The Joy of Cross Country Flight

Cross country flights used to be intimidating for me. A year ago, when I was training for my Private Pilots License, cross countries were a time of weaning. It was a time when I as a student was released into the real world of aviation; hands shaking, butterflies fluttering, yet confident in the training I had received. And as I reflect on that time of weaning, I realized that many and most of those flights I did solo were not enjoyed. It was not that the flights were miserable and dreaded but that I, as a new pilot, was so focused on what I was doing I had little time to really realize that I was having fun.

Now that I am far more comfortable in command of an aircraft, I can sit back an really enjoy the flight. On Saturday I took a flight to Dodge City Regional Airport in Dodge City Kansas. This was a milestone in my career as it was the first cross country to an airport of my choice, that I planned and had never been to before. In my private training, the instructors picked the destinations and had the students plan the flight. Hesston Aviation has their "milk run" routes for cross countries which usually consist of: Newton-->Topeka (Forbes Field)--> Manhattan Regional--> Newton, or Newton--> Hays--> Hutchinson--> Newton. However, now that I am in the commercial portion, I get to choose any destination I please as long as I can get the plane back in decent time (or back before the weekend ends). So this flight to Dodge City (KDDC) was very rewarding.

The day couldn't have been more perfect to fly! And after reaching my cruising altitude, a sense of freedom overtook me. The sky was clear blue and the air was clear, I could see for miles in every direction. Little patches formed all over the terrain where farmers divided up their farms and grain elevators marked where little towns lay. I can say right then I had my "aha!" moment. I felt so free up there in that little tin can of a machine. I smiled to myself and though, "I wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of my life."

Still Here!

Hey guys! I'm still alive and well. The beginning of school has been extremely busy. I have started on my Commercial License and can tell you that flying is starting to become second nature! Right now I am in stage 2 and need 40 solo cross country flight hours. This is the fun part! I get to choose my destinations for my cross countries and am already thinking about trip to Colorado sometime. My goal is to fly as much as possible this month to try and get this stage done. My instructor Mike informed me that this is the longest part of the training because everything depends on weather and availability of planes. Because I need to fly so much, the combination of the two can mean sometimes I don't fly. As long as I am aggressive with the scheduler then the latter of the two shouldn't be a problem.

You might ask, why not go IFR if the weather is bad? Although I am instrument rated, I have never flown actual IFR, much less actual single pilot IFR. While my training means that I can fly IFR by the book, being in that setting in real life is completely different. I have set personal minimums for myself which means I am not comfortable quite yet going single pilot actual IFR until I have had a bit more experience in it. I hope this year to have plenty of opportunity to do that. IFR flight is as rewarding as it is challenging and I can't wait to do more of it!

I hope to post more in the coming days. But for now, this will have to do for a recap. Later!