A Stormy First

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Earlier this week, Ashley asked if I wanted to go flying soon.  Of course, I'm always up for a flight and we both had time tonight, so I set us up with a plane for some flight maneuvers and perhaps an approach.  Her friend Greg also joined us to get a feel for flying the smaller stuff.  As far as flights in small planes go, this would be his first.  Unfortunately, throughout the week, the forecast had a decent chance of storms in the evening.  Leaving work, I could definitely see some convection that could get in the way, but summer storms are spotty and I know there are a good number of airports locally should we need to get down quickly.


While Ashley and Greg were caught in traffic, I got the plane all set up, and then relaxed in the shade under the wing for a few minutes.  Once they got there, Ashley ran through her own checks of things, explaining them to Greg.

I-66 below and 522 in the distance

After we all got situated, we departed to the west so that we could fly around the practice area (out by Winchester, VA).  On the way out, I took advantage of the fact that there was another pilot on board and got some hood time until we got out there.  Once there, Ashley took over to get some time at the controls to brush up on turns around a point and s-turns.  After a few attempts, hindered by the wind of a storm a few miles to the northeast of us, I was given the controls again for some hood work.  Ashley called out directions and I followed them to the best of my ability.



Of course, even though I checked to make sure the camera started the recording, it apparently died before I plugged it in after starting the plane, so I caught the few moments up to starting the engine and that was it.  The hood work, rainbow and lightning all went unrecorded.  Unfortunately, all of these issues were brought on by myself.  I never charged it after using it last, figuring I had enough time left to run it until I had a chance to plug it in.  Oh well.  Greg caught the rainbow with the still camera, so all wasn't lost.



In the end, Ashley directed me closer and closer to Winchester (OKV), where she could practice a few landings.  Since it had just rained and the runway was recently grooved, it was actually pretty cool looking.  The last few feet on either side didn't have grooves, so the rain made that part shiny, while the middle appeared perfectly dry.  After a couple trips around the pattern, I was handed the controls again and took us north towards the Martinsburg VOR (MRB).  Even though I didn't have my charts, my ForeFlight trial had expired, and I didn't want to look the chart up on my phone, I was still able to fly the approach by pulling it up in the KLN-94 GPS.  As opposed to the last logged approach, this one was a lot better.  We'll see how it looks next time.

I'm still trying to get over the fact that I need the same amount of time that it took to get my private pilot license under the hood for my instrument rating.  At least this flight took a full hour out of that total.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 0.0 - 56.3 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 1.0 - 6.6 (of 40)