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"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
-----much snipped----
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.

Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook signatures
at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his particular
instructor?

(Grrrrr)
Peter

There's no reg for that so has to be the instructor. Seems pretty childish.





Peter Dohm wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
-----much snipped----

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.


Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook signatures
at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his particular
instructor?

(Grrrrr)
Peter

Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook signatures
at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his particular
instructor?

Really? I didn't know this wasn't a common rule.

Every FBO around here has their own special stamper, with "I certify
that __________ did fly into ________ solo" that they use on every
student's logbook...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook signatures
at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his particular
instructor?


Really? I didn't know this wasn't a common rule.

Every FBO around here has their own special stamper, with "I certify
that __________ did fly into ________ solo" that they use on every
student's logbook...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

It's a throwback, but a fun one. The solo student gets a big welcome
and congrats from whoever is there, but now with many airports with
minimal coverage it can be hard to find someone.

Margy

It's a throwback, but a fun one. The solo student gets a big welcome
and congrats from whoever is there, but now with many airports with
minimal coverage it can be hard to find someone.

It worries me that these rites of passage are apparently becoming rare
in parts of the country. These are important things that we shouldn't
allow to die.

Tearing off the shirt of a solo pilot is apparently not the tradition
it once was, either, but our little family now has three of those very
special mementos hanging on our wall. The solo stamps/signatures in
my logbook (and the feeling of being "welcomed to the club" at every
airport I visited as a student) trigger wonderful memories, and served
to give me more incentive to actually finish up the private.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Back in the day" I remember, on one occasion, having to walk 1/2 mile to
the nearest farm house to get a signature for my long cc. The housewife I
encountered was familiar with the procedure as apparently I hadn't been the
first to present her with the request. She was as happy to sign it as I was
proud of asking her. We both knew I had accomplished something.

There are several reasons this tradition should continue, whether required
by the feds or not. It gets the pilot out of the airplane and forces him to
encounter the local pilots and public. They learn about the layout of the
fbo, fuel systems, and services available. All of which they may need some
day or worse, some dark night when that night time roughness develops.

Without exception, I know of no pilot that would hesitate to scribe his name
and a short congrats in a fledgling's log book. I've signed several and
I'll admit most where because I initiated the conversation and asked to sign
their logbook. Part of an instructors job is to expose their student to the
world of aviation that exists outside his local airport. The FAA
requirements afford the instructor ample opportunity but the instructor
should know how to take advantage of those situations. People are aviation.
Airports and airplanes are simply their tools. Ask your student to have
his/her logbook signed. You never know who he/she may encounter or what
they may learn.

Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
It's a throwback, but a fun one. The solo student gets a big welcome
and congrats from whoever is there, but now with many airports with
minimal coverage it can be hard to find someone.

It worries me that these rites of passage are apparently becoming rare
in parts of the country. These are important things that we shouldn't
allow to die.

Tearing off the shirt of a solo pilot is apparently not the tradition
it once was, either, but our little family now has three of those very
special mementos hanging on our wall. The solo stamps/signatures in
my logbook (and the feeling of being "welcomed to the club" at every
airport I visited as a student) trigger wonderful memories, and served
to give me more incentive to actually finish up the private.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Hi,

In article ,
Peter wrote:

Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook signatures
at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his particular
instructor?

I realise it's different over here, but in the UK the QXC pilot is given a
pre-flight authorisation form which allows him to visit only the airfields
on that form. A representative at that airfield (usually someone from ATC or
similar) has to sign the form, and rate the landing and overall airmanship
at each of the (I think) two landaways. If he lands anywhere else,
authorisation for the flight is immediately cancelled and cannot proceed
without permission of (I think) the Chief Flying Instructor of the school
concerned.

Andy

Have they really gone back to that insanity of requiring logbook
signatures at landing airports on cross countries; or is this just his
particular instructor?



I open my first log book and note the signatures from my first X-country in
1955 and it brings back the memories. Long gone airports---long gone
people---

Paul
N1431A
KPLU