donshapansky Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Here my 2 cents worth, in the past 8 yrs I have flown 1700 hrs almost all for business purposes, I cover the US central, midwest and ocassionally the west coast. In the last 2 days I have been to ND and back from Texas, my base. After flying normally aspirated for 1000 hrs and 700 turbo'd I'll pay the extra for the flexibility of a turbocharged engine. The trip to ND was a challenge due to low level turbulence and strong NW winds, I could choose to endure the bouncing or go higher gaining true airspeed and much smoother flight conditions, the higher option turned out to be the best of both as I gained 15 kts ground speed and a smooth ride, using 78% power I burned a little more fuel but the ride was so much less tiring. On the way back last night any altitude below 13,000' was moderate turbulence until I got close to TX, so at 15,500' set up LOP 14 gph 215 - 230 kts ground speed. I left Watford City, ND at 3:00 pm Central and with a break at North Platte, NE was home at 8:15 pm Central 965NM travelled experienced very light icing around Rapid City on the way back at 15,500 with options if it started to accumulate of higher. Without a turbo I would not have made the trip nearly as confident of keeping my appointments due to the risks of icing, turbulence and sheer discomfort. If you have a schedule to keep a turbo is an asset, 100 gallons useable is mandatory working the western part of the country IMHOP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Quote: donshapansky If you have a schedule to keep a turbo is an asset, 100 gallons useable is mandatory working the western part of the country IMHOP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donshapansky Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Sorry, I meant my configuration without the Monroy option is very limited. The ND trip would have meant another fuel stop going north without the extra cushion I would added more fuel to stay within my personal limits of 20 gallons remaining at the end of the flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlunseth Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Amen on the turbo. The turbo allows you to blow right through most cloud cover and cruise in the still air up on top. As I noted earlier, the only drawback to that is that you don't accrue alot of IMC time - if you are looking to accrue IMC for some reason, such as an ATP down the road. You can still fly low and in the clag if you really want to though. I have a turbo and there is no way I am going back. And on the long slow cruise thing, I guess I said it before, it works if you have no copilot. Most of us have copilots and they are just not able or very willing to spend five or six consecutive hours in the air without a bathroom break, fuel issues aside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Quote: jlunseth As I noted earlier, the only drawback to that is that you don't accrue alot of IMC time - if you are looking to accrue IMC for some reason, such as an ATP down the road. Most of us have copilots and they are just not able or very willing to spend five or six consecutive hours in the air without a bathroom break, fuel issues aside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WardHolbrook Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I'm wondering how many of you guys use a flight planning program such as Flitesoft to help you pick the optimum routes and altitudes for your flights? With a little bit of effort to set them up, these programs are essentially spot on accurate and take all of the guess work out of choosing the most efficient altitudes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 yep, I use RMStek Flitesoft. I have the winds/efficiency button setup on the toolbar. I check it on every flight plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Quote: WardHolbrook I'm wondering how many of you guys use a flight planning program such as Flitesoft to help you pick the optimum routes and altitudes for your flights? With a little bit of effort to set them up, these programs are essentially spot on accurate and take all of the guess work out of choosing the most efficient altitudes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piloto Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 If you are limited by biological reasons for long flight endurance flight you should try this http://www.hulu.com/watch/10308/saturday-night-live-oops-i-crapped-my-pants It works all the time. José Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pleisse Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I can't tell you how many times I refused to file, because I knew I couldn't get on top. Likewise, I can't tell you how many times I HAVE filed and kept ammending for higher and NEVER got on top (12k msl -16"MP is where I give up in my 201). The Skew-T always lies.........East Coast Turbo Envy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awful_Charlie Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I fly a FIKI Bravo over here in Europe, but rarely at the 17+ GPH flows, as remember fuel is the equivelent of about 11USD a gallon! Running around the 12-13GPH area gives me 130-140IAS at FL130, so about 170TAS or 180-185TAS at FL180 A turbo is great here, as I need to make FL180 in less than 100nm when going south east, and the ability to blast through the icing layers is what it is often about even in the summer months. It also opens up more options when the wx is not playing nicely. It is possible to go even more slowly and save fuel if the wind isn't on the nose, but I seem to spend a lot more than half my time punching into one Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WardHolbrook Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Quote: Shadrach I use fltplan.com I have the average FF for all of the aircraft that I fly programed in. It seems to be remarkably accurate. Time wise it is usually accurate within 10 minutes take off to touchdown. It's pretty close even if you use their stock performance numbers... Wht's the deal with flightsoft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Ward, fltplan.com lets you customize speeds, fuel burns and climb rates... My fudge factor is largely do to the fact that I don't have all of the numbers completely dialed, and I don't always fly exactly what I plan. It's very close as long as I fly what I plan. You should check it out. It's free and available anywhere you have internet access... