Pilot Life: Taking My Friend, Andrew Flying!

After this morning's somewhat frustrating practice flight with my uncle trying to practice and apply instrument flying, I needed a break and the best medicine for me at the moment was to go for a VFR flight with another first-time passenger in a GA airplane! This evening, I was happy to bring my good friend Andrew along for a ride. Initially, the plane was to do a quick cross-country flight down south to either Cottage Grove or Roseburg, but since we've been seeing improved visibility in and around the valley for the first time in a while now, Andrew suggested (plus he wanted to do this!) we go towards the northeast, particularly around Mt. Hood. I was happy to oblige; plus, I was still good on night currency for the time being and I got a little bit of night flying logged.

To Hood River in N5174E!

After the usual pre-flight business, we hopped in, got the engine started, taxied out, did the run-ups, and got airborne. I picked up VFR Flight Following from Seattle Center and I proceeded to take us towards Mt. Hood. As for my buddy Andrew, he brought is camera and proceeded to take a lot of photos! As we got closer to Mt. Hood, we got handed off to Portland Approach and had us hold altitude in order to maintain separation from other traffic, mainly the airliners flying into Portland International; we stayed below them as I took us down to Hood River's Ken Jernstedt Airfield. After terminating VFR Flight Following and getting a follow-up frequency to use for later on the return leg, I got the weather out of Hood River from the local AWOS and proceeded to make a standard pattern entry and uneventful landing on Runway 7.

Since the runway at Hood River is shorter than what I've been used to having, I made it a full-stop with a taxi-back on the adjacent taxiway. After quick run-up and check of the engines, we got back in the air and proceeded to do a circling climb over the town and the Columbia River Valley Gorge with all the terrain around us. Once satisfied with the altitude, I proceeded southwest, with our intended route passing the eastern face of Mt. Hood. By this point it was getting dark enough that I was logging night hours. Also, it was time for a selfie with Andrew!

Obligatory selfie after departing Hood River and passing Mt. Hood on its eastern face!
(Photo credit: My good friend, Andrew Thomas!)

Once again, I picked up VFR Flight Following from Seattle Center and we had radar services, which was good because we were over some rugged terrain. With the good visibility and the smoke cleared out though, it was easy to see city lights out in the distance from the various towns and cities dotting the Willamette Valley, so this return leg back to Albany felt like it took no time at all! In reality though, I noticed the plane's ground speed was in triple digits, meaning that we had a tailwind on the way back, which means the first leg was nothing but headwinds!

We passed Salem on the east side with Albany in view off the nose, so I contacted Seattle Center to cancel VFR Flight Following. From there, I entered a standard left downwind for Runway 34, the same runway we departed off of earlier and made an uneventful landing. After clearing the runway, I taxied straight back to the hangar and decided to worry about refueling later; we were both tired after a fun evening of flying. After shutting down the engine, we put my uncle's plane back in the hangar, cleaned up, and drove home, putting an end to another adventure-filled day which for me was filled with highs and lows.