A STUDENT PLT GETS A FLT ASSIST WHEN LOST ON HIS FIRST SOLO XCOUNTRY FLT TO DYR; TN.

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I HAD BEEN PLANNING MY FIRST SOLO XCOUNTRY FOR ALMOST A MONTH. ON AUG/XA/98 IT APPEARED THE WX MIGHT COOPERATE. I CALLED FOR A STANDARD WX BRIEF AND GOT A VISIBILITY OF 7 MI WITH SCATTERED CLOUDS AT 4200 FT. DYR (MY DEST) WAS RPTING VISIBILITY OF 10 MI WITH A FEW CLOUDS AT 3100 FT. THERE WAS SOME HAZE AS THERE HAS BEEN MOST OF THE SUMMER. I CONSULTED WITH MY CFI AND FILED A VFR FLT PLAN. I DO NOT HAVE MY FLT PLAN FORM WITH ME SO THESE TIMES WILL BE FROM MEMORY. I GOT WX FOR VFR FLT AT XA30. I DID MY PREFLT AND CALLED FOR A TOP UP OF FUEL. THE FUEL TRUCK WAS LEAKING SO I COULD NOT GET A TOP UP. HOWEVER; THE FUEL WAS WITHIN 1 - 1 1/2 INCHES OF THE TOP SO THERE WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH FUEL FOR MY PLANNED 45-60 MIN FLT WITH A SLIGHT TAILWIND. A STICK GAUGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. I DECIDED TO TOP UP FUEL AT DYR BEFORE GOING ON TO MKL. I TOOK OFF AND ACTIVATED MY FLT PLAN BTWN XB15 AND XB30Z. THE FLT WENT AS PLANNED. I PASSED OVER LHC AND BY M04 AS PLANNED. BTWN ARPTS M04 AND DYR; I DRIFTED ABOUT 2 MI R. I BELIEVE THIS BECAUSE I FLEW OVER WHAT I THINK WAS ARNOLD; A PVT ARPT. HOWEVER; AT THE TIME I THOUGHT I HAD HAPPENED UPON AN UNCHARTED CROP DUSTING ARPT SO I DID NOT MAKE A COURSE CORRECTION. THIS CAUSED ME TO PASS 2-3 NM TO THE R OF DYR. I FLEW OVER DYERSBURG AND REALIZED I HAD MISSED THE ARPT. I CALLED JACKSON FSS FOR A 15 MIN EXTENSION ON MY FLT PLAN. I WAS SO SURE THAT I KNEW WHERE DYR WAS IN RELATION TO THE CITY THAT I LOOKED FOR IT INSTEAD OF FLYING TO THE VOR 5 MI OFF FIELD; AND FLYING A RADIAL BACK. AT APPROX XC30; I ASKED FSS FOR AN EXTENSION TO XD00. I CONTINUED TO FLY AROUND THE AREA TO THE S OF THE CITY; SURE I WOULD FIND THE ARPT. VISIBILITY WAS DOWN SOME; BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS STILL ABOVE VFR MINIMUMS. AT SOME POINT AFTER XD00; FSS CALLED ME TO ASK IF I WAS STILL IN THE AIR. I SAID I WAS AND THEY ASKED ME TO RADIO WHEN I GOT ON THE GND. BY THIS TIME I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED BECAUSE I HAD NEVER HAD A PLANE UP SO LONG. I DECIDED TO FLY A LITTLE TO THE N TO MAKE SURE I HAD HIT THE MAIN PORTION OF DYERSBURG. WHEN I WAS SURE I HAD; I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO TUNE TO THE MKL VOR AND FLY THERE BEFORE FUEL GOT TOO LOW. I INFORMED FSS OF THIS AND WAS FINDING MY RADIAL WHEN FSS ASKED IF I WANTED ASSISTANCE. I TOLD THEM I WAS ON MY FIRST XCOUNTRY AND SAID I WOULD LIKE SOME ASSISTANCE. FSS CONNECTED ME WITH ZME. ZME GAVE ME RADAR VECTORS TO DYR AND I WAS ON THE GND BY XD45. I RADIOED FSS TO TELL THEM I WAS ON THE GND. I REFUELED AT DYR AND FILED A VFR FLT PLAN FOR RETURN TO MEMPHIS. FSS DID EXPRESS SOME CONCERN ABOUT ME; BUT I ASSURED THEM THAT I HAD COMPLETED MY REQUIRED NIGHT AND NIGHT XCOUNTRY AND WOULD BE FINE. I DID CONSULT MY INSTRUCTOR TO MAKE SURE HE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. HE GOT A WX BRIEF FOR ME. I ACTIVATED MY FLT PLAN AND TOOK OFF. I REQUESTED AND RECEIVED FLT FOLLOWING FROM MEMPHIS APCH. I WAS CLRED INTO CLASS B AND ASKED TO RPT OLV IN SIGHT. THE FLT WENT WITHOUT INCIDENT AND I WAS AT OLV IN LESS THAN 1 HR. THERE WERE SEVERAL PROBS HERE. I DID NOT EVEN THINK UNTIL AFTER THE FACT THAT I TOOK OFF WITH LESS FUEL THAN PLANNED WHICH MEANT I HAD LESS FUEL THAN MY FLT PLAN RPTED. FSS WAS CONCERNED ABOUT NIGHTFALL AND NOT ABOUT POSSIBLE FUEL PROBS. I HAVE PURCHASED A STICK GAUGE SO THAT I WILL ALWAYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I TAKE OFF WITH. (I CAN'T BE SURE HOW MUCH FUEL I TOOK ON AT DYR BECAUSE THE MAN AT THE FBO WAS NOT SURE HE ZEROED THE METER.) THE TANK GAUGES WERE SHOWING 1/4 AND 1/2 WHEN I LANDED. THE MAIN PROB WAS THAT I ABANDONED GOOD NAV AND TRIED VISUAL NAV IN AN UNFAMILIAR AREA. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS INCREASING HAZE. I DID NOT HAVE ADF OR DME EQUIP. WHEN I RETURNED HOME; THERE WAS A MESSAGE ON MY MACHINE FROM THE FSS SAYING I WAS OVERDUE. I MUST HAVE LET TOO MUCH TIME LAPSE AFTER I EXTENDED MY FLT PLAN THE LAST TIME.