Let’s talk about our Sunday night flight!

First, it was so nice to have Monday off and have the plane reserved all night and not have to worry about leaving for weather or rental or work reasons. The only time constraint was getting to the Waterloo FBO (fixed-based operator) before they closed at 8:00 so we could pay for fuel.

It was amazing to stay at my snister’s so late, throwing a ball around with the fam and enjoying the lovely weather. We left there around 7:00, figuring we’d land around 10:00 after the two-hour flight, then sleep in the next day.

Second, when I realized we would be landing well after the tower closed at our home airport, I excitedly asked Steven if I could do comms to announce our intentions to land and during the pattern. I figured just talking into the nether rather than communicating with ATC (air traffic control) would be a good place to start! I’ve been listening to Live ATC for fun and really been itching to try it out.

Steven said “let’s talk about that in the air.” Fair enough!

It was clear with low winds (05009KT 10SM FEW 090<— that’s just a note for me) when we took off at 7:58. The tower at the airport (KALO) we were leaving closes at 8:00, so right after we took off they announced they were closed for the night.

As we headed out of town I realized we were going to go just south of my older brother’s house (ha, this is not new — we always pass their house on the way in and out of town). I text him and his wife to ask if they were at home and they said yes and that they’d look for us.

At first they didn’t see us. We were already at our cruising altitude of 5,500.

So we did a loop around their house! (That reminds me of something Steven and I decided we need to get better at in the plane — pointing out where something is to each other. Always something to work on!)

And they saw us!

That was a lot of fun!

It was easy flying after that. Steven told me later it was probably the easiest flight we’ve ever done — good weather and there was not much GA (general aviation) traffic.

Once we crossed the Mississippi River and were into Wisconsin, Steven asked me what I would say on the radios when we got to our home airport. I was like “Oooo! He’s gonna let me do this!”

Ha, I could not remember how to start the communication though. I’ve been listening to ATC when tower is open, in which cause you’d say “Waukegan Tower,” then who you are, where you are, what you want, and the weather info you have.

So Steven told me when tower is closed you say the airport name, then traffic, then end the call with the airport name again. So my first call, ten miles out would be “Waukegan Traffic, Skyhawk 408ES, 10 miles to the west, runway 5, full stop, Waukegan” (you skip the weather part when tower is closed).

I practiced all the calls (below) several times:

• 10 miles out
• 5 miles out
• Entering the downwind
• Turning base
• On final

And I told Steven that if it got really busy for some reason I’d like him to take over. Note… it was around 9:45 pm! What are the chances anyone else would be landing then?

And then it was time! All of a sudden my heart started beating really fast (Steven sent me this funny reel about that later in the week). When we fly my heart does all sorts of funny stuff. My watch always tells me I am stressed out, and I am like “Dude, I’m fine…” Anyway, I called 10 miles out, then 5. Right after I called for 5 I got to click the comms button 5 times to turn on the runway lights.

Right after I did that someone else got on and said they were 7 or 10 miles to the south and landing at the same airport as us. What are the odds?

Steven quizzed me who got priority for landing and why. I said us since we called first, ha. He said us, since we have a lower altitude. Good to know!

I kept doing comms for the downwind, base, and final, and a special bonus comm to announce we were clear of runway 5.

I did make two mistakes — one on the 5 mile call (that I fixed, clarifying plans vs actual actions taking place) and one on the base turn (I forgot to say runway 5 again). But I think I did pretty good!

Steven said it was weird to have someone else touching the yoke to press the comms button to talk while he was flying in the pattern. Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I was trying to touch it lightly, but I don’t have much experience with it and it’s already so touchy! I just need to practice more winky face.

I really loved it though. It was exciting to do comms, even though it was just me and that other plane (after we landed two more planes showed up! People must have been taking advantage of the calm night and Monday off.). I hope Steven lets me try again soon!

Redundant, but I love learning all this. On the flight out to Iowa we went over typical landing procedure for the 172 — knots for certain parts of the pattern, when to do 10, 20, & 30 flaps, when to turn, etc. Gawd there is so much to think about! I’m so proud of and impressed by Steven!