Flight to Burbank

     This weekend I picked up my wife from the airport at the Hollywood Burbank Airport (KBUR). This was my second flight as a private pilot and she was my first passenger as a private pilot. As the days dwindled closer to my fight and I was getting ready, I started to check the weather. The day before was a perfect day for flying 85 degrees or so and winds calm could not have been any better. In the forecast for the next day was in the mid 70's but windy, from the west north-west at 16 gusting to 45 mph. This was not ideal weather to go flying in an aircraft especially a small one.

   

     The next day came and in the morning there was a calm breeze and everything seemed like it was going to stay that way but it never got any better, winds started to pick up a little bit. Then it was time to make my decision to fly or not fly, I decided to fly. Finished my preflight I got in the plane and started it up. Taxied to the runway and took off instantly taking note of the wind only had about an 8-knot crosswind calculated for the angle of the 15-knot winds gusting 20 knots. As I was climbing there were a few bumps normal with the presence of that amount of wind, my heading was southerly and the wind was apparent with my 30-degree crab to the right. As I climbed through 6 thousand feet or so the air began to smooth out. I passed over the mountains into the LA basin and was cleared to enter a left base for runway 15. I was about 15 or so miles out so I had some time to get everything ready for landing. As I lined up for final I applied flaps as the ground approached closer and closer. After hearing the words "You are cleared to land runway one five."

I remember those words and seeing a wide runway with Southwest jets taxing everywhere. I floated over the numbers and started to settle in for a landing, there was little wind variable at 4 knots. I did not feel much of a cross-wind being that I did not have to correct for one. I floated just feet above the runway to bleed off some speed and only have to touch the ground once (not bounce). I was a little left of centerline but either way, it was a pretty good landing (being that I have not flown in a month).