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I went on my first day/night cross country flight lastnight, and I've never made so many stupid mistakes in my life. Well maybe that's a slight exageration, but I still feel like an idiot after some of the stuff I did.

I was for the most part pretty accurate with my flight planning, though I'm really slow and it took me forever to finish it. I then also filed a flightplan.

My navigation was going well, although I wasn't resetting my heading indicator to the compass as often as I should, so I was off course by a couple miles a couple times during the flight.

My main problem though was trying to stay within 100 feet of my altitude and at my planned heading, while navigating, looking at charts, and writing on my nav logs, ect

I felt like a pre-solo newbie making hard landings. Maybe it was landing at night that was messing me up, I don't know.


I was tripping over my words on the radio, and generally messing up radio calls

One of the airports we went to was the Spokane international aiport (KGEG), which is normally very busy. When we were a little over 20 miles out, I contacted Spokane Approach and continued flying towards the airport. What was odd was that the radio was very quite. Once approach controll handed me off to the tower, there was no other traffic so the tower cleared us for the option of touch and goes, or stop and goes. It wasn't untill we were entering the downwind for another landing before a Horizon Dash 8 took off, and another one was inbound to land, so the tower cleared me for a touch and go.

On our last landing my instructor asked the tower to give me light gun signalls to show me what they looked like.

We were lucky lastnight because the skies were mostly clear, with an almost full moon. Navigating at night was easier then I thought it would be.

Flying over the city lastnight was also cool

We were almost home when my instructor decided to throw me for a loop, and she wanted me to 'pretend' we had to make an diversion to another airport, and to use my plotter, flight computer, and charts to determine distance, heading, fuel, and flight time to the airport. Trying to stay at my assigned altitude and heading was real challenging

We were 10 miles south of our homebase airport and my instructor told me to make a position report on the common traffic advisory frequency, so I did, but on the wrong frequency

When we were back on the ground at our home aiport, my instructor started talking about my solo cross country

I think she has more faith in me, but I don't think i'm quite ready for that yet because of all the mistakes I made. I know I could probably do it and make it back in one piece, but I'd probably royally screw something up.

Besides, how can I go on a solo cross country when I need to work on my landings more?

I still had a lot of fun, But all the little mistakes I made are depressing to think about, and makes me wonder how i'll ever get it all perfect

You sure you're not my clone?

That story has so many parallels to my current position in training that I think I need to go ask mom or dad if they ever had a REALLY late night out and maybe got a little randy with one of the strangers...

I feel like I would need to do another hundred csross-countries before I'd be proficient at it, and my solo x-country is next sunday!

So long as you can safely fly the plane on your own, you should be fine.  btw, it's a DIversion

You guys are scaring me. My first solo (not cross country, just around the pattern) is a couple weeks away, and I don't feel like I will be ready for it any time soon. I'm still getting the hang of landing and I'm improving, but still...

It's not landing you need to be worried about, those will be cleared up (in terms of performing them safely, i.e. plane intact) after your first solo.  It's the organization and execution that tends to be the problem.  Landing is stick flying-xcountries is pilot flying.

You'll be alright Andrew, I guess it can't go perfect every time.

I'm sure you'll be fine Andrew. Your instructor won't let you go until she thinks you're ready for it. Just think how much more difficult this would be in an open cockpit with every chance of your charts blowing up over your face or even out of the aeroplane. You can't take your gloves off in case you get frostbite. Oh, & you have no heater, GPS or radio.

Sounds like just an off day- and things are a lot different at night, sometimes. And I wouldn't feel too bad about that DG- sounds like it needed attention more often than they usually do...
I agree that if your instructor says you're good to go, believe it. but if you really don't feel ready for the solo flight, speak up about it. One short dual flight where the CFI specifically adresses the things you're unsure about will probably fix you up in that case.
How well could you see the light gun, BTW? That's a nice touch, giving you a chance to see that.

