July 14, 2007
150 Mile
Cross-Country Solo
Worcester, MA to Concord, NH to Sanford, ME to Worcester, MA
(Note - all photos are clickable for close-up views)
Here we are, leaving Worcester, just took off
from the long runway (29) "touching" the wing in the photo, and we're getting
aligned on our course to Concord, NH.
Note the visibility... not too good...
Right off the bat, we spot Fitchburg
Airport in the distance...
that's on our course-line, so lets head there...
Now Fitchburg is coming into view and is a
little more clear in the photo...
And closer still....
As we're making our way closer to Fitchburg
Airport... the Radomes in New Boston, NH
come into view... they're really not visible in this photo... but
they're also on our course-line
to Concord, NH, so we'll continue our direction of flight as we are...
Those darn Radomes are still not visible in
this photo, but they are visible to the
naked eye...
While we've been keeping an eye on those
radomes, we're flying directly over
Fitchburg Airport.
And here's the view out the left Window...we
can see Mt Monadnock getting closer.
Believe it or not... this is Manchester
Airport way off in the distance to the right
of center, on the horizon. We have to remain clear of that Class C
Airspace.
Its another important checkpoint.
Our flight is proceeding perfectly... and
our course takes us right over Brookline Airport...
closer to Brookline Airport...
Closer still...
Couple shots of the happy pilot...
And now the New Boston, NH radomes can be
seen in the left-middle of the photo...
Manchester Airport if off to the right side, not really visible in the
photo...
And Concord lies just beyond the radomes, through the "saddle" in the
mountains...
Now we're past the radomes... and the
smokestack in the middle of the photo
is directly above and adjacent to Concord, NH Airport. That's where we'll
head.
Concord, NH Airport is in the middle of the
photo... we're gonna do a touch-and-go there
to meet the FAA requirement for landings on our cross-country trip, then
head on
to Sanford, Maine.
Closing in on Concord, NH.
Now we're in the left-downwind pattern,
turning onto our base leg before landing.
Yes it is an extended downwind, due to other traffic in the pattern.
Okay, you missed the touch and go... it was
a little busy and I didn't have a chance
to take photos, so this shot is after the landing at Concord, now we're
proceeding
on course to Sanford, Maine.
A quick peek into the cockpit... and
visibility is getting worse...
the lake off to the right is a good reference point into Sanford.
Well... that light area at the top of the
horizon... looks like it could be an Airport...
from the runway configuration, it checks out to be Sanford. If you
don't believe
it, click the photo for the close-up view. We're almost lined up
perfectly with
runway 25.
And right below us is another reference
point on the way to Sanford...
we fly right over two smaller airports.
What we think is Sanford... in the
distance... is getting closer...
and closer...
There's no tower at Sanford, so we've
announced our intentions and are on the left-downwind
leg for landing on Runway 26 - which we are parallel to at this moment.
Soon we'll make
a left turn to base, then a left turn for our final approach.... and
then....
We'll be on the ground, taxing to the ramp
for services...
Here we are, safely parked, checking out
the hangar and other planes...
Someone bought this beautiful PB Catalina
Aircraft in Canada and is completely
refurbishing it to its original condition. These aircraft were used as Patrol
Bombers
in WW2. You may not be able to tell it from the photo... but it's HUGE.
The wingspan is 104'.
This was (is) one amazing aircraft, still used as an aerial firefighter
today.
Here's a wikipedia link
to the PB Catalina. Check it out.
Here's 26-Juliet. We've done our
walk-around and are ready to climb back into
the aircraft and head home.
Unfortunately, after this photo was taken,
I remained on the ground another 2+ hours.
The airplane would not start, and my new best friend - Tim - the Phillips 66 FBO owner,
recharged
the battery, cleaned the plugs... and we were off, on our way home.
Because of the lateness of the day, clouds were lowering, turbulence was
increasing and visibility only got worse. Suffice it to say the
cockpit was a
very busy place, no time for any photos at all.
This flight completed my flight requirements for my FAA
private pilot license.
Actually, just 5 night landings
remain, then review for the check-ride and then the check-ride itself...
Almost there!
To view a PDF
of Worcester Airport's runways and taxiways, click here... |
