BrianR
Pre-takeoff checklist
Having just returned from a 1700 nm round trip to the midwest, my longest (by far) trip as a private pilot to date, here are a few of my thoughts, in no particular order. The trip was made in the club 182Q with a Garmin 430, STEC 60 and my iPad with ForeFlight:
1. I was lucky. I was able to depart and return home on the scheduled days, exactly as planned. As a VFR pilot, the odds of not encountering weather delays making a trip halfway across the country are not all that great. I did cross a frontal system on the way out, but it involved little more than a few bumps and dodging some cumulus clouds while westbound.
2. If I intend to do this on any kind of a regular basis, an instrument rating would be nice to have...as would onboard weather.
3. ATC was great. I received VFR flight following for the entire trip, and was only abruptly dumped once...over rural Indiana. However, the controller gave me the frequency for the next sector, and they picked me up immediately. Even the Chicago Center controller, who answered my initial call with, "Skylane Nxxxxx, why are you calling me?" calmed down after I replied, "Uhh, because the last controller handed me off to you." "Oh. Ok, standby."
4. It's pretty cool to cross above a major airport (CLE in my case) 500 feet above the class B ceiling and watch the jets arrive and depart below you. I only got one vector for traffic, otherwise never heard a word from ATC.
5. Speaking of traffic, a portable traffic device would have been nice. I think I spotted one of perhaps 10-15 planes called out to me as traffic during the entire trip.
6. A lot of GA airports are underutilized.
7. The BBQ at TZR (Bolton Field) outside of Columbus, OH is indeed worth raving about. The restaurant is a 30 second walk from the parking area! In fact, the FBO facilities were exceptionally nice, and the fueler didn't even get upset when I decided I really wanted more than I'd already gotten for the last leg home, and he had to come back a second time.
8. !00LL is cheaper everywhere than at Landmark in Syracuse.
9. Between 3 and 3.5 hours really is a practical limit for a leg in a plane the size of a 182. Even when my bladder could hold out longer, my butt was sore and I really wanted to stretch my legs.
10. Most embarrassing overheard conversation on the radio: A Cherokee departed a small airport inbound to a nearby class C field. The pilot had missed or ignored several radio calls. Finally, in frustration, the controller said, "Cherokee Nxxxxx, there appears to be something wrong with your gyro. You're not doing too well at holding the assigned heading." The pilot shot back with, "I don't appreciate your comment about my airplane." After a couple testy exchanges, the controller stopped responding to the guy's provocations, but finally added, "I can give you a phone number if you'd like to call and speak with the supervisor. That's me." The pilot just continued egging the controller on. What a jerk. I'm pretty sure everybody else on the frequency would've liked to reach out and choke the pilot.
11. I'd consider an autopilot almost a necessity for a trip of this length, even VFR. Of course, I can hand-fly the entire trip, but not having to do so allowed me to be more relaxed, monitor for traffic, and play Draw Something on my iPad.
Seriously, it made the trip much more enjoyable.
12. Two planned meet-ups with fellow pilots/POA members did not take place.
One, because of a family emergency, and the other...well, who knows? Despite prior plans to get together, the member chose to ignore messages while I was there. Oh well, I'm sure he had his reasons.
13. The Iowa Aviation Museum is a real gem. Located in Greenfield, Iowa, right at the airport, it has something like 16 airplanes on display, as well as other items and a library. Despite living in Iowa for 20 years, I did not even know it was there until recently. I'll post some pictures later in another thread in the Cool Places to Fly forum.
14. I could have made three roundtrips on Delta for what this flight cost me, at the hourly rate for the 182. However, I didn't get into aviation thinking it would be cheap.
In fact, not having to deal with the TSA, taking whatever liquids I wanted, and coming and going as I pleased was probably worth the cost!
1. I was lucky. I was able to depart and return home on the scheduled days, exactly as planned. As a VFR pilot, the odds of not encountering weather delays making a trip halfway across the country are not all that great. I did cross a frontal system on the way out, but it involved little more than a few bumps and dodging some cumulus clouds while westbound.
2. If I intend to do this on any kind of a regular basis, an instrument rating would be nice to have...as would onboard weather.
3. ATC was great. I received VFR flight following for the entire trip, and was only abruptly dumped once...over rural Indiana. However, the controller gave me the frequency for the next sector, and they picked me up immediately. Even the Chicago Center controller, who answered my initial call with, "Skylane Nxxxxx, why are you calling me?" calmed down after I replied, "Uhh, because the last controller handed me off to you." "Oh. Ok, standby."
4. It's pretty cool to cross above a major airport (CLE in my case) 500 feet above the class B ceiling and watch the jets arrive and depart below you. I only got one vector for traffic, otherwise never heard a word from ATC.
5. Speaking of traffic, a portable traffic device would have been nice. I think I spotted one of perhaps 10-15 planes called out to me as traffic during the entire trip.
6. A lot of GA airports are underutilized.
7. The BBQ at TZR (Bolton Field) outside of Columbus, OH is indeed worth raving about. The restaurant is a 30 second walk from the parking area! In fact, the FBO facilities were exceptionally nice, and the fueler didn't even get upset when I decided I really wanted more than I'd already gotten for the last leg home, and he had to come back a second time.
8. !00LL is cheaper everywhere than at Landmark in Syracuse.
9. Between 3 and 3.5 hours really is a practical limit for a leg in a plane the size of a 182. Even when my bladder could hold out longer, my butt was sore and I really wanted to stretch my legs.
10. Most embarrassing overheard conversation on the radio: A Cherokee departed a small airport inbound to a nearby class C field. The pilot had missed or ignored several radio calls. Finally, in frustration, the controller said, "Cherokee Nxxxxx, there appears to be something wrong with your gyro. You're not doing too well at holding the assigned heading." The pilot shot back with, "I don't appreciate your comment about my airplane." After a couple testy exchanges, the controller stopped responding to the guy's provocations, but finally added, "I can give you a phone number if you'd like to call and speak with the supervisor. That's me." The pilot just continued egging the controller on. What a jerk. I'm pretty sure everybody else on the frequency would've liked to reach out and choke the pilot.
11. I'd consider an autopilot almost a necessity for a trip of this length, even VFR. Of course, I can hand-fly the entire trip, but not having to do so allowed me to be more relaxed, monitor for traffic, and play Draw Something on my iPad.
Seriously, it made the trip much more enjoyable.12. Two planned meet-ups with fellow pilots/POA members did not take place.
One, because of a family emergency, and the other...well, who knows? Despite prior plans to get together, the member chose to ignore messages while I was there. Oh well, I'm sure he had his reasons. 13. The Iowa Aviation Museum is a real gem. Located in Greenfield, Iowa, right at the airport, it has something like 16 airplanes on display, as well as other items and a library. Despite living in Iowa for 20 years, I did not even know it was there until recently. I'll post some pictures later in another thread in the Cool Places to Fly forum.
14. I could have made three roundtrips on Delta for what this flight cost me, at the hourly rate for the 182. However, I didn't get into aviation thinking it would be cheap.
In fact, not having to deal with the TSA, taking whatever liquids I wanted, and coming and going as I pleased was probably worth the cost!
