Time for some real test prep. Since I’ll be taking the test out of the Burlington airport (BUY), it’s a good idea to work on some of the test prep there. I would have to plan a cross-country trip from BUY to Charlotte, a very busy Class B airport. I wouldn’t actually be flying there, but the examiner wants to see that I can plan a flight and have an opportunity to ask questions about it. I would, however, have to fly the first couple checkpoints to make sure I can find them know how to get on course and check my ground speed and estimated time of arrival.
Gene and I flew to Burlington and went in to the conference room to take a look around where I would be meeting the examiner. After that short break, we headed out to simulate the cross-country to CLT. Taking off on runway 24 it doesn’t get much easier. It’s straight out. We climbed to 3,000 and identified the drag strip off to our right. It was hard to see because it’s below the right side, so I knew I’d have to pay attention to the other landmarks around it to know when I’m close.
Passing the drag strip I started my stop watch. Six miles later we came across Hwy 421, which was easy to see. We crossed just left of a small airport, so I knew we were on course. I stopped my watch, fumbled around with some calculations on the E6B, and figured our ETA. I knew I’d need to work on getting that done more quickly before the test.
After that, we diverted to Siler City… something else I’d have to do. Gene had me tune in the Liberty VOR and figure our heading based on that. I was pretty confused at his math, but it got us there in just a few minutes.
As we neared, Gene pulled the power for a simulated emergency power out landing. It’s always easier when there’s an airport. My circles and landing went well.
We departed back to Sanford and worked on steep turns and turns around a point. I still wasn’t comfortable with understanding the entry for turns around a point, but there wasn’t much wind to speak of, so I had no problems keeping the right distance.
Our time was up after that, so we headed back to Sanford. It was a helpful trip; to see the Burlington area and the checkpoints before the test will certainly pay off.
1.5 hours brings me to 71.6 total.