I decided to get on the "bike" and ride until I was comfortable, by taking a five-day cross-country trip to see clients, friends, and relatives in California, Nevada, and Oregon. With five sectional charts, I began by trying to find the best way from Burbank to Las Vegas to Reno. There sure are a lot of military areas to avoid. As for Nevada, have a look at the sectional and try to tell one mountain valley from another. Fortunately, the thought occurred to try the easy way � DUATS - for its suggested flight route ideas with suggested VORs and approximate times of flights.
I learned a lot over the following five days. Some things I did right, and others were flat-out wrong. Fortunately, the wrongs came one at a time and didn't compound. Thank goodness I made the flight safely and there wasn't any harm to the plane.
Day One: It was show time. I began to move my lips: "Burbank Clearance, Cherokee Four-Two-Five-Two-Tango." Now, one more time - this time keying the mic. Shortly afterward I was in the air. As I gained altitude, I noticed that the Palmdale VOR, my first waypoint, wasn't giving me any direction. But with added altitude, the line of sight cleared, I started getting a signal, and the rest of the flight into northern Las Vegas was pretty routine.
The lessons really began after lunch with an old friend. I was still a bit nervous as I carefully went through the prestart checklist and realized that my flight bag interfered with the yoke when I pulled the yoke to full extension. Lesson learned - give full attention to each item on the preflight checklist. Thankfully I hadn't been in a situation requiring the yoke to be pulled that far, otherwise it could have been nasty. My bag hasn't been in that dangerous position since.
Five-Two-Tango: "North Las Vegas Clearance, Cherokee Four-Two-Five-Two-Tango."
Ground: "Cherokee Four-Two-Five-Two-Tango, this is North Las Vegas Ground."
Five-Two-Tango: "Yes, I know, but ATIS said to contact Clearance on Ground frequency."
Ground: "Cherokee Four-Two-Five-Two-Tango, what do you want?"
Lesson learned: If Clearance is on Ground, use the Ground frequency and ask for Ground.
At Las Vegas, I had tried to start the engine without priming, thinking that it might still be hot enough. It didn't start, so I primed it. The prop spun a bit and stopped. I tried a few more times, and each time the engine stopped shortly after it started - even adding throttle didn't help. I grabbed the checklist and rechecked items carefully. The mixture was still lean! The Katana, my primary plane at the time, doesn't have a mixture knob - not that I'm making any excuses, you understand. A reinforcement of a lesson learned: Pay attention to each item on the checklist.
At last, I completed the runup and was ready to depart. First, I decide to confirm with the tower that I was in the right place, and told the controller I was new at the airport. Lesson learned: If you tell 'em you are new, they can change very quickly and be wonderfully helpful. This lesson also paid off in spades at several other airports. If I had any questions, I told them I was unfamiliar with the airport, and they always cheerfully provided additional help. Those unknown people sure helped my confidence, making the trip more enjoyable.
The flight to Reno provided a positive lesson. If you've ever looked at the sectional for Las Vegas, you've seen how difficult it is to differentiate one parallel valley from the next. When you follow the VOR combined with low-altitude federal airways it's a thousand times easier to spot specific mountains and lakes. Try it - the experience is bound to add to your VFR navigation confidence.
Day Two: Reno was as spectacular as only the Chamber of Commerce can arrange. With nearly excellent radio technique, I took off for Concord, California. Once I had enough altitude, I turned right to pass over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The air was clear, the sky blue, the visibility incredible, and the winds calm. I was using lessons learned or remembered, enjoying the increased confidence, and having more fun.
Approaching Buchanan Field it was time for another lesson. Calmer, my voice dropped several octaves and developed a radio-voice resonance. Concord Tower responded as though I was a professional. This is a very busy airport. I did my best to keep that voice for the rest of the trip. My adult son was waiting for me on the ground. With him and his gear on board, we headed north to Arcata, flying over the coastal redwood forests. Ready for another lesson? When you lose flight following and are cruising merrily along, if you turn the radio down for two hours of father/son cockpit conversation, please remember to turn it back up. See why these cross-country flights are so important?
We enjoyed lunch, refueled, and were back in the air, flying north to Florence, Oregon, about 50 miles west of Eugene on the coast. My aunt and uncle were to meet us at the airport, but fogged-in Florence wasn't answering the radio - yes, the volume was turned up. I did have a nearly dead cell phone, and although they shouldn't be used in the air, it worked and we arranged to meet my relatives at the Eugene airport.
Day Three: DUATS wasn't very optimistic about the weather. A check with flight service confirmed that clouds in the mountains south of Eugene didn't allow for VFR flight back to California, and an airmet for turbulence had been issued. Fortunately, I had built in an extra day in case something like this happened.
Day Four: The scattered surface clouds dissipated as we drove back over to Eugene. Just as I was about to climb into the plane for the engine start, my son waved at me from across the fence. I waved a friendly good-bye back and then noticed he was pointing at the left side of the plane. Lesson learned: Always undo all the tiedowns. At last it was time to start the engine and climb into the sky for my trip back to California. The trip was getting "A's" for teaching lessons and improving my confidence. Mount Shasta appeared almost right away on the horizon, and I kept it just left of center on the windshield.
I contacted Sacramento Approach for VFR traffic advisories before flying across the state capital and its international airport, then south over Interstate 5. This was the weekend of a big fly-in at Sacramento Executive Airport, and the controllers were very busy. One had to be fast on the mic button as the controller issued rapid-fire instructions to a dozen aircraft. I flew to Kingdon Airpark, a very small airport just north of Stockton, where a friend of mine runs the FBO. Folks can sit outside at a picnic table and critique the landings just a few feet away.
Day Five: Breakfast with a friend in town, followed by a cup of coffee at the airport. I got all the tiedowns this time. No clearance, no ground, and no tower frequencies here; just the unicom. And another lesson: Make sure you stick the headphone plugs all the way in. That lesson made later entrance into the Burbank Class C airspace a lot more routine.
The rest is history. The mistakes didn't get ugly, but they did catch my attention and enabled me to learn many lessons. This trip was one of my best flying experiences. I was able to get comfortable with the VOR and the GPS, and I was able to fly an accurate ground track. My ability to hold a specific altitude got better with each day. What fun to make good landings at unfamiliar airports. My confidence was back.
I urge new and rusty pilots alike to take a multiple-day cross-country. Ask a CFI to help you through any weak areas first. All the elements of flying will start coming together. You will feel excitement, freedom, and exhilaration - and when you get back home, you'll be surprised at how much you've learned.
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