The REAL deal - an aviation vacation

Sounds like a great trip you have planned, Kimberly! Can't wait to hear all about it and see the pictures when it's done!
 
I'm 6'2" and fit nice and snug in a 150. I would get a fuel stick!

I've flown a 150 with myself 185 and another pilot over 200# but it had 500# useful load which helped out a little. Around max gross it was climbing around 300fpm.
 
steingar said:
Some places have a guy come out with a fuel truck. If you don't stand over him or her and watch like a hawk, they can put too much gas in your airplane. I've had it happen more than once.

If you are self serving, that is a different deal, as you are less likely to put too much gas in your airplane. But I like enough that I can get to a couple of alternates and still have reserves. My thinking is my destination being fogged in should not constitute an emergency. A 150 doesn't take that much fuel. I recall fueling mine all the dang time. Thus the amount you can leave behind is limited.

If your SO is really 5'11'' and 120 lbs, I'd like to know what he's eating so I can get some. When I weighed 135 lbs I was skinny as a rail (and handsome as all get out, my mother said so) at 5'7" . If that really is the case I withdraw my comments. When I saw your photo I made some mental calculations about your SO which are violently wrong if he's 120 lbs. But dang, you should feed him a ham sandwich or something. Have him tested for intestinal parasites.

I do agree with the other posters that such trips are what life was made for. The conditions rang some alarm bells based on long experience. Sounds like I might have been mistaken.
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In the 120's means up to 130 but yes I have a digital scale.

Here, evidence:



6199180115_590fc1c0ef.jpg



329506634_d31eb64893_o.jpg


1979535893_775cecb5a2.jpg
 
dell30rb said:
I see the 150's have 70lbs less payload than a 152.

Guess it really depends on the size of the passengers. I agree that only having an hour and a half's worth of gas would suck. If she can cram 15-18 gallons in though she'll be just fine. She is planning a fuel stop both ways.

I'm about 5'10 and my girlfriend is about 5'5. In the 152 I have about 70 pounds for luggage after full fuel. 95-100 kts at 5gph. So that makes it comfortable for a longer trip. Bladders are limited to 3hrs anyway, so I always land with mucho comfortable fuel reserves.

If I was missing that extra 70lbs it would be a pain in the rear though.

Honestly the 152 is great for me as a traveler. About $45 an hour incl maintenance if i can get my hands on mogas. $50 an hour on my nashville trip considering I have to buy about 20 gallons of 100LL
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The 150 has a 70 pound lower gross weight, not 70 pounds less payload (1600# vs. 1670#). My 150L has a useful load of 519#, which is actually 10# more than another 152 in our flying club. The 152 simply has a higher empty weight. Everybody picks on the 150 :rolleyes:
 
You guys should have no problem. Assuming a useful load of 490# (conservative) and his weight of 135# (liberal, from you), your weight of what, 135# (hope I didn't p*** you off), full useable fuel of 135# (22.5 gals.), you've got an extra 85#. You two, full fuel and a little luggage, do it! :wink2:
 
Aeric said:
You guys should have no problem. Assuming a useful load of 490# (conservative) and his weight of 135# (liberal, from you), your weight of what, 135# (hope I didn't p*** you off), full useable fuel of 135# (22.5 gals.), you've got an extra 85#. You two, full fuel and a little luggage, do it! :wink2:
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Unfortunately (see page one of this thread), we only have 435 pounds useful load (I'll double check with the owner when I go to the flight school this week).

And my weight will not be disclosed in this thread! I'm not as small as some of those photos suggest but I will give a BF / GF / luggage total since only the PIC needs to know the 3 numbers.

One of the many perks of being PIC.
 
I had an awesome aviation trip planned right after I got my airplane instrument ticket. Well weather didn't turn out and we drove instead. It was the hardest and best choice I made. I wanted to enjoy the flight and not be hand flying an Archer in solid IFR for a hour until I broke out. Later in the year my wife and I went for a little IMC trip and it was cool because the weather was well above min.,we broke out on top, then shot an ILS. I always knew it would suck to cancel but it really sucks to cancel when it could have been the coolest flight ever if the weather worked out. I hope weather turns out and if it don't kudos for making the right decision. Good Luck!
 
Kim, this is a great opportunity to use the plane to GO someplace! That is such a way of rewarding yourself for all the work you did to get the certificate. Something really special about using the plane as genuinely valuable transportation.

