Ideas for getting a 9A from L.A. to ABQ?

I'm considering buying a 9A that's in the L.A. area and am looking for a good way to bring it home to Albuquerque. I recently did transition training, but it would be a new airplane to me, and it's been a long time since I've done a long cross country flight.

I would feel safer and get to learn a lot with the right person in the right seat. I welcome suggestions - if I end up buying the airplane, the flight back to ABQ would be somewhere between July 25th and August 2nd, as well as I can guess this far out.

Thanks,
Doug

Ferry Pilot?

hi I used Ryan Miller 801-948-0865 to ferry my RV-9A from northern CA to Indy. He has standby privileges on the airlines so his cost is lower than I could have done it. I can highly recommend him.
Gunther

Doug,
You mentioned you have received your transition training. Make yourself comfortable with the plane, get an oxygen bottle and enjoy the ride. You have a scenic route to fly and you will love it. RV9A is a nice obedient machine she doesn't need super skills but appreciates good planning and discipline

Or, if in doubt, call a ferry pilot.

NM Doug said:

if I end up buying the airplane, the flight back to ABQ would be somewhere between July 25th and August 2nd,

Thanks,
Doug

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Pilots might be a bit hard to find during this time frame.

On the other hand, air traffic will be a bit lighter then.

Planning is the big deal with this flight

Getting out of the LA area and across the high terrain west of Albuquerque and refueling in route are the main concerns. I would plan the flight using victor airways, with paper charts, and a paper flight plan so you know in your own mind exactly what you are going to do. Draw the course on you chart so you have the big picture and you know exactly where the obstacles are that you are going to deal with. Where the airplane is in the LA area is very important to the planning - the LA Class B area is odd shaped and very large and there are many Class C areas to be considered. I always go through the Banning Pass by Palm Springs then left over the low mountain ridge across the desert to the Colorado River and the Needles VOR, past Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff, Meteor crater and refuel at Winslow but your range may dictate refueling earlier. Then it is pretty much a straight shot to ABQ past Black Rock and across the ancient lava flows and high terrain to the ABQ VOR and on to the airport. I always flight plan for 1 hour of reserve fuel but VFR minimum is 1/2 hour and I would go with that if refueling locations required it. I always flight plan for a cruise below my best cruise speed for example 120 kts on a Piper Archer and 150 kts on our RV-6A.

It is good to be apprehensive because it is a real cross country flying task over some unforgiving landscape but with proper planning the demands of flying the plan in decent weather are not excessive. You might consider this trip an opportunity rather than a test.

Bob Axsom

NM Doug said:

I'm considering buying a 9A that's in the L.A. area and am looking for a good way to bring it home to Albuquerque. I recently did transition training, but it would be a new airplane to me, and it's been a long time since I've done a long cross country flight.

I would feel safer and get to learn a lot with the right person in the right seat. I welcome suggestions - if I end up buying the airplane, the flight back to ABQ would be somewhere between July 25th and August 2nd, as well as I can guess this far out.

Thanks,
Doug

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Take a local CFI with you to go pick it up. Log it as dual received, get a cross country refresher, enjoy the trip.

Thank you all for the ideas. I like the local CFI/dual idea and would also welcome the set of eyes on engine monitoring and L.A. traffic, ears for the L.A. segment, and learning how to manage the GPS (I'm used to VORs, but the airplane doesn't have ground-based nav other than me looking out the window )

Plus, there would be someone to say "this is great!" to every ten seconds.

I would like to suggest a fuel stop at KSJN than on to ABQ. One can depart LA basin out the Banning Pass then direct or Cajon pass TNP VOR just south of the 29-Palm Restricted area then direct. It can be done at 9,500 and early morning departure is recommended. That time of year, it will be HOT and windy along that route in the afternoon. Used that route in my RV about 20 times in the past 15-years.

There are a lot of RV pilots that would go along but most will be at AirVenture. You will have more of a selection of RV pilots on weekends or what ever days they have off.

other ideas

I would suggest you come in early to LA. Take a few test flights around the local area with an instructor. If you feel comfortable, then go for it alone. If not then take an instructor with you to palm springs or vegas or some intermediate point and buy him/her a ticket on Southwest back to LA. I see no need for an instructor all the way to your home. Probably just the first few hours getting out of LA would be fine. JMO. Heck, I might even do it. I am not check out for an RV9, but I can ride shotgun and get you out of LA easily enough. I bet you can find a very pretty woman instructor based in LA to share the ride with.

