Day 15: Another Cross-Country

     Lately I have not been learning anything new, but I have been practicing what I already know, and chipping away at the hours I need. If the weather cooperates, I should have all the required hours completed tomorrow. After that I will have to pass a stage check with another instructor and a checkride with an FAA examiner, and if I pass both of those, I will be a private pilot.
     This morning I flew around the practice area for a little over an hour to get some more solo time. The sky was clear, and the air was smooth, which made it quite an enjoyable flight. A low fog was hanging over the Ohio River below, and it would have made a beautiful picture in the sunrise.
     In the afternoon I flew down to Morehead-Rowan County airport in Morehead, Kentucky to get the last solo cross-country hours I needed. Some growing cumulus clouds kept me below my planned altitude for the first 15 minutes, then I flew out from under them to a mostly clear sky. There were some thunderstorms beginning to build in the vicinity, so there was moderate turbulence most of the way down and back.
     The aircraft I flew was equipped with a Garmin GNS430 GPS. I have always been fascinated with the 430, so I really enjoyed getting to use it and explore all its functions. For such a small unit, it can do a lot of things. Not only is it used for navigation, but it also contains the aircraft's primary radio.

     When I completed the round trip, I still had some time to burn, so I practiced a few landings at Clermont County before parking the plane. The lineman directed me to an open parking spot, and as soon as the propeller was stopped, he pushed the aircraft back into the spot before I even had a chance to get out. 
     Today's flying added 3.4 hours and 6 landings to the logbook, which brings the totals to 37.9 hours and 107 landings.