1st Solo Cross-Country

There is only one first solo cross country and today was the day. It was rather hazy, but made for a spectacular and smooth flight to King City (KKIC). My route took me from Reid Hillview to South Country, from where I then tracked to the Salinas VOR. I chose to fly high at 5,500 feet to stay out of the muck. Once I got above the haze layer the visibility was wonderful. On my leg from South County over to Salinas I had a fantastic view of the Monterrey coast line. A few miles before Salinas I picked up Salinas ATIS and then monitored the tower. Over Salinas (SNS) I tracked outbound to King City following highway 101. Communications went without a hitch. Flight following terminated and I closed the flight plan once I had the field in sight. I closed out the flight with a soft field landing that made me smirk because I could hardly feel the wheels touch. There are some days where everything just comes together. This was one of those days. I met some nice folks down there at the airport. A great instructor from Nice Air based at my home field offered to take the picture shown here. The return flight was smooth and straight forward. Over Salinas I heard an ELT go off, which was kind of unnerving. Have to find out what that was all about.