Class C is considerably easier to deal with than Class B. For the most part, if you have flight following, you're already talking to the right people long before you get close to the boundary. And even if you aren't, they are required to hand you off (though it is still your responsibility if they screw up).

Even for Class B, you're talking to the right people far out from the boundary. Just, you do need clearance into Class B, and it may or may not be forthcoming, depending on local procedures and current conditions.
 
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jspilot said:
I'm curious as to what others more familiar with the airspace you described have to say but my initial reaction was that if ATC cleared you, at or above a certain altitude then you are cleared to fly at that altitude or higher. Although now that i re-read your post you were cleared by the tower. I'd bet they only have authority over their airspace and above their airspace is approaches.

I would have done what you did too and stay clear of any airspace above me but I'd guess you could have climbed higher as you were given a clearance to do so- cant honestly say I've had this experience so I'm hoping someone can clarify.

Did you ask your instructor?
Click to expand...

I did ask my instructor afterwards and he said he wasn't immediately sure and would get back to me. I think it puzzled him too. Like someone suggested above, I could have stayed off all radar and come back to EDU over I-80, staying under 1,600 feet (if you draw a straight line between MCC EDU or punch that in to the map search on ForeFlight, the straight line pretty much shows this route -- keeps you just south of the center circle of the SMF class C that goes to the surface, just north of SACs class D, and below the outer shelf SMFs class C, so basically an airspace tunnel to fly through), but that seemed a bit hairy to me, which is why I called the tower.

Seems like it would have been best to call NorCal approach right after take off instead of the tower. Question: if I'm on with them doing VFR flight following, does that mean I can fly through any class D or C airspace without contacting those particular towers? Someone else said never assume and that you should always ask. Is that right? I guess I could have just put that into to my initial request to approach: "Id like to request flight following from McClellan to University airport and also to transition the Class C or D airspace enroute, whatever is easier for you, 70G."
 
Yes, I've been "cleared" through Class D by Approach (though no clearance is required -- it seems to be poor phraseology that just means they have coordinated it for you). I've also been handed off to Class D by Approach for a transition. The latter appears to be the Bay Area procedure.

Yes, when in doubt, ask.

You should expect to hear some statement about Class D before you enter, while under flight following.

If you haven't done your night cross country yet, maybe a trip to Oakland can show you the whole glory of these procedures. You'll talk to Oakland Center, then two Norcal frequencies (one specifically for Oakland approaches), then Oakland North Tower (it has two). If it's a light night, you might even get a Class B clearance on departure without asking for it (BTDT).
 
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One time I was heading into a D within the C. I was on FF but they were very busy after my call for descent. I descended and called before entering the D but no response. Did a 360 outside the D- I knew that would give them a hint I either was lost or being cautious. App finally got back to me and approved freq change to the D tower. I would rather be sure. Sounds like you are doing good. Many pilots are not sure about airspace questions, hence the reason we have so many pilot deviations. Let us know what your instructor says...there are many right ways to do it.
 
I hope to fly to LVK and MCC soon, considering I need to be at both fairly often and all the pilots keep assuming I'm flying there instead of driving.

Cool to read a post from you RE: airports in my neck of the woods! I went to Modesto's monthly breakfast thing, once, but we were several hours late (I was a pax) so we missed the food. Cool airport though.
 
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