Tough call, but the right one...

Well, yesterday, October 19th, I wanted to get some flight time in. Its been almost 3 weeks, and I can feel the rust forming, and I didn't want too much time to pass. My normal instructor, Jack, has been away this few weeks at jet school, I am so jealous, he is getting his type certification in Cessna Citation jets. There are two more instructors at the school, but both do their gig part-time, so I knew I was going to have a rough time finding some availability.

So, I make some calls, and arrange for some solo flight time at 5:00 pm. Weather was going to be the determining factor, or so I thought. I get to the airport, and the conditions are on the border of my limitations, wind at 11 knots, and setup for crosswind landings. Not to mention an hour earlier it was gusting to 17 knots. So, Chris my CFI for the day (who was actually the instructor that gave me my discovery flight) and I decided soloing was a no go. But I wanted to get a little time, he had to watch his kids for a bit, but said he'd be ready by 5:30. I said super, I will preflight and we'll be ready to roll when you get back.

Doing my preflight, checking flaps, drop to 30 degrees, watch, and I could swear I hear and see some hesitation. Hmmm, that was weird. So, I gave both flaps a good push and work around, and the left flap felt weird. Pushing down, in the opposite direction the wind would push, felt springy, the right flap was firm. I never remember the flap feeling so spongy like that, I didn't like it. So, Chris was a bit late getting back, now its 5:45 pm, and I tell him about the flap. He was also a little puzzled, as we brought the flap up and down a couple times. Then hopped over to the 172 to compare, and both flaps were firm when pushed. You could actually see when the flaps extend, a slight flex in the skin above the hinge point in the flap. So, Chris asked, "Done any no-flap landings yet?" I said, "Yes," but landing without flaps don't concern me. Extending the flaps and having one come down without the other one, and they don't retract, that's a serious problem. So, I cancelled the flight, Chris very much agreed, and added... "You have already had one scare, no need to tempt fate." With that deliberation, it was already 6:00 pm, a good hour behind, and we have about 20 minutes of light left. We considered going up in the 172, and even though I need night time, I told Laura I would be back by 7:00 and I really wasn't too thrilled to be flying at night in an unfamiliar plane, even with an instructor. So, I decided to pass, and try for another time.

Although a bit disappointed I didn't fly, I can't tell you how much better it feels make the no-go decision on the ground, rather than dealing with an emergency in the air.

Anyway, I should get another chance to fly next week, hopefully....

Lesson 25 - Solo Cross Country to Marshfield!

Yesterday, September 30th, I hit my goal of getting my solo cross country done in September! It was quite a blast, but I also learned a lot about myself and abilities. Truth be told, when I looked back on the flight, I probably would haven't made the flight, but with my instructors endorsement that gave me the confidence to proceed. I wasn't concerned about the flight itself, the problem was timing. I got to the airport at about 4:45 pm. Talked over my flight plane with Jack, got my endorsement, preflighted the plan, and before I knew it, it was 5:20. Uh-oh! Marshfield is about a 40-45 minute flight each way. I have never done any night flying, and things start getting dark around 7:00 pm, not to mention it's illegal for me to fly solo during the night (until I have achieved my license). So, I was really pushing the timing, something in the future I will not do. The flight to Marshfield was beautiful and uneventful, nice smooth takeoff from runway 14, winds about 100 @ 6-7 knots, lift off at 5:35 pm. Easy, crosswind departure to the north. I was to use the same flight plan Jack and I used when we did my first dual cross country, follow 29 to Owen, then follow the railroad/pipeline southeast to Marshfield. I figured since I made the flight before it would be a piece of cake, but its been a few months, so I was quite busy in the cockpit watching my sectional map, scanning for traffic and good landing spots (in case of engine failure), and watching my checkpoints go by. Only 1 other plane in the pattern at Marshfield, they were just a few minutes ahead of me from the southwest for a full stop landing, they decided to back taxi on 22/04 so they wouldn't get in the way of my touch and go on runway 16.

At 6:20, I made my touch and go, as I glanced at my watch I realized this was going to be tight, I figured I would be landing in Eau Claire right at sunset. On my way out, tried to catch flight following from Minneapolis Center, of course, called the wrong frequency, but ATC was very friendly, directed me to 125.3. Called them up, and I was a bit too low, 4000 ft, which I later realized was the wrong altitude assignment, I should have been at 4500 (VFR traffic), don't know how I could have missed that in my planning!!!!! Won't happen again. Anyway, I was too low for radar coverage, but they invited me to stay on frequency, turns out there was some jumpers (parachuters) over Lake Wisota, and they helped advise me to make sure I stayed clear of their operations. I tell you what though, the extra chatter and interaction with ATC over the parachuters really taxed my multitasking abilities, it was all I could do to maintain heading, scan for traffic, watch my checkpoints, and keep altitude (which I kept wandering around 4000-4300, and automatic failure if this would have been a checkride). I definitely see the appeal (and subsequent dependency on GPS systems to lighten the workload). Just south of Lake Wisota, caught the river, and then quickly found the airport. Got handed off to Eau Claire tower frequency, a Citation was on approach for 22, tower had me on left traffic for 14, and they called my base turn, which resulted in about a 2.5 mile final, but that was ok, gave me a really long and easy look at the runway to lineup. The runway lights were on, boy that was a weird feeling, the sunset had just dipped below the horizon as I heard my wheels *chirp* on touchdown at 7:04 pm. Taxi back to parking, and my first real solo cross country was history! 1.7 hours official time added to the log book.

I am up to 36.1 hours, technically less than 4 until I hit the minimum for the checkride, but I won't be ready that soon. I still need 3 hours of night flying, 3 hours checkride preptime, over 2 more hours of solo time, including a super long cross country (1 solo cross country flight of at least 150nm total distance with full stop landings at 3 points and one segment of at least 50nm between T/O and landings). So, I figure I could be ready for the checkride probably between 45-50 hour mark, but no rush, the neat thing is I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Boy, it seems like yesterday I was struggling so hard with landings, persistence pays! Looking forward to a weekend at the cabin for some bow hunting, but weather doesn't look like its going to cooperate, no matter time up north is always well spent!