Pilot Life: Flight to Cottage Grove in My Uncle's Cessna 172 (Not Logged)

This morning, my uncle invited me out to fly down to Cottage Grove for some breakfast. We also brought along my sister's two younger brothers in-law as well; it was their first time flying general aviation and they had a blast! It is an unwritten rule in aviation that pilots do their part to introduce other people into this unique world and pastime and I felt that my uncle and I did our part today! Since I still haven't gotten my private pilot certificate yet and my uncle here is not a flight instructor, I could not log any of the flight time today. However, once I do get my license, I plan on building time in my uncle's Cessna as I want to learn how to fly a variety of aircraft and build time just the same. But I still got to apply some of things I've learned in the past several months; my uncle allowed me to work the radios and even gave me control of his Cessna 172 while airborne en route to and from Cottage Grove while he handled the takeoffs and landings.

On the drive to the airport, my uncle and I briefed all the pertinent information relevant to our flights. We briefed weather and airport information for origin and destination. My uncle also took the liberty of filing a flight plan with the McMinnville Flight Service Station for each trip, just in case something were to happen since we had passengers with us. Once we arrived at the Albany Municipal Airport, we drove over to my uncle's hangar where his Cessna 172 is kept and opened it up. From there my uncle did his pre-flight inspections and I followed him just so I could what is done for the classic Cessna 172. My uncle also did some weight and balance calculations the night before and determined that we would have to remove some fuel from the tanks since we were filling all four seats. Normally, my uncle would have full tanks because he usually fills the front seats leaving the back empty, but that's not the case today. My uncle thought he had a pump lying around his hangar, but couldn't find it. So we had to remove fuel by siphoning it the old-fashioned way, with a little help from gravity!

Once we got enough fuel off the plane and into gas cans, my uncle grabbed the tow bar and attached it to the nose gear of the Cessna and pulled the plane out of the hangar. Once the plane was out, we closed up the hangar door and hopped in. Once the plane doors were shut, my uncle went through his checklist and began the start-up procedure. Once the engine started and verified everything on the instrument panel was normal, we began taxiing out to Runway 16. My uncle stopped taxiing short of the runway and went through his run-ups to verify engine systems were in good working order. Once my uncle was done, we were ready. I used the co-pilot microphone button to make a radio call on the CTAF informing any other traffic in the area that we were departing on Runway 16 for a southbound departure; I just have to add that I loved calling out the tail number of my uncle's Cessna!

My uncle taxied us onto the runway, lined up, advanced the throttles forward and we began takeoff roll. Once up to speed, my uncle pulled back the yoke slightly and we got airborne and started climbing out. Eventually, my uncle handed me control of the airplane and had me level off at our cruising altitude; flying from sea level, we didn't have to climb very high! My uncle then began doing much of the instrument monitoring and helping me stay coordinated as I applied everything I've learned in flight school relevant to this flight. My uncle also instructed me to contact the McMinnville Flight Service Station so we could open our flight plan down to Cottage Grove, which I did; it's only been a month since I flew my first two solo cross-country flights back in Utah so I still remembered the radio procedures. After contacting McMinnville Radio and opened up the flight plan, it was business as usual from the perspective of the average general aviation pilot: monitoring instruments frequently, eyes outside the cockpit looking for other aircraft, and checking on our young passengers!

The boys after landing in Cottage Grove. They had a blast flying!

The flight down was pretty straightforward as all we had to do was follow Interstate I-5 below us to our destination. And it wasn't a long flight either; driving between Albany and Cottage Grove would taken us about an hour. In my my uncle's Cessna 172, it took us about a half hour! The flight down to Cottage Grove also takes us past of Eugene, Oregon (or as like to call it, the Democratic People's Republic of Eugene, Oregon!), the second most populated city in the state of Oregon just behind Portland (de-Portland; I have a list of insulting nicknames for the various towns and cities of Oregon!). Eugene is also home to the Eugene Airport (a.k.a. Mahlon Sweet Field), the fifth-largest airport in the Pacific Northwest and the second-busiest airport in Oregon in terms of airline operations. We made it a point to avoid the Eugene Airport Class Delta Airspace by staying either above or east of the Interstate as a common courtesy. We also tuned into Eugene's ATIS to get the latest weather and began monitoring both the Eugene tower as well as the Cascades Approach frequencies for any traffic to get a bigger picture of any aircraft operations. Surprisingly, we didn't hear much considering how busy Eugene can get at a given time. But it was still good practice to monitor.

