My first solo cross country flight was from Long Beach to Palm Springs. I got the weather report, wind direction, all that stuff, then plotted my course and time to Palm Springs. Got the approval of my flight instructor for the flight plan, and then I called it in to the Tower.
When I took off the day was a lovely golden summer day. I was in my favorite aircraft, Cessna 150, ID N-4666X. As an aside, I sometimes have a slight lisp, so you can imagine what I sounded like with all those sibilants. Well, the guys in the Tower could see me, and they knew who was trying to take off, so they cleared me.
I taxied down the runway, and YAHOO!! I was taking off by myself--all by myself--to go somewhere. Had no trouble at all getting to Palm Springs. I spotted all the landmarks my instructor told me to look for, and noted them on my knee pad, along with the time spotted.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Southern California, I need to give you a little geography here. Long Beach is a coastal city in Los Angeles County. Palm Springs is desert, inland from Los Angeles, and South of San Bernardino. If you're driving, I think it's I-10 East, and it rises through the mountains, which, if I recall correctly, are about 12,000 feet at the pass. Not the highway. The mountains.
Anyway, I got to Palm Springs on time, according to the flight plan, landed, and proceeded to look for a gas station to refuel before going back to Long Beach. When I landed the air was clear; hot, but clear. The refueling didn't take very long, but while I was being refueled, the famous (or infamous) Southern California smog decided to present itself. Oops.
Ok, well, I had to get back to Long Beach. I might have stayed overnight if I'd had the presence of mind to bring some money along for a motel, or somesuch. But I didn't. My instrument training so far had been minimal, but I felt that I'd had enough training to get back, at least, to Long Beach. So I got clearance from the Tower to take off and head back home. As I was climbing to altitude per the flight plan, the smog got thicker and thicker.
Now what. The pass was almost totally smogged in, and my plane had an altitude limit of 10,000 feet. So change of flight plan. I couldn't see the landmarks out of Palm Springs, so I decided to follow the Freeway until I was through the mountains. So, I took my little Cessna almost to her altitude limit (I didn't want to smash into one or the other side of the pass, followed the Freeway until I got through the pass. Then...instead of following the flight plan and the landmarks (which I couldn't see anyway), I headed due West toward the ocean. I knew the air would clear the closer I got to the ocean.
So by the time I hit the coast, the air was pretty clear, so I just followed the coastline until I came within site of the Long Beach airport. Called the Tower and got clearance to land. A good, smooth landing, too. (Well, it should have been with all the take-offs and landings my instructor made me practice.)
I told my instructor what had happened with the smog, and how I got myself out of potential trouble--to say nothing of lost--he congratulated me on my good alternate thinking, and signed me off for my first solo cross-country flight.
I had to do two more cross countries before I could qualify for my FAA proficiency test ride, but after Palm Springs, I didn't have any qualms about whatever the inspector might throw at me.
After looking through my log book, I think I have enough tales to tell for several more diaries. Keep tuned.
Shalom