Flight Training Phase 2C

At Home 1st Cross Country Flight

My First Cross Country Solo

Well time is running out and it is now or never time for my Cross Country Solo and my 3 landing and takeoffs from a controlled airport required for obtaining my rotorcraft license from RotorWay. I put them off until I felt proficient enough to carry the two tasks out but that time never arrived and with only a week or so left on my 90 day ticket here goes.

120 Nautical miles

I couldn't put a flight plan together fast enough to have RotorWay approve it because of the two hour window for checking the weather and I needing to do my flying on the weekend. I was feeling pretty dismayed by all this. Neither Bill or Steve will work with you on a weekend, so unless you can do this on a weekday your screwed. RotorWay being 2 to 3 hours behind us here in Knoxville, TN. makes it extremely difficult for pulling this off even during the week. You pretty much have to have a flight school at home lined up.

RotorWay will help you only if it's at their convenience PERIOD!

The first hurdle was to get a local CFI here in Knoxville to ok my flight plan. We asked two different private individual CFI fixed wing guys and they turned us down for the reasons that they didn't know if they could do it and or just didn't want the liability of it on their ticket.  As a last ditch effort we went to the local flight school here in town (Knoxville Flight Training Center) and after chatting with the owner there he agreed to ok it. Well he looked at it for about 30 seconds and handed it back to me saying that when I got it right he would.  The only errors I had were misplotted courses, just a minor thing lol. You had to see them and how wrong they were to fully appreciate them lol. I have no idea what I did to get the courses I came up with. I tried everything I could think of to figure out how I arrived at them but to no avail. Geese I felt stupid but oh well.

The next morning Saturday January 5, 2002, we went back to the school and showed him my corrected courses on my flight plans and we were good to go, Oh Boy!!

We went and pulled the heli from out of the trailer and fired it up.  We let it warm up for about 30 minutes to warm it rather than just the engine lol because it was a nice crispy 20 degrees or so outside. After that I hovered it for 10 minutes or so and then taxied it up to the front of the airport terminal and sat it back down to make a call to our local Class C" (TYS) McGhee-Tyson Airport to warn them I was coming lol.  After I explained what I was doing they gave me a transponder number and Com frequency to dial in before I left the ground at my airport (DKX) (Island Home, Knoxville Downtown Airport). I thought that was pretty kewl until I got in the heli and tried to input the Com channel they gave me.  They gave me 129.9 to input and I was trying my best to input 129.09 and the unit would not do it. Donna had left already to meet me at McGee-Tyson and I was beginning to freak lol.  By luck another CFI guy at the airport was watching me lift off so I bailed out and asked him and he giggled and walked back to the heli with me, input 129.90 and I was good to go. No big deal just a slight panic attack for me lol.  Well I tried to contact Tyson on the ground but alas it wasn't going to happen until I got into the air so I lifted off and started taxiing out to and down the taxiway for takeoff.  Well hell, I forgot to set the route I had setup for the trip in my GPS unit so I had to sit it back down to do it and wouldn't you know it wouldn't take lol. Another fun moment for me had arisen. After working with the unit for two weeks at home learning how to work it all it was having a glitch. Every time I rolled it over to Route 3 it tried to say the course was from where I am to where I am lol.  I scrapped the route and dialed in KTYS direct and I was good to go to Tyson.  I lifted off and hit the runway for takeoff and off I went.  At 20 some degrees the ship took off in a very short length of runway even shorter than usual compared to what it took to get into the air at RotorWay in Phoenix. I guess the air here is better because you have to hold the ship down to get up speed before it goes into transition, it's like it's on steroids or something lol.

Course noted on the compass with a watchful eye on the GPS I was aloft and on my way into the unknown.  I contacted Tyson on the Com radio and they told me where I was in relation to the airport. They also told me they were not receiving a Mode C transmission from my transponder but it was no problem, they asked me what altitude I was at and we went from there. Shortly after that the guy asked me all kinds of questions about the ship. That eased my feelings quite a bit telling them about our RotorWay. Leveled off at 2000 feet msl and maintaining 217 degrees for some 8 to 12 minutes and there it was straight ahead about 4 miles out right where it was supposed to be lol.  About the very same moment it came into view the tower called out "two foxtrot alpha!" and told me to come in on runway 23R, wow these guys are on the ball I thought to myself. About a mile out I heard "two foxtrot alpha we need you to take 23L since your slower than the jet coming in behind you or something to that order lol. "Behind me!" <gulp>  no problem I replied to the tower and made a hasty course adjustment for 23L.

