Long x-country...

Be sure to post a note on how it went.

Well, we're all back home, safe and sound.

Mary, our daughter, and I flew to Praire du Chein (PDC) to meet this
group's own Jim Burns and his family for Sunday brunch at the Isle of
Capri casino. Meanwhile, Joe was off, safely completing his round
robin cross country flight from Iowa City (IOW) to Grinnell (GGI),
from Grinnell to Ames (AMW), from Ames back to Grinnell, and finally
back to Iowa City.

Best of all, we were able to hear Joe en route on 122.8, as he came
into land on Rwy 31 in Grinnell, while we droned along over N.E Iowa.
It was an amazing feeling, listening to him coming into land at a
strange airport, far from home...

Joe's story was typical of most students, I suspect. He took off for
Grinnell at 10:30 AM, and headed north up to I-80. At the interstate,
he hung a left, and flew West 55 miles to Grinnell -- simple as pie.

Upon landing, he was shocked to find the airport office closed! They
don't open until 1 PM on Sunday, so he called me (we hadn't left for
the airport yet) for advice. I told him to simply find *anyone* on
the field, and ask them to sign his book.

He found a guy working on an old biplane, who gladly signed his log.
They chatted a bit, Joe ate his trail mix, drank his diet coke, and
then he departed for Ames.

Half way to Ames the turbulence got going, and he climbed to 3500
feet, where it was a bit smoother. From that altitude it was harder
to see his landmarks, so he became a bit disoriented. After a bit he
checked his sectional for a road that would take him to Ames.

He found a freeway off to the west, and followed it right to Ames.
There the winds, which had been just 4 knots in Iowa City, were 10
gusting to 17! A bit of a pucker for a new pilot, but he apparently
had no troubles.

He spent a while in the Ames FBO relaxing (remember how tiring that
flight was, when you were a student?), got the FBO girl to sign his
log book, and then departed for Grinnell once again.

The flight to GGI was uneventful, although his landing was interesting
with the winds picking up. Joe says it wasn't his smoothest
touchdown, but it wasn't his worst, either.

This time the FBO was open, but they had no snack machines. For a 17
year old boy, THIS was a crisis. (We have to feed him every few
hours, it seems.)

According to Joe, a "95 year old lady" (probably 55) told him that
they were cooking bratwurst on the grill, and offered him one. This
was music to his ears, and he enjoyed the camaraderie and food of a
typical smalltown Iowa airport.

After enjoying his brat, he suddenly realized that it was 1:45 PM, and
he only had the 150 reserved till 2 PM! Hustling through his
preflight, he made good use of a 20 knot tailwind all the way home to
Iowa City, where he was met by the disgruntled renter, and a not-so-
happy FBO clerk. He apologized, and headed for home, beat.

Mary and I got home a little while ago, after our own uneventful
flight home from Wisconsin, to find him curled up in a blanket on the
couch, exhausted. It's been a great day of flying for the Honeck
family, and he's now one big step closer to earning that ticket.

I told him this evening that he can now *really* call himself a
"pilot". Soloing was a huge step, but there is nothing like that
first trip out of the nest to really test your mettle -- and he passed
with flying colors.

Tomorrow, he's off to Cedar Rapids for some tower practice, then it'll
be time to take the written, do some brush up, and take the exams!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"