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Trip Report: Cross Country Mooney Adventure


AlexLev

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15 hours ago, AlexLev said:

Thanks for the suggestion! Will consider it. I'll see if weather lets me fly north tomorrow or if I'm going to be going way south again for the way back.

Are you 07N? I think you were going west and I was passing you up above, going east. I only maxed 219 knots across the ground at 11,500, M20E.

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8 hours ago, jgarrison said:

Are you 07N? I think you were going west and I was passing you up above, going east. I only maxed 219 knots across the ground at 11,500, M20E.

Yes! I was wondering if that was someone from Mooneyspace, haha!

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Day 8: The start of an epic journey back
First leg: KUDD (Palm Springs, CA) > KPGA (approx 2.55 hrs with Grand Canyon fly over)

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Transiting the grand canyon was fairly easy. The important thing is to have the sectional (zoom in on Foreflight and it appears). I plugged in a few waypoints that are in the GPS as well: VPGCF VPGCC to follow the dragon corridor north. Going northbound you need to be at 11,500 and southbound at 10,500 (or above, etc). There was one point where I had to descend lower to remain VFR, but ATC said going down to 10k was ok at that one particular point I was at. All in all, a fairly easy flight if you are vigilant to avoid the no fly-areas. ATC did ask me if I was familiar and quizzed me on what route I planned to take, but seemed satisfy when I told them I was taking the dragon route to transition.

The airport in Page, AZ was wonderful. Beautiful views on the ground too. Inexpensive full service gas and courtesy vans to grab lunch. So much activity and 3 FBOs. I went to Classic Aviation. So many Mooney's parked on the ramp. I made friends with a gentleman with a Rocket who was heading back to Missouri at Page:

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 He offered my wife and I a free room in his resort for the night in Missouri. The original plan for today was to fly there, but we ended up in Dodge City, Kansas due to the storms. I also saw another plane with sort of a similar color scheme parked on the ramp. Does this belong to anyone here?

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We went into town and got some crepes at a place called Crepe Canyon and then shot up to 13,500ft for our next leg. Initially, I didn't think I'd go a direct route over Colorado, but I spoke with a weather briefer this morning at 6am who seemed SOOO excited for the weather I had for this and gave me some suggestions for passes in Colorado. I kept evaluating as the day went on and it seemed doable, so I shot out for Wolf Creek Pass after Page, AZ.

Second leg: KPGZ > KTAD (Trinidad, CO) (2.5 hours)

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At one point, I was up at 14,500. Highest I've taken the Mooney. Crossing the peaks was intense, but going eastbound it wasn't so bad. Had a killer tailwind, the bumps were manageable and I just felt very fortunate to find such a nice day to do this. Trinidad, CO was an amazing airport thanks to the man who works there who has been there since 1989. He was so hospitable. Came out to fuel the plane, even offered us some of his own snacks like a banana. Fuel price was 3.85 a gallon, the cheapest I've had so far on this entire trip. Unfortunately, there was no crew car and the town was 14 miles away, so no food here, but we really enjoyed a small rest break.

Third leg: KTAD > KDDC (Dodge City, KS) (1.4hrs)

Went up to 11,500 due to turbulence. I guess I was used to the high altitude flying by now. It was still very bumpy for the first 30 minutes of the leg. Almost moreso than it was for the entire flight over the big mountains. We landed Dodge City, KS to take the crew car for dinner and were going to continue east, but at this point a huge line of massive thunderstorms procured our path, so we called it a day. The airport was really nice. No overnight fees, they let us an old Buick overnight (their crew car) for free. The plan is to hopefully make it home tomorrow.

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Edited by AlexLev
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Day 9: Back home: last update for this trip!

KDTC > KFFT (Fulton, MO) 2.4hrs
6am IFR departure to get the hell out of Dodge City, KS. Quick fuel stop in Fulton, cheapest gas of the whole trip at $3.60/gallon. FBO had keypad access. No crew car, but no biggie. Not hungry yet.

KFFT > KIWH (Wabash, IN): 1.9hrs
Beautiful small town airport. Fueled up at $4.10/gallon and then went in. They had a huge truck as a crew car they let use to get into town and we went to a little restaurant called the "Broken Egg" and had a great tenderloin sandwich. Love those small town airports you discover on long trips.

KIWH > KIAG (home base - Niagara Falls, NY): 2hrs
Some thunderstorms formed off the front, but we were able to depart and pick up an IFR clearance find an opening to get through. Great groundspeeds on the way over and we were home by 4pm. Not bad for making it across the entire country from California starting from yesterday. What would have been a 20+ hour drive out of Dodge City, KS only too about 6.5 hours of Mooney time.

Edited by AlexLev
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List of airports:
KIAG 4I3 KOSU KVLA KCPS KHOT KEDC 27R KPEQ KTCS KDVT KUDD KPGA KTAD KDDC KFFT KIWH KIAG

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Routing wasn't direct for all these places, due to mountains, grand canyon flyover, some IFR routing, etc, but that will give you an idea of how we went. Some of the shorter stops were due to getting some cheaper fuel before landing at a place with expensive fuel.

I think total flight time was about 30 hours. I can also post total cost of fuel for the trip once all the pending charges are posted for anyone curious.

As far as the high altitude short legs, I wouldn't say it felt like we were climbing most of the trip. It may sound like getting up to 13,000 takes a while, but when you start at 6,000 already it's not all that bad. There were only a few higher altitude legs toward the end (KPEQ>KTCS, KUDD>PGA>KTAD), otherwise I was cruising between 6-9k which is typically where I cruise with the G.

