Our route - red is going, blue is coming back
Here's Jeremiah's serious faceI don't get to fly nearly as much as I'd like to, but I do try to go often enough to where I feel safe. The goal is once or twice a month, with at least one of them being cross country. But, since I don't get to very much, I like to start each trip with one time around the pattern.
The weather was great, really high broken cirrus clouds, light and variable wind at TTA, and cool; perfect day for some VFR. The calm wind runway at TTA is 3, so we cranked the engine, made our call and taxied out to runway 3. There were other planes in the pattern, so we had to wait momentarily for the runway to clear. When clear, we taxied out and announced "closed traffic".
Takeoff was relatively uneventful, as was the rest of the pattern. The pattern at TTA provides a great view of the southern end of Jordan Lake, as well as the Sharon Harris Nuclear Power Plant. We turned crosswind, downwind, base, and then set up on final for a touch and go. The landing was smooth enough (I didn't "grease" it, but also didn't slam anything on the ground). Once I "cleaned it up", which includes raising the flaps and confirming again that the mixture is rich and carb heat is off, I opened the throttle, took off again, and began our climb to 4,500 feet MSL. This time, we were heading to HNZ.
The last time I went to HNZ, Raleigh Approach routed me around the Class C airspace. They didn't tell me to remain clear this time, but I had already planed to go around the western side so I went with that plan. The route took us north over Chapel Hill and then north east over Durham. We went a little further north than we needed to so Jeremiah could see his house. From there, we went up to HNZ.
Chapel Hill
Jeremiah's House (aka "the farm")The landing at HNZ was good. We entered on the pattern from the 45 degree entry to the upwind, then followed the pattern around the crosswind, downwind, base and then final to runway 6. The landing was very similar as the touch and go earlier, smooth enough, but not perfect. After landing, we decided to taxi right back to the end of the runway for take-off, instead of stopping to get out. So, we taxied back and performed a normal take-off, also from runway 6.
The trip back was good. The sun was beginning to set, which made for some great views. I love the view from a plane, it's the best view in the world. I'd love to make the cockpit my office, but that's a whole different story.
Man that's awesomeAnyway, we flew out over my house on the way back. Emily was outside and actually saw us fly over, which was cool.
My neighborhood, Emily was down there!We went back towards Chapel Hill and then south to TTA. I wondered if the controller thought I had any idea how to navigate. He didn't tell me to remain clear of the Class C airspace, but I did anyway. At one point he asked me if I needed vectors to TTA, which I responded by saying that I decided and planned to remain clear of the airspace. That seemed to be a sufficient enough answer for him.
Durham looking eastAbout 10 miles out I reported TTA in sight. The controller cleared me to switch frequencies and code 1200 into the transponder. There was plenty of traffic both in the pattern and nearby so I decided to point myself towards a well known landmark to TTA pilots, the 3M plant. Beginning pattern entry from the 3M plant puts you in perfect position to enter the downwind from 45 degrees. Plus, it's a good landmark to announce where you are because mostly everyone else in the area is familiar with it.
As I turned final I decided to show off a little and showed Jeremiah the pilot controlled lighting. If anyone asked why I used the lighting, my plan was to say the sun was getting a little low and I felt the need for lights. I clicked the radio 7 times and the lights burned bright. Jeremiah thought it was pretty cool, as do I. I don't fly much at all at night, so seeing the lights on is a bit of a bonus for me as well.
The landing was good, we cleared the runway and taxied back to the south ramp on taxiway alpha. At shutdown, total time was 1.8 hours cross country. Better than zero!
