My First Solo Cross Country

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Every now and then I like to go back and look at my logbooks, allowing myself to briefly go back in time and remember what it was like to be in my late teens and early twenties in pursuit of my dream of becoming a professional pilot.

I wrote in previous posts about my first lesson and my first solo. Not long after that I achieved my next significant milestone – my first solo cross-country flight.

Early in the day of September 15th, 1973, my flight instructor, Ed Smith and I set out on a dual cross-country from Olney-Noble to Decatur, Illinois and back. Ed checked my ability to keep track of my position and fly a pre-determined course using a combination of VOR radio navigation, pilotage, and dead reckoning.

Landing at Decatur allowed me to show that I was capable of communicating with and following instructions issued by an Air Traffic Control tower.

We even managed to fit in a simulated engine failure, with Ed bringing the throttle back to idle power. I chose a suitable field for an emergency dead-stick landing, set up a glide speed, adding flaps when we were assured of making the field. Once we were lined up and looking good, Ed advanced the throttle, and I retracted flaps and climbed back to cruising altitude for the remainder of the flight.

Upon our return to Olney-Noble, Ed endorsed my logbook for solo cross-country. It’s funny, but even now, more than a half century later, I still recall the pride I felt at that moment.

I couldn’t wait. I immediately undertook the task of planning my first solo cross-country to be flown later that same day.

The Importance of Solo Cross-Country Flights

Solo cross-country flights are an important step on the path toward becoming a certified pilot. These flights require the student to navigate over unfamiliar terrain, manage in-flight decision-making and apply the knowledge and skills they’ve acquired thus far during training – all without the benefit of a flight instructor.

The challenging experience a student pilot gains during solo cross-country flights serves to build confidence, competence, and situational awareness — all of which are qualities which are crucial for safe aviation. I tell you all that now, but at the time I was nineteen years old and all I could think about was the freedom that awaited. To fly on my own to another airport … How many of the people I graduated from high school with two years earlier could point to anything they’d done that would begin to compare?

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) specifically mandates solo cross-country flights as part of its requirements for private pilot certification. Students must log a minimum of five hours solo cross-country flight time, including at least one flight of 150 nautical miles with full-stop landings at three different airports. These requirements ensure that aspiring aviators demonstrate proficiency in navigation, communication, and aeronautical decision-making without supervision. I knew I wanted to be a professional pilot, so this new phase of training was not only exciting, but also one of many necessary boxes I needed to check.

There are numerous challenges during solo cross-country flights. Weather can change unexpectedly, navigation errors can occur, and the absence of an instructor’s guidance can be a bit unnerving for some. However, these challenges foster self-reliance and problem-solving skills. Pilots learn to adapt, make sound decisions, and trust their training — capabilities I would have to rely on throughout my aviation career.

Completing a solo cross-country flight was a significant milestone for me, instilling pride and a deeper sense of responsibility. It taught me just how important it is for a pilot to think for her/himself, to safely operate an aircraft and work your way through complex situations on your own. At such a young age, these were lessons – more like a philosophy, really – that would serve me well not only when flying, but through every phase of my life.

For my first solo cross-country, I decided it would be best if I’d keep it simple. I would fly from Olney-Noble to Salem, Illinois and return. Not much more than a hop, skip, and a jump, as the saying goes.

Preparation and Planning for a Solo Cross-Country Flight

Proper preparation and planning are crucial for a successful solo cross-country flight. The process ensures safety, as well as compliance with regulations, and a smooth, organized flying experience.

Route planning is a critical aspect of preparation. Students must choose airports and routes that align with their stated training objectives while considering airspace classifications, terrain, and potential alternate landing sites. Navigation planning includes plotting the route on sectional charts, calculating headings and distances, and identifying visual checkpoints for pilotage. Olney-Noble to Salem would be perfect in every regard.

A weather briefing is another vital component. Pilots must take into consideration all current and forecasted conditions, assessing any potential weather-related risks, such as pop-up air mass thunderstorms common during summer months, along with turbulence or low visibility, and plan for alternate routes in case of deteriorating conditions.

At the Olney-Noble airport, we would accomplish this by getting on the rotary phone and dialing “0”. When the operator came on, we would simply say, “Enterprise 9898, please,” and moments later we would be speaking to someone at the St. Louis Flight Service Station.

