Graeme J W Smith

A day for a perfect cross country. Started with KUUU – Newport to 42B – Goodspeed – the land and water runways side by side in the river in CT. Dan and Debbie who share a 150 out of KUUU suggested we go there and we meet up at the field. Dropping in over the river a sudden right crosswind just before touchdown required a steep slip to get back to centerline and a nice shortfield drop onto the runway.

Taxi in and drop $5 in the honesty box…….

and then claw out over the bridge, the hill and power lines and a drop down south to SNC – Chester – just 6 miles away. I was last here on my first cross country pilotage exercise from school. It was as pretty as I remembered with the ends of the runway built up on either side of the hill to make it long enough.

36 departure at SNC. Short field out and on to KMMK – Meredith Markham Municipal. Nice enough but plenty big.

Taxi around and press onto 4B8 – Robertson. Easy enough to find – just to the west of a ridge with two enormous towers on it. Land and taxi round then climb out past the notice to maintain runway heading to 1100ft AGL for noise abatement. This puts you right in the lee of a sharp cliff with radio towers on it.

On a windy day I can imagine that you will suffer ridiculous lee turbulence. At a lowering of the ridge I turn east and pick up LIMA at KHFD – Brainard Hartford and drop in on 02. As I taxi round for the off – I joke with ground control that I am late for AOPA Air Venture – held last month in torrential rain – but at least the weather is nice today. Funnily enough in all my training and back and forth across New England – I have never been in here before! Hartford sends me north and all the way to the edge of the Bradley Class C to avoid the TFR over the stadium before I break east for KIJD – Windham. I haven’t been here since a solo on my training.

I call for advisories and get the equivalent of a full blown PIREP! As I get closer I realize it is from an instructor who is doing engine out and slips to landings with his student. I turn final and discover I am horribly high.

The displaced runway number 9 which I judged the turn on has actually been blacked out and the runway restored to full length. I could go around or I could Flaps 40 and pitch up – which I do – and 41G drops like a stone till I make the glideslope and I drop in and taxi off. I watch the CFI and student do their thing and snap some photos of them.

Then as I taxi out I see a bright yellow 150 converted to a tail dragger. I take 36 for a straight out to the north and C44 – Toutant.

I was here the other day. It is a peach of a 1700ft field on the top of a knoll with an escape to the north through well trimmed trees. I drop in – a little long but I get stopped in plenty of time.

As I taxi back a small herd of deer watch me then break for the woods. I taxi back and get my tail hanging over the end of the runway so I have maximum length then I short field out and head for KSFZ – North Central. I’ve been going nearly three hours and it is time for fuel. I get a discount at KSFZ through my RI tiedown at KUUU. I fuel and watch the Providence school planes doing touch and goes.

Then off for KPVD – Providence to visit the school. It is Chris the manager’s last week here – he is moving on to very exciting pastures new and I want to say good luck to him. We sit and chew the fat for a bit and discuss ways of pulling off the impossible turn with an engine failure at takeoff. One of the CFI’s has a method which he says works well but must be practiced at higher altitude till it is instinctive. It is news to all the CFI’s and we all discuss practicing it in the Practice Area sometime soon.

As I taxi out I see 3SP in the sunset. I passed my Checkride in her 4 months ago today.

Then a flip home to KUUU. Though I get a long vector out to Fall River which I get stuck on as Departure reads someone up a long IFR clearance. I finally get a word in and ask if I can head for KUUU. Providence apologize and I get to go home.

181 miles and 4.1 hours PIC. GREAT day!

It is also 4 months to the day since I passed my checkride. I’ve put in 124.9 hours in 41G,
50 hours of cross country flying,
57 hours of solo flying,
9 hours at night and
222 Take offs and landings – 16 at night.

We have visited 47 airports in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Are we having fun yet?

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