My PIC long Cross-Country Flight

Piloting the Cessna 172 during my flight training

Hi, my name is Vangmuang Phongphailath (Tay). I am a former student of CAFTC. I really enjoy flying a lot, even on the weekends. Flying is my passion! When I was little I would often watch airplanes takeoff and land through the airport security fence. I also learned a lot through my flight simulator.

One of the milestones which I remember quite vividly from my flight training, was my “long cross country flight in October 2018. Part of the "experience" requirements for the commercial pilot license is a “cross-country flight as pilot in command, totaling not less than 300 NM in the course of which full-stop landings at two different aerodromes shall be made.”

It was a two day trip without my flight instructor. It made me feel like an airplane pilot. I did this flight together with another student. He was PIC on the way down to Pakse and I was in charge on the way back to Vientiane.

We had flown this route one time with our instructor and received his “thumbs up” to fly it alone. On that day, we got up early, at 4am, to have enough time for the final planning. Our takeoff was at 7:00 AM from Vientiane. The weather was great, it was the middle of October, and we climbed to 9,500 ft en-route to Savannakhet. Cruising at that high altitude had many benefits: Not only was the view excellent, it was also smooth and in case of an engine failure we would have more time and options to troubleshoot and glide the airplane to a safe landing spot, than from a lower altitude. I remember how peaceful it was up there and it did not feel busy. It was much quieter without our instructor who was always trying to teach us new things.

About two hours later it was time to descend. The weather at the airport was light winds and clear skies. After landing we refueled quickly and continued on our next leg to Pakse. We climbed to 7,500 ft. Along that route the weather started to get a little bumpy. It was now late morning and the sun had been heating the ground for several hours. The view from Vientiane all the way down to Pakse was amazing and I really enjoyed the time a lot.

After landing in Pakse, we secured the airplane on the old apron and spent the rest of the day and night there. The next day we returned the same way but chose different altitudes and landed in the mid-afternoon in Vientiane. Another successful flight!

The long cross country flight was one of the great moments that I will never forget until today. I learned to be confident in my abilities and how rewarding good planning is. I like to talk about it with family and friends.

Standing in front of the L410 which I fly currently for Lao Skyway.

FO, Vangmuang Phongphailath, April 9th, 2025