10-14-2026, 11:13 AM
Haxus -Sounds like you had someone or something on your side. Glad you were able to get back home without issue.
When I soloed for the first time in a Cessna 172 it was on an uncontrolled airfield with an automatic light system. My instructor was eager to get me to finally solo on the last day of an organized training event for young people. It was really late in the evening when he gave me the go ahead to go up. About halfway through the pattern I realize that the sun had set totally and the lights in the nearby city had come on. The runway remained completely dark, but I was busy lining up on final approach and not making too much of a mess of it. It was really dark and eventually the instructor came over the radio and told me to key the mic six times without explanation. I had never flown at night, but vaguely remembered after he said so that this airfield had an automatic lighting system which could be activated by such means. Thankfully it worked and I was able to land for the first time without issue.
When I soloed for the first time in a Cessna 172 it was on an uncontrolled airfield with an automatic light system. My instructor was eager to get me to finally solo on the last day of an organized training event for young people. It was really late in the evening when he gave me the go ahead to go up. About halfway through the pattern I realize that the sun had set totally and the lights in the nearby city had come on. The runway remained completely dark, but I was busy lining up on final approach and not making too much of a mess of it. It was really dark and eventually the instructor came over the radio and told me to key the mic six times without explanation. I had never flown at night, but vaguely remembered after he said so that this airfield had an automatic lighting system which could be activated by such means. Thankfully it worked and I was able to land for the first time without issue.