Have fun - and a lot of it! Then tell us all about the trip.
 
You'll have a great time.

Idea: Pack a single change of clothes in case you're caught somewhere and put the rest in a duffle bag in the family car that's headed there anyway. ;)

Cross countries in a 150 are fun when you're young and skinny and you fly at airports less than a mile high. I had to transition to the 172 to carry anything up here and still get aloft in the summertime, even when I was skinny. ;)

But in winter, the 150 was a hoot. Great little birds.
 
TommyG said:
Sounds like a great plan, being a 150, make sure you do a good w&b, especially with luggage. I know how my wife packs for a 4 day trip.
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I will try my best to pack light but you are correct, I'm not very good at that. Plus, weather dependent, it might not be a 4-day trip. In other words, if Friday is crappy and Saturday looks better, with the BF's permission, I'll decide to take off one day late on Saturday. If not, we'll drive on Friday. If we can't fly by Saturday, then, obviously, we'll drive.
 
bluee said:
Are you sure both you and your boyfriend, plus luggage, can fit? It wont be as fun if you have to stop hourly for fuel.

But it does sound fun!
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We do plan to stop for fuel a little more than an hour from home but that's OK. I will still get to count the whole thing as XC time for sure, and landing at more airports will make me feel more comfortable going back to them in the future.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
We do plan to stop for fuel a little more than an hour from home but that's OK. I will still get to count the whole thing as XC time for sure, and landing at more airports will make me feel more comfortable going back to them in the future.
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It sounds like so much fun. I'm jealous!
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I will try my best to pack light but you are correct, I'm not very good at that. Plus, weather dependent, it might not be a 4-day trip. In other words, if Friday is crappy and Saturday looks better, with the BF's permission, I'll decide to take off one day late on Saturday. If not, we'll drive on Friday. If we can't fly by Saturday, then, obviously, we'll drive.
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Doesn't he have family driving that could take your luggage?
 
How can anyone complain about a 200nm trip in a 150.
You should check out:
cessna150152.com

The people in this club will travel from California or the East Coast to Clinton Iowa during Oshkosh for their Annual get together.
Some take I80 across others go South, but the thing is, they take these planes and fly them for a REAL Cross country and have a great time doing so.

Don't sell the 150 short!
(P.S. They usually send their supplies ahead via UPS to the airport In Iowa, and only bring along minimal bags in the plane)
My 150 only had 451lbs load - subract 138lbs for full fuel and that left 313 for me and a friend. I'm thinking I was overweight on most takeoff's.
When leaving Las Vegas (solo) It took about 30miles to reach my cruise altitude of 8,500 for my trip home.

But the plane was fun, and I put alot of hours into it.

Enjoy your trip!!
 
mrindian said:
How can anyone complain about a 200nm trip in a 150.
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I was wondering about that too. Back when I got my private they were still requiring three 100 mile legs for the long solo X-C. That's a little challenging in CA because it has the ocean on one side and the Sierras on the other so the middle leg gets pretty long.

Have a great time Kimberly! Coincidentally, that's a weekend I am planning to be in the Bay Area, the first weekend since we went to Little River. I've been here a couple times since then (like now) but they were all on weekdays.
 
mrindian said:
How can anyone complain about a 200nm trip in a 150.
You should check out:
cessna150152.com

The people in this club will travel from California or the East Coast to Clinton Iowa during Oshkosh for their Annual get together.
Some take I80 across others go South, but the thing is, they take these planes and fly them for a REAL Cross country and have a great time doing so.

Don't sell the 150 short!
(P.S. They usually send their supplies ahead via UPS to the airport In Iowa, and only bring along minimal bags in the plane)
My 150 only had 451lbs load - subract 138lbs for full fuel and that left 313 for me and a friend. I'm thinking I was overweight on most takeoff's.
When leaving Las Vegas (solo) It took about 30miles to reach my cruise altitude of 8,500 for my trip home.

But the plane was fun, and I put alot of hours into it.

Enjoy your trip!!
Click to expand...

I only complain because I don't fit in them, great planes if you aren't 6'4"
 
That trip sounds like a blast! Have a great time, and post lots of pictures!
 
