"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote in message
...
Dudley Henriques wrote:
I've NEVER been lost. I've been "temporarily disoriented", but NEVER
lost!!!!! :-))))



I wish I could say the same. I've been LOST.

When I was a brand new pilot, I did a night VFR flight from Rock Hill, SC
to Wilmington, NC... at least that was where I wanted to go. Having very
little TT (less than 100 hours), I navigated the same as I did in daytime
VFR. At least I thought I did.

Basically you just flew at about 100 degrees until you got to Laurinburg,
then turned another 10 degrees or so to fly down the railroad tracks until
you got to Wilmington. What I hadn't figured was that most small towns
look pretty much the same at night and I couldn't see the damned tracks.

Anyway, I got to where I thought I should call Wilmington Approach to
report I was inbound for landing and said that I was about 25 miles to the
west of the airport. They gave me a squawk code and then radar identified
me.... about 18 miles EAST of the airport. The next landfall would be the
island of Bermuda.

Rather than test my swimming abilities to the max, I chose to take their
offer of radar vectors to the airport.

Embarassing, to say the least. I never again navigated by pilotage and
/or dead recconing at night again. From then on it was radio navigation
for me at night.

I was just kidding Mort; Like everybody else out here I've pulled my share
of boners along the way to be sure :-)))
Dudley Henriques