The mission was to head to Cleveland for a two hour face-to-face meeting. This couldn't be done over Skype, as the face to face meeting was three years past due, and there's nothing like face-to-face, a firm handshake and a meal shared.
Lots of lessons learned on this flight - the first lesson is to always close the VFR flight plan. It's easy to forget if you are used to the IFR system, and even easier to forget if there is a quick customs stop followed by an IFR flight plan.
The best process to follow for these intermediary customs stops is to close the VFR flight plan as soon as you land, or if the customs officer is there on time, deal with that first but remember to close the plan as soon as you are done with customs. This is definitely going on the personal cross-border flying check list.
Another lesson - I filed IFR from KART to KBKL with the way point Mexico airport (470) so that I am over land instead of over being over Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. However, when I went to enter the way point after I got the clearance, 470 (or K470) wasn't in the GPS (I would have thought that if it's the VFR charts it would be in the GPS). I asked for a modification to clearance delivery - over FZY instead - and it was quickly given to me. Lesson learned here is to not pick these private airports for way points, but to choose larger airports or navigation aids instead. It's also good to know that you can ask clearance delivery for a modification to the flight plan without too much sweat.
Speaking for clearance delivery - watch for the Odd or Even thousands of feet rule based on the direction of the flight - sometimes you are cleared on the wrong altitude but it's easy to request what should be the correct altitude.
On-route can be boring - run through a cruise check from time to time to make sure everything is in order - mixture lean is set right, direction indicator is calibrated with compass, etc. - and think through what-ifs. It's a good time to pull out the POH and review the emergencies (as you are in the IFR system - remember if you are in the VFR system you need to watch for traffic.)
Landing was uneventful - even with the Left and Right runways. I stopped at Landmark FBO - they even gave me a free ride to the hotel downtown. I got Cleveland Hyatt through a Hotwire booking... be sure to stop by the bars and restaurants right by the corner, a flight of wine or beer and oysters are highly recommended.
Return flight was uneventful. I made sure I got out of there before the cold front moved in. On the return back to the home airport I did an IFR approach even though the weather was VFR so that I don't get too behind on my approaches. Doing this on this and other IFR return flights was a smart decision, as otherwise I would quickly lose my currency in IFR approaches and forget important things like needing to switch from GPS to LOC once you intercept the ILS localizer. Yes, it adds another 5-10 minutes to your flight, but it's way easier than having to take a day out of your weekend to come out with another pilot and shoot approaches back to back.
Below are the videos of the flight to Cleveland and back.
Flight to Cleveland
Return Flight
