GA is an adventure

A perfect opportunity recently presented itself when AOPA Managing Editor Collin Callahan, the AOPA Sweepstakes Cessna 170, and I all needed to make our way from Frederick, Maryland, to the AOPA Hangout in Tampa, Florida. Making the trip more interesting for both of us, Collin is a pre-solo student pilot who had never flown cross-country in a GA airplane. In one day, Collin would expand his horizons from the local practice area to a destination 700 miles and five states away.

Collin is inspired by aerobatic flight—he dreams of flying loops and rolls. And although Collin’s passion involves inverted flight, he appreciates the value of using GA to reach a wide range of destinations. This was a terrific opportunity to see if he would enjoy a long cross-country, or if it would be a bore; so many hours flying straight and level. We nicknamed our flight “Collin Squared” as both of us share the name, albeit with different spellings.

A sunrise departure brought smooth air, sunny skies, and, down low where we were flying, favorable tailwinds. The airplane virtually flew itself—likely too dull an experience for Collin’s tastes.Our first stop at Asheboro Regional (HBI) in North Carolina gave Collin an opportunity to help fuel an airplane for the first time. For some, this process has become routine, but for a first-timer it feels like a secret society initiation: attach the grounding wire, process your credit card, turn on the pump, unreel the hose, fuel without spilling (too much), and reverse the process—hoping a receipt actually prints when you turn off the pump.

Our second leg took us just east of Savannah, Georgia, before flying adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean en route to St. Simons Island. Flying 2,000 feet above Georgia’s barrier islands was eerie and mesmerizing. We were variously flying over long expanses of unpopulated dunes, barrier flats, and salt marshes, then over brand-new multimillion-dollar mansions, then over abandoned resorts and grass runways of a bygone era. Collin was beginning to understand the allure of the unequalled view down low.

St. Simons Island Airport (SSI)—location of a 2014 AOPA fly-in—greeted us with a golf cart escort to our parking spot, an immediate full-service fuel top-off, and a golf cart ride to the modern Golden Isles Aviation FBO. It was quite the step up from our self-serve experience in North Carolina. Before departing, Collin quipped he had barely done anything all flight long, but he needed to take a nap; this cross-country business was fatiguing.

Our final leg offered the most challenges. Complicated airspace in northeast Florida coupled with building afternoon thunderstorms wrenched our attention from sightseeing to aeronautical decision making. The Cessna 170’s instrument panel is spartan, but we had SiriusXM Aviation weather, ADS-B In, and no fewer than five mobile phones and tablets running ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, and Avare. Granted, we are tech geeks, but Collin was actually testing different mobile device/app combinations for an upcoming story.

To say we had adequate situational awareness would be a gross understatement. It was educational for Collin to help navigate the airspace—avoiding Class B, military operations areas, and prohibited and restricted airspace—using the sectional charts on his devices. Even more eye-opening was the opportunity to look out the cockpit window at developing, mature, and dissipating thunderstorms along our route of flight and compare it to the weather depictions he was seeing on his EFBs. Despite the threatening weather, we only flew through a few light rain showers before making an uneventful landing at Tampa Executive Airport (VDF) roughly seven flying hours after departing Frederick.

It was immensely fun for me to witness Collin’s moments of discovery as we slowly but steadily progressed along our journey. Afterward, Collin said the third leg was easily the most interesting, and taught him the most. Then he went to the hotel for a nap.

When was the last time you flew a long cross-country? And I mean farther than the pancake breakfast a few counties away. If it’s been a while, I encourage you to plan a trip and go for it. GA is an adventure, and the people you meet and hidden gems you discover while away only enhance our love of this special mode of transportation. Better yet, invite a friend to fly with you; the experience is almost always better when shared.

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