York - By Day

N172DR - C172R - 1.8 hours

When I was still working on my private pilot's license (PPL), I had to complete a night cross country flight to satisfy the requirements of the FAA.  My instructor at the time suggested York (THV), PA for whatever reason, and off we went.  When we got closer to York, my instructor briefed me on the unique aspects of the airport: at one end of the runway there's a giant hill (so large, that even close in to the runway, the hill obscures some of the runway lights), and on the other end of the runway, there are trees.  Those combined make things interesting no matter what, but add in the fact that it was dark out, and I couldn't actually see said hill, or trees, and it gets to be extra fun.

My friend Ashley wanted to go up again and split time (a way we pilots make flying to more interesting destinations cheaper), so I tossed out some ideas of closer destinations, so that the flight didn't cost too much.  We eventually settled on York, which was nice for me, as I could finally see this place in the daylight.

The flight out was pretty normal.  There were some lower clouds that kept us closer to the ground than I would normally fly on a cross country, but nothing dangerous.  The route of flight took us right by Frederick Municipal (FDK), in Frederick, MD, out past Westminster, MD (EMI), and on to York.  On the way up, I was able to throw the hood on to get some much needed simulated instrument time (I'll need 40 hours of it before I can get my instrument rating), which was great.  As we got closer to York, that giant hill made seeing the runway in the daytime pretty difficult.  Seeing runways at night is almost easier when its out in the middle of nowhere (no lights) and the runway is all lit up.  York, by day, was a little harder to see with the hill in the way, but we figured it out and managed to land with no problem.  The large trees at the end of the runway have been replaced with a blast fence, as well.  From there, I made my way off of the runway so that Ashley could have her hand at a quick trip around the pattern, and the flight back.

Rain over Carrol County - DMW

On the way back, some spotty showers kept us low again, but again, it wasn't too much of an issue.  I kept my eyes out for traffic, pointed out "bail out" spots that we could land at if the weather took a turn for the worse, and otherwise kept the pilot informed of our current position.  When we were closer to Westminster's airport (Carrol County - DMW), I gave the Flight Service Station (FSS) a call to file a flight plan to get back in to Leesburg, and in we went.  I'm still not a fan of this whole Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) business, but at least I'm becoming more familiar with working with the FSS.

Apparently, there's a decent restaurant on the field at York, but I've heard mixed reports.  Some say the good one left and the one that's there now is just okay, and others say the one that was once there is now simply gone.  I'll have to look into it and take a trip back sometime.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.8 - 30.2 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.3 - 3.9 (of 40)