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Most RV hours flown in a single day or nonstop.

M

mcjon77

Well Known Member
Hi guys,

One of the things that has always impressed me and inspires me is reading the trip reports that you guys post.

That leads to my two questions:
1) What is the most time you have spent flying your RV in a single day? When planing for these long cross countries, what are your personal hourly limits?

2) What is the most time (not distance) you have spent in the air non-stop? We always hear stories about guys installing aux fuel tanks for extra range. I have always wanted to know how long you can last before you need to land for fuel/rest/potty break. Does your RV have bigger tanks than you?:D

Thanks for your help and info.
 
I've heard of folks doing much more than this.. but my "numbers" are.. 1280nm (Albuquerque, NM - Charlotte, NC)... something like 8 hrs flying time (don't remember exact number)..

Yes, my plane has bigger tanks (they're standard, no aux).. than what I want to sit in it.. I'm about done at about 4 hrs..
 
mcjon77 said:
Hi guys,

One of the things that has always impressed me and inspires me is reading the trip reports that you guys post.

That leads to my two questions:
1) What is the most time you have spent flying your RV in a single day? When planing for these long cross countries, what are your personal hourly limits?

2) What is the most time (not distance) you have spent in the air non-stop? We always hear stories about guys installing aux fuel tanks for extra range. I have always wanted to know how long you can last before you need to land for fuel/rest/potty break. Does your RV have bigger tanks than you?:D

Thanks for your help and info.
Click to expand...

1) Most in a single day was just over eight (8) hours.

2) Most non-stop without landing for fuel or potty break has been just over 4 hours. I have STOCK RV-6 tanks. When I landed, I still had 47-minutes fuel till dry tanks left based on fuel burn for that tank(s).

There is now 2,290 hobbs hours on my RV-6.
 
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Longest flying day was about 11.25 hours in the air (three or four stops). South central Florida to Colorado. I don't plan that as typical. I am guessing 6-8 hours flying is closer to average.
 
OSH to CA

Last year we flew from OSH to San Jose, CA in one day. I remember Forrest Gumps line going thru my head. "I'm done flying now." It was a grind and I won't likely do that again.
 
On most all of our cross country trips, our longest leg is typically the last leg of the trip: St. John (AZ) to SoCAL: ~2.7-3.4 hours depending on the headwind. After that, I see that the majority of our legs are 2.2-2.7 hours. Our comfort zone limit is ~3.5hrs.

Note: All hours are Hobbs hours...e.g. 7 hours on the hobbs could easily be minimum a 9 hour day on the watch with fuel stops).

Longest Single Day Trips (with good reason, NOT the norm):
Ft. Pierce (FL) to Goodland (KS): 10.0 hours with Bryan & Sherri Wood behind us, and us behind Vicki & Jim "Jimmyb" Baker :)
SoCAL to Chicago (IL): 9.7 hours (Staying in front of a weather 'front')
SoCAL to St. Louis (MO): 9.2 hours (I was solo)

Longest Non-stop (with 45-50 knot tailwinds at 13.5K):
Lake of the Ozarks (MO) to Cross City (FL): 4.2 hours

We don't have a real personal limit since we'll keep flying if the weather is good AND we are not tired (Oxygen on-board works wonders). When tired, we land.

Heading east, Tuppergal and I typically are happy using Dallas (TX) as a "Good Days Flying" coming in around 7-8 hours on the hobbs (9-10 hours on the watch).

A comfortable (a no-brainer) is two (2) 3-hour legs and call it a day. On a side note, we've flown well over 1000+ hours cross country with Gary Sobek: My cross country mentor :D

I look forward to seeing what others chime in with ;) Rosie
 
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16+ hours in one day. Taunton, MA to Chino, CA. KTAN-0A3-KXBP-KSJN-KCNO My buddy Debris (Scott Farner, RV-7A) and I flew that trip in formation. Good times. That was last spring.

Back in April, I did Cincinnati, OH to Palo Alto, CA (12.0 hours westbound).

In May, I did Palo Alto, CA to KY (10.2 hours eastbound).

I've done CA to OSH (and vice versa) in one day...several times. Love these airplanes!
 
