new airplane!

This afternoon I gathered the wherewithall to take "my" new airplane on our first flight.

This is Don W.'s Cessna 152 based at the Baton Rouge airport that I am renting. Taking off in this little plane was a bit intimidating, since the Baton Rouge airport is way more complicated than the simple uncontrolled field where I usually fly. But I knew what to do and it all worked out fine. This is a Class C airport, which is the 2nd most busy variety. (The most busy is Class B - Bravo - B for "busy," they tell us.)

At the Hammond airport there is not even a control tower. Pilots simply coordinate amongst themselves by observing what is going on and announcing their activities on a common radio frequency. At BTR, on the other hand, everything is orchestrated by controllers. You listen to ATIS (automatic terminal information service) on the radio to get the basic weather information; then you talk to clearance delivery, then the ground controller to get taxi instructions. Once you're at the runway, you talk to the tower, and once you're "on the go" they hand you off to Departure. The controllers and weather briefers are amongst the most professional people I have ever encountered.



Tonight's flight was a quick hop from Baton Rouge to False River (map). In this photo you see the engorged Mississippi river snaking off to the north. I hope to take another flight in the next few days to check out the Morganza spillway and Old River Control from the air.

The sun set during my return trip. The night landing at BTR was no problem. After landing I availed myself of progressive taxi instructions, where the ground controller directs you turn-by-turn through the sea of taxiway lights.

Baton Rouge topography

Here's a map of East Baton Rouge elevation in comparison to the river level:



Here's the PDF: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/ebr-elevations