Night Flight

Just back on the ground. Night flight to Frederick and Hagerstown, MD. It came off without a hitch. When did I get to be so confident and smooth at this flying thing?

The last time I flew this particular route, is was February 4, 2011. I was still flying rental planes once every few months or so, and I'd decided to try something a bit more challenging than my usual "up, spin around the area, shoot three landings and quit" flights. I wasn't smooth or confident then, not by a long shot. I flew just enough to remember how to do it, and even that was shaky at times. That flight path was about the limit of my abilities back then, and it was outside of my comfort zone in that I was flying into two airports I'd never been to before, both of which were pretty busy. The best thing that I could say when all was said and done was that I hadn't screwed up anything major and that was a daylight flight.

Now I fly stuff like that on a whim--at night--just for something to do. It's restful now, not stressful, and the orange three-quarter moon rising beneath my right wing as I follow I-70 west makes the flight just perfect.

1.4 hours flown. Three no-bounce, no-dinosaur landings at three different airports in two different states. Now I'm home, drinking beer with my dog buddy. Life, as they say, is good.