Long cross country in a 130kts plane?

[Kiddo's Driver]

Have you flown the Trinidad?
I got to ride in one a couple months back.
It was interesting to be in the "same plane" but going way faster.

No, I have not. I love the idea. I hate the price tag. I also hate the single shaft for two magnetos. They seem safe enough, but are expensive as heck to overhaul.

Jim

 

[bobmrg]

Some of my most favorite memories are of the ferry flights made from Lock Haven to Vancouver WA in Super Cubs. Mostly they were low and slow and against headwinds.

What radios........?

Lucky devil. My only ferry flight out of Lock Haven was a Seneca II. Lotsa Vero Beach - Seattle flights, though. Them wuz the days.....

Bob Gardner

 

[dell30rb]

For longer trips...

Get good headsets for both you and your wife. You can find nice Bose X's used between $300-400. Makes a huge difference. Cruise at a higher altitude above the haze and bumps. Even if it means sacrificing 10-15 knots to a headwind.

Bose and Lightspeed Zulu or Sierra are the top brands.

 

[Art VanDelay]

My prediction - you'll do it one time and after that Southwest (hell, even Spirit) will start looking pretty good

 

[CT4ME]

Do-able, and initially fun. But.... you'll be looking for a 180+ kt bird soon!

 

[Paul Hamilton]

I've done both DC to the West Coast and DC to South Florida many times. Be advised that an instrument rating is very helpful, almost mandatory, for longer trips, particularly in the Southeast. Back when I was VFR-only, my trip postponement rate was about 50% in a DC summer. However, Great Plains to Southern California is usually VFR.

With a family of three, the economics are pretty good if you own the airplane. If you have a rental plane and get weathered in, costs will rise. IFR helps here.

Flight plan so the fuel stop has a good lunch spot on the field or near it. We found that a good supply of books, a drawing board, and a music source that feeds into the headset are key to keeping kids happy.

Oh, yes -- if you plan an overnight stay, make sure there is a pool that is usable and, ideally a restaurant at the hotel. Some stops are better than others -- my daughter, given a choice of Ponca City, OK, and Paris, France would go for Ponca every time. "It has everything you would want or need in a small area."

Long trips are actually better than short ones is some ways. If you are flying California to DC and don't like the weather forecast for Wyoming, the route through New Mexico is the same distance.

Paul

 

[Datadriver]

Been lurking a long time, but this is my first original thread here!

I am working on my PPL and doing some daydreaming along the way twht bout up a question. We live in Fort Worth, and my wife is a Disney travel agent. So we end up spending a lot of time going to both Anaheim and Orlando. Is it reasonable to plan make those trips in a 130kts plane like a 182 or Dakota? It looks like there would be at least two stops along the way. But, how does that play out from a comfort standpoint?

I've done this trip several times from the Austin area in an Arrow.
Spend $ on a good headset and make sure the autopilot works.

 

[LDJones]

Many of our long trips wherein a 135 kt airplane...Minneapolis-San Antonio, Minneapolis-Orlando (multiple times), Minneapolis-Cap Cod, etc. Most were done in one day with one kid on board. Split a longer trip up and plan an activity at the mid-point and it's really easy.

 

[hook_dupin]

I did FL to MA this year in a Champ.

Going cross country in an airplane without even a starter was fun!

Bio breaks, good nights of sleep, and a partner I can tolerate were key.

Later, I did OR to MA in a Citabria.

 

[Frogs97]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, and extra hello to my fellow N. Texans.

 

[docmirror]

About 7 hours east, and about 8 hours west. One fuel stop east, and two going west. I do about 3 hours nonstop. I could stretch 3.5 hours, but that's it for me. That's a lot of windscreen time in a non-AC ship in the summer in the south.

Rent a plane and do it once each way, then decide. I've done SoCal a few times, and it's pretty boring most of the way. East isn't any better. Take SWA.

 

[RotorAndWing]

DFW-SNA is a lot shorter than DFW-MCO because most people don't fly across the Gulf. . . .

DFW-SNA requires a lot more planning given the other way but you are gonna see more weather going east . . .

Just looking at a planning chart, a direct DFW-SNA is 1205 miles.

DFW to MCO, using KTLH as a waypoint to stay over land is 995 miles.
B

Just using a direct routing and simple math, the DFW-MCO route is 210 miles shorter going over land.