First long trip

AlphaWhiskey

AlphaWhiskey

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Jan 6, 2013
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Yardley PA
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AlphaWhiskey
Flying Trenton NJ to shore of Alabama late next week VFR in my Piper Lance. Based on reading other posts, I will leave early in AM and have my snacks, water (only sipping until near next stop), relief bottles (just in case!), backup charts, and a flexible time window in case of weather issues. Also just got an oil change and a wash in preparation for the trip. It's an 800+ nm trip and I will be taking my 13 year old son. Here are my questions, sorry if they seem random and thanks in advance for the advice:
1. In the DC area, should I plan a route between the D.C. airspace and Camp David? (I will certainly ask for flight following.)
2. My halfway point is East of Asheville NC. Thinking of a stop at KFQD due to reasonable fuel, long runway, and on airport cafe (though might need one sooner, no big deal if so). Any different suggestions?
3. Do folks worry about listening to music and missing what ATC says? I've never tried it since most of my trips so far were <100 nm. My panel has a plug for "music" but I have no clue if it works so I will test it before trip. If it doesn't work, do you stick in 1 earbud under one headphone?
 
It should be a fun trip! We flew to gulf shores September 2012, had a blast! I planned for the east side heading south, making two stops at KTTA and KPXE then into KJKA.

We have the garmin 496 for xm wx and music that will mute when ATC is talking. Traffic gets busy near the gulf coast with the military flights so you won't want to miss your calls. With a panel mount plug for music input I would think it mutes for ATC, know before you go is a good plan.

Enjoy the long cross country, it's a learning opportunity for planning and wx. Here is a link to my trip, http://gmflightlog.blogspot.com/2012/09/bac-fest-2012.html?m=1
 
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Looks like a fun trip. Push a little more west and you can get a nice view over the Appalachian Mountains all the way down to Alabama. Trying to plan a trip with some friends around the Great Lakes right now. Envy you. Been a while since I've done a cross country trip that was longer than 200 nm.
 
Can I comeeeee haha I'm in long branch. Where are you located that your flying out of Trenton ?
 
AlphaWhiskey said:
3. Do folks worry about listening to music and missing what ATC says? I've never tried it since most of my trips so far were <100 nm. My panel has a plug for "music" but I have no clue if it works so I will test it before trip. If it doesn't work, do you stick in 1 earbud under one headphone?
Click to expand...

My Garmin 340 has two music inputs, MUSIC1 and MUSIC2. I can send music from my MP3 Player, external portable CD Player, phone, or tablet directly into the MUSIC1 jack, and it will automatically mute whenever anyone talks, including ATC, other planes, or anyone in the airplane. MUSIC2 doesn't automatically mute. Two things to check if your audio panel is similar... Make sure your music plug is the "MUSIC1" type (if more than one plug is available) that'll mute, and secondly, if your headsets and audio system are stereo capable, any non-stereo headset plugged in anywhere in the plane can cause the system to work in mono only.
 
I live in Yardley PA. Thanks for the music pointers.
Gary, did you fly between DC and Camp David to get through that area?
KTTA has steep gas prices. KPXE looks great.
 
I just completed a 2100 mile journey last week. Snacks and water were critical. Don't worry about drinking too much water, two of us went through almost 3/4 case of water in two days and no extra pee stops were needed...stay hydrated, it will keep you mentally sharper.

Music is great...as stated above, most audio panels will auto mute the music with ACT or mic transmissions. You should be able to test that on the ground.

Pick up flight following everywhere you can, it is a great help as you get into busier airspace.

Stay flexible on your plans. Chart out where you want to go and where you need to stop for fuel, but I can say in almost 10 stops on our journey we only actually landed at two of the stops as planned.

Make sure you leave plenty of buffer time so you are not rushed or get yourself into a situation of making a bad go call due to time constraints.

Have fun!
 
Copied from the Cardinal Flyers site...

Subject: Increasing human endurance
From: George W. Braly [ADH] 72311,556

The trick on the bladder control is this:

1) Wake up - - and don't drink too much. No coffee.

2) Empty the bladder a couple of times, including the obligatory last trip
to the water closet before departure.

3) Either just before departure or just after, eat something salty.

4) Do a direct climb to some altitude above 10,000'. Higher is better.

5) Go on O2 (it is dry, by definition).

6) Within that time frame, your body will start to "think" it is
dehydrating (it is) and your kidneys will quit dumping very much fluid into
the bladder.

7) After about 90 minutes, you can start to sip the beverage of your
choice, preferably not coffee - - and you SHOULD do that in order to avoid
a dehydration headache later in the trip.

My wife has one of the all time midget bladders. Formerly, she could not do
2.5 hour legs.

Two years ago, she did 7+30 from SMX to Ada, non-stop into a head wind.

Regards, George
 
AlphaWhiskey said:
I live in Yardley PA. Thanks for the music pointers.
Gary, did you fly between DC and Camp David to get through that area?
KTTA has steep gas prices. KPXE looks great.
Click to expand...

Are you VFR or IFR? If VFR, no problem, just look out for P40 expanding when the Prez is there. If IFR, you can ask for whatever but you'll get what you'll get.

EDIT: I see you're VFR. Like I said, no problem squeezing between, but it looks like you could also bypass the DC area to the east just as easily. Your call, of course.
 
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I've yet to go X-country, but what's the success rate at crossing IAD's Bravo? I live nearly due south of IAD, so any North-bound trip means transiting or a long detour.
 
AlphaWhiskey said:
I live in Yardley PA. Thanks for the music pointers.
Gary, did you fly between DC and Camp David to get through that area?
KTTA has steep gas prices. KPXE looks great.
Click to expand...

No, I went down the east side. It was a straight shot for me DQO ENO PXT TAPPA..........

KLBT has good fuel prices too, check them out.
 
Gulf Shores is a great family destination. We got stuck there for a couplemofmiurs on a flight from Texas to South Florida and had a blast. Make sure you check out The Hangout, which is a restaurant on the beach. Lots of fun for the kids.

We also fly in to Western North Carolina frequently. We use KHKY which is east of Asheville. I settled on this airport after trying a few others because it is a tower, multiple instrument approaches including and ILS, maintenance on the field, reasonable fuel prices, nice staff and it is located just south of the mountains.

Good luck and have a great trip.

Abram Finkelstein
N301D
 
I would select the route based on weather the day of the trip. P40 expanding is published as a TFR, so you'll get it as part of your briefing.

'Topping' the BWI/IAD/DCA class B is not the problem, as it is located in the SFRA you would have to file a SFR flightplan and transition from gate to gate. As long as you stay clear of the 'zone of death' (FRZ, basically 15DME from DCA VOR), you are ok.

If you divert to the east, e.g. by using the VPAXI and VPACE VFR waypoints, it'll add about 3nm to your entire trip and you dont even have to mess with the SFRA at all (beyond having the SFRA online training). N87 VPAXI VPACE KJKA would keep you clear of the tri-airport class B, the Pax river R-areas and the Dahlgren range (often inactive). There are some MOAs in central VA (Farmville and Pickett), but those can be dog-legged around without much problems if they are active at all.
 
The 496 works well with the music,also have a panel mount input.I prefer going down the coast on the east side till past the sfra not worth the aggregation then cut in .plenty of cheap fuel on that route try air nav for fuel planning.good luck have fun.
 
T'were I contemplating such a trip, I'd put at least a short flight on the oil change if it hasn't been flown. I've never liked for the first flight to be post-MX. IIRC, your plane requires a bit of de-cowling and fiddle-farting that must be put back together and secured properly.
 
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