Manual flight planning is tedious work. Every time I do it the process takes hours. Originally, I thought it was just me, but upon asking my instructor, he said that it even takes him 2+ hours to do it by hand. That’s for a trip there and back. The 150+ miles, 3 airport (landing to a full stop) student solo cross country adds an extra leg to this. So naturally it took me around 5 hours to figure it all out the day before. Seriously, I cannot wait to be done with flight training so that I can use technology to help this. As a fantasy, I do wish that there were better automated tools than what we have today (see my posts about flight planning with Skyvector.com).
The plan was 06C (Schaumburg) to KJVL (Janesville) to C73 (Dixon) and back to 06C. The first leg included a straight out climb and then a climbing turn to the Northwest when clear of the 2nd Bravo shelf. The second leg was a straight shot, and the last leg was a little North of straight in order to dog-leg around the Delta airspace at KPDA. Going to a towered airport was a bit of a challenge to myself, but I was somewhat familiar with the route given the cross country I did before Covid-19. However, I also knew going in that the controllers there have a reputation. The intent was to make the initial call with “student solo” and hope for some leniency. I was on the fence between SQI and C73, but decided that I didn’t to stretch the flight out longer than necessary. The last leg was don’t strategically to give myself airports along the route as potential outs, and because I was already somewhat familiar with DKB from previous flights. DKB was also an easy landmark to begin the descent from 5500 ft to 3500 ft to get under the Bravo again.
Climbing out from 06C is tedious to plan because of O’Hare’s inverted wedding cake. Take off at 801 feet, climb to 1600, climb to 2500, climb to 3500, and finally climb to 4500. Since the two climbs are so close together, my shorthand is to plan the total of the two climbs for time, and record the ETA for the first geographic checkpoint. As a shortcut for fuel, it is to plan the total for all of the climbs. This is a fairly unique problem to 06C; there aren’t any other airports under the second ring of O’Hare’s airspace.
In retrospect there are things I wish I’d done differently. First, it’s bad enough flipping from top to bottom on a chart. FAA, if you’re listening, a humble request: can we get mini charts? Seriously, charts are huge, and flipping top to bottom like this is a pain when you’re actually using the charts and not a tablet. Flipping over the top of the chart while the plan is on three folds, is even worse. Maybe there’s a technique to this I just have yet to master. The second thing I should have been a bit more cognizant of was this symbol to the Southwest of Rockford was showing.
This is the Byron Generating Station, a nuclear plant’s cooling towers. Steam plumes were rising from there to thousands of feet above me. I know, don’t fly over smoke stacks, and I was going around it anyway; however, it would have been nice to know that this was a potential issue. It would be great if the FAA updated the charts to include potential high altitude stack emissions. Third, although moot since I was flying at 4500 ft, I should have been more cognizant of landmarks that would ensure I was clear of the RFD Delta. While I planned to be both clear laterally and vertically and flew clear, I did not give myself enough checkpoints to be absolutely sure. In retrospect, “be sure to be West of the Rt. 20 interchange, and be sure to be West of Byron, IL” or “be at 3201 ft by the time you reach rt. 20.” Finally, I should have planned to be North of Rochelle. I fixated on the I-88/I-39 interchange as my landmark, and had flight following in my plan; however, it would have been much smarter to intentionally head North of there from the start. I could have instead flown Northeast to intercept the V 172 airway, the light blue line on the map that would have taken me pretty much directly to my home airport.
So that was the plan. West at 4500 feet, East at 5500 feet. As I’m fond of quoting from the movie “The Way of the Gun,” “A plan is just a list of things that don’t happen.”
First mess-up: checklist items. I got so task saturated on the progressive climb-out from 06C, course changes, keeping track of times, etc… that I forgot the climb and cruise checklist until around 12 nm into the trip. Another thing that threw me off was that under the second shelf at 3500 ft I’m looking at the tailpipe of an Airbus A220 airliner maybe 500 feet above me. It also took this long to get over the hesitancy to call Chicago Approach for flight following. “Chicago Approach, November one two three four kilo, VFR request.” “VFR request unable.” I’m sitting there stammering to myself for a moment, like Milton from “Office Space,” but quickly decide I’ll keep listening to see if anyone is being routed around me and pick up Flight Following from Rockford as I get further out. I haven’t picked up flight following at all this go-around in my training, so I don’t have any comfort at all with what to say to them yet. Nevertheless, I take my queues from other people contact Rockford Approach and pick up flight following with around 25 or so miles to go until KJVL. Even beyond 20 miles out the channel was so busy I could not make out the ATIS at JVL. When I did make out the JVL ATIS, it took me a minute to realize what they said was all runways were in use.
Second mess-up: I wrote down on my flight plan that JVL’s tower frequency was 118.1. That was a dumb transcription error, it’s 118.8. Incidentally, 118.1 is Rockford’s tower to the South. A quick glance to the chart and I realize my mistake and change over. I’m well within the point of contact for JVL, but nevertheless here we go. And right away, my third mess up. I forgot to include “student solo,” so right away I am getting the unfiltered Janesville experience. This leads to the second interesting event of the flight. I’m flying in at 1800 ft all the way through the Delta because I gave myself extra leeway to descend. While I’m coming in I hear tower call out to another aircraft, “where are you going?” and hear in reply that they are headed to the Southeast (and I’m heading Northwest…okay look for traffic). Tower tells him that there’s traffic directly ahead (me), and I hear the “looking for traffic call.” After a second call I spot him flying direct towards me but significantly overhead. “[his callsign] do you see the traffic.” Negative. “That call was for the other plan.” I’m pretty sure that call wasn’t using my callsign, but I reply, “November one two three four kilo has traffic in sight, he passed overhead, no factor.” “Cleared to land runway three two.” Not my best landing; I still seem to have a problem flaring high. Tower gave him a lecture, “next time don’t plan a departure route along the approach path of a runway.
