Feeling the “Rush” of the Gold Country – Destination Columbia

I've done a few cross-countries in my short flying life, many alone and some even across state lines. Despite my initial jitters, I grew to love them. After all, flying isn't about staying in the traffic pattern, it's about exploring new destinations, experiencing challenging airports, and navigating new routes. I was good at this! Or so I thought.

It was a sunny Saturday, the skies were clear, and weather charts suggested nothing more than some strong winds aloft, and the possibility of haze. My flight was planned, and coming along to navigate with me was my friend and fellow pilot, Tracy. What could go wrong?

There's nothing more jarring for me than to start a pre-flight feeling the warmth of the air and a smooth breeze against my face, only to be suddenly blown over by a swoosh of cool air that in my mind seems to roar as it rocks the plane, causing it to squeak in places I can't see. "Gusts! I hate wind gusts," and these were blowing the wind-sock straight out with fierce determination. Tracy suggests we chock the wheels, and we discuss a go-no go decision. We decide to go.

What once was a solid excitement for cross-country, started to turn into self-doubt. It's been a while since my last cross-country and I had not done one alone in California. Even though I knew Tracy was a much more experienced pilot than me, I was the one flying this bird – and I was a little anxious. We made it to the taxiway. A slight navigation error on the ground didn't help my nerves, but on the upside, I got to know the tower a little better! Finally finished with run-up, we were ready for take-off and we made our final go-no go decision.

We're off!

I heard from many pilots that Columbia was a great destination. A destination rich with local history, an airport within walking distance to town, plenty of restaurants, hiking trails, shops and a hotel. Not to mention a couple fantastic candy shops. I also heard that it was hard to find! When pilot friends knew I was planning the flight for the first-time, they'd smile knowingly and say “Columbia? Great place. Don't get lost.” We'll we did.

I blame the haze. About 30 NM outside of our destination, we were sitting on a layer of haze that reminded eerily of the twilight zone. No longer was it easy to differentiate between horizon that should have been sitting out in front of us, and the haze that seemed to be enveloping our plane. I could see the sky above, so that was good, I determined. “We just need to stick to our heading and use our instruments. After all, this area on the chart was a literal no-man's land with little ground reference anyhow,” I thought to myself.

We started to see ground, and then an airport. However, it was not Columbia. All the waterways seemed to mock us with how similar they looked to the ones we had planned to overfly. Did we actually enter the twilight zone? We figured we were North, off the chart and decided to fly for about 20 minutes  south before turning back so that we would have enough fuel to get us safely home. We had already been in the air about 1.2 hours for a route that was only to take 1 hour. After about 15 minuets, just when we were going to head westward home, I looked over my left shoulder behind me, as if saying farewell to the route we were flying. My gaze focused onto a long hard-surface runway with a grass strip intersecting the south end. There it was. We had flown passed it! Columbia.

Tracy and I both let out a “whoo” and exhaled so hard it was if the whole time we were trying to keep the plane up by mere lung power alone. After a near perfect landing, we stepped out onto ground, feeling the blood rush back into our feet. We discussed what we could have done better, but even more so, applauded our ability to stay calm in a tough situation. When flying, you're always learning something new. This was a big lesson for us both. It would have been so even if we had turned home, but it was nice to have the satisfaction of getting to our destination.

I'd like to say that the adventure started once we got to Columbia, like so many of my previous cross-country trips have started. But I guess since we were visiting a “Rush” town, it's only fitting that I should experience a whole different meaning to that description!

I plan to go back to Columbia many more times. Maybe next time to even overnight in the hotel. It's definitely a place see, whether you fly or drive. 

For more information on Columbia Airport,  or Map and Driving Directions, or Local Interests (including State Park information), click the associated links. Happy and Safe Travels!