Jayviating

so this is a flight I don't think I'll ever top.

with the World Cup taking over Atlanta right now, and England playing at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium right in the middle of the city, I keep coming back to the day I flew straight over the top of that exact spot.

and I mean over the top. not around Atlanta's airspace, but directly above Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest airport in the world. all five runways passing underneath us, airliners doing their thing below, while a little Cessna slips quietly across the top of the whole operation.

it's a rare thing to be allowed to do. no set route, no fixed height, and most days the answer is just no. so getting cleared over the top, this early in my flying, still feels a bit unreal. five runways under the nose, the downtown skyline and the stadium drifting past the window, all of it filmed from the cockpit.

we rounded the day off with a touch and go at Lee Gilmer Memorial as the sun went down, then came home to Newnan-Coweta and landed in full dark. one flight, daylight to night, and a view hardly anyone gets to see.

full thing is on my YouTube if you fancy it. football crowd, flying crowd, all welcome.

First Solo Cross Country: Dundee - Edinburgh - Fife

First Solo Cross Country: Done ✈️

So this is the big one. Not just flying solo, but navigating my own way across the country with it. No instructor, no second pair of hands, just me, a Piper Warrior, and a route from Dundee down to Fife.

The highlight has to be transiting through Edinburgh's controlled airspace and tracking past the Forth bridges. Three bridges, three completely different eras of engineering, and I got to see all of it from the cockpit of an aircraft I was flying on my own. I came into aviation from years as an offshore engineer, so structures like that hit a little different for me.

Then Fife decided to make me work for it. An offset approach for noise abatement, wind spilling off the golf course, thermals coming up off the town. A properly sporty landing to round it off.

And because I'd rather be honest than look slick: I fluffed a radio call on the way in. Gave my position, completely forgot my intentions. I left it in the video. That's the whole point of documenting this stuff, the real version, mistakes and all.

If you're a student pilot staring down your own first solo cross country, you've got this. Plan it well, talk early, stay ahead of the aeroplane, and don't chase perfection.

The full flight is on the channel now.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.

My first solo flight is now up on the channel. ✈️

I'd filmed a stack of videos but couldn't decide which to post first. Then it dawned on me: it had to be this one. Just me, a Piper Warrior and runway 27 at Dundee, on the day the instructor stepped out and left me to fly the circuit alone.

See if you can hear the stall warning as the wheels touch the runway. There's also a really nice touch from Dundee Air Traffic Control right at the end.

This is the start of me documenting the journey from the rigs to the flight deck, from thirteen years as an offshore engineer to training as an airline pilot.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/d4XnNFopTl0?si=TPmCSP_U0vxNG4qq