Dream to fly Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 If it has to do with cars, motorcycles, or trucks I'd have a good idea of time frame for vacation destinations but this airplane thing is very new. The wife is pushing to travel in the plane but I have been reluctant to go. Mooney speeds seem to make everything possible Is it unrealistic to think we could leave ND at 7AM and be in lets say north Texas by 3pm. I am figuring late afternoon no matter where I am it would be best to be on the ground and in a hanger just incase of weather. Everything works and is operationally functional. Cosmetics is a different story but I think it would be good to travel just not sure where to go. Its like a kid in a candy store just don't know what to grab and try first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Time to spare, go by air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 check weather. summer time is thunderstorms in the afternoon hours. winter time is freezing levels. make sure to have good places for rest and fuel in between. my wife is a sport, but her airplane endurance is around 2hrs. I flew to Tulsa from middle GA in my friend's 210 in 5ish hours. Crazy to think you can cover so much distance in such a short span of time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skates97 Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 If you haven't done any really long flights I would slowly stretch it out and see what you are comfortable with. My personal "comfort" is around a 3 hour leg and I can do a couple of those in a day. As time goes on and I get more experience I think about 8 hours of flying in one day will probably be where I max out at. In my plane I can do 4 hour legs and still land with at least an hour fuel reserve which is my personal minimum, but 4 hours feels like a long time in the plane. So far the longest that my wife has been in the plane is for 2 hour legs. Coming up we are making a 4 hour flight, we'll see how she feels about that after it's over. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20D6607U Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Hi Skates97. Do you still have 48 gallon tanks in your D/C? What RPM/ MP do you cruise at? Fuel burn? Love hearing your progress/ adventures! Ron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream to fly Posted June 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Thanks guys. Going to see what happens Monday. Might be somewhere close to a hangout spot. We will see what the wife can endure I'm thinking more than me if she can ride on a softail cross country in 4 days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTaylor Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I flight plan at 139 knots and figure a maximum of about 3.5 to 4 hours at a time. The maximum is limited by human bladder and comfort time. For a quick trip (four days or less) 500 nm is a good range to look at. If you can stay longer then you can start to look at a greater range. Unless you are really used to flying and the air is really smooth you will find that there is a certain amount of tiredness from flying, similar to driving for an extended period of time that will limit how you feel when you arrive. I would limit the first trips to 400 to 500 nm. The ND to TX trip I would hold off on until you have done some shorter trips or unless you have 7 to 10 days available. It is best to start your family out on shorter flights and see how everyone handles the flying. We started out doing 2 hour legs and now do 3.5 to 4.0 hours non-stop. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Scranton Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Totally plausible. We do 3 to 3.5 hour flights...and I think you'd need to do 2 of em. So, off by 7am, down by 10am, fuel up, grab a bite, and your there by 2pm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I am with TTaylor on the limits imposed by bladder versus fuel. When we have 4+ hours to go somewhere, we break it up so the majority of the trip is the first leg and the shorter portion is the latter. It seems to make the last part of the flight go by quicker. Also, I don't know what your altitude will be, but for long flights I highly recommend having some type of oxygen available. Even going from your likely home drome at ~ 2,000 MSL, spending the majority of the day at 5,000-9,000 ft. will wear on you. Just a few shots from a Boost can will make a difference when you start down for your approach and landing. Just kicking in my two pennies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skates97 Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 24 minutes ago, M20D6607U said: Hi Skates97. Do you still have 48 gallon tanks in your D/C? What RPM/ MP do you cruise at? Fuel burn? Love hearing your progress/ adventures! Ron It has 52 gallons but I can only put 22-23 in the right side or I start to get a little seeping out of the weep hole at the frt inside edge of the wing so I am really working on 48 gallons. At 9,500' cruising at 2,400rpm, right at 20" MP, and leaned to about 100° ROP (according to the one sensor I have) I see 8.3GPH. I need to do more testing to see what it is in climb and higher/lower but I plan for 10gph over the course of the flight and it comes in a little below that. I am typically flying at 9,500' or 10,500'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I've done 4.5 hour legs, but I really don't recommend it.Flying is supposed to be fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I flew 3 flights this week from KY to Daytona, Daytona to Destin, and back to KY. All flights were about 3.5 hours, but the main thing is to have options. Now that can mean extra time and be flexible on departure and arrival time, or it can mean being flexible on the destination which is why we went to two different beaches due to weather and more sunshine. For me the main reason I can travel is a combination of all of the above...plus I have the Instrument ticket and 15 years experience. In the beginning I flew 100-300 miles and even stopped and left my plane on the way back and drove the rest of the way more than once because I had no experience with weather and no IFR rating. If you are going to travel be prepared to be flexible, and even leave the plane somewhere due to breakdown, weather, illness, or whatever it may be. Oh, and expenses at the destination most of the time far exceed my cost of ownership. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I recently did 5.2, with a short fuel stop, then 3.5. I noticed my landings on the longer cross country trips aren't as good, I think my legs lose their feelings sitting so long. But adding stops makes the day longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragedracer1977 Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) I'm heading on my first long flight this Saturday. Phoenix to San Antonio. We're going to be stopping about halfway (KPEQ) through Texas. Leaving at 4am. Should have us in San Antonio before noon local. Trying to make sure we beat the afternoon storms. There's always the possibility we spend the night in Pecos. My wife and kids have all spent 4+ hours in the air, we just didn't land anywhere but back at home. Just a tour of AZ. They all did fine, so I think this should be ok. Edited June 28, 2017 by ragedracer1977 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Minot to S.Texas (Mexico) 10hrs flight time, (11.5hrs total time) in a M20C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smwash02 Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 KHZE to KTKI (ND to Dallas) should take about 6.5 hours in the air plus an hour for refueling. 7AM departure puts you there by 3PM, which matches your timeline. Make sure your plane is rigged well or it can be tiring. Autopilots help, but if well rigged trim it and enjoy the ride. I've been making trips to OKC from Austin recently and storms have been a challenge, par for the course this time of the year in that area. I pull up SkyVector and plan by cheap fuel if not too burdensome. KLXN @3.99 or KHLC@4.00 would be my choice as the stop. Think about getting your FCC licenses and DTOPS sticker to fly to Canada as something fun to do as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 4 hours ago, smwash02 said: Think about getting your FCC licenses and DTOPS sticker to fly to Canada as something fun to do as well. Considered adding 100 extra miles and doing 3 countries (Canada, USA and Mexico) but 1334nm is plenty for one day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylw314 Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 My opinion on non-turbo flying: 2 hour flights are a good starting point for weekend trips, especially if wife is not used to flying. 3-4 hour flights are a sweet spot where you actually come out ahead on time vs flying commercial 5+ hour flights are more expensive and slower than flying commercial, but more fun Any farther dictates fuel stops which add to time and expense. Autopilot helps a LOT. I hand flew 4 hours in a Cherokee once and was dead to the world for the next 2 days. I flew 6 hours with an autopilot and felt great, I even made a point of hand flying for about a quarter of the time. +1 on the oxygen. I have a CB portable tank setup with two portable D tank ($80 each), a medical regulator ($50 each), and two Mountain High valve/flow meters ($80 each). Costs $12 to fill each tank at a welding shop, and probably a good 8-10 hours for two people. Search amazon for Travel Johns or other portable unisex toilets. We had to make bladder stops on each leg of our last trip, so we're going to try them out this time. I figure my wife will climb into the back seat so we can do our thing in relative privacy. The day we can do that in front of each other is the day the romance is over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 200kt groundspeeds are cool... head winds are anti-cool... getting used to X-country useable flying is cool... making a super long X-country can lead to 'that was fun, I'm not interested any longer' Read up on the weather issue... afternoon vertical development can be really unfun... Start out small and work your way up... Then cross the country, end up in the Bahamas.... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 On 6/28/2017 at 4:28 PM, ragedracer1977 said: I'm heading on my first long flight this Saturday. Phoenix to San Antonio. We're going to be stopping about halfway (KPEQ) through Texas. Leaving at 4am. Should have us in San Antonio before noon local. Trying to make sure we beat the afternoon storms. There's always the possibility we spend the night in Pecos. My wife and kids have all spent 4+ hours in the air, we just didn't land anywhere but back at home. Just a tour of AZ. They all did fine, so I think this should be ok. The FBO in KPEQ is great they will treat you right. Don't go into town the place is a hell hole. My wife and I spent the night there about 2 years ago. It is an oil boom town about 10000 dirty oil field workers and 3 women. We were a sideshow wherever we went. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 The FBO in KPEQ is great they will treat you right. Don't go into town the place is a hell hole. My wife and I spent the night there about 2 years ago. It is an oil boom town about 10000 dirty oil field workers and 3 women. We were a sideshow wherever we went. With $2 per gallon gas, it might be more of a ghost town these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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