Texas Visit

[201er]

Penetrated the front and now riding tolerable headwinds on the high pressure side. Altimeter rising quickly. Went from 29.60 to 29.95 in last hour.

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by 201er

[thinwing]

He's saying "it's been hours and I gotta poop!"

[cliffy]

Does the airplane lose weight if the birds are airborne inside the cabin? :-)

[201er]

63 gallons used. Who’s gonna try that in a 201? 

Edited March 2, 2018 by 201er

[gsxrpilot]

Sorry I'm gonna miss ya Mike. Have a great trip. 

[Yooper Rocketman]

Drive????????   Are you kidding?  We're pilots!  

Good job Mike!

Makes my 5 hour trip tomorrow to Florida, via Milan TN to check on my Lancair  paint project, at about the same distant, look not so painful.  

Nice to see other pilots actually flying cross country flights!

Tom

[DonMuncy]

At this moment Mike appears to be on a right base for 33 at ADS.

[201er]

[gsxrpilot]

55 minutes ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

Drive????????   Are you kidding?  We're pilots!  

Good job Mike!

Makes my 5 hour trip tomorrow to Florida, via Milan TN to check on my Lancair  paint project, at about the same distant, look not so painful.  

Nice to see other pilots actually flying cross country flights!

Tom

Sitting here on SkyVector working on a flight plan from Austin to Churchill Canada for the first couple of weeks of July. We'll likely stop in your area and would love to see that fire breathing Lancair if you're there.

More than 90% of the flights in my Mooney qualify as cross countries. That's the whole purpose of these airplanes, right?

[DonMuncy]

That is almost the exact place where Flightaware stopped recording you,.

[DanM20C]

39 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Sitting here on SkyVector working on a flight plan from Austin to Churchill Canada for the first couple of weeks of July. We'll likely stop in your area and would love to see that fire breathing Lancair if you're there.

We were planing on a Churchill trip this past summer.  Then my little CO incident destroyed my plane and we didn't get to go.  Maybe this year.

Cheers,

Dan 

 

[gsxrpilot]

13 minutes ago, Hyett6420 said:

So for us ignorant colonial masters, how far is this trip you have just done exactly?  @201er   

On another note the pic above with the parrot and the propellor looks like the parrot has grown an exceeeeeeedingly big beak!  

Well done matey,

Andrew

Without the fuel stop it would look to be 1175nm. That's KLDJ to KADS. If we add the fuel stop it becomes 788nm for the first leg and 389nm for the second leg. 

[gsxrpilot]

2 minutes ago, Hyett6420 said:

So in a normal J a two stop trip, not bad at all.  Sort of like me doing Sardinia.  Love it.   

I did love all the states he crossed though, that was fascinating watching it on flightradar24.   Looked like a great trip.  How come he can do it in a straight line and not airways?  

We're allowed to file direct if equipped with a GPS. I've been all over the US in my Mooney as well and always just file DIRECT when filing IFR. As long as we are equipped as /G (slant Golf) it's permitted and most often given.

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, Hyett6420 said:

Ah that's interesting i dont think "eurocontrol" whould allow that.   Having said that i have never tried it.  I "think" we have to go via specific  entry points when crossing country borders or FIR for example "Ortac" to go south into France, also since there are so many restricited, danger, military areas, it is easier sometimes just to go airways even if id does add the odd mile or two.  Certainly EGTR to LFMU its safer to go airways as they adjust heights for the mountains on the inbound route.  

Eurocontrol is the service that vets all ifr flightplans and ensures that they work within the airways system and routing system, can be a pain if i want to go up the east side of the country as it does not recognise tacans so i cant route via the military fields.  

 

As I mentioned, I file DIRECT virtually every time I file IFR. I get it about 80% of the time. But even if I get it, I will often get an "amendment to my route" at some point during the flight. This is often to route me around restricted or military airspace, or around a busy arrival or departure corridor. But even then, it's common for the amendment to be "direct to waypoint/gps fix, then direct destination". 

Of course I live and start most of my flights out of Texas where there is lots of room. But there is also lots of military airspace. I'm sure guys flying in other, more congested area's of the country are given airways to follow more often. I almost never get assigned an airway to fly.

[Jerry 5TJ]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

As I mentioned, I file DIRECT virtually every time I file IFR. I get it about 80% of the time. But even if I get it, I will often get an "amendment to my route" at some point during the flight....

Leaving the Washington DC area I can file direct but I always get a full route departure clearance. Then about 50 miles out ATC usually clears me direct to destination. 

Heading home I can file “Kansas direct Maryland” and get it from ATC.   Then, about 100 miles from home comes the expected “I have an amendment to your route” call

I have no beef with ATC.   They’re helpful and seem to try to give me what I request.    

The Dick Rochfort rules for ATC communication:

1.  Tell ATC what you would prefer

2.  Tell them what you will accept

3.  Everything else, you tell them “unable”

To which I add “do what you told them you would do” 

 

[MIm20c]

11 hours ago, DanM20C said:

We were planing on a Churchill trip this past summer.  Then my little CO incident destroyed my plane and we didn't get to go.  Maybe this year.

Cheers,

Dan 

 

If you decide to head up let me know.  I’m going to need a fuel stop in Thompson, Manitoba because of my tiny tanks but my 500 is packed and ready for some migratory bird photography. 

