This past week I decided to re-gain my night currency and get some more cross country time by planning a mini-tour of some airports I had been to before, and some that I had not. I also decided to take one of the clubs instructors along for added safety and to get some instruction on proper use of the autopilot.
My plan was to depart Willow Run near/at sunset and fly to Kalamazoo (which I'd visited before on my long solo cross country back in my training days), then fly to Toledo, OH (someplace new), and then back to Willow Run thus giving me my three takeoff and landings required for currency. The weather pattern at night had been consistent for many days, and so I was optimistic that I would enjoy the same clear, star filled sky... but that was not to be. The day before my flight we had some storms come through (knocking the power out from 11pm - 2am for good measure), and some sticky, moist air is what it left in its wake.
I checked the weather first thing after arriving at the airport on the night of my flight, and things were looking bad for my route. Kalamazoo's forecast for my approximate time of arrival was 4 statute miles visibility in haze.... ugh. Everywhere else
around Kalamazoo was calling for plus 6 miles and clear, so I figured it must be some geography or terrain coming into play. Plan B was to fly to Grand Rapids, then stop at Lansing on the way back. After a weather situation confirmation briefing from a very courteous employee of Lockheed Martin's Flight Service, we launched into the moonlit murk.
The flight was serene for the most part, the hazy conditions took a bit of adjustment and I was glad to have a CFI in the right seat. We listened to UPS and Fedex aircraft make their trips to hubs south of us, carrying all manner of packages waiting to be delivered to customers. We heard some other aircraft that sounded like they were making instrument training flights, and even a "check delivery" service guy flying into Detroit.
What I learned on this flight was that the autopilot is easy to use, night flying with hazy visibility is manageable with a good plan, and although it's easier to pick out other aircraft lights in the dark it is not always as easy to find airports amongst a sea of city lights.
Time this flight: 2.6
Total Time: 109.0
Landings: 339
