Dual Cross Country

It had been over 2 months since my last flight, but with the family out of town for Good Friday I just had to take advantage and get some air time. Between my schedule, I5's schedule, and the weather we haven't been able to book a time for the XC. We had two false starts but today I won't let anything (except for a snag, defect, or weather) stop me. I5 isn't available but I4 has gratefully offered to work the XC with me.

The route for today is Springbank (CYBW), Red Deer (CYQF), Three Hills (CEN3) and back to Springbank. I can't even begin to explain how many hours it took me to plan this flight. I have no idea how one is supposed to plan these in fewer than 45 minutes for a flight test!

With all of the planning, filing, briefing, inspecting, and signing behind us we actually moved on to my favorite part - the flying. Departing to the south I was expecting a right hand turn to downwind and then on course but instead received a left turn on course from tower. We found our initial set heading point that I had become more familiar with during the past few flights with I5 and started completing our ground speed and enroute checks.

It was windy and it was bumpy. I mean really windy and really bumpy. About 15 minutes into this flight I could have easily stuck my head out the window and expunged my breakfast. Lucky for us my head wouldn't fit out of the 8" x 4" windows installed in the Diamond - and there was no way I was cracking the canopy. I decided that redirecting the air would be the course of action and kept my head in the game. It was definitely a struggle to keep things straight and level.

We came up on my descent point just past the prison in Bowden and before I knew it we were in the descent and calling Red Deer Radio (FSS). We were told runway 16 was preferred and that another aircraft was on downwind. We spotted both, entered the downwind and touched down. We taxied over to the run-up bay and shut down for some air and a few minutes to prepare for the next leg. It was great to be safe on the ground somewhere other than CYBW!

The next two legs were somewhat uneventful. The turbulence and winds didn't get any better, resulting in a rough circuit and crosswind landing at Three Hills. The flight back didn't get much better as the instructions I received from Calgary terminal were not only different from what I had expected, but also counter-intuitive (from my perspective).

We put GMTZ back on the ground safely and after 2.8 hours of flight time I realized this had been my longest time spent in an aircraft. Actually, I can't remember the flight time when I did my Lincoln Park (N07) - Andover (K12N) - Beltzville (14N) - Butter Valley (7N8) - Lincoln Park flight; but that flight was split between the right and back seat - and I didn't really have a clue what was going on.

The debrief was short and sweet - I4 said most of the issues he saw were a result of the conditions we were flying in and the rust on my "wings". He said it was a great job based on the time I had taken off and had no worries about my ability to go on a solo XC safely.

I wanted to jump up and down screaming "Yahoo!" but then realized that I still was not feeling well. This continued during the drive home (I almost had to pull over) and well into the evening, even after I had rested, fed, and re-hydrated. I shot I4 an email telling him to scrap my flight for the next day. I just knew I wasn't going to be up to it. I guess the Solo XC was going to have to wait for at least another week... or so I thought....