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Rosie said:
On most all of our cross country trips, our longest leg is typically the last leg of the trip: St. John (AZ) to SoCAL: ~2.7-3.4 hours depending on the headwind. After that, I see that the majority of our legs are 2.2-2.7 hours. Our comfort zone limit is ~3.5hrs.

Note: All hours are Hobbs hours...e.g. 7 hours on the hobbs could easily be minimum a 9 hour day on the watch with fuel stops).


Ft. Pierce (FL) to Goodland (KS): 10.0 hours with Bryan & Sherri Wood behind us, and us behind Jimmyb :)
Rosie
Click to expand...

That was a great day, wasn't it?

Folks, I was schooled in cross country traveling on that day from the two masters. (Rosie and Jimmy B.)
 
I feel insignificant when in the long range company of Rosie and Dan C.
After 9 years and 820+ hours in my RV-6, my longest day was this
years inbound trip to OSH in our RV-8A. 7.9 hours, Chino, CA - Provo, UT -
Alliance, NE - Fairmont, MN. Even with oxygen, that was a long day. Longest
single leg in the -6 and -8a has been 3.5 hours. As Rosie stated, 2 three hour legs
and a nap by the pool is a great day. Geez but in the RV that is almost half way
across the country.
 
Eugen OR to Porterville, CA in 3.8 was the longest so far last January. In running LOP, I can pull the fuel flow back but the speed bleeds off a bit. I'd be interested in figuring out max range (not endurance) for LOP sometime.
 
Wow, seeing Dan's numbers there just makes my butt hurt!

My longest endurance single leg was 4:45 from Thermal, CA to Junction, TX; had 6 gal left after cruising at 11,500 (RV-8 std tanks). Usually though, 4 hours is a good limit for me. My longest day was around 9 hours or so, Houston - Santa Theresa - San Diego - Palm Springs. I'm sure I could do better if only I had an autopilot...

Somewhat off topic, but this thread made me re-live the pain of a ferry flight I did back in 1990 while working for a Dallas aircraft dealer/broker. Get up in the morning, catch an airline flight to San Jose, CA to do a pre-buy on a Piper Arrow. Arrived around noon and the inspection wasn't done until around 5pm; then I launched for Dallas. The sun set while stopped in Palm Springs for gas/chow. Fuel stop El Paso at 0'dark:30. Sunrise while descending into Dallas Love. Solo, no autopilot, awake for 24 hrs with 10 hrs in the seat flying through the night. It scares me now to think back to how tired and dangerous I was trying to stay awake thru the DFW TCA to land at Love. I'll not ever be doing that again... if you're gonna do long haul, all day trips, get some good sleep the night before.
 
Longest day: Battle Ground, Washington to Iowa City, Iowa. 7 hours 40 minutes with one stop in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Longest flight: Battle Ground, WA to Santa Paula, CA nonstop in 4 hours 10 minutes. Return flight in 4 hours 8 minutes.

Dan Miller
RV-8 640 hours
 
FWIW..

Jon Johansen of Australia has had non-stop 14 hour legs in his -4, at night, from Honolulu to LA. Yes, he has 18 hours of fuel aboard!!:eek:

You can go to www.vansaircraft.com and read about him there.

Regards,
 
Longest one day:

Leaving Winter Haven at 8:00 am, go down to Key West, then return to Portsmouth, Ohio at 8:00 pm. Spent about two hours at Key West and several fuel stops on the way. > 25 kts headwind and bumpy for most of the trip from Key West to Portsmouth. Here is the APRS track:

Location%20of%20KD8IIR%20-%20Google%20Maps%20APRS%20-%20Google%20Chrome%204222009%20102249%20PM.jpg


Longest flight without fuel stop: 4 hrs from Dustin, Florida to Portsmouth, Ohio. I usually stop every 2-3 hrs.
 
As a passenger 9 hours in the back of an RV-8 from Savannah to LOE. As a pilot 7.5 hrs in the RV-10 from Savannah to Osh this year.
 
