Pilot Life: Practicing Up in Salem

I stayed local today as there weren't a lot places I could go to in terms of distance with variable weather all around. So I decided to hop up to Salem and do some pattern work with Class Delta airspace ops in mind!

Putting Salem in my logbook once again with N5174E!

After departing Albany via Runway 34. I made the short hop north to Salem. After getting the current weather via ATIS, I called up the tower controller, who instructed me to make a straight-in approach for Runway 34 and report back in when three miles out. I have to admit, there are times I do miss training out of towered airport like when I first started in Provo. I was cleared for touch-and-go on 34 and then instructed to make left-closed traffic on each pass. Shout out to the Salem tower controllers for being so accommodating!

I did four touch-and-go landings total on Runway 34 at Salem. On the fifth lap, I requested a full-stop landing with a taxi-back for southbound departure. I got cleared to land and made my full-stop landing on Runway 34. I was then instructed to call up the ground-controller, who instructed me to taxi back to the same runway I landed on via the parallel taxiway. Simple enough! I called the tower controller again and informed him I was ready for departure. He had me hold short of Runway 34 for a departing UH-60 Black Hawk based at the Army National Guard facility in Salem.

Holding short for one of the Oregon Army National Guard's Black Hawks like this one!

I was eventually cleared for takeoff with caution of wake turbulence from the departed Black Hawk. I got back in the air and made a southbound departure on the left downwind. I gave my thanks to the tower controller and made my way back to Albany. I entered left traffic for Runway 34 and made an uneventful landing before heading to the fuel pumps. After topping off the tanks, I taxied the good old Skyhawk back to the hangar, where I put the plane away and called it a another successful flight.