scottfromiowa Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 I saw a recent post on longest (duration) leg and thought hmmm, what was the most I flew in a day in my plane? It ended up being the first cross country I did in Xray. I flew commercial down to Brunswick GA to do annual/pre-buy and complete return to Cedar Rapids. Well it took longer for annual and then transfer of funds took longer and I ended up departing on 12/19/03 from Brunswick at about noon...Of course there was a front pushing accross my route of flight and my ground speed was only 120...that's MPH NOT knots! I was VFR above solid layer at 10,000 and got just north of Atlanta and did a fuel stop with a nice nearly direct gusting cross wind...NICE. fueled up and climbed back in. Once again on top at 10,000 and of course realized I wasn't going to make it to CID and planned on Evansville, IN. Came down and saw an impressive snow storm about ten miles ahead...There off to my right were the beautiful and inviting lights of Owensboro, KY. Yes, I am staying at Owensboro. 6.2 flight hours that day in the maiden flight. Looking back...that night in my motel room with a couple of mcDonald's 1/4 pounders in me I realized how stupid that whole flight/day had been for a 108 hour VFR pilot. Clear-Clear the next day and 140 knots and 2.9 hours home. My comfort level is about 3.5-4.0 for a LONG leg in my plane. I prefer 2.5-3.0 hour legs. How about you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jax88 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 That sounds just like when I picked up my M20F. I flew commercial to Charleston to swap money for keys and do the transition training. Took 2 days to get everything in order, then I made my first solo from Charleston to Winston-Salem, NC where I had to work for a week (chomping at the bit the entire week waiting to get back in the air). I left Winston-Salem pretty early in the morning bound for Meridian, MS and had a great 3.6 hour flight in VFR condtions at 8500ft. Did notice some icing early on over the Appalachians, but it went away as fast as it formed. Took 3.6 hours to get to KMEI, where I had a free hotdog and soda, picked up some fuel, and then off again to San Antonio via a quick stop in Houston to drop off a passenger. The weather went south just northeast of Baton Rogue, and I had to spend the rest of the flight scraping the deck to remain clear of clouds. White knuckles and bumpy air for most of the 2.9 hours from KMEI to KHPY. After a quick check on weather I was off for my scud-running, cloud dodging final leg to get my new baby home to San Antonio. It was a long day of 8 hours flying time, half of which was the stressful - I probably shouldn't be up here - type of flying. That is the first and only time I've been bitten by the "gotta get there" bug. Nice way to build confidence in the new Mooney though > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARZ Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Two Long days - both were this year going to OSH from Houston and back - 6.5 up VFR @ 7,500 until Joliet then down under the overcast. Going home was @ 8.25 with head winds and weather diversion into LA then west to TX - VFR 8,500. Both legs involved a fuel stop in Missouri at KUNO. (great little airport by the way) The picture is at KUNO - we backed up a bit to let the copter at the fuel island. A memorable part was flying the I10 corridor in Houston between Bush and Hobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jax88 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 I love flying that I-10 corridor in Houston! ATC really likes to keep us down low when we are going to be landing at KHPY. 2500ft just on the north edge of downtown, really neat at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Maropers. Great Pic. I've got to get reverse on mine too. That would make getting in the hanger a lot easier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARZ Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Quote: scottfromiowa Maropers. Great Pic. I've got to get reverse on mine too. That would make getting in the hanger a lot easier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Randy, We were indeed being watched over by the "Mooney-Gods". Free dog and soda...pleasure flight. (I just look back at that one (trip) and shrug/shake my head and saw Wheeew, Dodged many bullets. Put those in the "Never Again" file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Longest day here resides in my logbooks as 13.8 hours in a Warrior. Like many others, this was picking up a newly purchased plane. I had 8 hours total time the day before when we embarked from San Diego headed to Mississippi by way of Nashville. Weather cut the first day short in Las Cruces at only 7 hours of flight time, so day 2 saw us leave New Mexico headed for home. The second day was quite a lesson for a student pilot. We dealt with thunderstorms, electrical failure, magneto issues, night flight, fuel management, etc. Needless to say, by the time I had my PPL, I was quite familiar with cross country (literally) operations. In the Mooney, I have a few 12+ hour days, including one of 13.1. These are results of trips mentioned in the other thread, between the SE USA and Montana. I've also done a roundtrip from Detroit - Mississippi in one day. About a 1000$ hamburger... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Longest day was just last October on the flight to the MAPA convention. Six stops and added six more states to my list. PIC time was 9.7 hrs. PWC-FWC-CVK-MKO-T59-CAO-COS Longest single flight was 5.7hrs on the way to Florida, fighting headwinds the whole way. 1G1 - HOE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperpainter Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Longest day was mentioned in the other thread. I flew from KPLU(avoided T-storms)-KGDV-(avoided more Tstorms)-C47 then to KFDL which was a total of just over 1500NM and it was I think 12.7 hrs in one day. What a great adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immelman Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 9.5 in one day, from Sioux Falls to Boise in a C172. Solo. No autopilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Bryan & Jesse ARE IRON-MEN...or iron rear-ends anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 3.5 hrs from San Marcos, TX to Tulsa, OK last Sunday against a 50kt headwind. Usually this trip takes 2.75. The trip back that afternoon was fantastic with 215 kts over the ground and only 2.25 hrs. Made me wish for that new Acclaim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immelman Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Quote: scottfromiowa Bryan & Jesse ARE IRON-MEN...or iron rear-ends anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N9937c Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Left KMDD @3pm landed STL fueled landed Youngstown OH. at 0030. Was back home At 18.30 next day. Still love the airplane! larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Jesse, Now your just thinking with your "rear end" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodychief Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 6 hours 15 minutes (813.4 nm). Valdosta GA to Destin FL (shrimp stop); Destin FL to Fayetteville AR; Fayetteville AR to North Little Rock AR; North Little Rock to Benton AR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Woodruff Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 About 13 flight hours over a 18 hour period. 3pm central to to 7am Pacific. Crossing the Rockies at 4 am in Montana with the sun rising behind me is something I'll never forget. absolutely beautiful. Also flew 20.0 hours starting on a Friday afternoon and was home by Saturday at 9pm. Waco to Charlotte, NC and back in my C172. Out was 7.5 hours. Back was 12.5 hours. I never hit over 75 groundspeed until Louisiana and never over 100 until TX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFOD Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Quote: Parker_Woodruff About 13 flight hours over a 18 hour period. 3pm central to to 7am Pacific. Crossing the Rockies at 4 am in Montana with the sun rising behind me is something I'll never forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Woodruff Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Quote: LFOD That must have been one hell of an aircraft... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgpilot1 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 12 hours from Memphis to Billings, Montana - then 4 to Seattle Renton Field in a Cherokee 140 without AP. 9 hours from Memphis to Glacier National Park in Montana then 2.5 to Seattle Boeing Field in the Mooney M20F. I prefer the faster ride with autopilot and no electrical gremlins! Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperpainter Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Quote: scottfromiowa Bryan & Jesse ARE IRON-MEN...or iron rear-ends anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_S Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Had a few long days on my trip to OSH in 2009 in the Warrior. First leg was a trip to Denver to visit my brother for a few days, with Day 1 of that being Atlanta to Wichita (my home town). That day was PDK to TKX for fuel, then 3M0 (Gaston's resort on the White River in Arkansas, a great grass strip with a nice restaurant) for lunch, then FSK for fuel and finally into AAO for sleep. That was a total of 8 hours flying time. The day from Denver (APA) to OSH was 7.8 hours, with a fuel stop in JYR (York, NE) and then a fuel-holding stop at C47 (Portage, WI) to wait for OSH to open up after the air show, and finally the FISK arrival. Of course, the FISK hold added at least 30 minutes to that total time, but worth it. I bought the Mooney to make a one-stop, single day trip from Atlanta to Denver a reality, but haven't had the chance to enact it yet. Next summer for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russellfletcher Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 The longest was 14.8 hours in one 18 hour period. Dallas to Houston to Orlando to Hammond LA to Dallas. I regularly do 12+ hours flight out and back stopping only for fuel. Those are charity flights for Pilots-N-Paws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lood Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Mine was 5.4 hours a couple of weeks ago in my Mooney. What is interesting though is how my flight time per flight has decreased since I started flying. Looking through my logbook, I started out with a C172 - lots of 3 hour plus flights. I sold the C172 and bought a Robin HR100-210. The average flight time decreased to below 3 hours and with the Mooney, even more. Compared to the US, South Africa is rather small and I live almost in the middle. At Mooney speeds, I can reach any point in anything from 3 - 4 hours. Couple that with the legendary Mooney economy, I can almost return home without refuelling:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.