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Thanks for posting that up, I've enjoyed following your trip. My boys and I are leaving in 2 1/2 weeks to fly from SoCal to North Carolina and Virginia. We don't have any set route, just a general idea that will shift depending on weather along the way.  Finding the cheaper fuel is fairly easy, but I had a couple questions if you don't mind. Is there an easy way to check ahead to find out the FBO's in the smaller towns with a crew car? The smaller places usually have the cheaper fuel but it would be nice to grab a car and get a bite to eat before moving on. Also, is there an easy way of telling which FBO's have a lounge that you can relax and take a break in for 30 minutes or so while looking at the next leg? We are planning 2-3 days going and returning so for evening stops the plan is just to pick a mid-size town where we can grab an Uber to a hotel.

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21 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

Thanks for posting that up, I've enjoyed following your trip. My boys and I are leaving in 2 1/2 weeks to fly from SoCal to North Carolina and Virginia. We don't have any set route, just a general idea that will shift depending on weather along the way.  Finding the cheaper fuel is fairly easy, but I had a couple questions if you don't mind. Is there an easy way to check ahead to find out the FBO's in the smaller towns with a crew car? The smaller places usually have the cheaper fuel but it would be nice to grab a car and get a bite to eat before moving on. Also, is there an easy way of telling which FBO's have a lounge that you can relax and take a break in for 30 minutes or so while looking at the next leg? We are planning 2-3 days going and returning so for evening stops the plan is just to pick a mid-size town where we can grab an Uber to a hotel.

Very cool! Hope you'll check First Flight Airport. W95 in North Carolina is also a nice stop and a relaxing overnight if you can find lodging (it can be a little sparse). In Virginia, not sure if you'll fly past KMTV, but they are awesome with great fuel prices and a diner on site.

As far as the crew cars, ForeFlight seemed pretty accurate if you have it. Click on the airport, then hit the FBOs tab and click on the FBO, look under amentities:

Example:

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Read the comments on Foreflight and cross check with Airnav comments to see if people confirm the experience (and note the date). If it was within a few months, I typically trust it, otherwise I will try calling the FBO to cross check. Calling was always a good idea if you're able to reach them during open hours, especially if you arrive after hours, since not all airports have a lockbox with a crew car you can just take.

I think the only FBO we flew in that didn't have a building/lounge area was KTCS, but most have one it seems.

Edited by AlexLev
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17 minutes ago, AlexLev said:

Very cool! Hope you'll check First Flight Airport. W95 in North Carolina is also a nice stop and a relaxing overnight if you can find lodging (it can be a little sparse). In Virginia, not sure if you'll fly past KMTV, but they are awesome with great fuel prices and a diner on site.

We will be back there for about a week and First Flight will be one of the stops.

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How was the leg from KTCS to KDVT? It looks like a lot of high terrain for a direct flight. I’ve been considering a flight from Cincinnati tp Phoenix to visit friends but have been hesitant to cross the mountains so figured crossing down around El Paso is a safe choice or maybe west to Winslow and then south. Am I over concerned?

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11 minutes ago, nels said:

How was the leg from KTCS to KDVT? It looks like a lot of high terrain for a direct flight. I’ve been considering a flight from Cincinnati tp Phoenix to visit friends but have been hesitant to cross the mountains so figured crossing down around El Paso is a safe choice or maybe west to Winslow and then south. Am I over concerned?

The route I followed was: 

TCS T310 SVC V202 SSO V94 TFD V105 PXR

There is one part there with some high terrain and climbing out of TCS was a little disconcerting at one point I had no lift and a 500fpm decent pretty much pitched at VX. I just turned south toward lower terrain and it was a non-issue. I think it's always good to be concerned and have a plan B if you do catch a downdraft you can't escape.

I didn't think I'd go up to 14,500 to cross the rockies and thought I'd cross the mountains toward Albuquerque on the way home, but I think as long as you are aware of the weather, it's doable even a non-turbo Mooney. If a G model can do it, so can yours!

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Amazing trip @AlexLev.  It looks like you got to see some of our flooding when you flew from Dodge City (KDDC) to Fulton (KFTT).

Another place to look for crew cars and other details if you aren't a ForeFlight user is airportcourtesycars.com.  They also list airport restaurants.  I've found it to be very accurate around here, but  the data is only as good as what's supplied by users.

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3 hours ago, BradB said:

Great trip @AlexLev!  Congratulations.  We are all very fortunate to have the ability to travel and have experiences like this.  I love hearing about these adventures.

@Skates97 when will you be around KFFA?  I will be in that area June 5-8.

Bradb

 

Not until around the 18th-20th. Plan on arriving in NC the 14th or 15th depending on weather and will be heading back west the 20th to allow enough time for detours and delays and still get to work Monday morning. I'll start a thread and hopefully will be able to arrange some meet ups along the way. 

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11 hours ago, Skates97 said:

Not until around the 18th-20th. Plan on arriving in NC the 14th or 15th depending on weather and will be heading back west the 20th to allow enough time for detours and delays and still get to work Monday morning. I'll start a thread and hopefully will be able to arrange some meet ups along the way. 

Don't forget the Tuskegee Airmen Museum run by the National Park Service at Moton Field, 06A. Not much else there except cheap fuel, and decent fast food is a twenty minute drive away.

Fuel there was recently $3.99, full service only, which is cheaper than surrounding self serve.

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1 hour ago, Hank said:

Don't forget the Tuskegee Airmen Museum run by the National Park Service at Moton Field, 06A. Not much else there except cheap fuel, and decent fast food is a twenty minute drive away.

Fuel there was recently $3.99, full service only, which is cheaper than surrounding self serve.

Actually lived in Tuskegee for a few months back in I think 1992. I really need to start a thread on the trip and quit taking over Alex's...

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