Tower has me taxi to runway 14 for the next leg. In retrospect, I might have requested taxi to runway 22, but really, no matter. On the climb out I turn West of my course to regain my flight plan. It’s here when I realize that the steam coming out of the cooling towers at the nuclear plant might have been an issue. I also fleetingly wonder, “am I doing something wrong here?” Otherwise the flight down to Dixon was uneventful and scenic. I picked up my highway landmark but missed my VOR. As expected from the NOTAMs, Dixon AWOS is down, and I glance at my radio station list and pick up the weather at KSQI. Wind is 330 at 3.” Damn, decision time – I can either go for the long runway 26 or the short runway 30. I decide on the long runway. With the airport in sight I’m handed off from flight following once again, and I dial in Dixon Municipal C73. I’m hearing massive radio calls, and at first I cannot make out the airport they’re saying, but soon I realize they’re saying “Lake in the Hills.” Apparently it’s a very busy day at 3CK. Finally after a break I make my meek call, “Dixon traffic, N4335K is 7 to the Northeast, inbound for runway two six, Dixon.” In my head I wonder if everyone at 3CK is wondering, “where the heck is Dixon?” There’s nobody at Dixon. But I realize I’m on the wrong side of the airport for a left traffic pattern. Still unsure of the traffic at Dixon I try to plan my approach. I can either overfly the field and do a teardrop entry, or I can loop around the airport to come in on the 45 degree entry. I should have done the former but instead I loop around the airport a bit above pattern altitude to approach from the South. After coming in on the downwind entry I realize I’m low. My base leg is long, and on final, I’m drifting North of the runway. “Going around.” Full power, drop 1 notch of flaps, and climb. This makes no sense to me – I’m drifting upwind! Okay, let’s try again, but go for runway 30. However, my crosswind for 30 is way too long and I basically have to come in on the 45 for 30. However this runway is looking very short and I’m not getting a stable pattern. Getting frustrated and flustered, I cannot solve this wind problem. I decide to leave the pattern, climb to 2500 feet, and rethink the problem. I circle around Dixon and come in on the 45 degree entry for runway 26 again. It’s midway along the downwind I finally spot the wind sock. The small end is pointing to runway 8 and it’s not hanging down. Okay, fine, I see why I couldn’t get a stable approach, no problem, turn crosswind for runway 8. I line up on runway 8 and I have way too much energy, so I float a long way down. However, I managed to bleed the energy off and greased my landing.
There’s something about getting used to patterns at 06C – the pattern altitude is 800 feet AGL, not 1000 feet. I’ve become used to a low pattern. Evidently I really need to spend time at airports with normal traffic pattern altitudes. The big downside of landing long at C73 – there isn’t a direct path back to 8 from the far end of the runway. During the long taxi back I hear someone else coming in to Dixon for runway 8. His landing was much, much better than mine.
On to the final leg, and I’m running late – my rental block is ending shortly and I have around a 30 minute leg back. The climb out to 5500 feet was quite easy and the air at that altitude was amazingly smooth. As I’m at altitude approaching KRPJ I hear Rockford approach give notice to another airplane that I’m heading their way. After the exchange I decide right away to pick up flight following. I receive my code and he routes me North. I don’t see the other traffic yet, but it is also somewhat strange to me – I’m at the odd thousand plus 500 heading East. I shouldn’t be encountering someone headed West. Nevertheless, I’m headed to the North side of Rochelle and proceed back on course. After a while I’m handed off to Chicago Approach South. And here is where I realize, I have no idea what to say to them after a handoff – this is something I hadn’t done in over a year. What you’re supposed to say is, “Chicago Approach, Archer one two three four kilo, VFR at five thousand five hundred.” What I said was, “Chicago Approach, N1234K is with you.” Well, now I know. Over De Kalb I’m reminded, “remain outside of the class bravo at all times.” I’ve fallen behind again, DeKalb is my top of descent point. “Will remain outside of bravo, N1234K,” and start my descent in earnest. I make it to 3500 feet before entering so I’m under, and continue down to 2500 well before the next shelf. Here I’m given a traffic alert at 8 miles, and at 3 miles out spot the Cessna headed the other direction. A small course change to the North and I will pass behind him. At this point I can see the buildings that are in the town of my home airport, and start looking for the landmarks that will let me know I’m clear of the Delta airspace South of the airport. Somewhere between my ten and five mile radio call I hear someone on the CTAF announcing a landing on the opposite direction runway. “We’re landing on two niner today.” Once again, I’m not making the biggest mistakes in the sky.
All told, it was a nerve-wracking experience. The five hours of planning the day before was intense. I didn’t get the best night of sleep before because of the nervousness. All morning I was literally shaking I was so nervous about all of this. However, it is done! The pressure to just get it done is over. The rest of my flying career I can work on making it perfect. Now begins the phase of getting check-ride-ready. Honestly though, I think I need some time to just catch up with my knowledge areas – I’m not feeling apace in all areas.
FencerPTS 