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Your longest leg over water

V

Vlad

Well Known Member
After reading the thread Ditching an RV... I am wondering what was your longest leg over the water? RV or others, single or multi. Were you experiencing engine "auto-rough"? What kind of gear/floating device did you have onboard? I crossed Gulf of Maine 100 nm, Lake Michigan 76 nm, a body of Atlantic Ocean enroute to Bahamas 90 nm and Yakutat Bay of 17 nm. Only crossing the latter I "heard" couple missing pulses from the engine.
Hi Mark Albery :D
 
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Bahamas

A little under 200NM over open ocean on the leg from Santo Domingo to Great Exuma (465nm).
 
Same

Same as above. Living in St. Croix if going somewhere else it was overwater (Cessna 182A). Life vests only. If you wanted the coast guard to be quick in coming, you declared "Help, going down and all my illegal drugs are gonna get wet!" Down there they seem more interested in drug interdiction than rescues.
 
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I used to do a lot of fire detection flights in a Cessna 185 on floats. The engine "auto rough" would kick in shortly after finding a big fire and the spotter wanted to circle overhead to get the co-ordinates.

On floats though, "auto rough" would turn off when flying over water ;)
 
In the past few weeks I've cut across the Gulf of Mexico up near the Florida panhandle and gone feet wet to the Keys. Probably 30 minutes at most, each pass. The most nerve wracking however, was cruising in severe clear for an hour over a solid layer that extended down to 200 AGL yesterday leaving Perry, Fla. I was watching the engine like a hawk, and sure breathed a sigh of relief when the edge of the layer gave way to CAVU.
 
Los Mochis to La Paz across the Sea of Cortez. Roughly 130NM. Wore life jackets but had no raft.
 
80 nm in a Katana from Belgium to England over the Channel (and back two days later. We were wearing life vests.
Lot's of ships in the channel - could ditch right next two one, if necessary
 
over water

I might have you all beat. A little over 6 hours straight in a super cub. Alaska waters. On flights like this you don't drink much liquids for obvious reasons
 
DC10-30 LAX to PPT

I used to fly a route from LAX to PPT, it was 4105 Miles over water. It was always fun during monsoon season, we had to fly the NDB approach in a non radar environment. All three engines always performed flawlessly.
 
Ask Jon Johanson ...

... who flew his -4 from Honolulu to Santa Paula, CA - 22+ Hr.

HFS
 
MYLS to KFPR 363 NM

My longest over water flight is just under 363 Nautical Miles. 363 NM is the distance from Stella Maris (MYLS) to Ft. Pierce (KFPR) and includes the distance from shore to airports so actual over water is a few nautical miles less.

dc52816c-d73f-470a-bee7-6b9a202d231f_zps58887a92.png
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You can read about it here. They say that the mind is the 2nd thing to go and I cannot remember the 1st. I forget the actual number but think there were around 11 RVs make that trip.

I bet Rosie can top the over water distance in an RV with a passenger. I know no other RV to fly more over water than Jon Johanson and I think his longest leg was Hawaii to California.

Longest over water in a 747 was Los Angles to Tokyo 5,474 miles but I was not PIC.
 
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Over water

It would appear that Bill Harrelson holds the all time record for nonstop hours in EAB. 38.5 hours Guam-Jacksonville. He left South America to fly nonstop over the Antarctic but it appears the may be returning to SA.
North pole has been done in SX300 may years ago. But of course that water is mostly frozen.
 
jthocker said:
A little under 200NM over open ocean on the leg from Santo Domingo to Great Exuma (465nm).
Click to expand...


Me too!

Even jets and turboprops miss out over the water. I can hear them running rough any time I'm feet wet.

Longest legs are LA to Honolulu. Long swim at ETP.
 
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RV6_flyer said:
My longest over water flight is just under 363 Nautical Miles. 363 NM is the distance from Stella Maris (MYLS) to Ft. Pierce (KFPR) and includes the distance from shore to airports so actual over water is a few nautical miles less.

dc52816c-d73f-470a-bee7-6b9a202d231f_zps58887a92.png
[/URL][/IMG]

You can read about it here. They say that the mind is the 2nd thing to go and I cannot remember the 1st. I forget the actual number but think there were around 11 RVs make that trip.

