Progress report for Harv's Air Pilot Training/Air Cadets

Finally, after a week of waiting, the weather let up and we were able to embark on our long solo cross countries. The trip took us from Steinbach South, to Lac Du Bonnet, to Morden and back to Steinbach. It was a little lonely being in a small airplane all alone for three hours straight, but it was nice to be away from the nagging voice of a flight instructor....just kidding. It was lonely not having anyone to talk to. Well, alone or not alone, there's always a thrill or two encountered on long trips. About five minutes after take off I kept hearing a loud banging noise from the outside of my aircraft. Not quite sure what was causing the noise, I decided I would land immediately. I conveniently happened to be right over Steinbach North. I made my call saying that I would be coming in for a full stop at Steinbach North. It just so happened that one of the instructors was in the air and heard my call. He asked me if I was having problems and I told him about the noises. He told me to check if my seatbelt was hanging out the door. Sure enough, my passenger side seatbelt was outside the plane. I didn't end up having to land and continued on with my journey. The rest of the trip was fun, but I'm glad it's finally over. We're on the last stretch now. A review of upper air work, some more PIC time and then pre flights and flight tests!