Meh...I have a good chunk of time in a 150 with a 150 HP conversion. In order to carry two standard adults, one could only take 15 gallons or so (assuming no baggage, more like 10 with baggage) which isn't even 2 hours at 8-8.5 GPH on 22.5 usable. As a general rule of thumb, it was best to be down after 1.5-2.0 (closer to 1.5 than 2.0). I flew it from ABQ to AZ and CA on several occasions. Just required good fuel planning and frequent stops. I'd say the standard 150 being mentioned in this thread is about right for the mission...Just don't over pack.
 
Everskyward said:
I was wondering about that too. Back when I got my private they were still requiring three 100 mile legs for the long solo X-C. That's a little challenging in CA because it has the ocean on one side and the Sierras on the other so the middle leg gets pretty long.

Have a great time Kimberly! Coincidentally, that's a weekend I am planning to be in the Bay Area, the first weekend since we went to Little River. I've been here a couple times since then (like now) but they were all on weekdays.
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Thank goodness you told me this. I thought all this time that maybe I had somehow not known you were in town on a weekend, and I missed flying with you. Super bummed that weekend I'm going is your first weekend back. By the way, you will now have your choice of FOUR planes if you ever decide to come fly with me again. So if there is one you are more interested in than another, just to get your "single engine" fix, let me know.
 
To the people who want me to send anything other than the dog "ahead of time" with the boyfriend's family, keep this in mind:

They live 1.5+ hours North of me, I don't see them that often, and I don't know when they are leaving. I have to work up until the night before so there may not be a chance for me to give them my bags.

Also, it will be good practice for me to "pack light" since the little 150 at $80 per hour is quickly winning my heart. It does have a $3 or $4 fuel surcharge that fluctuates daily / weekly directly tied in to the fuel prices.

In other news, over dinner last night, I discussed planning and weather with the BF and he threatened not to go (argh). Seems that non-pilots believe you can just "call someone who lives there" and ask "hey how is the weather".

I think "normal people" just don't want to be bothered with the following:

At what point do we "go" in a car? Friday? Saturday? What is our cutoff? (And if he drives can I still solo the plane)

And, coming back, should I fly alone when good weather hits and have him drive back with his family? Wouldn't want to cut his vacation short.

Etc etc etc.

I got so mad that I'd had all this training and was going to plan / keep an eye on the weather "patterns" down there for almost a month beforehand and a "phone call" was supposed to determine my go / no go decision.

Uh-uh. No way. Not when I'm PIC.
 
And now the REAL planning begins.

I started by getting the street address of the rental. According to this (since we are getting picked up by one of the many family members he has with a car who is driving there):

So according to Google Maps:

San Luis Obispo airport is 15 miles from the vacation rental, a drive time of 33 - 37 minutes

Paso Robles airport is 42 miles from the vacation rental, a drive time of 59 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes (yikes)

Oceano airport is 24 miles from the vacation rental, a drive time of 40 - 53 minutes


Obviously, then, just looking at the numbers we need to go with San Luis Obispo (no real need for a backup; San Luis is a major airport, but our alternate will be Oceano).

I called San Luis and the FBO there does have a crew car (2 hours max, first come / first served) and Enterprise Rentals (8 hour rental minimum). This would be in case none of his family members could pick us up right away, but would be able to take me back within an hour and then I could drop off the car.

The cost is $7 per night but if you let the SLO FBO put 10 or more gallons of fuel in your tank you can park for up to 7 days in a row for FREE. No landing fees either. SWEET!

Next I need to call Oceano.

So far, the research is promising.
 
Hmmmm. The owner of the flight school suggested Oceano (and recently BillWil said he wanted to go there in his PilotCast podcast). It appears Oceano cannot be an alternate since it breaks my rental agreement. I emailed the owner about this.

Rental agreement:

Paved only, 2400 feet long or longer

Oceano: 2325 feet long

Darn. I guess as some others have said if weather is a REAL issue I can just go to the next big airport, more inland, at Paso Robles. The FBO listed on AirNav seems to go to an answering machine which won't take messages. Wonder if it is old info.

Oceano is near the ocean and seems to be less than 10nm away from San Luis Obispo so I can't imagine the weather would ever be better there.
 
Interesting. Don't have a sectional with me now but I think I may need to buy a Los Angeles sectional to cover the whole flight AND I think they are expiring.

Question:

If I have a yoke mounted Garmin and a paid iPad / currently updated / foreflight subscription, are "old" sectionals ok?

I gave away my Los Angeles sectional from the checkride to a student who needed it for their checkride, and I have an "old" SF area TAC and a "current" SF sectional.