TacitBlue:  I wouldn't worry about your first solo flight.  Mine was almost a year ago, and I'm still alive!  I remember shaking like a poodle at the North Pole, I was so nervous.  I took my time with the check lists, taxing, and run ups, but once I got on the runway and gunned the trottle I wasn't nervous anymore.  I was the happiest kid on the face of the planet!  ;D  After that everything came naturaly, I remembered all the checklists and had the three best landings of my student pilot career.  ;D

Don't worry about messing up a night flight.  Runway lights can be very disorienting.  I cranked out three horrible landings the night I went.  Just be glad no one is there to see them.  :P  I know I am.  :)

I have already gone on two solo X-countries...  The first one was pretty bad.  I was going from Columbia Co. (1B1) to Fulton Co. (NY0) and had to do a dog leg to get around Albany airspace.  My checkpoint for the turn was a pirvate strip that I had flown over before so I thought I would pick it out easily.  I get there and I can't find the damned thing!  I spent a good 10 or 15 minutes just circling around trying to spot it but I couldn't.  I didn't want to have to turn around and go back on my first solo X-country, so I used the chart to reference myself to the terrian and roads in the area and figured that I was over it, but just coudn't see it.  So I turned to my new heading and continued on and as luck would have it, I found the rest of my checkpoints, NY0 and made it back in one piece...  Though the 100 mile flight took me 1.6 hours..

Second one went much smoother.  Just a straight line, no dog leg..  Though I did, like you, called the airport for an advisery on the wrong freq.  :-[  :)

Now I'm gearing up for the big 150 nm three leg solo X-country.  :-X  Should be fun!

You'll be fine though, Andrew.  Take your time planning it so you don't worry about it in the cockpit.  Its a lot of fun.  :)

Am I the only person who had literally zero anxiety about my first solo, even with my family and friends watching?

I mean I literally was not nervous at all.  I had done the pattern a million freaking times, I could glide it in, I was right near home, it was like no big deal.  It was actually a low point for me, my landings sucked cos I ballooned every landing-if I balloon a flare, there's no saving it, I'm coming down hard.  THAT, three times over.  And I landed long each time.  I was like "meh, let's just go to school."

Want something to be nervous about, be nervous about your first solo x-country.

But oh dear Mine is Sunday and once again I don't feel nervous, and x-countries are not my strong point

And why is everybody else doing a 3-leg long x-country!  I have a four-legger, all to controlled airfields! *pout smiley*

You often do things worse just before you get them right. It's likely from trying too hard. Believe it or not Eddie Richenbacher's instructor thought he would wash out up until the day of his first solo. He solo'ed in complete dispair and greased three of his best landings. Was just trying too hard.

You know what to do. Practice it a few times in the sim and for a few days before the CC flight don't do anything related to flying. By the time you get into the cockpit you should be ready to go.

Good luck.

Oh, & you have no heater, GPS or radio.

I didn't use a GPS untill I had to switch to using my current trainer after my last primary trainer was crashed. I know they're usefull, but I don't want to have to become dependant on them.


[quote]TacitBlue:

Though I did, like you, called the airport for an advisery on the wrong freq.  :-[  :)

Yup, did that on my first x-country too.  CFI righted that right quick.

I'm nervouse now, but knowing myself (as I do reasonably well) I might not be when the time actually comes. Either that or I will be skaing like a leaf and ready to vomit, one or the other, no in-between.

Don't worry too much about your cross country.  When I did my first Dual Crosscountry, I messed up quite a bit, because there was a lot to know and tons to keep track of.  When you do your solo cross country, things will flow more easily since your instructor isnt pressuring you.  Pretty much all it is is writing down your times, your groundspeed, making your corrections.

A tip that an instructor gave to me before I did my flight test was "Whatever problems you will encounter, you have all the necessary skills to correct it.  A sudden downdraft can make you lose 100 ft at any given time, but it is your training that keeps you out of trouble."  It can be applied to everything, including the cross country.

Its really easier then your first solo if you think about it.  You can fly the plane now.  Just don't wrap your head into too many knots when looking at your flight plan.

And Tacitblue, don't worry about your first solo.  Remember, every pilot has to go on their own some time or another.  My first solo, there were storms approaching (which I could literaly see... plus rain leaked into the cockpit through the vents), and it was bumpy.  Quite breathtaking at first, but your making your big leap towards your wings.  

I think my main problem with trying to plan the diversion is that my instructor told me to use my plotter to get the heading to the other airport, but I was trying to get an exact heading, not an approximate heading, which distracted me, causing me to get off on my altitude and heading