Pilot Life: Back in a Glass Cockpit!

One of the flight club's Cessna 172Ms is equipped with a glass cockpit set-up and I decided to take it out for a local flight this evening! It's been a year since I last sat in a glass cockpit , which was in the DA-40 I have only a few hours in back in Utah. While the set-up I flew today is a far cry from the bigger G1000 set-up, I honestly felt comfortable with the G500, especially in an aircraft type I have nearly 200 flight hours in already; plus, I'm a lot more experienced now compared to last year. The other factor that really turned me away from the glass cockpit in Utah last year was the hourly rental rates; here with Valley Flyers, it's a bit more affordable!

Cessna 172M Skyhawk II (N515ED), the second plane in my entire flying career so far where I got to play with a glass cockpit!

After the hassle of grabbing a set of keys to the airplane (the club is in the process of moving hangars), I did my pre-flight and got the airplane out of the hangar. I hopped in and got the engine started before taking a few minutes to study the G500 layout, instruments, and equipment. I picked up the latest ATIS information and called up Salem Ground for my taxi clearance.

The G500 setup in N515ED. A guy can get used to this!

After doing my run-ups holding short of Runway 34, I called up tower and requested takeoff clearance, which was granted. I got airborne, and departed to the south on the left downwind. From there, I headed to Albany to do some landing practice! As usual, I entered the left downwind for Runway 34 there; I did a touch-and-go, followed by a full-stop landing with a taxi-back for departure. Once I got airborne again, I headed out to the northwest towards Independence to fly the valley. I also wanted to take the time to get used to the glass cockpit setup a little more.

Eventually, it was time to head in. Salem Tower closed while I was out so Class Delta airspace rules were no longer in effect, meaning Salem Airport is an uncontrolled airfield with Class Echo rules applied. I set myself up to make a straight-in approach and landed on Runway 31 (because I haven't gotten much use out of that runway!); all my landings this evening have been pretty smooth! I taxied over to the self-serve fuel pumps and topped off the tanks (as per club standard operating procedures and courtesy to other club members). After I was done refueling, I taxied the plane back to the hangar to put it away and called it a night.

I haven't flown as much as I wanted to the past few months since my uncle sold his plane to the club (April was because of Instrument ground school refresher and a lot of rainy weather, and I don't even want to think about what I've gone through recently in May!). Hopefully, the Valley Flyers club will allow me to keep flying at an affordable rate. But it sure was fun flying with glass cockpit again tonight!