You could do what I did when I bought my -6 in Idaho and had to retrieve it in January for a flight back to BC... Find a friend with an RV who *is* comfortable with long trips, and fly to LA with him. Then fly back following your friend, letting him do the navigation. You'll follow along on your charts, of course, but he'll do the hard work. Buy his gas (and lunch, dinner, and a hotel room for the night if necessary) for his trouble. Surely you can find *someone* who isn't going to Oshkosh.

I found that after the first 30 minutes or so, I wasn't spending any time worrying about the airplane anymore. I was just flying someplace new, and had a good leader to ensure that I didn't get lost.

Appreciate you concern, but remember, a long cross country is nothing more than a few short ones strung together. Are you really going out of LA, or up in my area? (there's one for sale here, too).

I did this route last year coming back from OSH (santa Fe - Mojave), and it was a piece of cake.

Doug, Look at it this way........

From anywhere in the LA area, fly to Barstow DAG 90k.

Then to Needles EED 108k.

Then to Cottonwood P52 130k.

Then to Holbrook P14 96k.

Then to Black Rock ZUN 66k

Then to Grants GNT 44k

Then to ALBUQUERQUE 65k

Each airport is less than an hour away. No oxygen needed. No MOA's. No restricted areas.

Your flight would be like this.... Start with full fuel. Fly for 2.5 hours past Barstow and Needles. Take a break at Cottonwood and fuel up. 45 minutes. Fly 2 more hours over Holbrook, Black rock and Grants and then you are home. 5 hours and 15 minutes total time. Fly at 65% and use about 30 gallons.

Thanks for the route suggestions, all - if I end up going solo, I might just spend a couple days doing some local flying first, pattern and a short hop or two, just to familiarize myself with the panel, see the normal temp ranges, etc.

I think the nav and weather planning pieces will be fine if I've started to develop (the normal, cautious) trust in the airplane. As Gary mentioned, afternoon winds are almost always unpleasant this time of year, over much of the route, so I'm going to be looking for an early departure.

I expect to be departing KWHP, and I could either hop north toward Palmdale or head out the Banning or even Cajon Pass to start. Flight following, yes please!

my opinion

If you are leaving KWHP, I would think it makes the most sense to head north and then east through the desert. Going through the LA basin means you have to deal with all the traffic, haze, etc and almost surely requires talking a lot to flight following. Going north then east, I would guess flight following would not be nearly as busy. JMHO

Agreed - Fom Whiteman it's a quick retreat out of the LA area if you simply run north through the Newhall Pass. This dumps you into the high desert and from there it's easy flying to ABQ.

I am with Gary Sobek fly to KSJN then to ABQ. Two hops and you are home. The only difference is I am not a fan of the banning pass (seems more bumpy to me but no big deal). I depart KCCB hop over the hills to HEC, EED, DRK then land and talk to the friendly folks at KSJN. Cheep fuel nice folks and the first stop for MANY of the SoCal folks on there way east. Then all you have is a 140 mile hop and you are home. Easy. Leave eairly and you will have a blast. Not sure why but I love the flight from here to KSJN. I suppose it is the first hop on the way to OSH and the last hop on the way home.

Four years ago I flew to OSH for the first time (I had never been out of California before that). I was nervous beyond belief. EVERYONE told me just one flight at a time, you can do it. You know what? They were correct!

Do not think of it as a trip from where you are leaving from all the way to ABQ (or whatever your destination is) just think of it as a flight from Whitman to CCB (for an example) then to HEC then EED. If at that time you are tired then make a right at EED and land 25 miles later at KHII. Park at Desert Sky FBO and walk the 50' to the BBQ and have lunch. By the way the folks at Desert Sky are fantastic. Then get back in your plane and head to KSJN for fuel. Or another idea fuel at KHII then direct to KABQ. Short hop to KHII get fuel have lunch get that first hop and confidence under your belt the off to KABQ. Easy and fun with a good lunch thrown in.

Heck by that time you will probably be thinking KOSH is not that far one flight at a time so I will stop by there, which would be a great idea

Any way you can do it and you WILL have fun. I am an average pilot on my best day. With some but not a great amount of X Country experience. If I can make it to OSH twice (going again this year for a third time) and Montana twice you can do it. Listen to the experienced dudes (Gary Sobek etc) that say one flight at a time. It really works. Not to mention this list and any list you might be on where you live are a GREAT place for help. I had problems on my first trip to OSH. Got discouraged a few times and the folks over on the SoCal RV list helped me out and got me through it. They helped me figure out a couple small issues and I had a great time.

