Your First Solo Cross Country...

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Grasshopper

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Grasshopper
Your first private pilot cross country solo is going to be a huge confidence booster. Just remember to plan ahead, stay organized, and pick checkpoints that you can actually find.

A few tips:

-Pick checkpoints you know you can find or have found in the past.

-Start planning early, use the night before to knockout non-weather related items and do the weather stuff the day of.

-Work on your organization, where will you put everything in the cockpit? Remember you have an extra seat!

Have any memories/stories of your first solo cross country? Or are you busy getting ready for one?
 
Had several cross countries,was flying from Mass south to,Williamsburg Va. . On long cross country. Ceilings started to lower as the trip went. Ended up at Baltimore air park,while doing some scud running. Learned more than I ne'er wanted to on that flight.
 
Okay, I'll play. I first soloed out Pittsburgh's AGC back in '72 but my first SCC was out of Trenton Robbinsville AP in '77.

I can't remember the destination but I do remember passing by McQuire AFB at 3 or 4k watching a couple of aircraft start to roll down the runway. Totally fascinated, I watched this rather rapid acceleration of 2 aircraft in formation pull up into a climbing right turn that suddenly looked like a couple of heat seeking missiles locked onto my little 'ol C150. I never identified the aircraft but they did a perfect chandelle around my flight path and as far as I could tell went into low earth orbit.

Just Wow!
 
Grasshopper said:
Your first private pilot cross country solo is going to be a huge confidence booster. Just remember to plan ahead, stay organized, and pick checkpoints that you can actually find.

A few tips:

-Pick checkpoints you know you can find or have found in the past.

-Start planning early, use the night before to knockout non-weather related items and do the weather stuff the day of.

-Work on your organization, where will you put everything in the cockpit? Remember you have an extra seat!

Have any memories/stories of your first solo cross country? Or are you busy getting ready for one?
Click to expand...


--- Don't forget your credit card

==========

Memories?

First one from Hartford (KHFD) to Lynchburg (KLYH). Made the mistake of taking NWS at their word on winds aloft.

Realized enroute that I DID (in fact) route plan based on Point A to Point B.
Cessna 150's don't believe in charts. They believe in chronometers.
I NOW believe in chronometers and consider charts to be accessories.
I also enjoyed the ground moving backward along portions of my route.

I also made a definitive decision that decent cross-countries will never again be in a -150. Bladder gets too agitated from the vibration.

My next longer cross country (KMRY) to (KPHX) was done in a -172 ===> worlds of difference. -172s are smooth aircraft for distance work (but still fall far short of the comfort of a -182)
 
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The O-300 172's can be smoooooth....so can the re-start 172s...everything in between...maybe not so much...
 
Grasshopper said:
Have any memories/stories of your first solo cross country?
Click to expand...
March 31, 1968, Fullerton CA (KFUL) to Bermuda Dunes CA (KUDD). My dad was visiting his sister who lived near KUDD, so he was there to document my arrival.

091211-010.jpg
 
Very cool! You must have bee. Heading towards Lakewood, Miller or maybe Ocean City.

Bill Watson said:
Okay, I'll play. I first soloed out Pittsburgh's AGC back in '72 but my first SCC was out of Trenton Robbinsville AP in '77.

I can't remember the destination but I do remember passing by McQuire AFB at 3 or 4k watching a couple of aircraft start to roll down the runway. Totally fascinated, I watched this rather rapid acceleration of 2 aircraft in formation pull up into a climbing right turn that suddenly looked like a couple of heat seeking missiles locked onto my little 'ol C150. I never identified the aircraft but they did a perfect chandelle around my flight path and as far as I could tell went into low earth orbit.

Just Wow!
Click to expand...
 
My first solo XC was just this past Sunday, two weeks prior we'd flown the route and practiced landing at the 4700x60 runway since I'm training on one nearly 3 times larger (longer and wider). I was confident that I would have no trouble on this flight....minimal radio contacts (aside from familiar local freqs I'd have to talk only to Denver Ctr and the Limon CTAF), easy navigation (landmarks are adequate, including a near-direct-to highway so I could fly "IFR" (I Follow Roads) if need be) and I'd planned, re-planned and re-re-planned this flight in my mind many times.

I departed COS and got to 9,500 pretty quick and it was the absolute smoothest flight I've ever experienced (in ANY plane I think) and even though I was in the left seat and had my hand on the stick just in case I was really just a passenger, less turbulence than in my living room recliner. Tuning in weather, all I had to learn was winds and altimeter since there wasn't a cloud throughout the entire state.

I did two "pretty good" touch and goes at Limon (Rwy 16, winds 180@10) and decided to head back when another student pilot entered the pattern. On approach he called out something like "Limon traffic, Cessna 12345 inbound..................................................." and then the CFI got on the radio and filled in the rest. I left the pattern because I don't have a hardly any experience sharing the pattern at an untowered airport (I know I need to build up my comfort level, and I will, but this wasn't the day) and even though my CFI wasn't there to witness how great my patterns were I figured I'd better exit on a high note.

The return leg was just as great except for a bit of difficulty getting back on with Center but once established it was a routine flight. I've since decided that "with you" just isn't gonna bother me, I said it on this flight and I'll agree it's redundant but (at least for me) it sounds okay in a lot of situations, not the least of which is when I say it. I've read the arguments about it on here and I can't bring myself to hate it the way some of you do.

I remember about halfway out on the initial leg I said aloud "I'm really a pilot, I'm actually flying somewhere, all by myself, gonna have to figure stuff out on my own and this is an awesome feeling!"
 
Tip:

Don't ask the controller you heard he's losing his job!!!

^Only time I've ever been told to remain clear of class D.....

My solo cross country wasn't to bad. Beautiful weather and an interstate to follow home, if I got lost! :D

Favorite cross country was one I went off to see a girl who's brother was my roommate.... :eek: :D She's married now and I'm still friends with said roommate.
 
ARFlyer said:
Tip:

Don't ask the controller you heard he's losing his job!!!

^Only time I've ever been told to remain clear of class D.....

My solo cross country wasn't to bad. Beautiful weather and an interstate to follow home, if I got lost! :D

Favorite cross country was one I went off to see a girl who's brother was my roommate.... :eek: :D She's married now and I'm still friends with said roommate.
Click to expand...
So you flew it IFR? (" I F-ollowed R-oads)
 
January 8, 2013. Reno to Hawthorne (Nevada) in a 172P. Hawthorne is hard to spot from the air but I found it ok. It is the only airport for miles and miles, but the runway sits in a way that is hard to see from the north.

My CFI and another student were following me down there in an Arrow (they left well after me and of course caught up to the pokey 172). We all had lunch together in Hawthorne. I think that was the first time I really felt like a pilot.
 

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