Where There’s Smoke… – Plane & Pilot Magazine | Aviation

This morning was a bit different. I had scheduled a Piper (PA-18) Super Cub for a three-hour flight for my first solo cross-country. I logged the information of my flight from Lawson Army Airfield (KLSF) at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I was stationed, to Newnan-Coweta County Airport (KCCO), then to Alexander City, Alabama (KALX), and back to Lawson. Filing a flight plan was not necessary, but I logged it on the clubhouse flight board.

I checked the airplane’s logbook and saw it had not flown for several days. A little more investigation revealed that the club’s mechanic had just completed a 100-hour inspection. I was to be the first to fly it since the checkup.

I checked the weather by phone and was assured it would be great CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited) with 2-3-knot winds from 090 degrees. I sat down with my E6-B and chart, calculating heading for each leg. Folding up the chart to show the first leg, I took a look around to make sure I had not forgotten anything

I walked up to the airplane and placed my chart, E6-B, and plotter on the instrument panel. The plane had a battery and generator (no starter), so the lights and the radio worked only as long as the battery had a charge or the engine was running. The only navigation instrument was a…