I've made the Anoka County (Minneapolis) to Fort Myers, FL and back trip about 7 times so far. It is a little over 1200 n.m., and the longest hobbs was 9.6 hours flying northwest bound against 20 to 30 knot headwinds the whole way, three legs. I believe the longest of those three legs was 4:15 in the air, being the first leg from FMY to somewhere in northern Alabama.

The quickest I've made that trip was a one stopper on the way south, in Tennessee. That flight was something like two 3:45 legs (hobbs). My typical cruise is about 7.3 gph, so even my 4:15 air time flight left me about an hour's fuel.
 
Osh Kosh '09

Battleground-Three Forks MT-Aberdeen SD-Dodge Cnty WI-Osh - including an hour hold at Fisk = 10.5 hours.
Departed at 5am PST and was parked in HBC at 7:00pm Central.
Long day.
 
Wow, some of you guys must have iron butts.:)

Junction Texas to Chico California basically following I-10 to I-5 in 8 hours. It was one of the few times I was lusting for an auto pilot. Endurance flying is not my thing.
 
I'm not even going to TRY competing for the longest day award - nobody is going to beat Smoky - but I'll contribute that I am comfortable planning an 8 hour flying day (8 hours of flight time), and anything above that catches my attention in the planning process. Won't say I won't go longer, but I'll make sure I have extra rest beforehand, and won't have difficult decision-making at the end of a long day.

I don't worry about leg length (I'm also comfortable using a "piddle pack") but consider five hours to be the longest I'd stretch fuel - and that would have to be with a high altitude cruise to get the fuel flow way down. Generally, i want to be on the ground at four hours of normal flying (and rarely go that long).

Paul
 
Longest day was about 8 hours of flying - lots of back and forth seaching for a path through weather. Longest leg just approached 4 hours which was at the limit of fuel - in fact less reserve than I like.

Typical leg planned is 3 hours. Posterior leg length duration alarm automatically kicks in around then if not proceeded by the "shouldn't have drank that second cup/fluid overflow imminent" warning flag.
 
Piddle Pack Use?

OK...Paul brought it up, so it must be fair game...

I have a two-hour bladder and a four-hour ship...
Much thought has gone into how to adapt to four hours of flight. Without getting into PG-13 territory, how does one go about using a piddle pack while wearing a five-point restraint? I am unwilling to release the harness while in flight.
 
tinman said:
Without getting into PG-13 territory, how does one go about using a piddle pack while wearing a five-point restraint? I am unwilling to release the harness while in flight.
Click to expand...

Turn on the AP, Release the harness....slide to the right a little, sort of stand up...and do your business. The stick is waaay more of an issue than the harness.

I picked up a box of these...

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/ipeeSuperslab100.php

They work great, although I've only used them twice.
 
Single state record?

There are times in our lives when needing to return a favor will bite you in the butt.
A buddy, who had previously given me a ride to relocate my RV, needed a ride to SoCal to pick up car.

Departed Montague, CA (SIY)
Picked up passenger in Auburn, CA (AUN)
Dropped off passenger in Hemet, CA (HMT)
Fuel in Oroville, CA (OVE)
Return to Montague, CA (SIY)

1300 miles, 8.5 Tach time, longest leg 3 hrs.

California is one long state but I am sure a Texan or two will chime in here.
 
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Pacing

My longest day was 9.5 hours, South Carolina to Phx, 2 fuel stops.

Longest single flight 5.25 hours, 200+ kt ground speed at altitude, leaned to 7.4 gph. (relief bottle on board)

I usually plan for 3 hour legs. Good for the butt, bladder and back. Also smart CRM methodology.
 
jbDC9 said:
...Solo, no autopilot, awake for 24 hrs with 10 hrs in the seat flying through the night. It scares me now to think back to how tired and dangerous I was trying to stay awake thru the DFW TCA to land at Love. I'll not ever be doing that again... if you're gonna do long haul, all day trips, get some good sleep the night before...
Click to expand...

Also non-RV PIC time, and also not going to do it again: A one day hop from Fargo, ND to Napa, Ca to drop of my dad, then down to Lancaster, CA. 13.5 hrs actual flight time in a Cardinal. As a newly minted pilot, I must have thought myself invincible. Felt great until the last 30 minutes, then I just hit a wall. Thank God the winds were light at Fox that night!
 
