Dual Cross-Country and Night Training

Dual X-C

12 February, 2002. Am I overjoyed or What? Without prompting from Tim, who knows Oregon like the back of his hand, I found Estacada's Valley View Airport!


My first dual cross-country ! From Albany, I took Tim, my CFI, to McMinnville, then on to Estacada's Valley View Airport, then back to Albany. Taking advantage of the good weather, the very next day I took him via Eugene to Roseburg. Both flights went quite well. I was proud of myself for finding Valley View Airport. It is a tiny place with a narrow runway tucked into the foothills and is notoriously concealed. As part of my flight planning, I studied topographic maps to visualize the area in detail. I had also found a single photo of the airport, but it was old and not helpful. Studying the map gave me a more detailed "mental picture" of the relationship of the airport to nearby features such as the town itself and nearby Lake Faraday. Topos supplement aeronautical charts with more details of local terrain. Though you wouldn't want to be studying one in the cockpit, they are great for advance planning when you are not familiar with an area.
The day was wonderfully sunny and clear, but it was also more turbulent and windy than usual. When we climbed out of the valley floor towards Estacada, we were pitched around in the bumpy air. "Rock and roll time", Tim called it. I had flown in strong winds before, but never in quite such turbulence. It was pretty exciting. It is very good for me to fly in any kind of challenging conditions. On my first attempt to land, the cross-wind and bumps were so strong that I had to "go-around" and try again. The next time around, either I got more skill or the bumps and wind let up a bit. The view of Mt. Hood with its sweeping cloak of winter snow was stunning. Estacada itself is a beautiful town and it was fun flying over it, even with the bouncing around.

The next day's flight was exciting in a different way. It was a real thrill to land at Eugene Airport on "the big" (main) runway. It was moderately busy and a small jet landed right after I cleared the runway. When I departed on the same runway, I had to wait "holding short" while several interesting planes landed. We got to hear an IFR clearance while we were waiting. Who can mind a bit of waiting when so many interesting things are going on? We are so lucky here in Oregon that there are never unreasonable delays. Western Oregon is an ideal place to learn to fly. In a relatively small geographic area, the topography and climate are highly variable. Snow-capped mountains in one direction and stunning seacoast in another are but short flights away from Albany and other small cities in the Willamette Valley. Even with the variety and challenges, the weather is reasonable.
Roseburg airport is small, but not as tiny as Estacada. It is nestled in a basin in the Umpqua Valley. As we have so often discovered in private flying, the people at the FBO there are very friendly. It is a special kind of people --who are devoted to their fellow pilots --who run these small services. The small FBO's are very inviting places that somehow make you feel a bit more like a special guest in someone's home than a transient at an airport.
On the way back, Tim had me stow my nav log while he tried to "get me lost" --well not literally lost of course, but he challenged me to know where I was at all times. That was some real work, but also fun. Then as the good weather held out, I did my first night training on Friday night.

Night Training

Flight Instruments

February 15, 2002. Being well into middle age, I had some anxiety about night flying. I worried that my night vision might not be up to snuff, but it was pleasing to find that I could still adapt well to darkness. Being a veteran stargazer and night hiking enthusiast helps! Night flying was absolutely splendid. The air was so nice and smooth and the lighted towns in the valley were so beautiful. Some instructors stick slavishly to planned lessons, but Tim includes some 'surprises' in every dual flight. This teaches us flexibility. In flying, you have to be prepared to change your plans --abruptly if need be --and to deal with things as they actually are at any moment. He had told me that we would first stay in the pattern at Albany to do some night takeoff's and landings. As I first took off he said, "Let's go to Independence", so I turned towards it. This course took us right over a smelly pulp mill. Tim said, "Ahhh, we are at the odor marker!" (The "outer marker" is a navigation point for instrument approaches to landing.) After almost rocking the wings with laughter --remember, fly the airplane firstly, no matter how your CFI distracts you <grin> -- I noticed the big "rabbit" (a string of bright approach lights) at Corvallis. When I pointed it out to him, he asked me if I would like to try landing there instead. When we listened to Corvallis AWOS as neared the airport, we discovered that the winds were favoring a smaller runway with the approach lights partially malfunctioning, so I only did one landing there with Tim's help.
Then we flew around for a while as Tim asked me questions about my perceptions. He pointed out many aspects of safety in night flying. He showed me how the dark can produce illusions such as a false horizon and a distorted sense of distances and perspective. He pointed out to me how even on this beautiful clear night, a small pocket of ground fog over the hills could obscure things. We went over selecting emergency landing sites in the event of an engine failure. Tim turned off the landing lights and showed me how to use a flashlight to land or taxi in poorly lit areas. He also told me some "war stories" about night flying and airport lights that fail to light-up. Often these lights are pilot-controlled, but as with so many aspects of flying, pilots need to have "plan B" or other options. Then it was time to head back to Albany. I learned first-hand how illusory a long "straight-in" approach can be, even if this does seem to be an "easy" way to find and maintain contact with a runway. As Tim pointed out, it is best whenever possible to use the normal traffic patterns that we use during the day. On a long approach, it is difficult to judge distances. Again I was very happy to find the airport and to enter the traffic pattern normally, using the same speeds and techniques as during the day. I did three landings and takeoff's unassisted that Tim was pleased with. At the end of that flight, he told me that I was ready to fly my day solo cross-countries! Now I will be watching the weather as closely as ever!

 Night Flying Resources
Here are some handy links for night flying:
A Simple Phases of the Moon Calendar for any month or year.
55-year-old "Night Flying Instructions" from the WASP: An Aviation Classic
"The dark Side of Night Flying" Transport Canada Aviation safety Letter

Updated 3/17/02

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