Cross-Country Flying

What's the first thing that you think of when you hear the words "cross-country flying"? The first thought that probably comes to your head is one involving a flight halfway across the country. Maybe a flight to Arizona, Nevada or some place out west? Well, that is cross-country flying, but the destination doesn't have to be quite that far away. Cross-country flying (abbreviated by pilots as the letters "XC") is defined as any flight to a destination that is 50 nautical miles from the point of origin. It's not uncommon to go on a XC flight and never leave the state you started in. This was the case today...

All week long I have been contemplating going on a XC flight just as a fun activity and to sharpen my navigation skills. I am getting so familiar with the local terrain that I needed something else to challenge me. It has been many years since I have made a XC flight so I figured I would start small. I looked on my map for any airports that are located a few miles beyond the 50 nautical mile ring from Dayton Wright Brothers airport. I found one, at 53 miles away, and that was Pickaway County airport in Circleville, OH. Just to make my trip a little more interesting, I found another airport that was 50 miles away from Pickaway County and would put me back near Dayton. This airport was Grimes Field in Urbana, OH. This way I didn't take the same route home and got even more experience with unfamiliar areas.

The night before the flight, I mapped the entire route out and chose some landmarks I could see from the air to help me know exactly where I was and if I was on-course. When I was all done mapping it out, the course resembled a triangle. The total distance of the flight was 144 nautical miles or 166 statute miles (car miles). Each leg of my trip, I got out of the plane and walked around to stretch and snap a picture. Each airport was fairly busy and I got to chat a few minutes with some local pilots at each airport.