11-19-00
Piper Warrior
Solo Long Cross Country

     Finally got my long cross country in, and it was definitely an experience. The weather was good in the morning, and forecast to stay that way. So Stu and I agreed that I would try to make the trip, taking off when the airplane became available around 1:30. The long cross country must include landings at three different airports, be at least 150 nautical miles total, with at least one leg being a straight line distance of 75 nm miles or more. I spent the morning planning the flight along the following routes:

Leg 1: Takeoff from Monticello and use pilotage and dead reckoning to fly southeast past Orange County and Stewart International airports.

Leg 2: Track inbound to the Carmel VOR, and then follow it outbound to the south. This course would take me in between the cities of Stamford and Norwalk, Connecticut. Verifying that my course would not encroach upon the NY Class B airspace, I would then cross Long Island Sound and enter Republic Airport's Class D airspace where I would land.

Leg 3: After getting my logbook signed at Republic, depart and head north to cross the Sound again on course to Sikorsky Airport in Bridgeport, CT (another Class D facility).

Leg 4: Depart Sikorsky and head home via pilotage, with a course nearly following Leg 1.

    This plan was complicated by a few factors:

• The area near West Point, which lay almost directly on my flight path,  was restricted until 3:00.
• The idea of crossing Long Island Sound made me nervous.
• Republic and Sikorsky, both Class D airports with operational control towers, were unfamiliar (Although I had gone into Republic the night before with Stu, I couldn't say that I was familiar with it's layout to the point that I was comfortable).
• The later my departure, the greater the chance that I would return in darkness and have to land at Sullivan County.

    Satisfied that I was on course and the airplane was healthy, I went "feet wet" and crossed Long Island Sound, headed for Farmingdale, NY. I was cleared to enter a downwind leg for landing, but then ran into my first problem of the day. I couldn't find the freakin' airport, and then made the classic mistake of immediately turning to where I THOUGHT it should be (the correct action being to continue straight ahead and then figure it out). Not wanting to get myself in serious trouble this early along, I immediately called the tower and told them I had gotten turned around and could they please nudge me back in the right direction? They did so, having me fly along the Long Island Expressway to the airport, which annoyed me because I should have thought of that myself.

    Made an uneventful landing at Republic, and taxied to the FBO I wanted without too much trouble. Jumped out of the plane, closed my flight plan and re-filed for my next leg, got my book signed, jumped back into the plane and got ready to go to Bridgeport. I didn't want to be in a hurry, but I knew I was fighting the remaining daylight. Things were slowed down for me however, since Republic was very busy that day. This actually made finding my way around the airport easier with instructions like, "Follow that Cessna down the taxiway." I ended up sitting at the departure end of the runway for about 20 minutes watching plane after plane land and takeoff. Finally, after another arrival the tower told me to taxi onto the runway and hold position. I could see that they were simply waiting for the twin that had just landed to get clear of the runway before quickly sending me on my way to make room for another arrival. It was kind of cool to sit there on the runway with my hand poised over the throttle just waiting for the word to go. The moment the twin turned onto the taxiway I was cleared to depart, and did so without delay. I flew the runway heading to 1000' and asked to turn north, which they approved immediately.

    So off I went across the Sound again toward Bridgeport. This was a short leg, only about 25 miles. I had the airport in sight very quickly, and this is where the trouble began. I was told by the tower to, "Report a 1-mile left downwind for runway 24." I dutifully consulted my flight guide to be sure I was headed toward the correct runway (there are 4 at Bridgeport), but it took me a moment to clarify it. By the time I had it figured out I had gone past where I should have been, and wasn't sure what to do about it. My first reaction was to circle back over land instead of water. I began to do this, but then realized that I would be encroaching on the approach path of the runway I was supposed to be landing on, and I knew there were other planes in the area. So I turned right over the Sound, at which point the tower controller wondered aloud just where the heck I was. For the second time that day, I was forced to admit that I had gotten turned around and needed some help. Since I was now headed back the other way, they had me turn base immediately and then land.

    I'm not sure if it's possible to taxi and airplane sheepishly, but if it is, I did it. To make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to get to the FBO, which flustered me further. With help, I got to the FBO and was met by a guy in a car asking if he could have a word with me.

    Uh-oh.

    Feeling like I was being pulled over by a cop, I grabbed my logbook and jumped down from the plane. Turned out he was the airport safety inspector, and not with the FAA. He made a point of telling me he was not there to report me or get me in trouble, but did want to talk about my arrival. I explained what I thought I did wrong, and he mostly agreed. He gave me some tips on how to orient oneself in that situation, and explained that I needed to plan ahead carefully to avoid this sort of thing. I said that I THOUGHT I had planned ahead, but apparently not well enough. He was very nice about it, and even offered to sign my logbook to show I had been there!

    I climbed back in the plane, and carefully checked how I would taxi to the runway. After starting up the engine and listening to the ATIS, I contacted ground control and told them I was ready to go. They gave me taxi instructions which I promptly screwed up. I was so embarrassed at this point that I briefly felt an almost irresistible urge to hide under the seat. But I was shortly airborne again, very grateful to have Bridgeport behind me.

    The trip back would not be difficult, and traffic would be even easier to spot since it was getting dark. Since I wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody after my experience at Bridgeport, I just flew VFR with no radar Flight Following. It was an uneventful flight in nice smooth air. Although not technically night flight since it was less than an hour after sunset, it was dark nonetheless and I turned on the cockpit lights. I monitored the common air traffic frequency to aid my scans for traffic, and also called out my position as I approached the various airports along my route. Stu was in the air with a student and answered one of my calls, asking how my trip had gone. I said I'd tell him later (if he didn't receive a phone call from the FAA first, that is...), and he said he'd pick me up at Sullivan County.

    I conducted a careful landing at Sullivan County, thereby ending my trip. It was cold, and I sat huddled in the airplane while I waited for Stu. The airport was deserted, so I had some quiet time to think about my flight. I was pretty ticked about what I felt were the stupid mistakes I made. I resolved to pay much closer attention to taxiing and learn my airport runway marking signs cold. On the plus side, my navigation in general was good. I felt in control of the airplane, even when I had to do things out of order or in a hurry. And I can't help but learn from such an experience, if only through embarrassment and sheer determination to never let these things happen again.

    Some time soon, the whole thing will be funny... I hope.