What's the Worst That Will Happen?
Answer: We safely land out.
Going cross-country can be intimidating, scary, and intense. But it should be safe; if not, you are doing it wrong. Of course, you must have enough experience before attempting it. I am not talking to my newly soloed students here, but those who are competent at thermalling, finding lift, and spot landing.
Be Comfortable, Not Returning.
If you are unwilling to land out, you are not ready. I should phrase this as 'you need to be willing to land somewhere other than home.' For us here, when we go south, we only go from airport to airport. There are a few fields when we go north, but we typically just go to another airport.
If I am willing to land at another airport, I will take a student cross-country. If the schedule does not allow that type of adventure, I don't go. I want the flight to be low-stress. I admire those people who will take a cross-country flight with a date scheduled that evening.
When I was doing night classes in college, I used to try and practice and fly cross country during the day in my Discus 2ax. But I found it very difficult. I knew that if I landed out, I would be late for class. I would not take unnecessary risks. It would often be an easy glide out towards the other airport because the sky looked better, but risking it not being better and getting stuck. I would start to second-guess myself and have difficulty making decisions.
If you are correctly planning, the odds are reasonable that you will make it back.
I flew the 18-meter nationals one year without a trailer. Not by choice but because the trailer had a slow process of self-destruction on the drive across the country. You can read the old newsletter here: https://wingsandwheels.com/blog/post/towing-your-cobra-trailer
I flew the contest, going from airport to airport for the most part. On the last day, I landed as my crew was retrieving the trailer from the auto repair station.
Planning ahead
Does flying cross country potentially lead to risks? Yes. Should it? No. Many pilots take unnecessary risks while flying cross country, either knowingly or unknowingly. We had a private owner out here who unknowingly took too much risk, resulting in a successful landout in an unfriendly area. Meanwhile, there was a good airport available a few minutes earlier.
In the article on go-no-go decisions, my favorite comment is from Gary Boggs: "It's better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air, than it is to be in the air, wishing you were on the ground."
Banner Photo by Maciej Gebacz
Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.