My First Solo X-Country

My first solo xc flight plan was from 3A1 VUZ TCL and back to 3A1. It
was a little windy, about 5-6 knots at times. The flight went as planned.
I departed 3A1 about 11:00am. After passing the VUZ VOR, I headed to
Tuscaloosa. It was a pleasant trip. When I arrived at TCL I had to circle
the airport a few times. Being excited about my first solo xc, I did not
think about the football game between Alabama and Mississippi. Needless to
say, the TCL tower was not exactly happy to see me (the controller actually
sounded like he was pretty upset). There seemed to be Lear Jets everywhere
with a few Bonanzas mixed in for good measure!! Some had landed and others
were coming in to land. I finally landed. I was parked between two Lear
Jets. I went into the FBO to get my logbook signed which took about five
minutes. Boy, did I get some strange looks.

As I headed back to my airplane, I looked around at all the jets (money)
that were parked and thought, "Life must be good for some people". The
C-152 I flew looked like an ant among giants. I finally got clearance to
takeoff and was I glad. The jets were still arriving! The flight from
Tuscaloosa back to 3A1 was uneventful.

I will admit that I was a little nervous but I maintained my cool
--
CareBear