My friend Jayden and I have been looking for an opportunity to go flying together. I especially wanted to get a flight in together before he left for college to pursue an aviation career. This flight might be my last chance to fly with him before he gets to advanced in his training 🙂
We did a “Cross Country” (52 nm) down to Flippin. Flippin is a fun little trip because you get good views of the Norfork river and lake, Bull Shoals Lake and Dam and the White River…. all in a little over 30 minutes flight time. Plus it counts as a cross country for FAA purposes toward some ratings, being over the 50 nautical mile threshold. We flew this trip purely using dead reckoning and ground checkpoints. It was pretty fun using some old skills to get from A to B.
Jayden is working on his private pilot, and doing well. I did the first takeoff and both landings, but otherwise, it was all Jayden doing the flying and navigation. I was very impressed. He was good with tracking headings and maintaining altitude. Even from the right seat where it is difficult to see the altimeter in this non-standard airplane.
I don’t think I impressed Jayden too much. My pattern work was a little sloppy, and my approach into Willow put us high on final, but I pulled it out and did respectable touchdowns on both.
Either way, I hope Jayden and I get to fly some more, especially once he gets his license.
Next weekend, there is a fly in at our home field, so I hope to take his younger brother up, and maybe do some more Young Eagles flights.
