Justin performs a pre-flight inspection and ensures that his C172S is topped off with 100LL aviation fuel.

After weeks, no, months of flight training (I experienced a big delay in flight training due to the tragic events of September 11th) today was the big day. The first cross-country flight! Time to apply the knowledge and skills acquired to date and put them into action - to actually FLY SOMEWHERE. Joining me on this flight were my flight instructor, Keith McDonald and my brother Jason Moore who was visiting me from Dallas, TX. Mother Nature, previously quite uncooperative, was gracious enough to provide blue skies with a light wind and a scattered layer of white cumulous clouds. Our aircraft was N3521A, a 2001 Cessna Skyhawk SP. A call into the San Angelo Flight Service Station (1-800-WX-BRIEF) provided an opportunity to get the latest weather forecast and to file a VFR flight plan. Flight plans are easy to file and provide an extra measure of safety (if you don't arrive at your destination within 30 mins of your stated ETA, they send Search & Rescue out to find you!). After a thorough pre-flight inspection of the airplane, we were off.

Stinson Tower promptly handed us off to San Antonio Approach as we had requested flight-following. Flight-following is another wonderful service available to VFR pilots. It is provided by Air Traffic Control, on a workload permitting basis. This service gives you an extra pair of eyes in the sky - ATC will advise you of other aircraft near your position via traffic advisories.

Justin tunes in one of several VORs used for navigation on the trip. Darn, see that altitude - time to bring us back down to 5,500 feet!

If you don't request flight following or its not available, be sure to at least listen to the various approach frequencies along your path of flight as an added measure of safety. As I arrived at my cruise altitude of 5,500 feet, things began to really heat up. I quickly learned that the cockpit can get busy in a moment's notice. While attempting to confirm my location with a visual checkpoint on the ground (and matching this checkpoint to a location on the sectional chart) I got a call from ATC handing me off to a different controller. At about the same time I noticed my airplane was slightly climbing. Wait, don't forget to write down the time of the checkpoint so you can confirm or invalidate your estimated ground speed. I was quite overwhelmed! I can't say I've ever been a MASTER at multi-tasking (ask my wife, I'm quite a sequential kinda guy). I perservered and with crucial help from my flight instructor my confidence began to grow. Things started to settle down and I really started to enjoy the flight. There was so much to see - small towns, farms, beautiful lakes and more. It wasn't long before we made our first landing at Easterwood Field (KCLL) in College Station, TX. This was actually a touch-n-go. A smart decision since there were airplanes parked on several of the inactive runways. Yes friends, I'd chosen a special day to conduct my cross-country. The day Texas played Texas A&M at Kyle Field in College Station. Yep - LONGHORNS VS AGGIES. Ahhh!

Once again, we were climbing back into the sky. This time we turned on course for Austin-Bergstorm International. Our gracious tailwind became a pestering headwind reducing our groundspeed. We climbed to a cruise altitude of 6,500ft above a scattered layer of cumulous clouds. As we neared Austin-Bergstrom, we all got a big laugh out of the fact that the ATIS at the airport, which was an automated computer voice, ended with a quick, nerdy "GO LONGHORNS". I think the guys at College Station had been too busy to reciprocate! :-)

Kyle Field with zillions of Aggie fans as they battled the mighty Longhorns. Jason took all of the photos for this trip - thanks bro!!

Landing at Austin-Bergstrom International was a cool experience. I was sharing relatively close quarters with some of the big guys. I remember landing on 17L as a Boeing 737 landed on the parallel runway, 17R. The HUGE runway swallowed my tiny Skyhawk as we landed and taxied to Signature Aviation. This was a very nice facility. We took the opportunity to stretch, grab a snack and prepare for our short flight back to Stinson Field.
The flight back to Stinson didn't take long and the air remained smooth. We saw hordes of traffic along IH-35 heading north out of San Antonio (it was, afterall the day after Thanksgiving!) and were glad we were up here flying and not behind the wheel in a traffic jam. We also passed by the unmistakeable presence of Randolph Air Force Base. It wasn't long before we had descended, entered the pattern and made a safe landing back at Stinson Field. My brother had a great time, although I think my new Sigtronics S-20 headset had left permament marks on his head. My David Clark 13.4's, however, had proven once again that they were worth every penny I spent on them. A quick call to the San Angelo Flight Service Station and our flight plan was closed.

Climbing out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for the last leg of our trip.

Despite being mentally and physically exhausted from the 3.1 hours of flight time, I was thrilled to have completed yet another huge milestone in my training. The dream of learning to fly was living up to all of my expectations...

Tied down and ready for another adventure, N3521A awaits its next student!