back in the saddle (soon)

i got back from a week long vacation in germany a few days ago (excellent as always) and will be back in the air to build some XC hours this weekend. after that it's back into some instrument training in the plane.
while waiting for a connection at LHR i saw a TV with an ad for this site:
http://pilotseye.tv
it was pretty neat watching actual aircrew flying from the pilot's perspectives. it reminded me of when (as a kid flying in USAF MAC and other aircraft) i could go up into the cockpit. i do miss those days.

first instrument night lesson

my first instrument lesson in the plane was tonight. the weather was calm and perfect for flying around the practice area. did steep turns, unusual attitudes, localizer approach back to KJYO and all under the hood. it was a neat experience. i'm looking forward to more.

KJYO - KLNS - KJYO

a couple of us flew from KJYO (leesburg, Va) to KLNS (lancaster, Pa). it is in the 90-mile range one way so it qualified as cross country and is a scenic flight. i was the pilot not flying outbound and it was a very busy radio traffic day. ATC (potomac) was so busy that they refused our flight following request so we tried harrisburg with more success. the outbound route was KJYO-LUCKE-FDK-EMI-VINNY-KLNS. we flew using VORs so that we would have to identify intersection and the route. KLNS has an excellent pilot shop and it's very difficult to not buy all sorts of stuff but i'm budgeting a bit more carefully so i walked away with some plastic protector sheets for my approach plates ($5.00). i flew the return back to KJYO (KLNS-KFDK-JASEN-KJYO) and it was uneventful with a decent landing. it was a bit more choppy at 4,500 but tolerable.