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Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

October 2, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

September 13, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

As student pilots and newly-minted private pilots, we spend most of our time in the traffic pattern or the practice area. It’s all about the process, not enjoying the ride or the destination. But once you earn your license, it’s critical to throw off those shackles, get out and travel!

Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

October 2, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

September 13, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

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Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

October 2, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

For most pilots, flying into AirVenture Oshkosh (KOSH) is very near the top of their bucket list. As a pilot, there is just something amazing about following a railroad track and being asked by a controller to “rock your wings” while on your way to the largest gathering of general aviation enthusiasts in existence. To the non-aviator, talking about a flight of this magnitude doesn’t resonate the same as when talking to fellow pilots who dream of this event. We get to be a part of this exclusive club that understands the Oshkosh initiation when flying to the aviation Mecca.

I’ve been part of the Sporty’s team for more than 12 years and have been attending AirVenture Oshkosh for most of those years. Normally my assignment is slightly less glamorous as I’d typically be driving a company vehicle pulling a trailer full of pilot supplies, but not this year. The planets must have aligned perfectly as I was the lucky pilot chosen to fly the brand new Sporty’s RV12 sweepstakes airplane to Oshkosh. Flying to Oshkosh, and more specifically, the VFR arrival has always been on my bucket list and now I get to check it off, and what’s more, in an RV12!

Planning for the flight was both easy and exciting. EAA publishes the Notice to Airman (NOTAM) well in advance so overly excited pilots can start dreaming weeks ahead of the big day and digesting all of the fine details. I’m pretty sure I can still recite every frequency, even the ones I had no chance at being assigned. Firing up ForeFlight on my iPad, I plugged in a direct route and started adjusting the course line to best fit the needs of the RV and its pilot.

Sporty’s is located at the Clermont County Airport (I69), just east of Cincinnati Ohio. A direct line to KOSH put me right in the middle of Lake Michigan. I can swim fairly well, but didn’t want to have to demonstrate that ability on this flight in the unlikely event of trouble. But honestly, who can pass up the opportunity to fly up the gorgeous Chicago lakefront and have a glimpse of the former home of Meigs field.

The total flight was planned to be approximately 4.5 hours. The RV will hold around 5 hours of fuel. Arriving anywhere with less than an hour of fuel reserve is a felony in my book, so a fuel stop is a must. Besides, the thought of a man my size trying to use a travel john in a tight cockpit like the RV had me convinced that I might even need two stops.

With the plan in place, all I had left to do was dream about my big flight for the next few weeks. Like a 4 year old waiting for Christmas morning, I couldn’t hardly sleep ahead of the big day.

The RV12 is an LSA so it’s small, light and approved for VFR flying only. The weatherman was not on my side that day as a front was moving through the region. Weather began to move in as I approached the Chicago area, but I was equipped with ADS-B weather and had a good picture of what was ahead. A shower roughly the size of the Class B airspace in Chicago was preventing me from taking the scenic route up the lake shore.

A few adjustments to the route and a stop had me waiting out the worst of the weather southwest of Chicago in Dekalb. By chance, a B-17 was giving rides that day. While I didn’t have the time to get in line, it sure was an entertaining way to wait out the weather delay.

As the front passed, I made a run for KOSH and it looked like everyone and their brother had the same idea. Again, the ADS-B proved invaluable providing traffic avoidance approaching the Oshkosh area via my iPad connected to a Stratus ADS-B receiver.

30 miles from RIPON, all traffic disappeared. Not because they landed, but because the NOTAM required transponders be turned off. [I often wonder if that requirement should be removed with our new found traffic capabilities.] Flying over the town of Ripon, I merge into a line of aircraft following the railroad track to FISKE. Few words can describe the sight of more than a dozen small airplanes in line for a VFR arrival to the “world’s largest airshow.”

When the controller came across the frequency asking that the “blue low wing following the ‘amphib’, rock your wings,” you can bet I gave a wiggle that might have required wearing a parachute. “Nice wing rock. Follow the ‘amphib’ for 36 left.” A compliment from an Oshkosh controller? If I could have done a back flip inside the cockpit, I would have.