I identified myself as a student pilot planning a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) solo flight from Olney to Salem, Illinois. This particular route was not close to any airports that reported weather. The Olney-Noble airport sits about 115 miles east of St. Louis, 60 miles northwest of Evansville, Indiana, and 110 miles southeast of Springfield, Illinois, so the briefer provided what information he could based on those reporting points combined with area forecasts.

Satisfied that the weather was good, I went about the task of plotting my course. Preflight planning includes using tools such as an E6B calculator or something we didn’t have back then, an electronic flight bag (EFB) to compute fuel requirements, estimated times enroute, and reserve margins. Prior to departure, all details must be reviewed with an instructor for final approval, so once I had that all done I checked in with Ed for his endorsement. It was time to go!

As always, I did a thorough walkaround preflight inspection of the airplane, in this case a PA28-140 Cherokee, N1409T.  I made sure there was sufficient fuel on board, checked the oil, tires and struts, and flight control surfaces. In the cockpit, I checked the instruments and avionics and placed my St. Louis Sectional chart in the side pouch for easy access in flight.

It was time to go. I called out “Clear!” and engaged the starter. The engine immediately came to life and a moment later I was taxiing to the runway. I remember feeling excited, but not nervous. After checking the flight controls and doing a magneto and carb heat check on the runup pad, I announced my departure over UNICOM frequency, took the runway and advanced the throttle.

It occurred to me as I departed the traffic pattern at Olney-Noble and pointed Zero-Nine Tango westward that there was no one there with me in the cockpit to bail me out if I were to get lost or otherwise find myself in a jam. I was confident, though. If every radio in the airplane were to cease working, all I had to do was follow US 50 all the way to Salem. Flora, Illinois was a good checkpoint, and if I crossed Interstate 57 I would know I had gone too far. For a first solo cross-country, this was as easy as it could possibly get.

Key Considerations During a Solo Cross-Country Flight

Cross-country flying in a small airplane is fun on a late summer’s day. The grass is still green, and the trees are turning color. When the wind is calm, the lakes and ponds below look like mirrors. It has a calming effect. I remember thinking that I was doing something that people who had lived on the farms below me a mere one hundred years prior would have never imagined it possible that someone could do what I was now doing.

All that being said, even on a beautiful day – maybe especially on a calm day – cross-country flying requires focus, discipline, and self-reliance. To assure a safe and successful flight, the student pilot must pay attention to several key areas. No more daydreaming.

Maintaining Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is paramount. Pilots must continuously check their position relative to their planned route, using pilotage and dead reckoning to confirm their location. Cross-checking with navigation aids such VORs – and nowadays, GPS – ensures accuracy, especially when flying over unfamiliar terrain.

Students should remain alert for landmarks, airspace boundaries, and changes in terrain or weather conditions. Maintaining a mental picture of their surroundings helps pilots anticipate and address potential issues before they arise.

I used the VOR, taking note of my time when passing various radials off the Bible Grove VOR, but as I said, this was an easy flight. Just follow the highway and after passing Flora start looking for Salem.

At that phase of my flying career, I was constantly looking for suitable fields for an emergency landing. Not that I was paranoid about it happening – you have to be an optimist to get in an airplane – but I wanted to be ready just in case.  

Overconfidence combined with a sense that nothing can go wrong can lead to mistakes. I’d heard our instructors at the Olney-Noble airport talking with students, cautioning them to be aware that the Salem airport was quite close to the Centralia, Illinois airport. More than one hapless pilot had confused the two airports and landed at the wrong one. Armed with that information, I was extra cautious and found the Salem airport without incident.

The customary practice was after landing at an airport, a student pilot would go inside and have someone there – preferably an airport employee – sign the remarks section of our logbook as a way of verifying we had landed there. I am proud to say that my logbook has the signature of Charley Wells, who at the time was the manager of the Salem airport. Charley ran a fixed base operation there at the time and was well-known in the airshow circuit as a stunt pilot who amazed crowds with his Pitts Special. Unfortunately, many years later, Mr. Wells was killed in an airshow crash in Bloomington, Illinois.

After a brief visit with the good folks at the Salem airport, I hopped back into the airplane and retraced my steps back to Olney-Noble. I walked a little taller, held my head a little higher, and grinned a little bigger that day. I was well on my way to becoming a pilot!