I bet Rosie can top the over water distance in an RV with a passenger. I know no other RV to fly more over water than Jon Johanson and I think his longest leg was Hawaii to California.

Longest over water in a 747 was Los Angles to Tokyo 5,474 miles but I was not PIC.
Click to expand...

Wow how I missed reading about that trip. BTW Gary how and from where you got the Cuba chart?
 
Doesn't count!

Osaka - Memphis (RJBB-KMEM) about 6,256NM. 4,690NM over water. MD11
I like the -4, Hawaii-West Coast!:)
 
5100 miles. Hawaii to Sydney. MD-11

450 yards across Ohio river in RV-4. (No life vest, but I did hold my breath....)

DM
 
Ft Pierce FL to Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos
KFPR > MBGT; about 630 nm in the LongEZ.
 
6028Nm from Andrews AFB (KADW) to Kabul Afghanistan (OAKB) while riding in the back of a C17. But piloting a small airplane, both SEL & MEL, it has been 891NM IFR non-stop from Tamiami, FL (KTMB) to Aguadilla, PR (TJBQ). We have done this trip, back & forth, 3 times. For longest over water only flight it was 391Nm from Aguadilla, PR (TJBQ) to Curacao, NA (TNCC) back and forth several times in a C404.

We wear high quality life vests from the time we get in the airplane until we shut the engine down. The vests have a small bag with some survival gear, waterproof GPS PLB and a waterproof marine VHF transceiver all strapped to the vest. True to form, as soon as we are outside visual range of land I start to hear all kinds of odd noises from the engine and airplane. These noises continue until we are back in sight of land when they all magically stop.

You can read about this, and other trips at our web page since my wife likes to take photos and writes about the trip.

:cool:
 
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Quantas flight from LAX to Sydney was about 7500 miles. I was in the back trying to sleep the 14 hours it took. :)

My longest flight over water is from Long Beach to Catalina Island.
 
Not Exotic

Naples to Key West ... 90+nm .. lunch @ HRC. Well worth the trip .. no auto-rough!
 
Sitka to Ketchican.
Also did Lake Michigan and, true to 'auto rough' form, 10 miles out the #3 EGT went nuts. It was so erratic it had to be a dying probe, but it wasn't easy to convince myself!
 
Cuba bound

I have yet to cross a body of water greater than gliding distance but am holding out to fly to Cuba if it ever opens up.
I figure a good cigar to celebrate my first water crossing would be appropriate.
Pat Garboden
Katy, TX
RV9A
N942PT
 
Aruba

2009 Flew the RV-8 to Aruba for a wedding, 542 nm over the Bahamas to Provo but there are lots of landing spots on the way. From Provo to Aruba is 569 nm but really only the later half is over water so 330 nm over blue water with no landing sites anywhere. I carried a PLB, raft and wore a life jacket.

Write up is here:
http://rv-8.blogspot.com/2009/06/illusion-of-utility.html

Bill Judge
N84WJ, RV-8, 1097 hrs.
 
Open water, flown by Me & Tuppergal, Mike "Keys" Brewton and Andrew "Sharkbait" Brandt as a 3-ship:

Longest ever in the RV: Anguilla to Providenciales, ~563nm:

Longest_Overwater_Leg_03.jpg


Actual Screen Shot from FlightAware:

Longest_Overwater_Leg_03a.jpg


Actual Screen Shot approaching Grand Turk (MBGT) into Providenciales (MBPV).
The outbound leg from Grand Turk to Puerto Plata (MDPP, Dominican Republic) weeks earlier is depicted in Grey off the left wing:

Longest_Overwater_Leg_04.jpg


And nearest airports (well, sort of near...)

