Student pilots often arrive at their first lesson with a list of destinations in mind. In my case, the desire to fly to some of my favorite vacation spots and visit friends scattered across the country drove me to seek instruction after years of hesitation.
A reality check occurred during my first solo, when navigating the pattern and returning to the runway that I had departed a few minutes earlier seemed like enough of a challenge. Later, during the cross-country solo flights many students recall fondly, I enjoyed the thrill of being alone in the airplane but wondered at times if I had the stamina and concentration needed to fly much farther than 150 nautical miles or so.
