Winter Haven (KGIF) is an exceptionally beautiful place, boasting two concrete runways and a water runway. I hope to try out the water runway in a seaplane one day, but for now, I am flying an ASEL (Airplane Single Engine Land) and sticking to concrete or grass runways.
Flying without GPS is an amazing experience. While this airplane has a VOR, I am challenging myself to rely solely on a compass, clock, and paper maps. Today’s flight is not along a coastline, so it is even more challenging.
There is one area along the route where there are no landmarks at all, just a large forest area. I use my clock to fly the calculated course and, after some time, try to identify a clear landmark to figure out where I am and how far off-track I am. It’s fun! After about 10 minutes of flight, I was only about a mile off-course. Not bad for a visual flight relying only on a magnetic compass.
I am attaching some photos to showcase the beauty of the area 🙂
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