Doing it differently

I think that most people that learn how to fly find a flight school, do some ground school, start with the basic maneuvers, solo, do some more maneuvers, cross countries, more solos, etc. Finally they get their private license after many hours of flying.

Not me. I never seem to do things normally. Today I had the opportunity to take my plane on a cross country flight with Bob Guay. The Piper Cherokee that I bought needed an engine overhaul, so for the past 3 months it has been grounded for the overhaul. Part of the process to get it back in the air is to perform a break-in. Part of the break-in requires special procedures to be followed so that the rings can properly set in the engine. The better the break-in, the longer the engine lasts.

So, I got up before the roosters and met Bob out at North Las Vegas (KVGT) to fly down to Yuma, AZ (KNYL). We had a backup destination, Blythe, CA (KBLH). As the sun was rising, we were taking off -- ok maybe about 30mins after the sun was up, but pretty close. The day was clear and there was very little wind. After Bob took the plane off, he let me take the controls. It was important that he was in control of the plane during the parts of the flight that could cause the engine to fail. I was completely ok with that, becuase if the engine did quit, I didn't want to have to deal with it.

The trip towards Yuma was pretty uneventful, except the fact that I ate every moment up. I LOVE FLYING! It is just amazing to see the world from a bird's eye view. I really feel like I am part of the air and soaring as a Eagle (maybe being in a glider is close to this, but I like having the engine there to push me a long a bit).

When we got closer to Yuma, we tuned to ATIS for KNYL and found that the tower was not in operation. When Bob had called and received a flight breifing the night before, he found that the Yuma airport was dual use, both military and civilian. He felt that as we got closer, without a tower in operation, we could be in danger of interfering with military operations, so he quickly decided to turn around and land at our backup airport, KBLH in Blythe, CA.

We landed and refueled. We also unloaded our bladders and had a quick bite to eat. When we decided to get started back to home, the plane did not want to start back up. This was a little unnerving, being that the engine was just overhauled and we were 2 hours from a mechanic. After some fiddling, Bob was able to get it started (maybe not to the book, but it worked). We headed back to Vegas, The air was a little choppier over the mountain passes than it had been in the morning. Let's say we got our money's worth from the ride. (I actually enjoy a little turbulance).

After 5 hours of flying, we landed at KVTG and spoke with the mechanics for a few minutes. Overall, the plane performed like a champ and it was truely a great day of flying.

Just as important as the break-in of the engine, I got my first logbook entry in my pilot's log! Maybe cross country flying isn't normal for a first entry, but then again, who buys a plane without a license?