Solo 2

We're having a beautiful weekend here as Summer comes to a close. I was looking forward to a nice, calm trip out to the practice area. I reserved a different plane, and I had a time with the radio. I never did get the second radio working and I wound up just using the first radio to pick up the AWOS. The wind at ground level was calm, but I definitely felt it when I cleared the trees. It was cool, about 65 degrees, when I departed and the airplane climbed a whole lot better than I was used to.

I went around the pattern once, just to get a sense of the visibility, wind, and airplane performance. I landed, taxied back, took off, and departed the area. When I switched to the ATC frequency and called in, the controller asked me what transponder code I was using. After I told him, he asked me whether that was the assigned code. I said it was after double-checking what I wrote when I got it on the phone. He asked me to ident, I did, and then he told me that my transponder was observed and sent me on course. Very peculiar.

I proceeded out to the bay, turned south, and promptly arrived in the practice area. I did my clearing turns, followed by a figure 8 medium bank turn, followed by a series of steep turns. It was very smooth, but I had a hard time holding altitude and lost more than I liked. I then did some slow flight, with shallow turns. When I'd had enough, I went back, landed, and went once more around the pattern.

Some firsts on this flight: first time solo away from the airport, first time solo practicing maneuvers, first time solo finding my way to the practice area and back to the airport, and finally, first time dealing with ATC solo.