Across the Country, By Myself

"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth". Bonnie Friedman

On Monday last, Nov. 23, my instructor and I did our dual cross-country to Chico, CA, Oroville, CA and back to Truckee, CA. We flew 68F into Chico's calss D airspace just in time for me to hit the head. This was my first full stop at a tower controlled aerodrome so a clearence to taxi to take off was necessary. This is way different from my home base uncontrolled airport, where you simply announce where you are going to taxi to and then do it. 


Apart from some light chop the flights went smooth. Flying over that part of the Sierra is a little unnerving as there are few, if any, places to bring her down in an emergency. But the scenery is beautiful. For any flight around here I wear solid shoes and clothes; and carry with me water, gators and some food. As well as a good knife, flash light and a jacket. Just in case.

When I woke up this morning, knowing the forecast was for a stable high pressure domination over the area, I called my CFI and asked if she'd meet me at the airport, review my plan and endorse my log book for my first solo cross-country. She agreed! It was just excellent, not even any light turbulence, just a nice steady 12-15KTS wind from the SSE.

My flight plan was similar to our dual night cross-country at the beginning of this month (see previous post) but in reverse and 1 different aiport, one I'm more familiar with. I started in Truckee, to Derby airport in Lovelock, NV, then to Nervino in Beckworth, CA, and back home to Truckee. KTRK-KLOL-O02-KTRK, total round trip of 3 hours hobbs time and 201NM. I had a great landing in KLOL, a good one at O02, and then blew it back home in Truckee. Too high and too fast, ending in a moderate bounce and a light side load. Sorry 68F. Enjoy the photos below!

68F on the ground at Derby (LOL).

Pryamid Lake a good 40+NM away.

Upgraded avionics in 68F, the rivets are still warm. On Monday we were the first to fly her with the upgrade, how cool is that?

A dry lakebed East of Pryamid Lake. If it has to happen, engine out here please.

Pryamid Lake, engine on here please! Pryamid Lake is the end point for the Truckee River, which is the only outlet from Lake Tahoe. So this is where the water from Lake Tahoe ends up, only to evaporate into the Nevada air. Yes, that means the Truckee River doesn't flow into an ocean, one of the few that doesn't.

My destination O02 lies just beyond these two ridge lines, which I approached at a 45 degree angle like the Mountain Flying Bible suggests. Thanks Sparky.

I like the contrast in textures and colors in this photo. Do you? This is the other side of the ridge in the previous photo.

Ski season is almost here and that means less time to flight train. And I'm getting close to finishing my training requirements. It's going to be tight down the stretch. Hang in there with me.