x-country solo

Thanks, Judah. Comments in line.

I'm not sure I can offer much in the way of advice. I think this kinda
thing happens periodically, and it's not the end of the world. Especially
(having read ahead) between BDR and HVN (and possibly GON, too)...

My wife & I have both worked in New Haven in the past. I was approaching
HVN from the north, over the city. I was so sure I was approaching BDR, my
mind completely suppressed all the landmarks with which I was fiamiliar.
HVN also doesn't have characteristic candy stripe painted smokestack near
BDR. As soon as I realized the error, I could finally "see" the Q bridge,
the Q river, route 34 & I-91going north from I-95, Yale, etc. It was quite
a shock.

The one comment I would make is that the fact that they reported no radar
contact, IMHO, is not enough to justify cancelling the approach (or
anywhere near "unfathomable" as you describe). Had they said "Radar
Contact, 9 miles East" when you thought you were entering the pattern, I
might have been more inclined to ask for immediate help...

Roger.

The only thing I would have done differently, though is that I would have
told the instructor about the screw up. If nothing else, he might have
taken the time to review your planning and helped you learn from the
situation.

It was dusk; he met me on the ramp, congratulated me, and said he had to
leave. I'm going to go over the NASA form with him today...

and the compass (must be wrong 'cause I'm descending),
and the heading indicator (must've precessed)...

The mind is very powerful when it thinks it's right, against all the
evidence. The painted numbers on the runways were hard to explain
away...that finally broke the spell!


Joe, I even did that once (explain away the runway markings, that is). There
is nothing more "exciting" and "comforting" to your passenger than landing
at the wrong airport because "you knew exactly where you were" regardless of
runway markings or anything else!!!!! :-))) Fortunately, my passenger was
my wife and she thought it was funny and we had a great time anyway. I
guess I should explain. We have a lot of single runway, small airports in
our area. Two of them are about 10 miles apart and one has a 13/31 runway
and the other has a 12/30 runway. You can take it from there :-).

"Confession is great for the soul."

Harry

Mistake discovered near XYZ pattern (runways obviously didn't match). ABC
tower (still in radio contact) notified. Then XYZ tower contacted,
mistake
acknowledged, and profuse apologies offered.

I believe you have described the scenario that explains why moving-map GPS
has taken over the cockpit.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I believe you have described the scenario that explains why moving-map GPS
has taken over the cockpit.

Agreed, Jay. One of the reasons I was so upset was that conditions were as
CAVU as CAVU gets. The entire terrain beneath me was like a moving-map GPS!

BTW, as a lurker here while I've been working on my private, I've enjoyed
your contributions very much. I hope to be guest of yours some day!

"Joe Johnson" wrote in message
...
I believe you have described the scenario that explains why moving-map
GPS
has taken over the cockpit.

Agreed, Jay. One of the reasons I was so upset was that conditions were
as
CAVU as CAVU gets. The entire terrain beneath me was like a moving-map
GPS!

BTW, as a lurker here while I've been working on my private, I've enjoyed
your contributions very much. I hope to be guest of yours some day!
Funnily enough, really clear conditions, are when a lot of 'mistaken
location' events take place!.
The problem is I suspect that the good visibility, can encourage a false
sense of security. In worse conditions, there is a tendency to double check
yourself, and think 'am I sure', whereas in really good conditions, this can
tend to be forgotten...

Best Wishes

Two of them are about 10 miles apart and one has a 13/31 runway
and the other has a 12/30 runway. You can take it from there :-).

You only had a 10 degree difference. I had 30 degrees to play with;
otherwise, I probably would've landed too!

Agreed, Jay. One of the reasons I was so upset was that conditions were
as
CAVU as CAVU gets. The entire terrain beneath me was like a moving-map
GPS!

As someone else said, CAVU is when things can get especially dicey. It's
easy to relax a bit *too* much, and miss a waypoint or two...

Also, unless you're at 25,000 feet, it doesn't matter HOW clear it is -- you
don't get the "God's Eye View" of the world the way you do with GPS. With
our AvMap's huge color screen, and the feature that automatically zooms us
in as we get closer (until you literally have an airport diagram depicted,
with your position represented as a little airplane flying around the
airport!), it is literally impossible to get lost.

If I were you, my very next action would be to get on Ebay, and buy yourself
a nice, used GPS. They can be had quite cheaply, and it'll allow you to
relax a bit (I *know* you're going to be up-tight about this experience for
a while!) and concentrate on flying the plane.

BTW, as a lurker here while I've been working on my private, I've enjoyed
your contributions very much. I hope to be guest of yours some day!

Thanks, Joe -- we'll look forward to meeting you!

Keep pushing, and you'll be finished up before you know it. Getting my
ticket utterly changed my life -- it'll do the same for you! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

If I were you, my very next action would be to get on Ebay, and buy yourself
a nice, used GPS.


Take the money you would have spent, and fly some more. Look out the window.
it's pretty, and it will save your bacon one day.

If you really want to use a GPS, get somebody else to fly (and pay) while you
ooh and ahh at the pretty screen and fiddle with the thumbwheels.

(gee, I'm beginning to sound like an old tart.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

If you really want to use a GPS, get somebody else to fly (and pay) while
you
ooh and ahh at the pretty screen and fiddle with the thumbwheels.

(gee, I'm beginning to sound like an old tart.

THUMBWHEELS?

Man, you don't just *sound* like an old fart... ;-)

(Hey, don't they put pull-starters on these dad-blamed GPS's? And where in
tarnation is the choke on this new-fangled thang??)

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Joe Johnson" wrote in
. com:

The one comment I would make is that the fact that they reported no
radar contact, IMHO, is not enough to justify cancelling the approach
(or anywhere near "unfathomable" as you describe). Had they said
"Radar Contact, 9 miles East" when you thought you were entering the
pattern, I might have been more inclined to ask for immediate help...

Roger.


The only reason I use the above example is because it actually happened to
me on my first night Cross Country. I was headed to Stewart (SWF), a Class
D, from HPN (White Plains) where I am based. Field in sight, called the
tower, and they instructed me to report entering a left downwind for Runway
9.

As I am coming up on the downwind, I call in - entering the midfield
downwind for 9. A few seconds later he asks me to ident. A few seconds
later he tells me he "Radar Contact, 9 miles east of the airport."

I'm looking at a runway now, figuring I'm about 2 miles out entering the
midfield downwind. After asking him to say again, I realize what's going
on... Orange County (MJG) is about 8 or 9 miles east of SWF. I'm setting up
for Runway 8 at Orange. Fortunately, it's not a controlled field, so there
was no issue of busting. Plus this was before 9/11, so it might not have
been a big deal even if it was.


But you want to know what the real kicker is?



My instructor was sitting in the right seat, had flown to both those fields
many times before, and his blinders were on just like mine were! This
flying stuff gets the best of all of us every now and then!