Vintage Instructor THE
BY Steve Krog, CFI
Things learned on the first real cross-country Over the Christmas holidays I spent a day with a college flying buddy. We had both learned to fly at the same time years ago in South Dakota and, coincidentally, had been pursuing the same college degree. While catching up on activities from the past year, my buddy Stephen DeLay (Step for short) mentioned that he had read my articles in Vintage Airplane and suggested doing an article about “things we learned while flying together.” We had a lot of good times flying but also managed to scare ourselves a few times as well; from these situations we learned a great deal. Before sharing “things we learned,” you need to know a little about Step and me. Step took and passed his private pilot checkride two days before I took and passed mine; for the remainder of our college days we did a lot of flying together. We were both airport bums spending every free moment at the airport. Once or twice a week we’d pool our vast financial resources and rent a Cherokee 180 for an hour, splitting the flying time and cost. Airplane rental was $18 per hour wet then—minuscule by today’s standards, but a lot of money to both of us then. One evening, weeks after getting our certificates, we began talking about taking a trip. Step suggested that we fly to California, as his parents would be there in a couple of weeks for a convention and they could feed us once there. Several of the usual college refreshments later, we agreed this was a great idea and decided to approach the FBO the next day. As neither of us had acquired no more than 45 hours of flying time yet, we expected him to say “No,” which would get us off the hook. Who in their right mind would rent an airplane to two guys with minimal flight time wanting to fly a 2,400-mile round-trip cross-country flight over mountains to California? The next day, after classes, we headed for the airport. Timidly approaching Marv, the FBO, we told him of our plan. Without hesitation he commented that it was a great idea and that we could even rent his newest Cherokee 180 for the trip. With his positive reply, we were committed and
32 MARCH 2011
began acquiring maps and planning the flight. Our departure date was picked to coincide with the first day of spring break. Departure day arrived, but fog and snow squalls delayed our departure until around noon. Finally in the air, we both looked at one another and shared the same thought—are we really doing this? After dodging a few snow squalls and some head wind, we arrived in Casper, Wyoming, just before dark. Later that evening, while sitting in a very cheap motel room we discussed the day’s flight. Dealing with the snow squalls wasn’t bad, though they did cause a moment or two of apprehension; we’d encountered them before in our vast 45-hour experience.
Lesson No. 1: Get a good flight briefing. Day two found us at the airport at sunrise and ready for our flight to Ontario, California. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. Our first fuel stop of the day was to be Salt Lake City, Utah. Outwardly we both demonstrated confidence, but inwardly we both had butterflies in our stomachs. Having learned to fly in the Midwest flatlands, we were about to encounter our first taste of mountain flying.
Lesson No. 2: Talk to some of the local pilots for advice. The last mountain ridge before Salt Lake required that we climb above 10,000 feet for about 30 minutes. Neither of us had been that high before. The looming mountain peaks were huge, and from a distance, it didn’t appear that we could clear them. Finally, after coaxing the Cherokee ever higher and over the last ridge, we began a rapid descent into Salt Lake. Talking on the radio was not a problem, but we’d previously flown in only one other towered environment. Practicing our best 10,000-hour captain’s voice, we contacted Salt Lake Approach. The control-