Today’s flight was supposed to be a practice run for my cross-country solo tomorrow, but at the last minute, my instructor decided we were going to Galveston. I had to put together the flight plan and do all of the calculations.
Getting to Galveston is a bit tricky. There’s a narrow VFR corridor between Bush Intercontinental and Houston Hobby airspace. You still have to get cleared into their airspace, but we used flight following so we were in contact with Houston Traffic Control for most of the flight. Once I had the plan ready, it was time to go!
Just before takeoff. An excellent sign.
These fellows landed and pulled off at the FBO.
Houston from the air on our way to Galveston. We are in the “bravo” airspace at this point, so we’re flying at 2,500 feet per instructions.
It was overcast and we encountered a little rain, but overall, the flight was pretty smooth.
This is a really unusual shot of the Galveston airport. Can you spot the runway?
It’s unusual because the wind is usually off of the Gulf of Mexico and the approach is over Galveston Bay to the north. This was my first flight to Galveston and we got to approach from the south. Yep, I was officially flying over the ocean!
It was getting dark on the way back, so all of the street and building lights were coming on. That bright pink spot downtown is a ferris wheel at the Houston Aquarium.
This was the best kind of flying - uneventful. Now it’s time to get my flight plan put together - I can’t wait for tomorrow!