Exploring the "Unknown"- Another Cross-Country Flight

Lesson 28

11-8-12

2.7 hours logged

33.5 hours total recorded in logbook

Today I was finally able to fly again for the first time since the middle of last month and the first time at HXF since my cross country on October 5th as the weather much of that month was not very conducive to flying. Thus you can understand my excitement to be back in the familiar surroundings of the CubAir hangar and, best of all, the cockpit of 9721Y. 

Lake Sinissippi

Today we would at last be flying the cross-country flight I'd had planned out for a month. Our planned route was HXF to Baraboo-Wisconsin Dells (DLL), to Wautoma (Y50), and back to HXF. But before we could fly, we first had to, as the FAA puts it, "become familiar with all available information concerning the flight." For our purposes that day, this mostly concerned the weather information so Joe showed me where I could find all of this online. It seemed like a lot but by the time we were done, I felt I certainly knew what to expect. With the current wind information, we updated my flight planning logs then I pre-flighted the plane. Finding everything in good order we rolled the plane out and climbed in, quickly closing the door after us to keep out the cold as much as possible. On chilly days such as this was I daresay you're extra glad for that little starter button instead of having to stand out in the cold to hand-prop the plane!

Surprising for the temperature, the wind was actually from the south so I opted to takeoff on 18 instead of 29 which, while closer to putting us directly on our westerly heading, would also have meant taking off in a pretty strong crosswind-- strong for me anyway, especially since I hadn't flown in a while. Takeoff at 11:03 was as it should be and though the steps involved have now become almost second nature, I still love the sensations it gives--the throb of the engine, the stick and throttle vibrating in my hands, the transition from jolting and jarring across the grass to the smoothness of flight. Then beneath your wings and stretching out far away on all sides opens up a whole new world you never knew existed from the ground--a whole new world just waiting to be explored from the air. It's a wonderful thing!

At 500 feet, we turned toward the west pointing the nose in the general direction of our first checkpoint--a road/railroad intersection. Due to a rather low ceiling, we couldn't climb above 2,000 feet at first. Gradually, however,  as we flew farther west, the clouds began to break up a little and it wasn't long until I saw a patch of blue sky and then the sun shining through. It was just what our study of the weather before we left had told us would happen! It was still plenty hazy but I was grateful for the sunshine. A little solar heating in addition to the little cabin heat that is actually felt is a big help.

The town of Juneau-Dodge Country Airport can be seen just to the north of town

Beaver Dam Lake and Hwy 151

We crossed Lake Sinissippi, passed Juneau where I could see the building where my dad works, and crossed Hwys 26 and 151, the little towns of Doylestown and Rio and soon came within sight of the great smokestacks of the powerplant near Portage. As with last time, it was exciting to see things looking just the way they were supposed to according to the course I'd marked out on the sectional. A road here, a railroad there, a powerline crossing them, a little lake on this side, an odd-shaped one over there. Even though you may never have seen these places before, you feel like you've already been there as they come into sight gradually, one at a time right where they're supposed to. The sectional suddenly comes to life. That is one of the most exciting things about cross-country flying I think.

Portage powerplant with it's unmistakeable stacks

Cooling reservoir
Note the steam coming off the warmer water on the right half.

Bridge spanning the Wisconsin River

The Hwy 39-90-94 and 39-78 interchange

On our left side now, we could see the ridge rising which signalled that we were nearing our first stop. I began to search for the airport and made the initial radio call stating that we were 10 miles to the southwest, inbound for landing on runway 19. At last, I saw what looked like the airport materialize out of the haze. A little closer and I knew I was right. As compared to finding the airport on my cross-country to Iola, let me just say, an airport with asphalt or concrete runways is much easier to spot then one with grass only!

Our first destination, Baraboo-WI Dells Airport

We entered the pattern on the downwind leg, turned base and final. Now to see if I could still remember how to land. My approach was good right up until the moment the wheel touched. Perhaps I didn't level soon enough or get the stick back far enough but whatever the reason, I hit and bounced majorly. I had to add the power back and practically redo the landing. Not very impressive but I haven't done that many landings on hard surfaces yet and remember, this was my first landing of any kind in three weeks. Nevertheless, I was glad the airport appeared deserted with no one around to witness my embarrassing landing.

