Turning into a Charlottesville Regular

N5294W - C172R - 1.6 hours

Over the course of the years, I've had people ask if I could take them somewhere by plane.  Some people want to go somewhere specific, while others just want the experience of being off the ground in something other than an airliner.

Back when I had just gotten my license, I told my friend Kim I'd take her up sometime, and I partially came through on that a few years ago when I went to get checked out in a 172 out of Winchester (OKV).  The flight was only an hour, and an instructor was in the front seat, so it wasn't anything too incredibly interesting.  In an effort to follow through, and find an excuse to go flying, Kim and I set off to Charlottesville (CHO) for dinner at the ever-so-awesome Timberwood Grill.

Departing JYO

Things started off well, though it's been getting cooler this week.  As I explained to Kim how to conduct a thorough preflight, a couple jets departed - a Gulfstream and a Lear - along with a MedStar chopper.  Like my last flight, the clouds were somewhat low, so I stayed lower than I normally do for cross country flights, but nothing too bothersome.  As we got closer, static in the radio and our altitude kept me from picking up the ATIS as early as I'd like, but I did manage to monitor the tower well enough to determine I should stay off of the runway centerline.  CHO's runway is pretty well aligned with the path I take to get down there, which is nice when they're landing to the south, as you just land straight in.  When landing to the north, however, you have traffic climbing right at you, which is why I like to pick up the ATIS early so I know which way departures are headed.

As I came in, there were two departures to the north, and an airline departure that had to wait on a release for departure, so tower assigned it Runway 21 (a south departure).  We were assigned Runway 3 (landing to the north), which I found odd, but I didn't question it.  The airline departure had to wait, either for me, or for the release time, but just in case it was me, I tried to keep my pattern tight and taxi off as soon as I could. Surprisingly, despite the rush, the landing was pretty smooth.

Northwest of Madison, VA

We actually made it down to CHO relatively quickly, compared to the flights over the summer.  The cooler air helps the engine perform a little better, so we made it down in 0.8 hours (the plane shows time out to tenths of an hour, not minutes, so it was somewhere between 42-48min).  After shutting down, we walked inside to grab the crew car, which had already been taken.  When you have it, you're supposed to have it back within two hours, and the guy had been gone for a little while, so we figured the wait wouldn't be too long.

After a while of waiting, the guy wasn't back despite the time limit, so I called a briefer to file a flight plan and check the weather again.  Rain was coming in from the west, which only added to the reasons to head out earlier rather than later, and off we went.

As we walked out to the plane to head home, a SAAB 340 taxied out and departed, which reminded me of my old job, and how much I miss working around aircraft all day.  Then again, it also reminded me of several things I definitely don't miss about that job.  Oh well.  They had to deal with TSA and terminals while I walked right out.

The flight back went off without an issue.  It was dark and getting colder, but it was calm, smooth and peaceful.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.6 - 31.8 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 3.9 (of 40)