Today was my first ever cross country flight. Except, I never left the airport. I flew from Clarksburg to Parkersburg in the AlSim 200 flight simulator. My instructor played some tricks on me during the flight to try and see if I was paying attention.
I plotted and planned the trip using only crossing VOR radials as checkpoints (the program in the Sim didn't have any references on the ground, just terrain). I planned it out nice and easy to where every checkpoint was about 10 miles apart. Everytime I would reach the checkpoint, I would restart the timer, write down the actual time, compare the actual time to the estimated time, and recalculate the time enroute to the next checkpoint. there is a lot of multitasking involved.
Upon first taking off from Clarksburg, my instructor failed my engine and forced me to land back on the runway. he then informed me that I forgot to check my gauges before takeoff and that my oil pressure was nonexistent, so he failed my engine. Several times throughout the flight, he would put an Airbus on a collision course with me to see if I would catch it. I did, every time. He also dropped my oil pressure back down to zero again, but this time I caught it. We then discussed procedures for a diversion to an alternate airport in a case like this. On final to land, there was another plane on the runway. So I had to go around.(Lol...)
After landed safely at Parkersburg and closing the flight plan, my instructor let me screw around for a couple minutes. I did a barrel roll, a backflip, and a 90 degree steep banked turn. I then landed the plane going about 200mph and crashed off the end of the runway.
It was a good lesson, but definitly not a substitute for the real thing. I will probably do my first real cross country to Beckley this weekend.
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