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night flight II
Jun. 24th, 2010 02:48 amI did my night cross-country flight tonight, from Hammond (HDC) to False River (HZR) to Baton Rouge (BTR) and then back to Hammond, a circuit of 114 nautical miles (map).
On the way out we also got in a half-hour of simulated instrument flight, so while Ryan was gloating about the amazingly clear night, my vision was restricted to the dim red glow of the instruments. It's kind of like driving through a long tunnel, where you have to very intentionally move your vision from place to place to avoid `highway hypnosis'. I was happy to remove the hood for visual approach to False River.
Approach to False River was over the murky blackness of the Mississippi river. It's amazing how much hotter it gets as you descend down through 1000 feet. Up at our 4500 ft cruising altitude the air is cool and refreshing, but below 1000 ft it's the stifling Louisiana summer again.
Visiting BTR felt like a big deal since that's the airport I fly into and out of commercially. Despite being served by United/Continental/Delta/etc, it's not a particularly busy airport and is only Class C airspace, which is less busy/restricted than the Class B around New Orleans. At 10pm the only other airplane in the viscinity was another student pilot. The controller was friendly and communications were not rushed.
The circuitous meanders of the Amite river shown silver under the moonlight as we flew back towards Hammond. It was easy to pick out the alternating white and green flashes of the rotating beacon at Hammond airport from as far away as Denham Springs.
Next week, a day-time cross country back to BTR. Then a solo cross-country trip once Ryan thinks I'm up for it. (It would certainly be more convenient if the flight school were at BTR, which is only a 10 minute drive from my house! Instead it's an hour drive to Hammond only to fly right back to BTR...)
+2.0 hours night dual cross-country
On the way out we also got in a half-hour of simulated instrument flight, so while Ryan was gloating about the amazingly clear night, my vision was restricted to the dim red glow of the instruments. It's kind of like driving through a long tunnel, where you have to very intentionally move your vision from place to place to avoid `highway hypnosis'. I was happy to remove the hood for visual approach to False River.
Approach to False River was over the murky blackness of the Mississippi river. It's amazing how much hotter it gets as you descend down through 1000 feet. Up at our 4500 ft cruising altitude the air is cool and refreshing, but below 1000 ft it's the stifling Louisiana summer again.
Visiting BTR felt like a big deal since that's the airport I fly into and out of commercially. Despite being served by United/Continental/Delta/etc, it's not a particularly busy airport and is only Class C airspace, which is less busy/restricted than the Class B around New Orleans. At 10pm the only other airplane in the viscinity was another student pilot. The controller was friendly and communications were not rushed.
The circuitous meanders of the Amite river shown silver under the moonlight as we flew back towards Hammond. It was easy to pick out the alternating white and green flashes of the rotating beacon at Hammond airport from as far away as Denham Springs.
Next week, a day-time cross country back to BTR. Then a solo cross-country trip once Ryan thinks I'm up for it. (It would certainly be more convenient if the flight school were at BTR, which is only a 10 minute drive from my house! Instead it's an hour drive to Hammond only to fly right back to BTR...)
+2.0 hours night dual cross-country