Just about to touchdown on perhaps too much of a decent angle here came the tower at me again, "two foxtrot alpha contact the tower on 118. something".  Ut'oh did I do something wrong I thought?  I replied I need to set down to do that and the tower guy replied "no problem".  "Tyson Approach" I called out on the Com "Two foxtrot alpha" the tower came back with "takeoff when ever your ready".  Whew I didn't get yelled at lol, I thought I was going to get scolded for something but it turned out to be ok.  First takeoff from Tyson went great, straight down the runway with left traffic just like at RotorWay. I was afraid to call out my position like we did in training because it was a controlled airport and I didn't hear anyone else doing it but did it anyway when I got to the base turn and again on final approach to the runway and didn't get yelled at lol.  Real good landing and after talking to the tower again off into the air again only this time about halfway down the runway I hear "two foxtrot alpha" we need you to turn left as soon as you can to clear the runway" <gulp!>. I responded to the tower "at Midfield?"  The guy said "yes if you can do it!".  I replied back "two foxtrot alpha 10-4 and as I was gaining altitude I banked left right over the airport terminal buildings thinking you guys got to be kidding!.  No problem as it all went great but I sure wasn't comfortable doing that move over buildings full of people.  Can't help wondering what was behind me that I had to get out of the way of but I wasn't about to look back as I was busy now scanning ahead looking for traffic in the downwind leg of the pattern I was about to enter.  Just as I entered the downwind leg at about 800 AGL here comes the tower again lol. "two foxtrot alpha I need you to do a 360".  Huh 360 what?  "Tyson aproach this is two foxtrot alpha could you repeat that please"    "We need you to do a 360 in the pattern"    "two foxtrot alpha 10-4"   Here I go in a clockwise 360 in the last half of the down wind leg lol.  I got the feeling they were having fun with me but I wasn't about to ask lol.  Back in the downwind again I proceeded to base turn and then on final for 23L once again and this time I landed and then picked up again and hovered to the ramp and then the taxi way to yet another ramp to the Cherokee terminal for shutdown to refuel and get my log book signed.  I asked the tower where to set down at and they advised me to sit down wherever I wanted to and if the Cherokee folks (the airport FBO) didn't want me there they would come and tell me!  OoooK, lol so I did! I sat her down and waited a minute to see if someone would balk and then shut her down.  Come to find out Donna and the gal at the terminal were critiquing and giggling at me the whole time and saying "yup right there, yeah that will work, looks good to us" Got my log book signed ok but they wouldn't allow me to refuel the ship there so it would have to wait until the next airport or a panic stop along the way to it which ever came first "Not good" thought I!

 Here I go again off into the air on a new heading of 233 degrees for (MNV) (Madisonville's) Monroe County Airport.

Donna and Brandy our daughter ran ground support the whole way of the trip with the fuel truck and I had no way of really communicating with them.  She had a handheld Com but I always ran way ahead of her and I would have had to switch to the channel she was on to talk to them. Driving in a straight line in Tennessee is a mere dream (one reason I wanted a helicopter so bad, so I could go in a straight line for a change lol) and it turned out going in a straight line in the air in Tennessee isn't either lol. Everything was right wind wise on the flight plan but I had a very difficult time hitting my course. According to the GPS unit I was way off course toward the southwest, the only thing I can figure out is the south, southwest winds were bouncing back off the mountains and pushing me westward as I was on a southwesterly course almost right into the wind during this run.  I kept pulling myself back to the east the whole time from the time I left Tyson until I was just about parallel with my next stop and according to the GPS I had to make a left turn over a mountain to get to the airport I was headed for. Well I went with the GPS and turned left and about 1 mile or so just over that mountain was (MNV) the airport I was seeking. What a good site especially with less then one quarter of a tank of fuel remaining.

Calling out on the Com I checked for traffic and lined up on runway 23 for another good landing right where I wanted to, a rare occasion lol. I taxied down the runway to the ramp and decided on a spot to set the ship down for refueling and a preflight before heading on to my next destination.  Several people came toward the ship before I even shut it down.  This turned out to be a fun stop chatting with the locals and I met several nice folks, one who was a rotorcraft instructor from way back when. Donna arrived and they had to unlock a gate for her to enter and we were hard at it again, refueling and chatting all the while trying to do a good preflight check on the ship.

While I was there one fellow that I met was going my way in a Cessna 150 and volunteered to show me the way to the next airport which sounded good to me lol.  We fired up at the same time and he taxied out for take off with me hovering in the grass for a take off right behind him and off we went toward (MMI) McMinn County Airport on a heading of 233 once again.

