Today I officially finished all of my cross country solo requirements with a flight to Hemet Ryan. Hemet is to the East of Riverside and is a non-towered airport. The flight was a bit different to me since it was to the East of Van Nuys rather than the normal Westerly flights that I have done.

Everything went smoothly until my trip back to Van Nuys. It started almost right after takeoff. I announced my intentions of making a right crosswind departure and took off from Hemet. I made a few S-turns in order to gain altitude on a hot day with poor density altitude.

Once over some low terrain, I made a call to March to get cleared into the class C airspace and get a flight following back to Van Nuys. I heard a faint response but missed the call. After about half a minute I switched over to the other radio and contacted them again. Apparently since I had not “fully established proper communications before entering the Charlie airspace” the air traffic controller was not too happy. I got a minor scolding (not too bad) but I learned my lesson.

For the most part the rest of the flight was quite and smooth. There was a bit of low visibility, though within VFR minimums, that made it difficult to see the mountains bordering Burbank. I made a call to ATC to confirm my heading and altitude would be sufficient and was told I was on track and the current heading would take me right to Van Nuys. I realized that that is something every pilot should take advantage of regardless if they are a student or private pilot. The air traffic controllers have radar contact of you and a pilot should never be afraid to ask for assistance.

Once I was transferred over to Burbank tower, I was given a call and then told to disregard it. I believe they were training someone in the tower and I heard some poor calls then a whispered voice correcting them. As soon as I had Van Nuys in sight I requested a frequency change and was cleared to land on good ole 16R.

It was an interesting flight back but also a flight back that would end my requirements. From here on out all there is left to do is practice, practice and practice to make sure I am prepared for my fast approaching checkride.

I logged another 2.1 hours.