time for flightygirl to do first solo nav

[flightygirl]

Its time for my final flying hurdle to be overcome! time to fly off by myself and find another airport or two outside my 25 nm range and then find my way back.

 

my training has been going well... i successfully found cessnock yesterday and made it back (though gotta admit when you're on the coast how hard can it be!!)

 

Whilst i am excited at the prospect i am also a little scared and just dont seem to be able to muster the same level of enthusiasm (ok...obsession) as i have done with my other flying accomplishments.

 

So im interested in hearing from others who have recently done thier first solo nav or are about to and what they did or plan to do to make it a fun exercise.

 

Rach

 

 

[foxy]

hey rach...

 

well i havent 'recently' done my first solo nav, but i can recall it as though it was yesterday.

 

i got a little unsure of my position, but managed to find my way out again. and when i touched back down, even though i had a bitta trouble, i was over the moon at the fact that i was able to navigate myself back to the right place. reassuring me of the reasons on why i wanted to do it in the first place.

 

whenever u go off for the first time on your own, it is quite a daunting experience. remember the first solo circuit you did...the excitement and thrill were there...but be honest, so was a little concern!!

 

but then again...now bring your mind back, to just after take off, still feeling a tad uneasy.....to when your wheels touched the ground beautifully, and remember the feeling of complete accomplishment.

 

remember how good of a pilot you are, and you have, as youve said yourself, successfully found cessnock, and home, on your own...im assuming without any imput from rob wot so ever!

 

just imagine that he is there with you...talk to yourself as though he were sitting in the seat next to you...and imagine the elation you will feel when you touch back down at wollongong, having completed your solo nav!!

 

have faith, rach, you have your mojo for a reason....dont let it go!!!

 

liz

 

 

[rgmwa]

It's good fun when you know where you are. Not so good when the place you're aiming for is not there when you arrive, if you know what I mean. A few tips that may help, although you probably know them already, and I'm sure there are plenty of others:

 

1. Leave it as long as you can to get the weather forecast so you have the most current wind speeds and direction

 

2. Plot the route and identify all the features you expect to see on the way well before you take off. And not just the ones close to the planned track, but also others you should be able to see from the air.

 

3. Set your heading promptly after you take off. A relatively small error or delay at the start can put you a long way off course later (speaking from experience).

 

4. Try to get a check on your drift, and make a course correction if required (1 in 60 preferably).

 

5. If all else fails, fly IFR (I Follow Roads/Railways). Not recommended by any VFR navigation instructor, but it may give you a clue if you get lost, which is remarkably easy to do when there aren't too many features around.

 

6. It's a great feeling when it all comes together, so have fun.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Flyingphot]

Hey Rach

 

Great to hear you have progressed so far so quickly - have fun when you do the big nav exercise.

 

I have not been keeping up to date on the forum - my new Savvy arrived a couple of weeks ago and I have been flat out with the start of my instructor rating. So much to learn, so little room left in my head. The new Savvy is beaut - but very plain, white all over, will have to put some colour on soon.

 

Cheers for now and regards to Rob.

 

Bill & Jen

 

 

[flightygirl]

Hey RachGreat to hear you have progressed so far so quickly - have fun when you do the big nav exercise.

I have not been keeping up to date on the forum - my new Savvy arrived a couple of weeks ago and I have been flat out with the start of my instructor rating. So much to learn, so little room left in my head. The new Savvy is beaut - but very plain, white all over, will have to put some colour on soon.

 

Cheers for now and regards to Rob.

 

Bill & Jen

hey bill! so great to hear from you!

 

happy to hear you have your brand new savvy all up and running. must have been a great moment taking her up for the first time!

 

will be interested to see what colours you put on the new savvy.

 

take care

 

Rach

 

 

[flightygirl]

Well, I did my first Nav exercise last Friday and it was great fun. I had done a lot of study (Google Earth) of where I was going to be going and I found that helped a lot. Mind you it was around the Hunter Valley that I know very well so I could have done it solo without a map or compass. But it was good to learn in a low stress environment. Next Nav will be more testing.I found I needed to manage maps and stuff better in the air. Anyone got suggestions for that? Do Rec Pilots use kneeboards?

Hey..now there's an idea.. Google Earth! hadnt thought of that. I will be flying to goulburn and back, and i am familiar with the area somewhat, but i think what is scaring me is just the aloneness of such a big flight. when i was flying local solo flights i found that after a while i was feeling like i needed the company and would fly back to the airport.

