First Solo Cross Country

I'm a bit lot late in writing this entry, but a few weeks ago and immediately following on from getting my Bronze/XC qualification, I had a little adventure. It was another first for me, so I had to make sure I documented it for posterity 😃

September 2nd was already looking good when I'd checked the RASP forecast a few days prior, and it each day that passed, it continued to look like a soarable day with low strength winds, so off I went to the club.

There's one aircraft I hadn't flown yet; the DG-303. I asked the CFI if I could make the conversion (despite having only one 20 minute flight in the Discus) and he agreed. It seems to be an aircraft that doesn't get flown all that much, so it's good to have the option.

I read the flight manual, had the obligatory brief, and set the aircraft up on the flight line after lunch. The forecast had been for cloud bases up to 5,000ft in the afternoon and all the evidence was that the weather was cooperating, so I discussed with the duty instructor the possibility of setting a little bit of a task to make the flight more than a random float about.

There was a pretty decent cloud street that looked to be in a rough southwest-northeast orientation, so the task we set was Ripon, Helmsley and Tontine. Total task distance around 98km, but never more than about 20km from the airfield. It seemed doable, so off I went.

The tug pilot found a great thermal and got established in quite a tight turn, to be honest, it was a little tricky to stay right behind him so I released at around 1500' QFE which allowed him get on his way (and out of mine) whilst I climbed in the lift.

The first thing I set about doing was working out whether I could get a reliable thermal near the airfield and assess how good the climbs were. Everything was encouraging with 2-4kts readily available, I climbed to around 3500' QFE - not quite cloud base, but enough to get on my way down that good looking cloud street and on to Ripon. I dialled in the altimeter for QNH which made everything look even better by adding almost another one thousand feet.

I got as far as Topcliffe, or just after. Tantalisingly, I could see Ripon, but with only 10km to run, I repeatedly found sink in the order of around 6kts. It was probably just the downdrafts from the next good thermal beyond, but after two attempts I thought better of pressing on. Landing out on my first XC and first flight in a new type was not the masterplan.

I was not going for a fast time either, so I headed back to the vicinity of Sutton Bank and spent some time once more exploring the local thermals. Helmsley was next.

Helmsley is only about 5km from the airfield and having climbed to about 4000' (QFE) once again, it was pretty trivial to head straight there and back without stopping. I actually didn't make the turn point, I had programmed Ripon and Tontine's exact coordinates into my phone (doubling up as my navigation aid for the flight) because they had been used as TP's in the Pocklington tasks earlier, but I hadn't collected Helmsley. I just tapped on the general area and used that. I should have remembered that the turn point was the castle, which is pretty easy to spot, and I should have made sure I got overhead.  Still, no great loss - it wasn't a race, just a personal journey!

Having not made Ripon and with Helmsley having been so easy (I should have pressed on further to Kirbymoorside in hindsight, I still likely wouldn't have needed a climb with good height and bouyant conditions) - I was pretty determined to make the Tontine Inn. I topped my height up once again and set off.

Tontine is not dissimilar to Ripon in terms of distance, give or take a couple of kilometres. Unlike when I was heading southwest though, I didn't hit the mega sink that had caused me to want to turn back before. I was flicking between a much more normal 2kts down with the occasional reduced sink, and I was keeping a firm eye on my altimeter and on the terrain - even though still set to QNH, I was aware that I was flying over high ground.

Nearing the turn point, I found a decent climb and stuck with it for a while - gaining about 600' and being pushed by the wind closer to my goal. At the furthest point I've been from the airfield solo, I can confirm that my bottom was firmly clenched. A quick bit of mental maths suggested that making it home was straightforward - I was about 3,100' above the airfield height and 20km out, so at 100' per kilometre in normal flight, I should arrive back with plentiful room for a normal circuit. On top of that, I expected reasonably good air if I went back the way I came, and there were still thermals around for a boost.

What I saw out of the canopy felt less encouraging - not being used to being out so far, I couldn't even see Sutton Bank from where I was (Hood Hill looking much smaller than usual!) and it still surprises me quite how far you can get for not much height in good conditions.

Nonetheless, I had reached the TP and was as committed as I could be, so I headed back in the general direction of home via the most fluffiest of the clouds I could find. I only stopped off for one small climb, conscious of the fact that having used the light winds to get the turn point, they would now be pushing me back away from where I wanted to be.

As the airfield came into view and the picture was one of continued improvement, I allowed my buttocks to unclench. I was definitely within gliding range now and feeling accomplished - so I didn't make the full task, but I definitely went cross country, and used my judgement to make sure I got home again.

Before going back into the airfield, I set a low point and decided to see if I could use the conditions to go for a Silver height claim. It was two and half hours from takeoff by now, and cloud base was dropping - the thermals were still strong, but unfortunately not quite high enough. That would have just been the icing on the cake if I had been able to get it (I just checked again, I may have missed out by less than 20 metres!).

All in all, a great flight - and two and a half hours without even realising, which goes to show I was probably either over obsessing about the two hours originally needed for my XC endorsement, or, it's just easy when you know what you're doing the conditions are working in your favour!

Here's the trace of the flight and scoring via OLC. Despite not reaching Ripon, the two stabs at it still meant I claimed a distance of almost 96km - not bad for a first go! 😎

If only we could get a couple more good days before the year's end, but... Winter is coming.