Switching over to the tower frequency, I received the final clearance I had so eagerly anticipated – “cleared to land, 36 left, yellow dot, welcome to Oshkosh.” I made sure to leave my mark right in the center of that dot as one of my most memorable flights came to an end.

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

September 13, 2013/in Personal stories/by studentpltnews

It was my first real trip as a licensed pilot, flying a Cessna 172 from Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio to meet my fiancee (now wife) and her parents for the weekend. I was thrilled to make use of my new certificate on a “mission,” not just touch and gos. I was also excited to show my in-laws how powerful this whole flying idea could be.

But after landing in Toledo, my emotions quickly went from pride to embarrassment. First, I couldn’t figure out how to put the sun shades in the airplane. Sounds simple, but I had never done it during flight training. When I landed after a lesson, another student was coming for the airplane so I just chocked it and walked away. This was new territory. After 15 minutes of experimenting with the sun shades in the 90 degree heat, I finally figured out the system and closed up the airplane.

As I walked into the FBO, I stumbled into another embarrassing moment. The nice lady behind the counter asked if I needed a crew car. “What’s a crew car?” I naively asked. “Am I crew?”

It was obvious–I knew how to fly a Cessna, but I had no idea how to travel by Cessna. I was like a football player who had been to all the practices and scrimmages, but never played in a real game.

My guess is a lot of new pilots are in the same situation.

As student pilots and newly-minted private pilots, we spend most of our time in the traffic pattern or the practice area. Even during cross countries, the goal is to make the trip, get a logbook stamp and head home. It’s all about the process, not enjoying the ride or the destination.

There’s nothing wrong with this approach during training. After all, the goal is to maximize your learning during the allotted time. But once you earn your license, it’s critical to throw off those shackles, get out and travel! It’s one of the most exciting and enjoyable things (maybe the most enjoyable thing) about being a pilot.

But as my trip to Toledo showed, it’s not as easy as you might think–especially if your flight school emphasized dead reckoning over real travel.

For a start, you need to learn some very practical skills. If you’re flying to Chicago (or Atlanta or Dallas or Los Angeles), you have more than a half dozen airports from which to choose. Picking the right one is an art, and it takes practice. Which one is closest to your destination, which has the right facilities, what’s the difference in fuel price? These are all basic but important questions you need to consider when planning a trip.

Once you’ve chosen an airport, you may need to select an FBO and arrange for parking, fuel, rental car or other logistics. It’s not hard, but it’s something you probably didn’t learn in ground school. For example, most FBOs have discounted rates with area hotels or rental car companies–but you have to ask.

There are more serious lessons to learn, too. If you’ve only flown within 100 miles of your home airport, you probably aren’t familiar with different terrain, weather and ATC features. Learning to fly in Ohio, I remember feeling really uncomfortable the first time I flew in the mountains. For one, there were rocks to miss, but the weather patterns were also quite different and ATC radar didn’t go down to the ground.

Longer trips also expose you to changing weather, which I’ve found pushes me to be a better pilot. Here’s an example: if it’s windy at home, you read the METAR and cancel your flight. But if you’re 2 hours into a cross country and your destination airport starts reporting gusty winds, you can’t just cancel. Or maybe you flew in yesterday in clear skies, but the next morning you wake up to an overcast sky and fog.

You should never let weather back you into a corner and compromise safety (“get-home-itis” can kill), but learning to handle Mother Nature is one of the most valuable lessons you can learn. Sometimes you’ll have to cut your plans short to beat the weather home, sometimes you’ll have to spend an extra night in that hotel waiting for better weather. Learning to say no or to be flexible is all part of learning to travel by airplane.

Studies have shown that the process of planning and anticipating a trip can often be as enjoyable as the actual event. That study obviously didn’t include pilots, because nothing beats the flight, but the point is still valid. Don’t rush the planning phase. Take the time to learn all the variables, consider the options and make a thoughtful decision. You’ll have more fun before and during the trip, and you’ll learn just how rewarding it is to fly yourself somewhere.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

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Is Flying to Oshkosh on Your Bucket List

The art of cross country travel by light airplane

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