 

so far during my training i have been using a knee board but find that after a while that gets discarded. but i am down to just the map and one sheet of paper with all flight details on it. Ersa and other necessities in the wing pocket. i am putting as much detail as i can on the map and it seems to be working for me.... at least im not as confused as i was at the beginning.

 

my biggest problem is keeping the plane straight and level while im reading the map and concentrating on other things. i know... i need to trim the plane better... but still...its an art i think to juggle the maps and manage everything in the aircraft and still fly straight and level.

 

well done on your first solo nav!

 

 

[David F]

First solo nav

 

Hi Rachel

 

Dont make it too hard (helps get over the thought of bieng solo) be thorough in your planning make it easy on yourself eg extra maps folded to the right page etc.And enjoy it .

 

Dave

 

 

[Tomo]

Trust your training Rach, do what you were taught, and it all falls into place.

 

Remember Rob wouldn't let you go off if he didn't think you'd find your way back.

 

Enjoy yourself, and have fun. It isn't actually all that hard.

 

Just for interest -

 

If you find yourself unsure of your position, remember you're only going about, what 80kts? Say it's been ten minutes and you still can't spot a feature recognizable, you know your speed, the time from your last fix and your current heading.

 

Being rough, 80kts is just over 1nm a minute, it's been five minutes since your last fix, so about 10, 11 miles, at a heading off xxx, look at your map and I bet you could put your finger where you are. I like getting a time/position fix every 10 minutes, but sometimes that isn't always possible if you haven't any land marks to fix upon, but don't panic, if you're maintaining your heading, maintaining speed... You'll end up within a pretty good proximity of where you're headed.

 

Try and find your next fix whilst it is out in front of you, your next town etc... makes life amazingly easier as you can imagine.

 

It isn't like getting lost in the city, cause you have everything going for you, you have your speed (mostly constant), you have your time, and you have a straight line. DR Navving, it really is good fun. Driving in the city is a good way to confuse a country kid, it isn't logical!

 

Anyway, sorry for going into all that, as if you didn't know it already.

 

 

[flightygirl]

thanks so much everyone for your advice!

 

i will definitely be taking it all on board so to speak and will do all i can to make sure my solo nav is fun fun fun! knowing me i will be singing away up there ( come fly with me come fly lets fly away....) and will talk my own head off.... CLEAROFF checks, map folding, keeping it as simple as i can and being as prepared as i possibly can be will hopefully get me there and back without too much stress!.

 

i am putting a camera on the plane (think rob doesnt trust that i will go all the way to goulburn!) so i can post a video of the flight and let you all know how it went.

 

just gotta keep the anxiety under wraps!

 

Goulburn here i come!!!!!

 

 

[Ultralights]

Goulburn? who said anything about Goulburn? Im thinking Cootamunderra

 

 

[flightygirl]

Goulburn? who said anything about Goulburn? Im thinking Cootamunderra

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!:ah_oh:

 

 

[facthunter]

Secret test.

 

You should have picked up his spelling mistake. He did it deliberately. Nev

 

 

[flightygirl]

You should have picked up his spelling mistake. He did it deliberately. Nev

No Nev,

 

Rob cant spell... he meant Cootamundra.

 

 

[Ultralights]

hay! i can speel

 

 

[facthunter]

Go for it.

 

He's OK otherwise. I'm sure he would only let you go when he is happy. You will be right. Nev

 

 

[dazza 38]

QUOTE=Ultralights;228390]Goulburn? who said anything about Goulburn? Im thinking Cootamunderra

 

 

 

[motzartmerv]

haha...good one..you'll be fine rach. Just a completely unrelated question, do you have a lost procedure down pat??;)

 

 

[Tomo]

You're one of a kind ain't you Motz!?

 

Like taking someone flying - then asking them if they've updated their will recently.

 

 

[flightygirl]

haha...good one..you'll be fine rach. Just a completely unrelated question, do you have a lost procedure down pat??;)

ummm... if i get lost i will cry

 

planning on friday will include that. im going to be spending a lot of time making sure i have covered everything.

 

 

[motzartmerv]

haha, you won't cry, i know you rach, you will just swear alot..

 

 

[flightygirl]

haha, you won't cry, i know you rach, you will just swear alot..

i will swear AND cry. i wont get lost though... i know where Goulburn is. It should be a relatively easy one for my first go. im sure the second nav will be more challenging.

 

my worry is not getting lost but just being so alone up there. it sounds like i will be too busy to be worried about being alone though.

 

 

[flightygirl]

Is that a large brown envelope with the words "Panic Button" on the front and containing a compact aviation GPS?

gee i hope thats what it is BlackRod! lol