IFR route Lake Michigan

[gprellwitz]

What route can one expect between the Chicago area (say DPA or JOT) and upper central Michigan (sat TVC or PLN). I want NO OVERWATER (personal choice), and will file /G. My ideal would probably be JOT - CGT - GIJ - direct destination.

I seem to recall hearing that they don't like CGT because it's used for ORD approaches/departures. Should I expect to be routed to EON? Do they have another preferred routing? They don't have a published one in the back of the AF/D.

 

[ScottM]

Grant it seems that every time I fly east and ask for no over water I get EON as the exit point. A few miles away from EON Chi-Dep will hand you over to Chi-Cntr. At that point you can usually request a more direct route. A few times I have gotten Chi-App to let me turn east long before EON but it has never happened north of JOT.

 

[bstratt]

I agree - one time out of ten I get JOT-CGT (which is what I always file). I usually get Radar Vectors south, at some point direct EON, then usually up the middle of MI.

 

[bbchien]

I agree - one time out of ten I get JOT-CGT (which is what I always file). I usually get Radar Vectors south, at some point direct EON, then usually up the middle of MI.

Grant, the reason I went for Mode S is exactly your predicament. The way to go is VFR toward Hobart, circumventing Gary, then opening your Flight Plan with South Bend. Keep your eyes peeled, though there's lotas traffinc Zooming by in the 900 feet avaiable under the veil.

Amazing how C90 is only for turbojets. Serves safety SO well, doesn't it?! "Well, no, we're not only for turbojets, you get to go to Peotone". But if they tried to make a turbojet operator do that, they'rd be screaming right into Senator Durbin's office!

Another reason I have NO sympathy for ogogog or the likes. The interests of safety...hah!

 

[gprellwitz]

Grant, the reason I went for Mode S is exactly your predicament. The way to go is VFR toward Hobart, circumventing Gary, then opening your Flight Plan with South Bend. Keep your eyes peeled, though there's lotas traffinc Zooming by in the 900 feet avaiable under the veil.

Unfortunately renting kind of precludes getting Mode S! I could, I suppose, get a ride in the back of the King Air that's going with us and just go over the lake, but that kind of takes the fun out of it. Of course, if I could get multi instruction and actually fly it over myself...!

And yeah, I think a composite plan, picking up IFR around GIJ would work pretty well, presuming we're not IMC at the time. It's an added hassle, however. I agree that it's not the saest thing to force all the VFR planes in a narrow corridor like they do, but I'm not fighting that battle today.

 

[ScottM]

And yeah, I think a composite plan, picking up IFR around GIJ would work pretty well, presuming we're not IMC at the time. It's an added hassle, however. I agree that it's not the saest thing to force all the VFR planes in a narrow corridor like they do, but I'm not fighting that battle today.

The thing you might notice as you start to fly a lot of IFR around Chicago is that the worst WX is almost always around Gary. Summer or Winter if there is going to be bad WX somewhere along my route of flight it will be from about CGT to Goshen. Lots of times VFR on both ends.

 

[gprellwitz]

The thing you might notice as you start to fly a lot of IFR around Chicago is that the worst WX is almost always around Gary. Summer or Winter if there is going to be bad WX somewhere along my route of flight it will be from about CGT to Goshen. Lots of times VFR on both ends.

Of course. It would have to be.

 

[gprellwitz]

Well, did the flight this weekend. Heading out was VMC in the Chicago area. I got radar vectors almost direct to GIJ, so was very pleased. Coming back was solid IMC from GRR south. Around GRR they amended my clearance from PLN - GIJ - 1C5 to PLN - OXI - EON - JOT - 1C5.But shortly after GIJ they gave me radar vectors to EON, though the heading was about 20* south of that. They then gave me EON and vectors onto the approach. They had me a little high for the approach due to traffic, but took me into COTRI instead of having to dogleg across to the IAF. Saved me 5 minutes of manuevering.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7111W/history/20060910/1921Z/KPLN/1C5
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7111W/history/20060908/1403Z/1C5/KPLN

 

[mikea]

The thing you might notice as you start to fly a lot of IFR around Chicago is that the worst WX is almost always around Gary. Summer or Winter if there is going to be bad WX somewhere along my route of flight it will be from about CGT to Goshen. Lots of times VFR on both ends.

To a finer point, my CFI pointed out that when the weather is really bad the current report at ORD or MDW is often right at IFR minimums when that is not the case any other nearby airport reporting.

I think it's the big fans they have to the blow bad stuff away.