how long did you wait to do your long xc solo?
Posted by upintheskies123@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 36 comments
currently a student pilot, feeling bummed as i drive back home from the airport. i’ve been waiting about a month and half to do my long xc solo but because of weather and random TFRs, haven’t been able to do. any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated 😭🙏🏼
Joe_Littles@reddit
Just saw your edit. Congrats! Welcome to being a real pilot 😎
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
😊😊😊
CBone2626@reddit
Like 4 months, every time i went to do it wind picked up/ weather formed. The day it happened was the best day i could’ve asked for! Don’t give up
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
4 months?! 😭 i guess this is all normal then, thank you for sharing
CBone2626@reddit
Yeah it sucked bad. Felt like a mountain that grew every time i cancelled. Dont compare yourself to anyone else around you! You’ll get there at the time you’re supposed to 😀
PutOptions@reddit
Not crazy. Weather does weather stuff. School policies are the result of something un-good that happened.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
i figured something must’ve happened in the past, hopefully Monday is the day 🤞🏼
Aware_Birthday_6863@reddit
It took me a really long time to finally get mine done. I got to solo xc phase in January, and I fly in the Seattle area so weather was almost always low overcast and I had to cancel probably 20 times. Id been waiting about as long as you have to finally get one. The day I finally got to go, the winds at my destination were much higher than forecasted and way above what my cfi endorsed me to land in so I had to turn around. I got them done eventually, you just gotta sacrifice some chickens or something to the weather gods
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
::googles where to buy a chicken::
vurygood@reddit
Mine was pushed 8-10 times or something like that because of the same… either low ceilings, x-wind beyond limitations, or even a presidential TFR for one of them. I was getting really discouraged but it finally happened and was really nice to get it crossed off the list. You’ll get there soon!
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
i can’t wait to get it done !
RMAdventure@reddit
That's pretty normal. My long solo was pretty easy to schedule, but when it was time to do the night flying I had to delay for weather multiple times, ultimately getting one flight in for some pattern work and then almost a month later for the night XC.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
sounds like i’m on track lol
RMAdventure@reddit
Definitely! Between weather, maintenance, etc there is always something keeping you flexible.
Purple_BuCkt@reddit
Try not to get discouraged. Weather, TFRs, plane availability is everyone’s Achilles when it comes to this stuff. Went about a month of pushing my first long solo XC back due to wind and plan availability. It will happen eventually!
Final_Winter7524@reddit
Welcome to the “real world” of flying! 😉
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
😎🫠
bhalter80@reddit
What about TFRs is preventing you from doing a solo XC? It was 4 months for me from first solo to long XC but that involved a change in type going from 172 -> PA-28 where I had 2.2 in the Warrior before going to do my XC which took more time that I'd been in the plane before
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
the TFRs have been at one of the airports on my leg and also very close by to the airport with an outer ring and NOTAMS. school has some student solo policies around that. i’ve planned that route with my instructor but if monday doesn’t pan out i should prob ask to plan another route with him.
bhalter80@reddit
So plan a different airport, you're the PIC
At this point you shouldn't be planning with him, you should be planning, they should be reviewing and saying "yep LGTM". If you need them to help you plan your long XC you're not yet ready for it and should do more short trip planning.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
i’m completely comfortable in the aircraft, would have no trouble navigating around a TFR and planning my own route. i mentioned above it’s a school policy (maybe something happened in the past)/i train out of busy airspace so i’m not sure why the policy exists, but my instructor hasn’t let me solo. i am going to plan other routes as backup.
__joel_t@reddit
First solo for me was 6/3. Long solo XC was 8/25. Weather, presidential TFRs, weather, plane availability, weather, and such all kept delaying it. Even then I almost wasn't able to do it. The only available plane for me that day was a 140 and the school normally only fuels it to the tabs (34 gallons usable) due to weight and balance, and they didn't want to send me on the long XC with fuel only to the tabs. I pointed out that with me going solo, there were no W&B concerns with filling the tanks full, the school agreed, and off I went!
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
thank you for sharing your experience!
InGeorgeWeTrust_@reddit
Weather, kinda hard to work around. But still can plan around by heading a different direction, and you’ll learn that as you grow.
TFRs? Just fly around them. Really not a bid deal.
When others did them doesn’t matter, it’s your own speed. The first one is going to be harder to schedule because you’re a bit more particular about the conditions and route.
It gets easier as you do more.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
the TFRs have been at one of the airports on my leg and also very close by to the airport with an outer ring and NOTAMS. school has some student solo policies around that. i’ve planned that route with my instructor but if monday doesn’t pan out i should prob ask to plan another route with him.
__joel_t@reddit
I had a TFR scuttle one of my long solo XC attempts. Kind of hard to "fly around" it when it's a presidential TFR that covers your home field.
InGeorgeWeTrust_@reddit
Literally any other TFR you can fly around 😂 that’s the only one you can’t
__joel_t@reddit
Yeah, the other day I did a solo XC for fun. There was a stadium TFR near my flight path that I was able to fly around :)
Sheltuh@reddit
do not get discouraged. I probably tried 20+ times. lol i could do a paper nav log for that specific route in 20 minutes and it’s been two years.
It’s a story as old as flying. Student Solos are frustratingly difficult…until you take off and then it’s some of the most fun you’ll have in training. Good luck
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
i got my nav log down to a science lol, thanks for the encouragement 🙏🏼
SEA_tide@reddit
Especially at a part 61 school in an area known for often not having VFR weather, people can be on their own timeline of sorts. The school should make it easier for someone to schedule a long cross country due to the amount of time it takes.
My advice would be to have multiple routes planned and to fly whichever one you prefer based off of what is available that day. For example, I had many different routes chosen for my night xc, but was presented with the opportunity to help break in a new engine and not pay for fuel or aircraft rental if I extended it to meet engine break-in requirements, so I flew over 260nm direct instead of the 100-160nm people normally try to do.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
that’s a great idea, i definitely want to plan multiple routes
redditdawg11@reddit
Try to take a breath and step back, it’s ok! No rush. I’m a brand new private pilot and it will come to you too, take the time to chair fly and maybe work on nav logs.
upintheskies123@reddit (OP)
i could definitely chair fly more, thank you 🙏🏼
sigmapilot@reddit
only like a week and i was annoyed, wow looking at the comments i got lucky.
although cumulative weather delays for various lessons probably total at least a month
FlyingScot1050@reddit
Just how it shakes out sometimes. Here in the Houston area we get a solid amount of MVFR/IFR weather and TFRs, can't let it bug you.