Flying adventure / training recommendations for a 1-2 week flying vacation?

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noahf

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noahf
Summary: Any recommendations for a 1-2 week flying adventure this summer, for a low-time pilot (120 hours)?

Details:
This summer I returned to flying after a 10 year pause, and I'm once again hooked! I've got around 120 hours, with 25 in the past 6 months. I would love to fly more, but WX + rental scheduling + other commitments make it tough to fly more than half-day XCs. That said, I eat/sleep/dream about flying, and can set aside 1-2 weeks for a flying adventure this year.

Some ideas (please add others):
* A long XC from Palo Alto (KPAO), possibly starting with a mountain checkout to be able to go East. Interested in flying over the grand canyon or other scenic areas, and have friends to visit in San Diego.
* Tailwheel transition at some destination, ideally with grass fields or backcountry. All of my flying has been under SFO's class B, and would love to enjoy flying closer to nature with less traffic/airspace and with more new scenery. Would love to experience low & slow flight in something like a Cub (where safe).
* Glider rating. I grew up watching real & building RC gliders, and love them. The closest training is a 1.5h drive away, so would probably want to commit to a destination + club/CFI and stay overnight.
* Training, museums, or other education. E.g. a mountain checkout, the Air & Space musum in DC, or FAA high altitude training.
* Accelerated IFR training.

Any feedback on the ideas above, other ideas, or specific recommendations? Much appreciated!
 
For Tailwheel adventures and transition training check out Holladay Aviation in Jacksonville, Florida. They offer an amazing experience in a CubCrafters Sport Cub... flying low and slow over scenic Florida including grass strips. Excellent tailwheel instrction too!
 
Does your rental outfit have a daily minimum? What types of planes are you flying?

Ron Levy used to warn about bad things happening when you do accelerated IFR training and don't keep up the pace after you pass the checkride. Something to think about if you're going to cram an IFR into 1-2 weeks and then go back to flying 1 hour a week.
 
You could always fly to truckee, ktrk, and get a instructor to show you some mountain flying, and you could do some glider training there as well.. two birds one stone!

Although summer can be interesting flying due to density altitude. So depending what you fly you may not be very high over the Sierra's. Or even heading back west on some days.
 
asicer said:
Ron Levy used to warn about bad things happening when you do accelerated IFR training and don't keep up the pace after you pass the checkride. Something to think about if you're going to cram an IFR into 1-2 weeks and then go back to flying 1 hour a week.
Click to expand...
Flying 1 hour a week is plenty to maintain proficiency. The bigger problem is the reality that most GA folks will sometimes go a month or more in between flights.
 
Finding a plane to buy?


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Training?

Transition to a higher max gross weight aircraft. You can easily fly the Sierra in a 160 HP 172 solo or with one passenger (provided neither of you are too heavy), especially around Lake Tahoe, but you really do want to be well below max gross weight.

Get some training in mountain flying. Lots of outfits at PAO require you to land at a high altitude airport with an instructor for the first time. Know how to read winds, 'cause it's gonna be important near the crest.

I don't find any problem maintaining IFR currency around the Bay Area. Flyable IMC is pretty common. Even with the rains we've had this winter, most of them have been warm (that's unusual), and the freezing level today is near 11,000 feet. Kinda windy, though. But honestly, I really wouldn't have wanted to do the training accelerated. It's already quite challenging, and that will make it more so.
 
Go someplace and get glider and seaplane or tail wheel or acro time
 
Thanks everyone for the ideas & feedback.

@asicer - Am flying C172S (steam gauges, /G). My flying club has a 2h daily minimum (3h on weekends), but I've heard they are flexible for someone making a real/longer trip.

Mountain / glider / tailwheel all sound super appealing - will look into some of those (the FL recommendation, TRK, etc). Thanks!
 
noahf said:
@asicer - Am flying C172S (steam gauges, /G). My flying club has a 2h daily minimum (3h on weekends), but I've heard they are flexible for someone making a real/longer trip.
Click to expand...

OK, let's start with a bit of math. You say 1-2 weeks so let's split the difference and say 10 days. The daily minimums put you at around 23 hours, which is about 3 legs out and 3 legs back assuming 3 hour legs and 0.5 hours Hobbs each leg for ground ops, pattern entry, e
tc. You say that they're pretty lax with the daily minimums so we won't sweat it too much. A leg in a 172 is about 330 miles so that gives you about a 1000nm radius to work with. Looking at the map and starting from the 12o'clock position working clockwise, some of the highlights that stand out to me are:

Seattle/Vancouver. A small plane comes in handy for exploring the islands and volcanoes. Plus you can get your seaplane rating while you're there.

Glacier National Park with a stop at Couer d'Alene. Another place for a seaplane rating. And it's Idaho, so you might be able to hire a
guide and a tailwheel to explore the backcountry.

Yellowstone. That also takes you through Idaho (see above).

Salt Lake City. Probably not better than taking an airliner.

Nevada and Utah's 6 national parks, if you're a big fan of the NPS.

Death Valley and Vegas. Some people enjoy the heat of summer in the desert. I don't know if you're one of them. It's a comparatively short hop for you, so it could be combined with...

Grand Canyon, Page and the Four Corners region. Pretty scenery. Tons of photo ops.

Sedona, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Cruces, Canyon de Chelly. More pretty desert.

LA and San Diego. Probably not better than taking an airliner.

Just a few of my random thoughts.
 
Take the southern route to Vegas and on to the Grand Canyon. Make the flight into the airport at the Sky Walk. I read the take off is exciting to go from AGL of a few feet to a few thousand feet as you go over the edge.
 
Ether a major 1,000+nm cross country or get your float rating, floats is the most fun I've had flying, it is the definition of freedom.


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