On the ground at DLL

Touching down for the second time, we taxied to the parking area and cut the engine. Securing the plane so it wouldn't blow away, we went into the tiny FBO grateful to escape the cold for a little while. Inside we found the sole operator, a friendly guy with whom we chatted for a while. As is often the case among pilots you find it's a small world. This person you've never met before knows so-and-so whom you also know and you have an instant connection. Even without this, there is of course the common bond of flight--understanding of the simple joy of flying and the love of airplanes.

Preparing to leave again

Fifteen minutes out of the cold was enough to give us the courage to go back out and face it, so after settling ourselves in the cockpit again, with everything in place, we taxied back the way we'd come and onto the runway for takeoff. On both landing and takeoff the sun was right in my eyes. Maybe I can blame my bad landing on that! Guess I should have brought my sunglasses along but I'm really not in the habit of wearing them anyway.

Leaving DLL

We climbed out, turned crosswind, downwind, then left the pattern, this time taking up the northeasterly heading that, along with a strong tailwind would take us speedily to our next destination--Wautoma. After picking up our first checkpoint, a sharp bend in the Wisconsin River and some railroad tracks a few miles from the airport, there didn't seem to be much in the way of landmarks within sight to guide us to our next so we simply had to look at the sectional to see what recognizable features might be coming up next. Soon we spotted a few lakes but which ones were they? It took some time, but through process of elimination and as other landmarks began to appear we soon had nailed exactly where we were.

At our next checkpoint near the little town of Oxford, Joe made the decision that we were going to divert to Fond du Lac instead of continuing on to Wautoma for weather reasons I suppose, though conditions didn't look so bad to me. It was still sunny as far as I could see but I was willing to trust Joe's judgment and learn a new lesson in the process.

Green Lake

"So how do we get to Fond du Lac from here?" Joe asked. "Start heading east!" was the logical first thought that came to my mind. A good one for starters. So we turned off our planned course, leaving that line and its carefully marked checkpoints and all our careful calculations behind and venturing into the unknown. Whereas we'd been navigating by dead reckoning up to this point, now we we would be navigating by pilotage, using visual references only, no time or distance calculations involved. Thankfully, we had several good landmarks from which to judge our position. To the south, we could see Buffalo and Puckaway Lakes. From these obvious landmarks, we gradually narrowed things down by using towns, roads, railroads, and powerlines. And so, by this method, we were soon flying over the town of Princeton, crossing Hwy 23, and the upper part of Green Lake. The "unknown" was no longer that. We flew south of Ripon, then paralleled Hwy 23 as were flew toward Fond du Lac, crossing Hwy M and passing Rosendale.

Sights interesting along the way

Hwy 23

Grainery south of Ripon

Rosendale

Shooting lanes surrounding deer stands create an
interesting pattern through the marsh south of FDL.

Rows of kilns stand beside an old quarry

As we flew farther east, the weather again began to close in as we flew back into the stuff we'd left behind flying west. Even from Rosendale, I could barely make out Lake Winnebago in the haze so instead of landing at FLD, Joe decided we'd better head direct to HXF. A turn to the south pointed us in the right direction and took us over the town of Lamartine, across Hwy 151, past Oakfield, Brownsville, Thesea and all the other landmarks already familiar to me since I had flown this route both directions flying to and from Iola last month. Visibility was much lower this time however. Though the we could still see the sunshine in the west, we were flying through that same haze as before and were also flying into the wind again which made this last leg of our flight seem to take a long time. Once, I looked down and saw the cars on the road we were flying along, keeping pace with us! I guess you know you're in a Cub when that happens!

Almost there...

Finally, however, the windmills below us signalled that we were surely, although perhaps slowly,  approaching home. Time to start looking for the airport. In spite of the haze, I spotted it without too much difficulty and by 3:30 we were once again safely on terra firma at HXF. My second cross country flight was complete and it too, as with my last one, was a valuable learning experience, though in an entirely different way. I'm thankful I didn't have the winds of last time to contend with but again, I saw the importance of flexibility in flight planning.

                                                                        

The home airport at last!

It was wonderful to be flying in the Cub again but each flight, whether in the Cub or the RV-6, has something of value to teach and each takes me one step closer to my solo cross-country, the next big step in my aviation journey.