Soloed On Saturday!

[xNOVAx]

In a Cessna 172.. 3 Takeoffs and Landings, all went smoothly! 

Now my training really begins! 

The craziest thing though was when I was practicing the pattern with my instructor before he got out to let me solo, there was a recently restored P-40 flying around from the airport adjacent to Sonoma that flew right underneath us at about 500ft AGL when we were on the downwind leg.. I was at 1000ft AGL in the pattern and we saw him turn towards us (I thought he was going for the HO) but he passed right underneath and went back to his airport and landed.. Pretty awesome but a bit reckless on his part we thought.. My instructor was all over the radio trying to contact the guy in the P-40 to stay out of the Sonoma Pattern airspace but he wasnt even on frequency.. 

[Russian]

Grats.  Does it not feel nice to weigh 200 pounds less?

[Boxman]

He was probably on 200 whining about noobs in teh way.

[Cougar68]

Way to go!!!!   Now you can walk around knowing you're betting than the rest of the world like all us pilots!

[Yenny]

I whined once on 200 when a noob cut  me the landing pattern at a small airport

[eagl]

There are a lot of pilots who abuse the rule about the lowest aircraft in a traffic pattern having the right-of-way...  Some routinely enter the traffic pattern a few hundred feet below published pattern altitude just so they can cut people off and get on the ground in a hurry.  It happened to me up at big bear airport...  My dad and I were staggering around in a 152 at pattern altitude (around 8000 ft if I recall correctly, and it was hot so density alt was around 10k) and a guy in a light twin blasted through the pattern just above the treetops and cut us off.  My dad and I didn't realize how badly behind the power curve we were (and I didn't really understand how bad it could have been for us until many years later) but if we'd had to go around due to that guy, we might have ended up circling the lake for half an hour trying to get back up to patt alt.

As it was, we just gave the guy the finger and got our $70 burgers.

[RufusLeaking]

Congratulations.

Solo is a big step.  And you are right that it is a first step.  Stay sharp.  Know the rules cold.  Follow the rules.  Have fun.

California is a great place to fly, but also has many challenges.  Mountains, traffic density, and rapidly changing weather can be deadly.  I did one of my four real life missed approaches at Vandenberg when a fog bank came in and took the field below ILS minimums.  At the now closed Mather AFB in Sacramento, I was cleared a left overhead and had to delay my break due to a 172 blazing through the pattern.

Pardon my running on.  I miss the hangar talk.

Again, way to go. 

[Saurdaukar]

(I thought he was going for the HO)

Gratz NOVA!

[trigger2]

Congrats Nova!

Now onto that P-40... Gonna have to get ahold of my friend. He recently got (for 2 mil...) an operational P-47d-25 with working brownings... Might have to have that P-40 re-restored.

[Cobra516]

Congrats man - you'll never forget your first solo.  I remember mine very vividly - it was the best 16th b-day present I could have asked for!  Was pretty good stuff to look over and see that empty seat.

Keep flying as often as you can and study up, you'll have your ticket in no time  

[SKJohn]

Congrats man - you'll never forget your first solo.  I remember mine very vividly - it was the best 16th b-day present I could have asked for!  Was pretty good stuff to look over and see that empty seat.

Keep flying as often as you can and study up, you'll have your ticket in no time  

+1 on that!  I kept looking over at the empty seat in total disbelief - what a cool feeling!  Congratulations!

[Sabre]

There are a lot of pilots who abuse the rule about the lowest aircraft in a traffic pattern having the right-of-way...  Some routinely enter the traffic pattern a few hundred feet below published pattern altitude just so they can cut people off and get on the ground in a hurry.  It happened to me up at big bear airport...  My dad and I were staggering around in a 152 at pattern altitude (around 8000 ft if I recall correctly, and it was hot so density alt was around 10k) and a guy in a light twin blasted through the pattern just above the treetops and cut us off.  My dad and I didn't realize how badly behind the power curve we were (and I didn't really understand how bad it could have been for us until many years later) but if we'd had to go around due to that guy, we might have ended up circling the lake for half an hour trying to get back up to patt alt.

As it was, we just gave the guy the finger and got our $70 burgers.

Congrats, xNOVAx!  Hey, Eagl, is that Big Bear Lake, CA? Was just up there a couple weeks ago (on vacation from CO).  We used to go camping up there all the time when I was a kid.  Still a nice place, though not quite the charming little mountain community it once was.

[eagl]

Congrats, xNOVAx!  Hey, Eagl, is that Big Bear Lake, CA? Was just up there a couple weeks ago (on vacation from CO).  We used to go camping up there all the time when I was a kid.  Still a nice place, though not quite the charming little mountain community it once was.

Yea, big bear lake.  It's a dumb lunchtime destination for a couple of low-time pilots in a 152 because by the time you're done with lunch, the density altitude is high enough that climb rate drops below 100 ft/min.  There is a notch in the rim around the lake that god put there for idiots like me and my Dad...  Without that notch we would have been circling over the lake for 30 min trying to climb up over the lake rim.  As it was, we staggered off the runway and cruised over the lake in ground effect while we accelerated to best rate of climb speed, then realized we would need best angle of climb to even make it out through the notch.  Oops.  Next time we'll take at least a 172.