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WardHolbrook Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Quote: Shadrach Ward, fltplan.com lets you customize speeds, fuel burns and climb rates... My fudge factor is largely do to the fact that I don't have all of the numbers completely dialed, and I don't always fly exactly what I plan. It's very close as long as I fly what I plan. You should check it out. It's free and available anywhere you have internet access... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlunseth Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Quote: KLRDMD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flight2000 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Reminds me of an interesting discussion on the AOPA forum about what exactly constitutes IMC flight. Some argue it's in the clouds only, while others say anytime you are operating on instruments alone, regardless of the surrounding weather. Never really got a feel for what the regulations were and it's not set in stone either. Lots of gray area if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Woodruff Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 "Sole reference to instruments" is what the FARs use. Even with 10 mile plus visibility, don't go flying off on a moonless night into places in Montana, New Mexico, etc. I am glad I was instrument rated for some of those flights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WardHolbrook Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 My first flying job was out of Las Vegas flying air tours to and through the Grand Canyon. We were flying about 800 hours ber year. It's tough showing folks a 17 mile wide canyon unless you've got at least 17 miles visability. I knew plenty of guys with thousands of hours and their ATP that had never seen the inside of a cloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlunseth Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I read that discussion. The "moonless night" thing may result in IFR in some parts of the country, or at low altitude. But to give you an idea of what it is like in the teens, I visited my brother in Grand Forks right after I got my IFR ticket. I took off at about 11 p.m. to come home and did a WOT climb to cruise. When I got there I saw city lights off my right wing and thinking it was still GF I thought "that can't be right, I left Grand Forks 15 minutes ago." It was Fargo, about 60 miles south of GFK and 40 or 50 miles from my course. Off my left wing, Little Falls was plainly visible, and a little ahead of that was St. Cloud. In the distance, still about 180 n.m. away, was the sky reflection of the lights from Minneapolis. Lots of little towns in between. Unless there is a very thick lower layer, you are just never without points of reference at night in the teens/flight levels. Not even out west. The towns light up the cloud layer. Mind, this is not a complaint. To me, it is a very safe thing to have points of reference pretty much regardless of the conditions. It is also comforting to know that you have some 35-40 miles of glide if the engine packs it in. About the only time I get into that "moonless night, no references" situation is at low altitude, coming in on an approach, with some kind of cloud layer obscuring the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Quote: jlunseth Doesn't work that way in a turbo. You blow through to the top in 10 or 15 minutes at the most, and from there for the duration of the flight you are in the clear. I flew close to 300 hours last year, and collected 15 hours of IMC. To accrue IMC time, I have to go looking for it. I doubt I will ever want or have a need for an ATP, but at my present rate of IMC accrual, I won't have 75 IMC by the time I have 1500 hours, and I was IFR before I had 200 hrs. TT. That does not mean I don't fly IFR, I fly IFR all the time. But with a turbo you are above most of the clag and the only IMC you collect is takeoffs and/or landings. I sometimes set the timer to see if I can "catch" a little IMC, and don't even get 5 or 6 minutes of it. And I live in the midwest where we have lots of IMC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M016576 Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Quote: jlunseth I read that discussion. The "moonless night" thing may result in IFR in some parts of the country, or at low altitude. But to give you an idea of what it is like in the teens, I visited my brother in Grand Forks right after I got my IFR ticket. I took off at about 11 p.m. to come home and did a WOT climb to cruise. When I got there I saw city lights off my right wing and thinking it was still GF I thought "that can't be right, I left Grand Forks 15 minutes ago." It was Fargo, about 60 miles south of GFK and 40 or 50 miles from my course. Off my left wing, Little Falls was plainly visible, and a little ahead of that was St. Cloud. In the distance, still about 180 n.m. away, was the sky reflection of the lights from Minneapolis. Lots of little towns in between. Unless there is a very thick lower layer, you are just never without points of reference at night in the teens/flight levels. Not even out west. The towns light up the cloud layer. Mind, this is not a complaint. To me, it is a very safe thing to have points of reference pretty much regardless of the conditions. It is also comforting to know that you have some 35-40 miles of glide if the engine packs it in. About the only time I get into that "moonless night, no references" situation is at low altitude, coming in on an approach, with some kind of cloud layer obscuring the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaV8or Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Quote: flight2000 Lots of gray area if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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