frankh

frankh

Well Known Member
So i get to retake my IFR checkride on Monday....Should be a slam dunk as it was a very simple thing I screwed up..

However..My Wife announces a cross country trip she would like to take to southern Utah as our friends have a rental can, car and plan on visiting the Grand Canyon.

OK fine I thought...Then, wait its a 800 S mile one way trip...Now I know that is exactly what this airplane is designed for, its been running great, has 115 hours on it so why not ..oh and the weather looks like it will be VFR.

I gues I have never been more than 250 miles in an airplane before and it seems an awful long way!..What is my problem?..Rite of passage maybe?

Frank 7a
 
Sounds like one of two things.

1. You are low time and have not done something like this yet. (It is new to be able to do this and you are not use to thinking outside the box.)

2. You are high time and have done this many times. (After doing trips like this many times, you are bored with flying.)
 
I used to own an Aircoupe and took a trip from Fargo, to Seattle, and then to phoenix and back to Fargo - all VFR. Was it worth it? Without a doubt - something I'll remember for a very very long time.

Bring a camera, you won't regret the long trip.

Ryan
 
I've flown a 100kt airplane coast to coast 3 times and from SoCal to Alaska and back, and I've found that a LOOOONG cross-country is just a series of short ones. Go for it, but make sure you have plenty of time though, as the weather has no schedule...
 
Good thoughts

Definatly and outside the box deal, I have 630 hours but the fastest thing I've flown did 100kts which didn't exactly lend itself to long trips, it didn't like to get up high over the terrain either.

Besides I've been dreaming about taking my bird back home to OSH in July and thats like 2000miles from Western Oregon..better get used to it huh?..:)

Frank 7a
 
No problem!

frankh said:
!..What is my problem?..Rite of passage maybe?

Frank 7a
Click to expand...

Hi Frank,
Your problem is really a non-problem but the fact that you've never been on a trip this long. As was said earlier, a long trip is just a series of short trips in reality. Lay out the sectionals and draw a long line from A to B and figure a half-way gas stop. Then keep up with exactly where you are (better yet, let the wife do it or help you navigate). Once you do this, you'll be thinking of going to Alaka or Sun-n-fun :D

That's exactly what these little rockets do best, eat up miles fast ;)

Rgerads,
 
Good luck with the trip Frank

I think that I had more then 150 hours, before I left the Willamette valley (that's in Oregon) without my instructor by my side. I flew all the way to Wallowa (Eastern Oregon) to visit my Mother. I was very tense the whole way.
The best approach is to talk to more experienced pilots that have flow the path that you are planing and get there advise. As longranger said it is just a bunch of short flights.

By the way I will be flying to OSH the first time this year (in my new RV9A) and a couple of friends will be going with me. We will be leaving from the Portland Area on the Saturday before and your welcome to join up with us.

Kent
 
Go for it

20+ years ago my buddy and I flew a Bellanca 7ACA Champ, 60hp, 2cyl, Franklin Eng, no electrical, no radio from Hemet, Ca to Lincoln, Ca and back. Round trip distance about 800 miles. Took us 4 days at an avg GS of 65 mph. What a blast. Like the others have said, just a bunch of small x-countrys. Although with the RV you'll make fewer stops. We had to stop every 2-2.5 hrs for fuel, at 65mph thats not very far.
 
Now that sounds like fun!

kentb said:
By the way I will be flying to OSH the first time this year (in my new RV9A) and a couple of friends will be going with me. We will be leaving from the Portland Area on the Saturday before and your welcome to join up with us.

Kent
Click to expand...

Is it a pair of RV's going?..Lets see if that will work, I'm definatly interested.

Thanks

Frank
 
Use EAA flight planner, its pretty easy to use(I think its better than AOPA for VFR trips) and you can print out trip tickets for the entire flight. I do this for flights that I have not been on. You can also go to google earth and look at all the airports to which you will be flying in. Like somebody else said it's just a series of short trips. And it will probably be the best trip of your life! I did Savannah to LOE last year and it was incredible! Read up on mountain flying though. Good luck on your IFR check ride!
 