We continued on to Cottage Grove, which soon became visible in the distance. My uncle began procedures for a smooth descent and I contacted the McMinnville FSS  to close our flight plan. Once the flight plan was closed, I handed control back to my uncle and he brought us in for a landing on Runway 15 at the Cottage Grove State Airport. I still handled the necessary radio calls on the CTAF. Once we cleared the runway, my uncle handed me controls again I got to taxi his Cessna 172 to the ramp! I taxied us over to the ramp where my uncle and I parked last year, but noticed that the place a bit more crowded. Something was going on... We did find a spot and my uncle shut down the engine. We disembarked, secured the airplane and headed out to the Vintage Inn Restaurant a short walk away for an enjoyable breakfast.

My uncle's Cessna 172N Skyhawk II (N5174E) at Cottage Grove before we took off back for Albany.

After finishing breakfast, we walked back to the airport. That's when we realized that we crashed a fly-in hosted by the Oregon Aviation Historical Society, which explained all the aircraft out on the ramp. It was a pleasant surprise for us however as it gave us a unique opportunity to look at some of the aircraft around us (many of them vintage) for a few moments before we mounted up in the Cessna to return to Albany. Post-flight, I reached out to the Oregon Aviation Historical Society on their active Facebook page and "apologized" for taking up their ramp space and thanking them for the unique opportunity to see the displays momentarily. After a brief moment checking out the displays, we conducted the pre-flight and hopped back into my uncle's Cessna 172. My uncle started the engine and we were quickly on our way, freeing up ramp space for the fly-in. After clearing the ramp area where the event was taking place, my uncle taxied to the run-up area and quickly did engine run-ups to verify everything was in the green.

After run-ups were complete, we continued taxiing out to Runway 33, which would give us a straight out departure to the north. I made my radio call on the CTAF announcing our intentions. My uncle then taxied us onto the runway and we got rolling. Right after we got airborne, traffic really started picking up for the fly-in so we got out of there just in time. We noticed some moderate bird activity on the departure end of Runway 33, so I gave out an advisory to all traffic on the CTAF to exercise caution. We also had to apply some see-and-avoid with another Cessna flying into Cottage Grove; I had to communicate with them on the radio to verify each others' intentions so there wouldn't be a conflict. The other Cessna stayed high and to the right of us as we continued climbing away from Cottage Grove. Once we leveled off, my uncle handed me control of the airplane and I contacted McMinnville Radio once again to open the flight plan my uncle filed. Once we got the flight plan opened, it was business as usual; we stayed east of I-15 as we approached the Eugene/Springfield area and simply followed the heading back towards Albany. While overflying Springfield, we had another traffic sighting, this time with an ultralight. They were well-below us so the traffic wasn't much of a factor, but it did remind us the emphasis placed on pilots of their responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft in the air. We also checked the Eugene Airport ATIS again to get the latest weather and then monitored the tower as well as the Cascades Approach frequency until we were north of the area.

Again, it was a quick flight as Albany quickly came into view. I called up McMinnville Radio one last time to close our flight plane and then I made the necessary radio calls on the Albany CTAF to let our intentions be known. My uncle took the controls for the rest of the flight as we made an uneventful descent and approach onto Runway 34, the opposite (and reciprocal) runway that we departed on earlier this morning. We got back just in time too, because it was getting hot and the air was becoming a little more turbulent. Once we landed, we taxied back to the hangar. Normally, my uncle would make a stop at the fuel pumps and top off his tanks since he usually flies lighter in terms of passenger and cargo loads and he wants to get going whenever he makes a trip in his Cessna straight out of the hangar. But since he had fuel stored from the siphoning we had to do earlier this morning, we would top off his fuel tanks with the fuel we offloaded.

My uncle lined the plane up with his hangar and then proceeded with the shut-down procedure and cut the power to the engine. We hopped out and offloaded our belongings. My uncle then grabbed the tow-bar and guided his trusty Cessna back into the barn, ensuring that his wingtips had adequate clearance on each side. Before closing up, we grabbed the gas cans and put the fuel we offloaded earlier this morning back into the Cessna's fuel tanks. Once that was done and the post-flight checks complete, we shut the hangar doors and called it a great morning!

After landing back in Albany. Thanks uncle Alan!