In the unlikely event you have issues there is help available. Heck one time I made a precautionary landing at some crop dusters field. No RV or experimental folks there but I had more help than I knew what to do with. They had me back in the air in about 30 minutes and refused to let me pay for there help. In my limited experience pilots are always willing to help pilots.

OK I have rambled on to long. Do it and have a blast!

NM Doug said:

...if I end up going solo, I might just spend a couple days doing some local flying first, pattern and a short hop or two, just to familiarize myself with the panel, see the normal temp ranges, etc.

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Right on Doug! The cross-country is no big deal - learning the airplane is the trick. The less "standard" the plane is (mostly instrumentation) the more time you should spend getting to know it on the ground. I always hate having more than one first at a time. For example, first time at an airport, first cross-wind landing, first high-density altitude landing/takeoff, etc... are not a big deal individually - all at the same time becomes more stressful - for me, at least.

I'd get a handful of local flights in before I set out cross country - part of that would be enough landings to feel comfortable.

Planning coming along

The planning is shaping up well thanks to many good suggestions - thanks! I am looking at planned stops at KHII and KSJN enroute to KABQ or KAEG (still trying to get into a T-hangar at KAEG).

I'll get to KHII too early for BBQ (this time), but it will be a good short first leg to build confidence. I'll stop long enough to refuel/visually verify fuel consumption, stretch my legs, and recheck how the winds and weather are looking. A little longer on the ground at KSJN for fuel, a light bite, and another weather check.

If the midday winds in Albuquerque pick up more than expected, leaving me out of my crosswind comfort range and wanting to finish the trip the next morning, any recommendations for where to overnight? Some possibilities would be Winslow, Holbrook, or St. John's.

On a side note, N64GH...another question for you - I'll send you a PM.

NM Doug said:

If the midday winds in Albuquerque pick up more than expected, leaving me out of my crosswind comfort range and wanting to finish the trip the next morning, any recommendations for where to overnight? Some possibilities would be Winslow, Holbrook, or St. John's.

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St. Johns always has the cheapest 100LL in area. I can't remember the guys name that runs the airport but he is very friendly.

The one and only time I stopped at Holbrook (several years ago and on a Saturday), I had to wait more than an hour for someone to show up to sell me some fuel (nice person though).

NM Doug said:

If the midday winds in Albuquerque pick up more than expected, leaving me out of my crosswind comfort range and wanting to finish the trip the next morning, any recommendations for where to overnight? Some possibilities would be Winslow, Holbrook, or St. John's.

On a side note, N64GH...another question for you - I'll send you a PM.

Click to expand...

http://www.airnav.com/airport/P14/ scroll down.... looks like .4 from airport.

I've landed at all three of the airports you listed

Winslow is the one I would pick. Landed there MANY times fuel always available, reasonable airport elevation (compared to Flagstaff). Stayed overnight there in a motel and it was fine. It seems to have normal small town/city facilities and services. Holbrook runway was rough at the time as I recall and the area had that depressed no mans feeling about it. St. Johns was fine it had a wilderness mountain area feel about it I never considered staying there either, may be fine. If the motel is still there I personally would stay at Sedona, AZ where you could walk out the gate to the restaurant and Motel (I heard things may have changed there so it would have to be checked but it was good. Prescott works as well the motel is across the highway from the end of the east west runway (airport pickup when we were there - as always check), good airport restaurant (models hanging from the ceiling, photos on the walls, plain but decent food) but it puts you farther away from Albuquerque.

The great thing is I read into your message that you are planning and developing some confidence about completing the task as an adventure rather than a dreaded one. Good luck - millions just like us have done it before.

Bob Axsom

Winslow sounds like a good choice, especially if I have to stop to get out of worsening winds. I'll save the mesa at Sedona for sometime in the fall - fall afternoons out here make for gorgeous flying.

Well, I have my airline ticket out to SoCal...we're planning to do a demo flight the morning of the 21st and then, if things are looking good, on to the pre-purchase inspection. I've already had a lot of email with one of the two A&Ps who will be doing the inspection, and I'm looking forward to it. My current best guess for a flight date back to ABQ, if things go well, is around Thursday the 26th.

Thanks, all, for the suggestions and encouragement.