First Cross-Country - Jan 10

After several cancellations, we finally flew cross-country.

A large high pressure area had settled over eastern Ontario, so the air was very stable and very cold. The high was passing Ottawa mid-afternoon, causing the upper winds to swing by as much as 90 degrees, depending on altitude and the time of the flight. Any planning based on the projected winds was going to result in recalculation.

My chosen route was from Carp airport to the town of Quyon, then westerly to Pembroke. Most of my flying to date has been low altitude, so I opted for 4500' westerly, and 5500' on the easterly return.

The results:

• Flight planning was largely correctly done - considering it was my first time planning a cross-country flight. I transposed digits on one heading (325 instead of 235). Better desk-checking should have caught this.
• The outbound chosen track was a good one - easy to follow as it was along the Ottawa River. The return route was harder to follow, but I managed to follow it using pilotage.
• Filing the flight plan created a few errors. I used local time instead of Zulu, did some quick calculations when asked, compressed the time that I thought we would be airborne, and got behind the schedule. Lesson: Don't get rushed.
• The take-offs and landings were good,
• The cockpit for the Eclipse is cramped. I need to figure out how to "build my nest". When flying solo it will be much easier - I'll have an empty seat beside me on which to place things.
• Little things count. I put the map on a clipboard, folded to show my route. The natural way to hold a clipboard is with the clip at the top. After stopping at Pembroke I should have switched the map around - every time I picked up the clipboard I had to spend time get oriented. It was interesting how a small detail was so disruptive.
• Calculations on the outbound route went well.
• Coming home, the winds were significantly different than plan. I twice had to reset onto my planned track using the "Visual Alteration" method, estimate a new heading, and try tracking home. In all, I adapted well, but there was too much scrambling. As a result, doing the ground speed calculations, and re-calculating the ETA for the final destination lapsed.

All in all, it was fun. The flying (RPM, heading and altitude management) was easy. Being up high made it easy to determine my location.

Time: 2.1 Dual

Landings: 2 (Pembroke was OK, the landing at Carp sucked)

Tomorrow's lesson: Diversions.

If all goes well, I'll be signed off to fly this cross-country route solo.