San Antonio-Albuquerque-Las Vegas IFR flight...

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TomRV4

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I'll be taking a trip out west from San Antonio October 12th. My wife and I will be going to Albuquerque first for the balloon fiesta, then on to Las Vegas on the 14th for a few days.

Just got my instrument rating earlier in the year, and this will be my first IFR flight away from the relatively flat lands of south central Texas (We like to think the hill country has real hills...but that's a stretch...)

We'll be landing at Double Eagle in Albuquerque, and then on to North Las Vegas. Looks like the MEA's for the first part of the trip are around 11K, and close to 14k going into the Las Vegas area.

We'll be flying a turbo charged plane so density altitude and high altitude performance shouldn't be a factor, plus we'll be lightly loaded.

Any suggestions, things to look out for, or gotchas along the route of flight anyone would like to pass along? If the approaches into KAEG or KVGT are in IFR conditions, any first hand knowledge of what to look for would be greatly appreciated!

Also, gotta get back to SA! Any IFR departure suggestions out of North Las Vegas?

Thanks!
Tom
 
Good time of year for that -- past the performance robbing summer heat and before the worst of the winter icing. Don't forget your O2 bottle.
 
I did the trip several times out of SSF when I lived in San Antonio. It's a great ride - the higher you can go the better.

Expect V198 JCT V68 then vectors to the airport. You can expect GPS Direct on parts of the route, but with all the MOAs and R-areas near Roswell you'll probably end up on the airway from Roswell to Corona. The airway doesn't add much time, though. I used to go out to ABQ ~14,000 and return at 15+.

On that segment, it's a lot of brown punctuated with wind turbines and oil wells. IFRR = I follow roads and rails.

I could usually make ABQ nonstop, but usually stopped at ROW for fuel. It's worth the stop to see the airliner graveyard.

Watch the handoff from Houston Center to ABQ Center. Houston "forgot" about me - I ended up calling ABQ after I ended up in their territory.

From there to VGT, it's V12 to Winslow ("such a fine sight to see...."). Seems to me they sent me over Drake either inbound or outbound. I've forgotten the exact arrival (I usually went to Henderson rather than VGT, but did VGT a couple of times) but it seems to me that they brought me in on the north side of LAS. There's a visual departure procedure that you'll probably get on the way out.

Expect a request to maintain best possible climb rate.

IIRC, I used to get a direct at some point to E80, which was a fuel stop. From there, airways past ROW, then direct to the Stonewall arrival (or direct to Stinson).

Depending on when you go, watch the winds across the mountains. You can get some pretty good waves - if they got great enough, I'd disconnect alt-hold and request a block altitude.

It's a great trip. Enjoy!
 
Last time I was down there, I'd add... Expect a lot of "Radar contact lost, we'll pick you up again in about 30 miles, remain this frequency."

Granted I was VFR and don't know if I was above the MEA on my route, but MEA doesn't guarantee radar coverage.

ABQ Center has to have the most holes in coverage of any Center I've yet flown through. No reason to add it, really either. Just a heads up so you can expect it.
 
denverpilot said:
Last time I was down there, I'd add... Expect a lot of "Radar contact lost, we'll pick you up again in about 30 miles, remain this frequency."

Granted I was VFR and don't know if I was above the MEA on my route, but MEA doesn't guarantee radar coverage.

ABQ Center has to have the most holes in coverage of any Center I've yet flown through. No reason to add it, really either. Just a heads up so you can expect it.
Click to expand...

Point taken, but I don't recall every being out of radar contact over the routes he proposes at 14,000 and above. Not to say it can't happen.... last time I got "radar contact lost" on an IFR plan was somewhere between Dallas and Little Rock - "Report Texarkana..." (Oh, yeah, I remember position reporting....)

There's a LOT of military traffic out there, and much of it moves fast
 
IFR in the LAS area usually means icing at MEA altitudes, if you really are in clouds. IFR routing in VFR conditions are high.

VGT RightTurn1 departure if departing south runways, or NorthTown3 if departing north runways. Both take you out to a fix NW of the airport and then back to LAS. This gets you out and away before they can get radar contact and get you into the flow with McCarran departures.
 
Thanks to everyone for the good info...

Looking forward to the trip next weekend!

Tom
 
I did that exact trip on last may to go to a bachelors trip to vegas. I got a departure from ksat then direct alburquerque. Afterwards I got a route that followed I-40 and went through flagstaff, gallup and some other towns. Before getting to vegas you cross the mountains over the pgs or bouldercity vor I can quite remember which one and they give you a vector to final for the ILS into one of the runways in KLAS. If I remember correctly the MEA was about 9000 we flew 11000 on the way there and then FL220 on the way back. We made a fuel and pee stop at ABQ and we got to see an osprey in action. Pretty fun trip on the way there. Coming back was no fun.
 
in ATLANTIC at KLAS expect to be parked all the way to the back. Front spots are reserved for top dollar machines not obsolete spam cans. Gas is quite expensive but since i I have a wet lease I couldnt care less. FBO is literally 5 minutes away from the strip hotels.
 
That completely depends on how much you love balloons. In a word it's megacold IMHO. The Dawn Patrol starts before sunrise, if winds permit. Also, the traffic is insane. This year they managed to hit a snag one day so people sat 3 hours in cars trying to get out.
 
Bill,

My wife and I had a great time at the balloon fiesta! It was our first time attending. The people in Albuquerque are terrific. Couldn't have been a more friendly atmosphere...

As mentioned below...it was cold! Just bundle up and go before dawn for the best viewing. The coolest thing for us was the shear numbers of balloons; and being able to be up, close and personal with the crews as they were setting up to launch. The firing up of the burners at dark and watching the balloons fully inflate and ascend while standing 10 feet away was great!

We would not hesitate to recommend it!

Caveat...the traffic is indeed daunting. Just prepare and don't let it ruin the occasion. If you're heading there in the early morning hours, leave early, take along some coffee or a hot toddy and relax. It will be worth it IMO!

Our trip on to Las Vegas was great also...although we lost all our fun money.

The best part...of course...was all the great flying!
Tom


BillWoods said:
How was the Balloon Fiesta in Albequerque? I have always wanted to go, but never can get it together. Hoping to go next year. Do you think it's worth the trip out there?
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zaitcev said:
That completely depends on how much you love balloons. In a word it's megacold IMHO. The Dawn Patrol starts before sunrise, if winds permit. Also, the traffic is insane. This year they managed to hit a snag one day so people sat 3 hours in cars trying to get out.
Click to expand...
 
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