Only upgrade I really miss is the LR tanks to explore like @201er although my wife would never ok a 10 hr flight without a stand up restroom and a endless wine glass. 

[Danb]

The LR tanks are amazing, makes 1200 mile flights very tolerable, the throw away pee bags are a great invention, beats the heck out of asking her to chug her orange juice bottle for alternative uses.

[thinwing]

14 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Sitting here on SkyVector working on a flight plan from Austin to Churchill Canada for the first couple of weeks of July. We'll likely stop in your area and would love to see that fire breathing Lancair if you're there.

More than 90% of the flights in my Mooney qualify as cross countries. That's the whole purpose of these airplanes, right?

Sounds like a great trip to checkout the friendly white fuzzy bears...you will probably lose ahrs on the Aspen as you cross above 55 degrees ,and the compass declination will be about 45 *Gps is still ok though

[thinwing]

Oh Churchill...never mind ,same latitude as Watson lake out west...no issues ,I was thinking farther north

[Marauder]

6 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

As I mentioned, I file DIRECT virtually every time I file IFR. I get it about 80% of the time. But even if I get it, I will often get an "amendment to my route" at some point during the flight. This is often to route me around restricted or military airspace, or around a busy arrival or departure corridor. But even then, it's common for the amendment to be "direct to waypoint/gps fix, then direct destination". 

Of course I live and start most of my flights out of Texas where there is lots of room. But there is also lots of military airspace. I'm sure guys flying in other, more congested area's of the country are given airways to follow more often. I almost never get assigned an airway to fly.

I think a lot depends on the part of the country you are in. I tried to understand and even guess on the routing I could get. I tried the "direct" only to be assigned a route 100% of the time. I filed the route I got last time to get find that I was assigned another route, I tried to use the most recent FltPln Go route only to have another route assigned -- and all of this didn't matter because at one point or another, you would get an amended route while you are flying.

After researching this a bit, I think it is complicated due to the coordination that needs to happen between facilities, their LOAs, the altitudes and even the time of day. Fortunately, the rubber banding in the Garmin Pilot makes it a lot easier to amend the route and uploading it to the navigator.

[Yooper Rocketman]

16 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Sitting here on SkyVector working on a flight plan from Austin to Churchill Canada for the first couple of weeks of July. We'll likely stop in your area and would love to see that fire breathing Lancair if you're there.

More than 90% of the flights in my Mooney qualify as cross countries. That's the whole purpose of these airplanes, right?

Be glad to have you stop by.  The Lancair should be in new paint and have the interior done. Will have to get you a ride in it!

Tom

[DonMuncy]

13 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Ah that's interesting i dont think "eurocontrol" whould allow that.   Having said that i have never tried it.  I "think" we have to go via specific  entry points when crossing country borders or FIR for example "Ortac" to go south into France, also since there are so many restricited, danger, military areas, it is easier sometimes just to go airways even if id does add the odd mile or two.  Certainly EGTR to LFMU its safer to go airways as they adjust heights for the mountains on the inbound route.  

Eurocontrol is the service that vets all ifr flightplans and ensures that they work within the airways system and routing system, can be a pain if i want to go up the east side of the country as it does not recognise tacans so i cant route via the military fields.  

 

Like Paul, for 90% of my flights, I file. I fly out of Dallas (RBD). Almost every time, I get vectors to get me out near or slightly outside class B, then get "direct".

[201er]

1 hour ago, DonMuncy said:

Like Paul, for 90% of my flights, I file. I fly out of Dallas (RBD). Almost every time, I get vectors to get me out near or slightly outside class B, then get "direct".

It was a real pleasure meeting you Don and your wife! We had a great time and learned some things too. Hope to see you again soon, probably at the Mooney Summit.

[kortopates]

I think a lot depends on the part of the country you are in. I tried to understand and even guess on the routing I could get. I tried the "direct" only to be assigned a route 100% of the time. I filed the route I got last time to get find that I was assigned another route, I tried to use the most recent FltPln Go route only to have another route assigned -- and all of this didn't matter because at one point or another, you would get an amended route while you are flying.
After researching this a bit, I think it is complicated due to the coordination that needs to happen between facilities, their LOAs, the altitudes and even the time of day. Fortunately, the rubber banding in the Garmin Pilot makes it a lot easier to amend the route and uploading it to the navigator.

Agree with Chris but would qualify that to what kind airspace you are flying into or out of with regards to who controls it and if it is controlled. I live under one of or the busiest TRACONs in the country and I have never gotten less than a full route clearance in or out of any TRACON. Center airspace is the land of direct routes but if planning to cross a TRACON's airspace get ready for an amended clearance. Small TRACON's are easy since often one waypoint to the side will be enough to clear it and then it's back to direct. But Altitude is important too since it's got to be controlled airspace and not a hot restricted area or MOA which we have plenty of out west. But out west direct of any distance is rare below the level of the continental shelf of class E airspace at 14.5k since we also have lots of G airspace too. So most NA birds get non-direct routings out west. But out east you can get direct routings at very low altitudes, altitudes we would never fly out west.


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[Hank]

Yep, I always got direct out of WV, with an occasional vector around MOAs in the Carolinas. Now I'm still direct, but am either told to "remain clear of the Bravo" when flying VFR near Atlanta or vectored clear if IFR. once around it, I get "resume own navigation" or "direct destination."