First Cross Country Solo - KSGJ to KGNV

Nice evening for a quick flight to Gainesville ... Was hoping to see the stadium where the University of Florida Gators play football ... No such luck tonight ... Maybe next time ...

KSGJ to KGNV

Power Plant in Palatka Florida

First Cross Country Solo Flight went well ... Plotting of courses and times were right on the money ... Every checkpoint was right where it was suposed to be ...  

Quarrey West of Palatka

Excited about adding a new airport to the list for 2012 ... Landing at Gainesville went well ... While I was taxiing back to runway 25 I notice a Florida Gator Logo on a hanger ... Pretty Cool ... Made me smile ... Gainesville Tower Cessna 5165B at Bravo 1 holding short RWY 25 ready for departure ...

Melrose Private Airport

Looking forward to my next Cross Country Solo to Waycross,GA

Evening Ride Around St Augustine

Great evening for a quick flight around St Augustine ... Winds were favorable and light ... Departed on Runway 6 ... Wind was 030 at 8kts ... Quick Takeoff and Turn to the North ... Pretty night to see the coast from 1500 feet ...


Atlantic Ocean and Homes Along the Beach


Climbed to 2500 Feet and Turned to the West ... St Augustine is a Great Little Airport ... Continued Climbing 3500 Feet ...

St Augustine Airport

Flew by my neighborhood ... Murabella looking good from the air ... Never realized how close to the ocean we really are ... Need to spend more time at the beach this summer ...

Murabella

Quick flight this time ... Called the tower from the Outlet Mall ... Was cleared for the straight in landing on Runway 6 ... Landing into a headwind made putting the plane back down easy ... Taxied back to Florida Aviation and tied 65B down for the night ... Nice scenic flight in N5165B ...

First Solo Flight

Well tonight was the big night ... I have read several articles about students on their first solo flight ... I found every one to be true and then some ... Wasn't really sure if we would be flying when I arrived at the airport ... It had stormed that afternoon ... Still a few clouds sticking around in the earily evening ... Jay (Flight Instructor) showed up and we decided to fly the pattern and see how things went ... 3 Laps in the pattern and 3 pretty good landings ... Jay requested that we taxi to the overflow parking ... Jay jumped out and gave me a few final pointers ... I contacted Ground Control and they gave me taxi instructions to runway 13 and advised to hold short at Bravo 1 and contact the Tower when ready to depart ... St Augustine Tower ... Cessna 24499'er is Holding Short at Bravo 1 ready for Departure ... The Tower cleared me for takeoff ... Funny how many things run through your head the first time you zip down the runway solo ... Rotate and Lift Off at 50 kts ... Climb to 700' ... Left Turn and Climb to 1000' ... Left turn to down wind for Runway 13 ... Can't see Jay on the ground ... I know he is there on the radio listening ... Everything is going well ... Add Flaps and Turn Base, Pitch the Nose Down and hold 70 kts,  One more left turn and another notch of flaps and I'm at about 500' on Final for Runway 13 ... First landing solo ... Here We Go ... Pre Landing Checks Complete ... Butterflies - Yes, Attempting to Remember All of your Training in 5 Seconds - Yes,  A Couple Prayers ... Just to make sure everything is all squared up with the Big Guy - Yes, Yes, Yes ... First Landing was a little firm ... Second Lap around the Pattern ... Second Landing ... Right on the Money ... Third Lap around the Pattern ... Third Landing ... Same as the Second ... Cleared the runway and taxied back to Florida Aviation ... Jay is waiting with a big smile ...  His probably didn't compare to the one I was wearing ... Put the first solo flight in the log book ... Lots of fun and a huge sence of accomplishment ...

Flight training so far has exceded my expectations ... Great to spend time flying with Jay ... Awesome to scoot around North Florida and See the Sights ... Looking forward to the rest of my flight training ...

Jay in the Cap 10

Just happend to be out at the Airport and saw my flight instructor returning from a flight in his Cap 10 ... Neat Plane ... Very Acrobatic ... Jay is a cool guy and lots of fun during flight instruction ...

Quick Flight to Craig Municipal Airport for Touch and Go's

Flight 10     3/17/2012
Good flight this weekend ... St Augustine to Craig to St Augustine ... Put in 3 Touch and Go Landings at Craig and 3 at St Augustine ... Add another airport to the list for 2012 ... Great views of NAS Jacksonville, Downtown Jacksonville, and Mayport NAS ... Feel good about flying in the pattern and on final approach ... Need a little bit more work on the Flare and Touch Down ... I said to Jay ... Any landing you can walk away from is a good one ???  Jay responded,  And we can still use the airplane ... All Is Good ...

Cross Country #2

Flight 9     3/11/2012
Cross Country #2 - SGJ to LCQ to 42J to SGJ ... Weather a bit on the iffy side today ... Toss up between go and no go ... After a quick chat with Jay we decide to give it a try ... If not for anything else we can further define my personal minimums reference flying weather ... The flight to Lake City was pretty uneventful ... Ended up flying slightly North of my planned route ... Had to adjust course along the way to arrive at Lake City ... Touch and Go's at Lake City (Windy) ...

Lake City to Keystone a little better from the navigation side ... Weather starting to take a turn for the worse ... Wind still going at it ... Leaving Keystone and heading for Palatka ... Misty ... Ceiling dropping from 2800' to 2600' to 2400' ... Can still see the ground and reference points ... Not a day for the weak at heart to be tooling around in a Cessna 152 ... We press on towards Palatka and turn for St Augustine ... We pass right over the Power Plant in Palatka ... Had the chance to look down the Smoke Stack and the Cooling Tower ... Not a view enjoyed by many today ... Weather clearing on the way back to St Augustine ... Took Off and Landed on RWY 6 Today ... A First ... Next Cross Country Flight will be Solo ... Can't Wait ... 

Flight Summary 2012

Airports Visited
KSGJ - Northeast Florida Regional Airport, St Augustine, FL
KOCF - Jim Taylor Field - Ocala, FL
KLCQ - Lake City Municipal - Lake City, FL
42J - Keystone Airpark - Keystone Heights, FL
KCRG - Craig Municipal Airport - Jacksonville, FL
KXFL - Flagler County Airport - Palm Coast, FL
KSSI - Malcolm Mc Kinnon Airport - Brunswick, GA
13FA - Earle Airpark - Hastings, FL
28J - Kay Larkin Field - Palatka, FL
KGNV - Gainesville Regional Airport - Gainesville, FL
KAYS - Waycross-Ware County Airport, Waycross, GA
KFHB - Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport, Fernandina Beach, FL
KDED - DeLand Municipal Airport - DeLand, FL
KILG - New Castle Airport, Wilmington, DE
KEVY - Summit Airport - Middletown, DE
KHEG - Herlong Recreational Airport - Jacksonville, FL

Flight Time 2012
Dual 33.3 Hrs
Solo 12.4 Hrs
Landings - 133

Total Dual 37.7
Total Solo 12.4
Total 50.1
Landings - 143