I lost them in the first 5 miles or so due to the haze produced by the Bowater paper plant but still had them on the Com for whatever good that was lol.  The whole trip was clear as a bell so far but this stretch of air was thick as soup at 2000 MSL so I dropped down to about 1700 MSL and all was well again sorta clear anyway lol. About 10 miles out or so, I saw a shimmer in the sky 5 miles or so ahead of me, it was the sun reflecting of the Cessna I was following and gave me a good feeling that I was on track just like the compass and the GPS said I was. Hailing on the Com for traffic at McMinn County once again I received no replies so I called out my intentions and there it was right on track about 2 miles out in front of me.  Seeing these airports come into view is a really great feeling lol. Another great landing and down the ramp to the taxiway looking for a place to sit down again I hear a call on the Com asking my intentions, "I replied looking for a parking place where can I sit down at and the fellow directed me to a spot outside a beautiful terminal building and I sat her down.  Again here come the people to look at the ship asking all kinds of questions.  I really enjoy meeting and chatting with people so this was a great distraction for me and immensely helped to ease my nervousness lol. One of the guys at this airport is a rotor CFI that I have heard a lot about and I got to meet him.  This airport will be on my trip list when ever flying south again if I ever do lol.  The folks there are really super nice and the facilities are 2nd to none.  After Donna showed up and a brief visit and tour of the place I headed out to the next leg of the trip, my Aunt's farm near Benton, Tennessee, 12 miles to the south on a heading of 185 degrees. I couldn't believe it when I saw the place right where it was supposed to be. All I had were GPS coordinates I fed into my helicopters GPS unit before we headed out and there it was, lol too kewllll!

Aunt Barb's Farm dead ahead.  I made a recon circle around it checking for power lines, fences, livestock and such and then did a figure eight and came into the wind from the north into one of the small fenced off pasture.  There wasn't much room so it had to be right or I'd catch a fence on the way in and too high and I'd run into the woods at the end of the pasture.

Walla! Right on the money and in I went. Another good landing, a little bit too much decent rate but good all the same.  I hovered back into the corner so I'd have a good run into the wind when leaving and sat her down.

We had to make this a very short visit due to the fact I was running out of daylight for the trip back home so we did another preflight and refueled once again. Everything checked out great!

Ut'oh  here comes the cops <sigh>.  I was preflighting the heli when I saw them drive in, we were 30 miles into the sticks, God doesn't even know where this place is, how could this be.  Seems someone saw me come down and reported a crashed aircraft and he was there responding to the call. Hell I thought I made a great landing, guess maybe it didn't look so good from the ground huh lol.

Here we go again heading back for Knoxville, via Seymour, Tennessee, Yeehaaa!  Donna, Brandy and I were all about used up by now and if we could have we would have left the ship there and came back for it at a later date.  There was a storm coming in around midnight with mucho snow and high winds so we had to run it all the way today or leave the heli in the great outdoors until the weather cleared again.

Heading back I had to make choices once again to deviate from the flight plan, it was either fly at 3000 MSL over very mountainous wooded terrain or divert to a more northerly course and follow the valley.  I choose the latter even though it took me longer, it kept me over safer ground in the event of an in flight failure, something that even for a minute never leaves my mind.  I hit my first two checkpoints right on time and sunset was coming on fast.  I hailed (TYS) "McGhee-Tyson Airport" to report my transition through their airspace and low and behold once again I had to change Com channels and then they gave me a new transponder code to input *#%!$@. Inputting these things in flight in a real trick and it was sure getting old. 20 more minutes or so passed and I was about 5 miles out from my final destination and good ole DKX Knoxville Island Home Airport, came into view and a moment later (TYS) McGee-Tyson Airport hailed me on the Com again "two alpha foxtrot" your 4 miles out from Downtown the winds are calm "input 1200 and squawk to acknowledge this transmission. I quickly did so and I received another transmission "two alpha foxtrot have a nice evening and happy flight".  Those were well felt words as it meant my first cross country solo was almost at an end and Lord was I glad lol.  About that time I could see the beacon (what a wonderful site) and I hailed (DKX) traffic and asked for a traffic advisory and quickly got a response from an aircraft that was landing on runway 26 and an all clear. I announced my position "entering base for 26 and in the pattern I went, turned on final and headed down for the runway. I came in on a great rate of decent and right into ground effect, hovered off the active across the grass pausing at the taxiway to check for traffic calling out on the Com "Helicopter N162FA clear of the active no factor to traffic",  600 more feet and I am on the ground for good I thought to myself lol. This was a wonderful adventure but I'm sure glad I'm past it lol.

Well that part is over and I've got to say I'm glad, extremely glad! Our RotorWay did great the whole trip with not even so much as having to add engine oil and for that were very grateful.

Tools wise all we had in the truck was a few wrenches, a quarter inch drive set of sockets and a couple of screwdrivers. There were a couple times I noticed some vibration but it was probably just me lol. We're very happy with our ship and the way it flies, never once did I run short of power, I was very surprised by that considering the terrain I was flying in and over. The only thing that could have been better was if it had a machine gun on board and Bin laden (however you spell it) came into the sites lol.

Clell Jenkins

N162FA@aol.com