Catching up II: A new state in the logbook

Sunday's solo flight was to Astoria, Oregon (KAST). My first takeoff and landing outside of Washington!

The goal was just to build cross-country hours, but I figured I may as well go someplace new and interesting. Astoria is right at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River, and is connected to Washington by a long bridge that carries US 101 about 2 miles across the water. The north end of runway 13/31 is right at the river's edge, southwest of the city.

I met Joel at KOLM for the sign-off. The weather was forecast to be marginal in Astoria and inland from the coast, but was good at Olympia. We discussed options if the weather went south, and we went over my planned route very carefully. Southwestern Washington is quite hilly--it is really a low spot between the Olympic Mountains to the north, and the Coast Range of Oregon and California to the south. But the tops of some of the hills are around 3000', so nothing to trifle with, especially when ceilings are around 2500. So I planned a route through low spots and valleys--25 miles south of Olympia, then directly west to the coast, then down the coastline to the Columbia, and across the mouth to Astoria. Estimated time enroute: 45 minutes.

As I approached the coast, I had to descend from my planned altitude of 3500' to around 2000' to remain 500' below the clouds. I also navigated around several billowing areas of cumulus clouds, which are sure to bring both turbulence and possibly precipitation that I prefer to avoid. It was a very pretty ride, though the weather really had me focused on things other than sightseeing.

The approach and landing at Astoria were unremarkable, except that the headwind on landing was 11 knots. Because it was right down the runway it was really no problem, but I needed much less power and even a little slip on final to get down to 60, my usual final approach speed. The Astoria airport is small and quaint--the terminal building has a small desk for Seaport Airlines (fairly new commercial service to Portland and Astoria from Boeing Field in Seattle), as well as a pilot's lounge. I used the phone in the lounge to close my flight plan (it wouldn't do for Deb to receive a call from the FAA asking why they hadn't heard from me), then I headed back to TP for the return trip.

On the way home--up the river to Kelso then a left turn up I-5 for home--I encountered a lot of turbulence. It's the only thing I really don't like about flying. It makes me anxious, and frankly saps the joy out of it. I've shared this with Joel, as well as the folks at the Pacific Northwest Flying Forum, and all have said I'll get used to it over time. So I guess in the meantime I'll try to avoid it, keep the wings level, and ride it out!