A Solo XC Flight with Pilot Andrew Thompson
We recently caught up with adventurer Andrew Thompson about his solo flight on Wayward. Click to check out the interactive route on Wayward. All photo credits to Andrew Thompson.
“Solo XC”
1 Let's start with the basics: How long was the trip and what was your vehicle of choice?
285 nmCessna 172N and it was just a day trip
2 What inspired you to take this trip?
Flight Training
3 Did you plan the route / stops in advance or did you just wing it?
This trip was extensively planned in advance, using paper sectionals, ForeFlight, various weather services, and discussing with FAA.
4 Was this a 'sleep in the ditch' sort of trip or did you stay in 5-star resorts?
Cramped 10x10 flight deck of a Cessna 172N. This was a day trip so no accommodations needed, however sleeping under the wing in a hammock was the back up plan if it turned into an overnighter.
5 What was the worst thing you ate on this trip?
Worst was an egg salad sandwich. Best was an egg salad sandwich.
6 Did you have any notable interactions with the local folk?
The air traffic controller in Dubuque was a laugh, getting me lined up for the wrong runway.
The guy in Janesville was a bit of a crank. I guess that's understandable though, as I was on his frequency when trying to land in Madison...
7 Have you ever done a trip like this before?
Lots of 'em. And plenty more to come. There's nothing quite like the freedom of picking a random small town destination a couple of hundred miles away and flying there for lunch.
8 Tell us about some unexpected / surprising things that happened.
Pilots tend to not like the unexpected or surprising, so thankfully not much came out of left field on this trip. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Wayward was actively tracking me at 4000' as cell service is a bit hard to come by up there. And the tracking was just as accurate as the fancy-pants aviation apps.
For more, follow Andrew on Instagram.