Turn on the AP, Release the harness....slide to the right a little, sort of stand up...and do your business. The stick is waaay more of an issue than the harness.


We had a gent here who was trying to do the same in an open-cockpit biplane. He unbuckled and next thing he knew, he was floating out of the cockpit...caught himself on the canopy rails on the way out. He thinks that he must have bumped the stick as he squirmed...
He went from needing to do #1 to trying not to do #2 :)
 
great little planes

Longest day 10 hours on the return trip from OSH 09; Augusta GA (KAGS) - McAlester OK (MLC) - Show Low AZ (KSOW). 5 hours each leg at 14,500 and O2. Could have added 2.5 more hours and made it to Compton CA (KCPM) but that would have been insane. Would not do it without Fuel Flow meter, XM weather, AP and O2.
 
Rosie said:
Longest Single Day Trips (with good reason, NOT the norm):
Ft. Pierce (FL) to Goodland (KS): 10.0 hours with Bryan & Sherri Wood behind us, and us behind Vicki & Jim "Jimmyb" Baker :)
;) Rosie
Click to expand...

Hey, I think Deb and I were part of that same flight, along with the Ziliks. ;) Wheels up time in Ft. Pierce was 8:20 am EST and wheels down in Goodland was 6:01 pm MST. Add two hours for the time change and it was just shy of 12 hours with stops. In reality that was about a 14-hour day when you figure in the pre-takeoff time and the time spent putting the planes away etc., when we arrived in Goodland. Actual flying time was right at 10 hours.

Our “personal best” single flight was 4.25 hours with the Ziliks coming back from OSH in 2008. Deb was not a big fan of that flight. This is why we try to limit our legs to 3 hours, besides it’s all about taking the time to explore new places and not just rushing from here to there.

I’d like to add another catergory to this list “Most Grueling Flight.”
Mine was a three day flight from 9/10/08 to 9/12/08. I was trying to get home from Seadrift, TX and outrun the hurricane that was headed right towards me. Problem was, a big low pressure system to the north wouldn’t let me out of Texas. The bad weather only let me get as far as Ozona, TX on the first day.

Second day (my 3-year first flight anniversary) wasn’t any better, mostly MVFR and some VFR. My best option was to go west towards El Paso and try to do an end around the front. The ceiling was low and over terrain I had never flown before. I eventually worked my way around El Paso and up to Alamosa, CO. When I landed there, it was raining. I decided to go over the rock pile while I still had daylight. Pueblo was reporting clear, but there were clouds hanging over Mosca Pass….off I went. When I got over the pass I had to go above the clouds to clear the rocks. Pueblo was still reporting clear even though I was now on top of a layer. About 10 minutes out from Pueblo it opened up (probably not the wisest choice that day). Made it into Pueblo and knew that I was done for the day. When the line guy came up to the plane he took one look at me and said, “Man you look tired.” He was right. While I only flew 5.5 hours that day, it took 12 hours to get to Pueblo from Ozona, TX

Next day I couldn’t get out of Pueblo until 1:00 in the afternoon. Even then I had to land at Meadow Lake airport and wait for the weather to clear before I could get over Monument Hill. I was only 1 hour from Front Range out of Pueblo, yet it took me all day to get home.
 
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i have all the things needed to stay up, food, water, bottle, o2,music, AP, and comfortable seats.

Did 10.4 hrs with 3 stops from Flagstaff AZ to Stuart FL with nice tail winds.

longest leg in the 6 was 4.2 hrs from hartford ct to columbus co NC using all fuel except 30 minutes reserve.

the 6 is passing the 3,550 hr mark as we speak.
 
Hayward to Wright Patterson. Thats the flight I learned to appreciate the benifits of O2 even when below 12,000.
Started at crack of dawn and landed just as they turned the runway lights on.
Tom
RV3
 
My longest flying day was from Kissimmee, FL. to Waukesha, WI in a Cherokee Cruiser 13 Hrs total with about 10 flying. In my 7A we flew from Page, AZ to East Troy, WI in 8 hrs 15 minutes with 7 hrs 10 minutes of actual cockpit time.

Roberta
 
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