Lost stories here

Danny Deger wrote:
Post your lost story here, so we can all laugh at them.


First night cross country during my PPL training. Flew from KFIT to
KPSM, just over 50 nautical. No problem on the way up there. The return
was the issue.

Departed 34 out of KPSM for the trip back. I had all my wind correction
angle computed for the winds aloft, I had my way points and my timing
down for all that dead reckoning / pilotage stuff we all learn. I knew I
had to fly a course like 238 deg or something like that. I climbed to
altitude, picked up flight following to KFIT and saw the friendly
welcoming lights of the Mt. Wachusett ski area, it being winter and all.
The ski area is just to the west of KFIT. The mountain is always a
friendly beacon to steer towards. So I promptly forgot everything I had
preplanned and flew towards the lights.

I looked down at my DG several times, steering 270 due west. Hmmm. My
planning must have been off. Fly fly fly. Hmmm, I couldn't have been off
by that much, but those *must* be the lights. fly fly fly. Approach
comes on the radio ... Cessna November two zero four confirm
destination. Fitchburg two zero four.

Cessna two zero four, turn 50 deg left to 220, direct to Fitchburg.
Hmmm, ok. "two zero four 50 left", turn turn turn. Oh, those lights.
Sheepish grin.

My CFI sez, "I wondered when you were going to figure that out."

I guess they must have been the lights of a highway going over the hills
in NH towards VT, route 12 I guess.

Lesson learned.

KC

"Kevin Clarke" wrote in message
ink.net...

picked up flight following to KFIT and saw the friendly welcoming lights of
the Mt. Wachusett ski area, it being winter and all.

On my dual cross country, my instructor tried to get me to try to land on Mt
Wachusett's trail, telling me it was a runway.

"Kevin Clarke" wrote in message
ink.net...
Danny Deger wrote:
Post your lost story here, so we can all laugh at them.


First night cross country during my PPL training. Flew from KFIT to KPSM,
just over 50 nautical. No problem on the way up there. The return was the
issue.

The way I figgure it, as long as you end up at home in the end, you weren't
really lost.

I did get the "you don't have any idea where you are, do you?" from my CFI
on that first night Cross country...

For some reason, My dad and I had flown up to visit my brother at Ann Arbor
Mi (ARB) and my brother and I decided to go for a ride. (Dad stayed behind)
we flew off westish for a while just dinking around. My brother says
something about heading back so I turn east and off on the horizon, I see an
airport. Ok, that's easy. I head thataway. 5 miles out, call the tower, "Ann
Arbor Tower, Cessna xxx 5 west..." They reply to report 1 mile west (or
something like that) - Ok, I report, they don't have me in sight, but tell
me to report down wind. I go to turn downwind, but something doesn't seem
right. I report downwind, and they still don't have mei n sight they keep
asking where I'm at. And I'm sitting there - like - how can they not see me,
I'm on downwind for crying out loud. Then I look down at the airport - wait,
this isn't right. ****! I'm in the pattern at Willow Run (YIP). yank out the
chart, change frequency, "Willow tower, Cessna xxx I'm downwind at the wrong
airport - I'm outta here. Sorry"...

The funny thing is that my brother never said a thing. One of these days I
should ask him why - he's a lot better pilot than I am, it doesn't seem that
both of us would have made the same mistake. He was probably just waiting
for me to figgure out my mistake.

When we got back to ARB, met up with dad, we find out that, having nothing
to do, he had talked his way into the tower and was listening to the whole
thing. Apparently the controllers thought it was funny.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe wrote:

When we got back to ARB, met up with dad, we find out that, having nothing
to do, he had talked his way into the tower and was listening to the whole
thing. Apparently the controllers thought it was funny.

A good Dad always finds out!!!