Will do thanks

If i blow the IFR CR it would be a serious shame...I didn't understand what the DE was aking me to do on a stupid VOR approach (he was making it easy for me by giving me vectors to intercept the VOR outbound course...I turned back to the VOR...DUH!)...So I did the tricky approaches so this SHOULD be a breeze...I'm flying it twice (once with my CFI) before Monday just to make sure!

I'll probably fly the long trip IFR (assuming favourable victor airways) that way I'm always an emergency radio call away from help and if the weather goes South its less hassle..

Besides I need the experience..:)

Thanks for all your encouragement...I'll let you know where (IF) I'm stopping so if any of you are based where I'm going it would be great to say Hi.

Cheers

Frank
 
Fun Traveling

Hey Frank,

Have a great trip. Over the holidays the wife and I took our -8 from North Georgia to Austin, then to Albuquerque and then home. 2300 miles worth of fun. I installed the 496 in the back seat and she navigated and stayed on top of the weather the whole trip. Kept her interest up high and she learned alot about the 496 at the same time.

One suggestion. Use AirNav to help you flight plan for fuel purposes. It's got the cheapest prices in it's data base and will figure a flight plan showing different routes and how much you will save by going to specific airports. Coming home from ABQ in january, fuel at Double Eagle was $4.05/gal, ABQ was over $5.00. We stopped at 2O8 (Hinton) in Oklahome and KTKX (Kennett, MO) and fuel was $2.79 a gallon at both places. Both, wonderful stops I might add. KTKX had a free courtesy car that we got to use overnight. Great folks.
Take the plunge and enjoy your traveling machine.
 
two, maybe three RVs

frankh said:
Is it a pair of RV's going?..Lets see if that will work, I'm definatly interested.

Thanks

Frank
Click to expand...

Randy DeBauw will be flying his RV10 with his wife.
I will be flying my RV9A without my wife.
And I am trying to talk Larry Brons into taking his RV9A (it should be flying in one month).

Contact me at:
kent.d.byerley[at].tek.com
or
503-627-4045 (day)
503-651-3649 (night)

Kent

replace the [at] with @
 
Long Trips

Frank,
I had never flown anything faster than a C-172 for more than 2 hours before picking up a Long EZ in Pensacola. 6 hours later I was in Long Island, NY. 3 days later I was home in California.
Plan the trip well with reasonable legs. Set up redundant navigation and radios. Sit back and enjoy the view of this great country. Some good tunes help too.... :rolleyes:
Dave
 
<<What is my problem?..>>

I dunno, but you're not alone. A awful lot of guys are hesitant about long trips. When I ask my friends why they won't go, they really don't have an answer.

You say you've gone 250 miles in a 100 mph airplane, right? Sooo, you've done a 2.5 hr trip leg. Well, in your RV7, Utah is only two 2.5 hr legs. Does that give things a different slant?

<<Rite of passage maybe?>>

Yep. You're gonna love it.

Gotta tell a story. In the spring of 2000 I was flying the the little JN-4C replica to S&F, and stopped for lunch at Cross City. While I was eating one of the other diners started bitching about how he and his wife had left Dallas that morning in their RV-6, but they ran out of O2 someplace over MS and had to drop down into a headwind. The whole place broke up laughing when I told him I had no sympathy, as I had left south Alabama yesterday.
 
I've taken 1200 miles in an "ultralight" and enjoyed every minute of it. I look forward to cross country in anything that flys. The slower the better. The adventure is what is the fun part. There are great airports & people all over this country ready to help you if you have even an once of trouble.
 
Think of it this way - you built your RV one step at a time and eventually you got there. Same for very long x/c flights. I plan 2.5 to 3 hour legs and I just worry about my next fuel stop. I'll eventually get to the destination. Like everyone intimated - it's all about the getting there that is the fun part. If it wasn't you'd be flying commercial.

And with the RV, you can easily cross half of our continent in a day even if winds aren't the best.
 
My wife and I found this scenario to apply to us after we finished our plane. Example: "Hon, let's go to Boise for the weekend. (her) No, that's to much for a weekend. How about something closer? (me) Want to drive to see my parents 3 1/2 hours away? (her) Okay... (me) Wait a cottin picken minute here... Both will take us the same amount of time to travel so why not go to Idaho?"