Longest_Overwater_Leg_04a.jpg


Second Longest overwater leg (3-ship): Bonaire (TNCB) to Grenada (TGPY), ~400nm with Me & Tuppergal, Mike "Keys" Brewton and Indira & Chris "Jailbird" Kleen:

Longest_Overwater_Leg_01a.jpg


Actual Screen Shot (east is up):

Longest_Overwater_Leg_01.jpg


On the ramp in Grenada: The FedEx Pilot, Rampie, Indira, Jailbird and Keys

Longest_Overwater_Leg_04b.jpg


Honorable mention; A 3-ship from Santo Domingo to Curaçao (~370nm) with Me & Tuppergal, Mike "Keys" Brewton and Indira & Chris "Jailbird" Kleen:

Longest_Overwater_Leg_02.jpg


The "Welcome Wagon" including the Director of Tourism for Curaçao (4th from the left):

Longest_Overwater_Leg_04c.jpg


With lots of Islands below us: Homestead (X51) to Providenciales (MBPV) at ~500nm...several times :)

We'll be back on "Island Time" come April 2015 ;-) Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Flying from the UK, you can't go very far in a straight line before the landscape is very flat and wet.

My personal longest overwater was the 520 nm from Egalsstadir in Iceland to Wick in Scotland with every conceivable survival aid except a spare engine. You do have the Faeroe Islands half way as an alternate if needed.

I've also flown the 600nm from Ketchican to Olympia WA, which is mostly over water, but it doesn't really count when you're always in gliding range of land.
 
Mainland to Nantucket - 20 n. miles.

Most of my acro is out over the ocean just offshore.
 
I sure enjoyed reading about your trip, thanks so much for sharing all that.

bigginsking said:
2009 Flew the RV-8 to Aruba for a wedding, 542 nm over the Bahamas to Provo but there are lots of landing spots on the way. From Provo to Aruba is 569 nm but really only the later half is over water so 330 nm over blue water with no landing sites anywhere. I carried a PLB, raft and wore a life jacket.

Write up is here:
http://rv-8.blogspot.com/2009/06/illusion-of-utility.html

Bill Judge
N84WJ, RV-8, 1097 hrs.
Click to expand...
 
You guys are all pikers

Bill Randolph, RV-8, Honolulu, Hawaii to Watsonville, California, May 26, 2005.

That leg was slightly longer than his run from Fortaleza, Brazil to Dakar, Senegal on March 16, 2005.

You can read about his trip around the world in 2005 here:

http://www.eaa119.org/node/24
 
South Pole

Bill harrelson reached the South Pole but turned around and returned to Chile because of strong headwinds.
 
Manchester England to Barbados.

Mid point, around 1000nm from any rock sticking up out of the water.

Concentrates the mind.

Not an RV, an A330, but still makes you think :D
 
Vlad said:
After reading the thread Ditching an RV... I am wondering what was your longest leg over the water? RV or others, single or multi. Were you experiencing engine "auto-rough"? What kind of gear/floating device did you have onboard? I crossed Gulf of Maine 100 nm, Lake Michigan 76 nm, a body of Atlantic Ocean enroute to Bahamas 90 nm and Yakutat Bay of 17 nm. Only crossing the latter I "heard" couple missing pulses from the engine.
Hi Mark Albery :D
Click to expand...

Especially at night:D
 
I've cut the corners on the Gulf so many times I can't remember anymore, and flying over Galveston Bay for three decades, you're frequently out of gliding distance to shore....but at least the water is warm!

Now when I cross Lake Tahoe, realizing that there really isn't any place to land on shore either (rocks and trees), it does make me think just how COLD and DEEP that lake is..... ;)
 
1968 in an A6 Intruder from California to Hawaii. A little over 2000 nm. Crew of two, two engines, two ejection seats. Escorted by an A3 tanker. Now, in my RV8 I stay within gliding distance of land. Older, not much wiser, but don't care to tempt fate.
 
Overwater Flying

Well for me it was in a light Twin...

From Sydney,Australia to Vancouver, Canada..

In a B-777-200LR..;-)

The airplane could have gone all the way to Toronto...

That's a lot of water...I couldn't feel my back end after a short while so I cannot imagine what it must have been like for John Johassen when he did it in his -4...

Bruno
[email protected]
 
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No kidding! :) And without the ability to get up and walk around a bit to get the blood moving again...No bathroom, no "bunk"... simply incredible feat...

RV-4 said:
I couldn't feel my back end after a short while so I cannot imagine what it must have been like for John Johassen when he did it in his -4...

Bruno
[email protected]
Click to expand...
 
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