What was your shortest flight?

[1964-M20E]

We have had some here boast bout their long range, long duration flights.  Well what was your shortest flight?

Flying home from KORL yesterday we encountered IFR conditions in New Orleans, 6sm, 008 OVC, and could not make it another 3 miles to LS40.  Well it was all that IFR, special VFR FAA stuff.  I could see LS40.  I had to land at MSY.  So today when the VFR window opened up I moved the plane from MSY to LS4 all of 2 minutes on Flight aware.  How do you log 2 minutes??

 

 

[Pinecone]

Remember you can log from first movement for flight to the last movement after flight.  So probably at least 2 minutes each end, so at least 0.1

[EricJ]

Had a 0.3 here the other day exploring clearing weather that wasn't clearing nearly as well as we'd hoped.   It was weird as it was nicely VFR around the field, but if you looked in any direction the clouds just came down to nearly the ground.    There was a little inverted bowl of sufficient ceiling that you couldn't get out of VFR.   Once that was obvious, which took like two minutes, we went back.

[Ibra]

I used to fly between two adjacent airports (3min), I listen on two pattern frequencies and keep aircraft in takeoff config as it is for landing (gear down and 1/2 flaps) 

There is something unsatisfactory above those flights 

[Skates97]

Three miles between airports. Landed at Flabob KRIR for some cheap gas, their pump was out of order (not on a NOTAM) so hopped over to Riverside (KRAL) as they had the next cheapest gas in the area at the time.

[hammdo]

KGYI TO KSWI - for fuel

-Don

[201Steve]

[N201MKTurbo]

One lap around the pattern.

it’s hard to beat that.

[AIREMATT]

22 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

One lap around the pattern.

it’s hard to beat that.

Title should have specified shortest X-C flight logged:)

[Hank]

45 minutes ago, AIREMATT said:

Title should have specified shortest X-C flight logged:)

My Student Night XC was 51 nm.

Last week I flew 4nm for fuel, KHTW --> KHTS.

[Will.iam]

3nm 5tx0 to 30F. I used to hop over there for practice landings and it’s my engine out destination on climb out past 1500 ft instead of 180 degree turn if taking off southbound which the winds are most of the year.. below that it’s a soccer field.

[201er]

I dunno. Todays flight from Tennessee to NJ was one of my shorter trips 

 

I’ve done South Jersey to Flying W which is like 2nm. But that’s not really going some place. It’s less air time than flying 1 traffic pattern! 

[jlunseth]

A few years ago I decided I wanted to try landing at KMSP, and I figured they might want me to keep my speed up so I thought I would practice some fast approaches. I picked a cold December day to do it. I took off from KFCM and flew about 25 miles to KGYL for some landings. The trick would be keeping the engine temps up during fast approaches. After the first one, I took off from KGYL intending to go to another airport. On takeoff I saw suddenly low oil pressure and I believe low oil temps also, so I immediately turned around and did the shortest approach I think I have ever done. There were oil stripes about 18” wide down both sides of the plane, coming from the cowling. Got a mechanic out there and the diagnosis was that moisture in the air/oil separator had frozen blocking the engine’s ability to breath (vent crankcase pressure) and the engine was blowing oil out every available orifice. The air/oil separator was thawed, put some oil in the engine and it was good to go. That is my shortest ever flight.

The moral of the story is that if you live in the cold north you have to not only get the oil temp and pressure up, but you have to let the engine warm the engine compartment some, before takeoff, cause there are things in there that really don’t like to be below freezing temp. Keep your cowl flaps closed at all times and don’t get in a hurry in the cold air.

[EricJ]

Would taking off on a long runway in a C150, doing a little slow flight down the runway, and then landing count? 

[N201MKTurbo]

So, what’s the inverse of a T&G? A Fly and Stop?

[Will.iam]

16 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

So, what’s the inverse of a T&G? A Fly and Stop?

Yes but it’s called a hop.

[Raymond J1]

With a Piper J3... And a strong headwind.
After takeoff, it was impossible to move forward.
So we rested 3 or 4 minutes later on the same runway, a little before the place where we had taken off, but without going around.

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, Will.iam said:

Yes but it’s called a hop.

Hop & Stop!

[Will.iam]

1 hour ago, Raymond J1 said:

With a Piper J3... And a strong headwind.
After takeoff, it was impossible to move forward.
So we rested 3 or 4 minutes later on the same runway, a little before the place where we had taken off, but without going around.

My friend had a j-3 cub that we would go up and hover in a strong wind it was a lot of fun. Also fun to fly along the hiway and watch all the traffic slow down as they have signs speed checked by aircraft. 

[GeeBee]

Close is relative. It is time really. I've flown from a uncontrolled field 2 miles from KSAC, easy peasy in a C-172. I've also done 8 miles from KCCB to KONT in a King Air. The fastest and busy close flight I've ever done KBZN to KBTM in a B737 Basic. 57 miles. Especially if the Captain decides on a straight in at BTM. Besides the ATC communications, the ATIS and the CTAF at BTM, as well as computing the landing data, you need time to do the checklist, after takeoff, climb, descent, approach and before landing. Usually was on the approach checklist as we touched down. At least SFO to  OAK you had a downwind to buy some time.

Here is a bonus question. If you are at an uncontrolled field, 2 miles from a towered airport with Class D airspace and it is reporting 1/2 mile visibility but the uncontrolled field has 3 miles, do you need an IFR clearance? Do you need to talk to the tower?

[Mooneymite]

5 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

 At least SFO to  OAK you had a downwind to buy some time.

B-727....we took off on SFO rwy 01 in the wee hours, cleared to 3000',  but stopped ATC stopped us at 1500' (pack trip when the power suddenly came back...poor hapless FE!).  We were immediately on base leg for the NW runway to KOAK.  I think we logged 0.1.....barely.

[Jim Peace]

we fly ONT to SBD and other short trips in the 767...

JFK EWR etc....just reposition flights

[Mooneymite]

Simulator sessions often include stupid scenarios when there's extra time at the end of the period.  One of the "old standbys" was to take of on KPHL's rwy 9R, do a touch and go on 9L and a full stop on rwy 8.  Needless to say, no checklists get done.

Landing on an aircraft carrier in a Boeing?  No problemo....just crank up the headwind!

[GeeBee]

Yep we used to to roll off KBOS 4R and land 27 in the A330 sim. 3 landings in about 5 minutes!

[laytonl]

2,000’ to visit a neighboring airpark.  Actually it was probably 5,000’ hangar to hangar.  Lee