There's just some kind of mental barrier that says crossing state lines and the like isn't something that you do for a weekend, but then that is why we built a fast airplane. Just plan a stop or two to stretch and keep from drinking iced tea before jumping in the plane. :eek:

Have fun on your trip,
 
Its a Magic Carpet!

You are gonna love that Magic Carpet. You won't believe how it eats up the miles. We left Central Texas, met some friends in Hinton OK in their RV, had lunch in Indiana, and flew over Niagria Falls that afternoon.

However the best trip was the first. The Tarantula Trek with four RV's. You can see it on Larry Pardue's website: http://n5lp.net/Tarant1.htm

We have been to the four corners of the US. Last long trip was from Texas to Florida to watch a shuttle launch.

You are gonna LOVE that airplane.

Good luck on the check ride Frank.
 
frankh said:
plan on visiting the Grand Canyon.

OK fine I thought...Then, wait its a 800 S mile one way trip...Now I know that is exactly what this airplane is designed for, its been running great, has 115 hours on it so why not ..oh and the weather looks like it will be VFR.

I gues I have never been more than 250 miles in an airplane before and it seems an awful long way!..What is my problem?..Rite of passage maybe?
Click to expand...


Frank, RVs are made for this stuff. I went from Memphis to Las Vegas last July in one long day, with fuel and food stops in Clinton, OK and Albuquerque, NM. The great circle distance was over 1200 NM. One the way back I spent a couple of days at the Grand Canyon (KGCN) and returned via Tucumcari, NM and Ft. Smith, AR.

I would suggest starting slowly, and planning 2.5 hour legs (400 NM in most RVs). Plan carefully but remain flexible. Take lots of pictures.

Over mountains it usually easier to fly on Victor airways, as they tend to follow the passes and you can be sure about altitude requirements by looking at the MEAs.

Avoid the hottest part of the day as much as possible (bumps).

Density altitude is a minor issue for RVs with our power/weight ratios but remember that on a hot day at an airport like KGCN, your groundspeed at liftoff/touchdown will be impresssively higher than you are used to.

You need to make this trip ;-D
 
I love taking cross country trips. I like seeing new stuff. I don't have any mountain experience so I can't speak on that but as for the cross country if you have a GPS and a chart you are never far from an airport. (at least out here in the central region). I know it may be different there but I hope you make the trip.

That's what we build for.
 
Frank, I wish I had an excuse right now like you do... Got some big trips planned again later this year and I just can't wait. Go for it!!

I had made big x-country trips before I built my RV (in spam cans), but it's definitely different now doing it in the tin can I built in my garage. There's a much more tangible sense of accomplishment. I get that even on local flights, acro flights, formation flights -- but there's something about tying the homebuilt plane down umpteen-hundred miles away from home that smacks of "I really did it!"

Have a great trip if you go, and remember you have lots of friends all over the place in case you run into trouble on the road.
 
Thanks Dan

Its almost a certainty (as is the IFR ticket I hope!) but I realised my Jepp subscription don't go that far so I guess i'll need a VFR sectional or three. WX is supposed to be VFR out that way for next week so shouldn't be an issue.

WX in the Willamette Valley usually does the same thing as down your way, i.e fog or crud that stacks up against the Cascades..I.e clear Eastwards....I.e not a problem with the ticket.

Ya I'm getting a little pshyced about the deal now..woohoo!
 
Freedom

Welcome to the freedom Frank! That's what traveling by RV really gives you. We have all been where you are, looking toward the first real step "out of the nest" so to speak. I started flying long cross-countries many years ago in my old, slow Yankee, VFR only....and spent a few nights on airport couches. The range and speed of the RV really make it easier to set off safely - you can reach lots of alternates with ease, and can get a Long way on one tank of gas - literally crossing the country in a day is not that hard.

I'm setting off for New Mexico tomorrow, and while the weather looks "challenging", having good situational awareness tools like GPS, moving maps and XM weather allows us me to make good decisions before I get into trouble....information is the key to staying comfortable for me!

A little nervousness about this new-found freedom is understandable - but as has been noted above, you will never be far from an RV'er if you need airplane help!

Paul
 
A great idea

Print off the White pages listing by state and voila I can annoy somebody it my airplane breaks..I like it..:)

In flight WX will be next years upgrade I think


Cheers

Frank
 
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