Trip debrief in case it's helpful for anyone...
Route and Weather:
KDPA -> KASG (refuel) -> UKW (VOR) -> KABI (refuel) -> KODO (refuel/overnight)... KODO -> SFL (VOR) -> EWM (VOR) -> KDMN (refuel) -> SSO (VOR) -> KTUS -> KSDL(flying east around the bravo following the canal/aqueduct thing rather than doing the E/W transition over Sky Harbor) The flight back was essentially the same, except that I stayed in El Paso for a night. From EWM to Tucson I'm pretty much just following the highway. It took about 12 hours each way. When I did this trip back in October it was 2 hours shorter, courtesy of more direct routing; impossible this time due to wx. On the map below red checks are Chicago->Phoenix gas stops. Blue checks are the reverse route gas stops.
Altitude varied a lot based on ceiling considerations and turbulence, but usually 5.5-8.5k, except in the desert-y areas where I climbed a bit to avoid bumps. I was getting about 135kts TAS on ~9.5gph at 5-8k'. This is in a 1972 Piper Arrow II, non turbo.
En route I had several "outs" planned for weather that would allow me to park the plane and get a commercial ticket to Phoenix. Having those preplanned outs (with contingencies for stopping in Fayetteville, Dallas, Midland -- all areas with commercial travel options) put less pressure on me to make the trip work in the arrow. I was more comfortable cooling my heels for a bit in the FBO waiting for wx to clear up knowing that worst case I could hop a flight outta there.
PIREPs:
- Atlantic FBO at El Paso (KELP) gave phenomenal service. Handled everything very well and with a smile, and they negotiated for me on a last minute rental car and got the price chopped down by 66%.
- Signature at KSDL is expensive... to be expected I guess. Got billed $45 a day for ramp space (lived without the hangar this time). They waived the $35 handling fee with 15gals of gas. I only stayed there because of logistical considerations with my friend. Next time I'm picking another airport. Nothing wrong with Signature service, they did everything perfectly and there were no surprise charges, they just are not cheap at that location... They cater to the jet class.
- TexasAero at KODO (Midland/Odessa, TX) was really accommodating and stayed late to throw me in the hangar. It's about 2-3$ cheaper per gallon than Midland's main class charlie airport, too. I also got some quality sleep in their dark lounge rooms as I waited for weather to pass. I almost didn't want to get out of the recliner and finish the journey...
- Ended up not getting Turo or any rental on my friend's advice. We planned to do a bit of partying in Phoenix so Uber was the more responsible, yet obscenely expensive option for this trip. Could have gotten a nice Turo for what Phoenix Uber charges there
...
Observations:
- You really do not want to be flying after 12pm from ~90nm east of El Paso all the way to Phoenix (at least this time of year). My trip on the way there was absolutely brutal getting beaten up by bumps (on the way back I left early in the morning and it was MUCH better). The best ride I got was at 10.5 headed west and 11.5 headed east. Anything below that was continuous chop with some serious rising air that would carry me up 700+fpm if I didn't nose down a bit (adding speed I didn't want, making the ride even more rough). Even at that altitude you eventually start getting beaten up as the day goes on. Unfortunately climbing to that in the afternoon is taxing on the (non-turbo'd) Arrow when the DA at KDMN (my refueling stop) was already 7200' (it's ~4k field elevation).
- On the above note, when I do this trip again in a few months
I'm going to plan to fly at morning twilight/sunrise to get out well before it starts heating up. I want my feet firmly planted on the ground by ~11am.
- My plans and routing had to be really flexible with the Texas/eastern NM weather. They have nearly daily thunderstorms that rip through and are kind of unpredictable in terms of where they'll materialize. The net result seems to be TAFs for every area that show potential thunderstorms. The only benefit is that when the storms actually occur they were primarily just numerous, isolated cells (for most of the ones I dealt with) AND they move really slowly compared to the midwest storms I'm used to. That made it easy to give them a wide berth and stay safe. But when planning my return trip all I saw on the daily weather view in FF was "AM Thunderstorms/PM Thunderstorms" for 7 days straight for Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland and Abilene. If I had just gone off that -- there's no way I would have done the trip.
- Some of the TAFs in west texas/east NM seem to be unreliable. For instance, I'd see Amarillo getting a TAF for "variable winds at 30-40 knots" (obviously NO-GO flying weather), and then it ends up being winds 130 @ 10kts. This happened multiple times while planning and it was a bit frustrating. It's inaccurate even 6 hours out. I'm guessing it's just difficult weather to model. I still use the TAFs but I recognize that they might not be accurate until just a couple hours before the time they're forecasting for.
- Flying in TX I was pretty much bug-free, but the second I crossed the state line into Oklahoma my windshield lit up with a kaleidoscope of different colored bug-guts. That was a nice treat.
Lessons:
- Out of habit I ordered a top-off of gas at Deming, NM in the hot afternoon. Foolish. I should have run with half fuel as originally planned and it would have gotten me to Phoenix just fine. Taking off at higher DA with full tanks and only a couple hundred pounds short of max gross was uncomfortable. The area around there is very forgiving, but it would have been a little scary doing that if there were obstacles around and a meager climb rate. I also had to level off in the climb when the engine temp began to rise, it's the first time I've had to do that in a while.
- It's the first time I've done so much flying in one day and I learned that the first sign of fatigue for me is missing something on the radio (usually me hearing the wrong frequency during a handoff). This is an indicator I will be cognizant of in the future.
Overall:
A great trip and one I'll be doing again soon. Logged a total of ~23.7h of flying in for the journey. I recommend southwest flying to anyone, it's the most picturesque scenery I've ever had.
Also calculated my new times... Since getting the Arrow back from annual in early April I've already put 72 hours on it and going on my second oil change already. The plane has been performing perfectly (minus the alternator wire I got fixed) and I'm ecstatic to be getting so much use out of it
