Learning Experiences

About five years ago I was a student pilot with about 35 hours, when it came time for me and my CFI to try a dual cross-country flight.

We planned to depart Merrill Field in Anchorage, Alaska, that morning and fly direct to Ruth Glacier on the flank of 20,300-ft. Mt. McKinley. When I entered the hangar where my rented C-172 was parked, the owner greeted me and said that Mike, another student, had fueled the airplane the night before, flown one-half hour practicing touch-and-goes, then landed and returned the airplane to its hangar.

He also assured me that, to save time, the Skyhawk had already been pre-flighted and was ready to go. My instructor came in and also said the airplane…

While waiting at the hold short line for runway 25 in the clubs Cessna 172, my instructor mentioned that there was a government King Air rolling up behind us from taxiway Alpha.

I was cleared for takeoff from our 3,947-foot msl airport to the practice area. This meant a right turn at 500 feet agl then staying below 5,500 feet until cleared higher. At 300 feet agl the tower asked me to start the right turn toward the practice area and to stay below 6,500. I presumed this was to clear the way for the King Air traffic and get our high-priced helped back to the legislature. Shortly after my turn, the King Air was cleared to take off. While climbing through 5,000 I made a quick instrument s…

I was on a cross-country flight in instrument weather with my family in a rented Cessna 177RG. We were headed from Houston to Graham, Texas, which is west of Fort Worth.

This model 177 does not allow selection of the right fuel tank or left fuel tank only. Its similar to a 152 in that the choice is either fuel on or fuel off. I was surprised when I checked out in the airplane and flew an instrument refresher two days prior to the trip that a complex airplane was designed in this manner – and I have more than 5,800 hours in light aircraft and another 2,200 in jets and turboprops.

I was at 4,000 feet when, after about 1 hour of flying time, I became convinced I was experiencing a fuel i…

Since purchasing our plane, my partner and I have been doing a great deal of flying together. We live in Minnesota, which means that for a significant part of the year, the days are very short. As a consequence, this winter we did a lot of night flying.

On one of our first trips – Minneapolis to Ely, Minn., on a lovely clear winter night – my non-instrument rated partner was at the controls. As we approached Ely from the southeast, we realized that we would be a bit high for the approach. Since we had the place to ourselves, we decided to simply execute a right 360-degree standard-rate turn to give him time to descend to a more comfortable altitude.

As we turned away from the airport,…

It was that time of year when spring was trying to become summer and I had an opportunity to fly a volunteer blood run with my clubs Cessna 172. I set out for the 300-mile round trip with my friend, also a pilot. Both of us are 400-hour VFR pilots.

Conditions at the time of departure were 3,500 feet broken, which was forecast to hold throughout our trip.

Forty miles from our destination airport the holes in the broken layer had closed and the ceiling was beginning to lower. We were to enter a military control area in the next 20 miles and were just barely able to maintain the minimum altitude we needed to transit the area.

Fortunately, the military control tower accommodated us th…

I was planning a flight in a Cessna 172 to maintain night flight currency. Another pilot, who also held a commercial certificate and claimed 900 hours total time (to my 377) agreed to split the cost of the rental and we would each do three landings.

I got a standard weather briefing and filed a VFR flight plan. I asked my companion if he wanted to make the flight out or the flight back. He said he hadnt flown in a while and just wanted to get familiar with the airplane.

I said I would be PIC for the flight to a nearby airport, and he could be PIC on the trip back if he so desired. He didnt respond.

We took off from Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego at about 1910 and m…

Id heard it numerous times from all my flight instructors: Never fly fatigued. I had prided myself in always following all of the flying rules from A to Z. However, on this particular night all reason left me as I prepared to fly a 250-mile solo night flight from Albert Lea, Minn., to Fargo, N.D.

I had just finished driving from my home in Chicago to Albert Lea, a six-hour drive, which had started at 1 oclock that afternoon. I was tired as I rolled into Albert Lea to check in with my commercial instructor. He mentioned that I needed a 250-mile cross-country trip and five hours of night solo flight and said it was a beautiful night to accomplish both.

He asked if I was tired, but as a…

I am a Part 141 commercial student in Southern California. The one person in the world I never would have suspected of unnecessarily risking my life was my flight instructor. I was wrong.

Early in my Commercial training, the syllabus called for a 250 nm solo night flight. (We later found out it was a misprint in the syllabus.) Having very limited night flying experience, I was uncomfortable with a long night solo cross-country. My instructor agreed to accompany me on the flight, as much for moral support as instruction.

Since it was mid-summer and the daylight hours were long, I had to wait until 9 p.m. to take off, after a full days work. My instructor had been on duty since early…

With about 125 hours in my log book, I decided to fly with my wife to Tulsa, Okla., for a short summer vacation.

On the way we had many new and exciting experiences: smooth as glass 50 knot tailwinds, cheap fuel and scenery the likes of which we had never seen before. Flying is easy, right?

About 125 miles west of Tulsa, flying at 9,500 ft. we came upon cloud cover unlike anything Id ever seen. The solid deck extended as far as the eye could see north and south, with tops at 6,500 ft.. Not knowing how far east this condition existed, we started to do 360s to think about it.

I called Flight Service and was told the cloud deck extended past our destination. Then I decided to land…

It was my second cross-country in the RV-6 since getting my private license and tailwheel endorsement. I had about 100 hours total time and about 25 in the RV.

I picked up a friend at a nearby airport, where I also filled the tanks. On takeoff, I was surprised and a little concerned with the reduction in climb rate caused by full fuel tanks and a 180-pound passenger. Fortunately I had been warned about it, which is why I didnt fly out of the 2,700-foot grass strip with 50-foot trees on both ends where the RV makes its home.

The 1:40 trip went smoothly to Montpelier, Vt. Flying VFR with a GPS for navigation took most of the guesswork out of the flight. I even remembered to switch fuel…