339A
Well Known Member
Now that the fever pitch of Rosie and Tuppergal’s COLOSSAL Bahamas 2011 post has subsided, we thought we’d break away from the original thread and post a few of our own photos from the trip. (Some are duplicates that you may or may not have seen in Rosie’s on-going write-up.) Our aim with this installment of Scott & Deb’s Excellent RV Adventures is to give a brief summary from our perspective.
There’s one aspect of an undertaking of this magnitude that can't be conveyed: just how much pre-planning/coordination is involved. Realize that the idea was hatched some two years ago during the Caymans trip of 2009. (Unfortunately Deb and I had to cancel at the last minute after making it as far as Homestead.) Jim Baker and Paul Rosales deserve all the credit here! There were numerous phone calls and TONS of e-mails requiring everyone’s participation and input for gathering and relaying the necessary information. Decisions had to be made regarding travel dates, departures, gaggle flying, customs, hotels, diving, etc., etc., etc. MANY THANKS to both of them, from all us involved, for pulling it all together and making it another safe and fun adventure.
On our first over-water trek to Grand Turk back in 2007, I had 150 hours as PIC in the 9A. My total PIC time was only 266 hours. Since that trip Deb and I have logged close to 900 hours in 339A, 650 of which have been cross country. Bahamas 2011 saw us as lead of Delta Flight with 4 other planes in tow.
In addition to the range of the RV, what we hope to communicate here is the social side of flying to places other than the local Saturday morning B-fast run. Whether it be spontaneous weekend jaunts, fly-ins, work-related trips, or planned vacations, we continue to meet and make friends with people everywhere we go. When first we began our RV flying adventures four years ago, I had met “Jimmy B” only once and had briefly talked with “Rosie” on the phone; we now count them among our closest of friends.
Amazing what has transpired in four short years. And all because we built this thing in our garage called an RV. Thanks Van …
Even after whittling our photos down to under two hundred in number, there are still just too many to post individually. We decided to include a few of our favorite ones here and put the rest in an online photo album that can be viewed as a slideshow. Looking at large colorful digital images is all well and good, but if you want to get a real sense of the scope and feel of a trip like this, as well as an appreciation for the camaraderie that it instills in its participants, click this link and take a few minutes to view the trip in its entirety.
Lots of RVs at X51 - Homestead, FL
Three 9As in flight
Nice shot of Scott & Tanya in N4822C
Room with a view
Lined up at Pittstown Point
VAF hat sighting
The entire gang
WAMs (Weather Avoidance Maneuvers) in the Pensacola area. N4822C can be seen under the "Flying Ace's" chin
The trip as recorded by "Spotty" (I forgot to turn him on for the last leg to Denver)
So now the bottom line....
What did it all cost? Well I did a breakdown of what we spent so everyone could get an idea of how much money they need to save. Trips/vacations of this size are not cheap. Some of the stats for this trip:
Fuel: $1,281.59, that's 235.8 gallons of fuel which ranged from $4.74 - $6.30/gallon. Avg price $5.43/gallon
Palm Bay Beach Club: $1,267.75 (most people's room were quite nice... room # 27 was not one of them)
Hotel: $127.45 (we also had two free nights at Holiday Inn, one night at the Cards and one with my cousin)
Rental cars: $103.35
Meals charged to the Visa: ~ $160.00
Cash spent: $650.00
Exuma Fees, taxis, taxes: $160.00
Diving: $212.00 (Not the best diving to be had on Great Exuma)
Scooter rental : $50.00
This makes a Grand Total of: $3,962.14!! There is also a couple hundred not accounted for in purchases that were made prior to leaving on this trip.
Some other stats: 339A logged 32.2 hours, flew 4951 statue miles, made 16 landings, average ground speed of 134 mph, mpg average was 21. (we had head winds 90% of the trip)
Regards and start saving now! Deb and I hope to see you on the next trip.
There’s one aspect of an undertaking of this magnitude that can't be conveyed: just how much pre-planning/coordination is involved. Realize that the idea was hatched some two years ago during the Caymans trip of 2009. (Unfortunately Deb and I had to cancel at the last minute after making it as far as Homestead.) Jim Baker and Paul Rosales deserve all the credit here! There were numerous phone calls and TONS of e-mails requiring everyone’s participation and input for gathering and relaying the necessary information. Decisions had to be made regarding travel dates, departures, gaggle flying, customs, hotels, diving, etc., etc., etc. MANY THANKS to both of them, from all us involved, for pulling it all together and making it another safe and fun adventure.
On our first over-water trek to Grand Turk back in 2007, I had 150 hours as PIC in the 9A. My total PIC time was only 266 hours. Since that trip Deb and I have logged close to 900 hours in 339A, 650 of which have been cross country. Bahamas 2011 saw us as lead of Delta Flight with 4 other planes in tow.
In addition to the range of the RV, what we hope to communicate here is the social side of flying to places other than the local Saturday morning B-fast run. Whether it be spontaneous weekend jaunts, fly-ins, work-related trips, or planned vacations, we continue to meet and make friends with people everywhere we go. When first we began our RV flying adventures four years ago, I had met “Jimmy B” only once and had briefly talked with “Rosie” on the phone; we now count them among our closest of friends.
Amazing what has transpired in four short years. And all because we built this thing in our garage called an RV. Thanks Van …
Even after whittling our photos down to under two hundred in number, there are still just too many to post individually. We decided to include a few of our favorite ones here and put the rest in an online photo album that can be viewed as a slideshow. Looking at large colorful digital images is all well and good, but if you want to get a real sense of the scope and feel of a trip like this, as well as an appreciation for the camaraderie that it instills in its participants, click this link and take a few minutes to view the trip in its entirety.
Lots of RVs at X51 - Homestead, FL
Three 9As in flight
Nice shot of Scott & Tanya in N4822C
Room with a view
Lined up at Pittstown Point
VAF hat sighting
The entire gang
WAMs (Weather Avoidance Maneuvers) in the Pensacola area. N4822C can be seen under the "Flying Ace's" chin
The trip as recorded by "Spotty" (I forgot to turn him on for the last leg to Denver)
So now the bottom line....
What did it all cost? Well I did a breakdown of what we spent so everyone could get an idea of how much money they need to save. Trips/vacations of this size are not cheap. Some of the stats for this trip:
Fuel: $1,281.59, that's 235.8 gallons of fuel which ranged from $4.74 - $6.30/gallon. Avg price $5.43/gallon
Palm Bay Beach Club: $1,267.75 (most people's room were quite nice... room # 27 was not one of them)
Hotel: $127.45 (we also had two free nights at Holiday Inn, one night at the Cards and one with my cousin)
Rental cars: $103.35
Meals charged to the Visa: ~ $160.00
Cash spent: $650.00
Exuma Fees, taxis, taxes: $160.00
Diving: $212.00 (Not the best diving to be had on Great Exuma)
Scooter rental : $50.00
This makes a Grand Total of: $3,962.14!! There is also a couple hundred not accounted for in purchases that were made prior to leaving on this trip.
Some other stats: 339A logged 32.2 hours, flew 4951 statue miles, made 16 landings, average ground speed of 134 mph, mpg average was 21. (we had head winds 90% of the trip)
Regards and start saving now! Deb and I hope to see you on the next trip.
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, and I'll test fly it this fall!
