Short Cross-Country

It's starting to feel like summer. Today had clear skies and it was downright hot. On the way to the airport the thermometer in my truck read 93 degrees. Though I was flying solo and had plenty of runway, I still checked the density altitude, which was not a problem. I planned this flight as a short cross-country to practice my navigation skills and learn how to use the GPS that's in 34H (a Garmin 250XL). My route was S50-W16-S36-S50. After a sweltering pre-flight I taxied out to the run-up area, where I did the run-up and programmed the route into the GPS. By this time it was getting pretty hot in the cockpit, so I was glad to lift off runway 34 and head into hopefully cooler temperatures. Unfortunately altitude didn't help much, as the temperature was still reading 88 deg. at 2,500 ft. I flew the whole flight with the window open.

After just a few minutes I had W16 (Firstair Field) in sight, and crossed mid-field to see if I could spot a windsock. I didn't see one this time either, however there happened to be a fire burning off the west end of the field showing a gentle wind blowing straight down runway 25. I entered the pattern and set up for a touch and go. There are some trees off the end of the runway, but they weren't a problem and I did a nice T-n-G.

I then turned South and headed for S36 (Crest Airpark). Along the way I decided to divert East and flew over Snoqualmie falls. I have never seen the falls raging so much. The snow-melt from the mountains turned the Snoqualmie river into a torrent. I then flew along I-90 East past North Bend and then Southwest over Rattlesnake lake and headed into the practice area, where I flew around looking at the hugely swollen rivers. Some of the rivers had been closed to the public due to dangerous conditions, and sadly, a few people died on the river that day.

I next headed to Crest for a touch and go on runway 33. There are some fairly tall trees off the end of the runway, and I find it easier to make the approach a little to the left of centerline, where the view of the runway is less obstructed. I touched down nicely and was off again to fly the remaining few miles to Auburn. I wasn't happy with my approach to Auburn, so I went around and set it down on the next try.

Total time: 1.8 hrs.
Three landings