Fly 'n Things

Long Distance Flying:  Part 1

It took me a while to get here. But it is absolutely fabulous.

Once you have run out of the excitement of flying for that coveted vege or ham burger run, you itch to explore new airports far away from your home base. Maybe you want to do that AOPA flyin or that trip to a 99s section meeting or that trip to Sun ‘n Fun or Airventure. Maybe you are ready to go beyond all that and fly through international boundaries to Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Canada, Mexico, Alaska, and more.

Learning to fly in California, I got to meet, fly and interact with some of most fun women pilots and flew to some excellent destinations.

Once I got my PPL, I was ready for new challenges. A little over two months after I got my PPL, I took my best friend to MRY for a fun flight visiting Monterrey, Canary Row, and my first in-flight incident!

A year and half later, I flew into SJC to meet family and pick up my mom with my friend and CFI. San Jose is a Class Charlie airport, and what an experience landing along side a commercial jet on the parallel runway!

Later that summer, I got to fly to a SWS99s meetings. What fun to camp by the aircraft, fly in a taylorcraft in formation with another Taylorcraft, visit a gold mine and meet some fun aviatrix! The adventures continued with a trip down to the Flight Service Center past the LAX Class Bravo Airspace, flying the VFR corridor to Hawthorne Flight Service Center right smack over LAX.

Later the following year, we made it to Lancaster for the fall SW section meeting. There was plenty of excitement here: Mojave, Edwards, SpaceShipOne and more.

Once I got my Instrument Rating, I was ready for some instrument flying. A month after I got my instrument rating, I flew the coveted first instrument approach into WVI in actual IMC.

Barely a year after I got my instrument rating, I had the pleasure to fly to Van Nuys (VNY) with a fellow 99, gaining my first experience flying a STAR into the busiest GA airport in the country for the SWS99s section meeting. We toured CalTech, had the opportunity to visit the Mars Rover exhibit and more.

A little over a year after I got my instrument rating, I participated in the Palms to Pines Airrace with a fellow 99. And that fall I  flew to Napa under partial instruments with another fellow 99.

 And the journey continues…