Aviate - Navigate - Communicate

When I checked yesterday, the forecast for today was for cloudy and a 20% chance of snow. Ha! Don't believe it! Woke up this morning to clear, sunny skies, calm winds (on the surface anyway), and a chance to get my remaining cross-country hours in. I hesitated to call my instructor, since it was Sunday, but figured that since I wasn't asking him to go with me, maybe he wouldn't mind. It was, of course, not a problem, but we had to keep our eyes on the wind forecasts.

The winds aloft were 270 at 24, and the winds at the best-looking destination were 220 at 25, with gusts to 30. So, the main concern was turbulence from the winds and mountain waves, and the conditions at my destination, which could be too much for my solo skills. We decided to give it a go, since the winds everywhere else on the surface were calm, and I could always divert if need be. Yesterday's flying had similar winds aloft, so I knew it would be bumpy, but was also willing to take a bit of a beating (it's not like the air's ever totally smooth anyway).

So, I did a quick flight plan, did all the math for wind corrections and ground speed (using FlightPrep software, this isn't much), and got all set to go. Once I was at the airport, I took things a bit slower, to make sure I had everything in order, got the weather briefing, (with the turbulence Airmet), and did the preflight. T.I. signed off the logbook, and I was ready to go.

Today's flight involved three Class D airports, and one TRSA (Terminal Radar Service Area). Basically, this is an area of more involved radar coverage, although the basic rules for entering and communication are the same as any Class D airspace. The additional steps involved calling up approach, setting a discrete transponder code, and then entering the pattern as normal. I switched frequencies to close my flight plan before I had to contact the tower, came back to approach, and then was quickly handed off.

But before I got to that point, I needed to navigate my way over some mountains and into some pretty significant turbulence. It wasn't bad, like rough, but it was like being on a rolling sea, and there were a couple of big up- and down-drafts that sent the altimeter spinning for a few seconds. The trip out was actually better than I expected based on the wind speeds that were out there. Likely, it was due to my flying more-or-less "downstream" and riding the currents.

As I arrived at the destination field, the winds were still up, but I decided to give it a shot. The end of the runway sits on a bluff, though, and the wind currents ended up being a bit too much. My references were all off, since I had never been to this field before, and the slow speed due to the wind really threw off my timing. I touched down a bit too hard, bounced, and touched again. That was quite enough, thank you very much, and off I went. I declared my intention to turn off to the south to my next stop, but was given vectors to stay clear of a departing plane behind me (going much faster). I kept an eye on him, and when he was ahead, I was cleared to proceed on course.

The next leg was the roughest, as it was nearly straight into the wind. In fact, as I approached a mountain ridge, I decided that I didn't really want to fight it, and diverted around it. That helped a bit, but I was getting further and further off my intended course. I also got a little taste of getting lost, as I miscounted the ridges and thought I was closer than I was for a few minutes. Then I saw the GPS distance and realized I still had a way to go. It was a good exercise, though, as I had to put together the landmarks I was seeing, evaluate how much off course I would be, ensure I had enough fuel if I was going way off (plenty of gas today), and consider an alternate field if the wind just simply was too much. The GPS finally indicated about 30 knots of wind as I puttered along at only about 80 knots of groundspeed. It took forever to get around those mountains, but the light at the end of the tunnel was the ATIS that said "wind calm". If I could just get over the waves, it would get better.

I called the tower, gave a position report at about 15 miles, and was instructed to report 5 miles out. There were a few other planes around, so the controller was trying to get us all spaced right. The wind was so much as I was descending, that I was about 8 miles out when he called back to check on me. I said that I was getting there, but the wind was really socking it to me. He understood, and got a couple of the other guys in while I bobbed and weaved. Of course, as I got to the surface, the ATIS didn't lie, and I made a perfect landing. Again, I reported my intentions to depart the area back the way I came (this time with the wind) and away I went.

The last leg was mainly an effort to keep the plane on course, as the winds were much more variable -- in every direction. I would find myself drifting left and right, up and down....I'm really not this bad, am I?

I was watching the clock, but not obsessively, and I knew that the flight would be just about right for the hours that I needed, but I guess I should have paid more attention. I thought I'd throw in a touch-and-go just for good measure as I arrived back at the home base. Good thing I did. When I recorded the Hobbs meter, I found that I had exactly the time that I needed -- no more, no less.

The main lesson for today: the mountains shown on the charts don't look anything like they do in real life. You can pick out prominent peaks, especially if they have towers, but even coming back over the same ground I did on the outbound trip, everything looked different. Which road is that? Where are those powerlines? Which ridge is that? Did I pass that peak already?

But all went well, and I now have all my required hours logged. Another couple of flights with the instructor, and I'll be all set.