Cross Country Tasks

[211º]

Curious to hear about other's thoughts on keeping the mind active and useful during long cross country flights.  Sometimes when I have a long cross country, I'll shoot a video, make a list of tasks to complete, or zero-in on becoming one with the engine.  But I'm looking for other ideas and to hear other MSer's tricks.

Tasks that require too much brain power (I've discovered) are doing cross-word puzzles or playing computer chess.

This may be a stretch to ask on MooneySpace, but any thoughts, opinions, or ideas about keeping occupied and useful during (say) three hours at altitude.

[takair]

I don’t do many trips beyond two hours these days, but as I break the one hour mark I may throw on music to break up the time. Also play the usual game of “where would I land now” if the engine quits. One task we are supposed to do, but I don’t see often in GA planes is monitoring guard frequency. Every so often that can lead to reporting an ELT and every so often it leads to a real deal. In my particular plane, my number two radio automatically breaks squelch on this frequency, making it very sensitive, but annoying to listen to. Beyond that, I am doing the usual weather checks and such….usually too often to be useful. I can see on flights longer than two hours, occupying ones mind is an important task. It is perhaps one reason I don’t enjoy longer flights as much as some other folks. Will be curious to hear some of the other advice. 

[Mooney Dog]

I never do anything unrelated to the flight while in cruise. Nice try FAA!

 

For real, I keep a good plan of what's happening and what should be happening, though i primarily fly IFR so im talking to someone on and off mostly for frequency changes. I do listen to instrumental music while in flight quite a bit. I find a lot of the video game sound tracks do a great job at keeping me alert and focus. In the jet, i wouldnt dream of doing anything else other than light music. Im the mooney, probably the same. 

[N201MKTurbo]

We are supposed to be looking out the window for other planes. Anything that takes your attention away from that is a bad thing. I prefer listening to stories, podcasts or talk radio if I’m not getting flight following. 

[Bob - S50]

I must be really boring.  I don't do anything other than flight related tasks or checking with my passengers.

On long flights I print out a flight log.  For me, I find the one on SkyVector most nearly approximates the information I would print if I had total control.  The one on 1-800-WxBrief is not to my liking even though I've asked them several times to allow each pilot to roll their own.

At waypoints about 20 minutes apart I record the time and fuel and compare it with the projection.  I then record the difference as either plus or minus some value for each (just like we did at the airlines).  After two or three points you can start to detect a trend of coming up short on fuel or making fuel.  Between that, listening to ATC, checking weather ahead with ADS-B IN, checking engine instruments, trying to spot traffic I see on ADS-B, and enjoying the view; that's enough for me.

[Hank]

I roll my own flight logs, with every airport and VOR close to my path. I tune and verify the many fewer VORs, listen to AWOS of airports ahead of me, talk to ATC either IFR or Flight Following, and watch the world go by. When weather is marginal or I'm in the clouds, I check weather ahead much more often, and crib notes on it.

When it's CAVU and I'm going 2-3 hours or more, sometimes I run out of things to do, especially if it's hazy and can't see much. But I'm rarely bored, and certainly don't read books or play games . . . .

[McMooney]

I generally fly IFR or atleast have FF, so constantly listening for ATC.

watch engine gauges and fuel flows.

look for engine out locations.

look for interesting things on the ground.

sometimes music but it's annoying as it's constantly interrupted by atc.

I fly between 8000 and 12000 ft, every so often check the pulse ox and maybe take a couple puffs of oxygen just to stay fresh.

I also find 8k plus avoids most traffic.

honestly, once en-route at altitude, it isn't even .25 the workload of driving.

 

 

[Marauder]

I’m really surprised no one has said they take a nap.


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[McMooney]

41 minutes ago, Marauder said:

I’m really surprised no one has said they take a nap.


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need better autopilot

[ArtVandelay]

I’m really surprised no one has said they take a nap.


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Because the FAA doesn’t have a sense of humor.

[midlifeflyer]

[Hank]

4 hours ago, Marauder said:

I’m really surprised no one has said they take a nap.

That'd be my wife . . . Usually on the way home, or after a few minutes in the clouds. She told me not to post any more pictures of her sleeping in the plane . . . . .

[DanM20C]

5 hours ago, Marauder said:

I’m really surprised no one has said they take a nap.


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That’s what I used to do. Then that one time I slept too long

 

Dan

[Will.iam]

1 hour ago, DanM20C said:

That’s what I used to do. Then that one time I slept too long

 

Dan

So you’re the one. 

[GeeBee]

Not paying attention is how you end up deadsticking into Lajes

[Will.iam]

Or not believing that you are seeing and assuming it can’t possibly be a fuel leak.  

[211º]

Kind of a side topic... I'm kind of amazed how terrain and points of interest become familiar. Not just things like crossing the Mississippi R or Wabash R, but specific smoke stacks, notable Warning Areas (one in Indiana is a miles by miles rectangle of trees surround by farms), an airport by a prison, a power plant seemingly in the middle of nowhere, antennas-from-heck to name a few.

[Danb]

I take numerous 1000+ mile trips yearly, keeping busy checking engine temps etc, keeping on course going around storms, checking and cross checking destination airport and approach plates, checking on OXIMETER and saturation levels and charting fuel usage every 30 minutes even though I have a totalizer keeps me quite busy generally never bored, I’m relating to IFR flight. I’m sure I’ve missed numerous other tasks 

[skydvrboy]

I feel like I’m still a total rookie who is still trying to get this flying thing ingrained in my head.  As such, I try to treat every flight like a training flight and rotate through all the navigation options I learned as a student.  

So some flights are gps, some I’ll tune and follow VOR’s, some are pilotage looking for visual waypoints.  But the fun ones are when I go full Lindbergh, get the winds aloft forecast, calculate the WCA, fly a heading for a duration and see how close I come.

Between the navigation, atc comms, monitoring activities, and hand flying all the time, I’m never bored.

[midlifeflyer]

14 hours ago, Hank said:

That'd be my wife . . . Usually on the way home, or after a few minutes in the clouds. She told me not to post any more pictures of her sleeping in the plane . . . . .

Mine too. It started 3 days after I earned my Private. First passenger, first ride. Short flight over a nearby landmark. Fell asleep in the way back. Been doing it ever since.

[1964-M20E]

I listen to ATC tune in VORs on NAV2 and try to know where I am while flying the magenta line.. I slide my seat back kick off my shoes have a snack assuming the flight attendant is on board and working.

[Bob - S50]

2 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Fell asleep in the way back. Been doing it ever since.

Which we should all take as a compliment.

[McMooney]

On 8/15/2021 at 7:32 AM, 1964-M20E said:

I listen to ATC tune in VORs on NAV2 and try to know where I am while flying the magenta line.. I slide my seat back kick off my shoes have a snack assuming the flight attendant is on board and working.

figured out, sliding the seat back in an E is actually worth a knot or two.

[211º]

3 hours ago, McMooney said:

figured out, sliding the seat back in an E is actually worth a knot or two.

Yes!!! And easier to rest elbow on knee!

[MB65E]

Take a small screwdriver and check all the tiny interior screws.

build a checklist in the gns 430/530. What a pain. 
try going pee in a container listing to center. Negative Auto pilot. Lol!

micro manage your fuel to the 10th gallon. 

-Matt