So will this be legal:

Garmin yoke mounted GPS (not sure if updated)
Current Foreflight GPS (tested and working so far)
OLD AFD
OLD TAC (not really needed)
OLD Sectionals (two, super cool I'm spanning two sectionals)


Or do I need to buy a new AFD, TAC, and two sectionals for this trip?


Kimberly
 
One of the cross country flight when I was a student pilot was from LVK to L52. L52 is a nice little airport with several good restaurants in close proximity for a leisury lunch trip. But if you are not staying near L52 there is no reason to park your plane there. When planning your route to San Luis Obispo, don't head straight to Priest VOR. It'll be much more comfortable to fly in the valley right over 101 highway instead. The mountainous terrain between Hollister to Priest VOR is susceptible to turbulence. If you plan for fuel stop at Hollister that means you'll need to go a little bit around to avoid the mountain and Condor preservation area. Watsonville or Salinas may be a better option.
 
MoltenLava said:
One of the cross country flight when I was a student pilot was from LVK to L52. L52 is a nice little airport with several good restaurants in close proximity for a leisury lunch trip. But if you are not staying near L52 there is no reason to park your plane there. When planning your route to San Luis Obispo, don't head straight to Priest VOR. It'll be much more comfortable to fly in the valley right over 101 highway instead. The mountainous terrain between Hollister to Priest VOR is susceptible to turbulence. If you plan for fuel stop at Hollister that means you'll need to go a little bit around to avoid the mountain and Condor preservation area. Watsonville or Salinas may be a better option.
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Thank you very much! I'm also now worried about those MOA / RESTRICTED areas nearby. Just got the email back from the owner that Oceano is OK and does not violate the rental agreement.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
If I have a yoke mounted Garmin and a paid iPad / currently updated / foreflight subscription, are "old" sectionals ok?
Click to expand...

Yes. But it might pay to double check the frequencies on the old chart or anything else on them you might think you need to use and hand-write the updated info in.

So will this be legal:

Garmin yoke mounted GPS (not sure if updated)
Current Foreflight GPS (tested and working so far)
OLD AFD
OLD TAC (not really needed)
OLD Sectionals (two, super cool I'm spanning two sectionals)


Or do I need to buy a new AFD, TAC, and two sectionals for this trip?


Kimberly
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There is no requirement to have charts at all for the kind of flying you are doing. A more recent AFD would be useful, but you can also get current info online since you'll hopefully only need the info during planning.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Interesting. Don't have a sectional with me now but I think I may need to buy a Los Angeles sectional to cover the whole flight AND I think they are expiring.

Question:

If I have a yoke mounted Garmin and a paid iPad / currently updated / foreflight subscription, are "old" sectionals ok?

I gave away my Los Angeles sectional from the checkride to a student who needed it for their checkride, and I have an "old" SF area TAC and a "current" SF sectional.

So will this be legal:

Garmin yoke mounted GPS (not sure if updated)
Current Foreflight GPS (tested and working so far)
OLD AFD
OLD TAC (not really needed)
OLD Sectionals (two, super cool I'm spanning two sectionals)


Or do I need to buy a new AFD, TAC, and two sectionals for this trip?


Kimberly
Click to expand...

Your foreflight subscriptions has the complete AFD and the charts, so no problem.

I still keep my paper sectionals, but I'm also still getting used to foreflight.

John
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Hmmmm. The owner of the flight school suggested Oceano (and recently BillWil said he wanted to go there in his PilotCast podcast). It appears Oceano cannot be an alternate since it breaks my rental agreement. I emailed the owner about this.

Rental agreement:

Paved only, 2400 feet long or longer

Oceano: 2325 feet long

Darn. I guess as some others have said if weather is a REAL issue I can just go to the next big airport, more inland, at Paso Robles. The FBO listed on AirNav seems to go to an answering machine which won't take messages. Wonder if it is old info.

Oceano is near the ocean and seems to be less than 10nm away from San Luis Obispo so I can't imagine the weather would ever be better there.
Click to expand...

ForeFlight is fine for AFD and sectional. If you have an iPhone, it doesn't cost any extra to load it there as well, and that makes a good backup to the iPad. Paso Robles is a better alternate, because it is less likely to have fog, which is your most likely problem.
 
Don't worry about having an updated GPS for VFR. I haven't updated y Garmin 96 since 2010, just don't count on it for airspace avoidance if it's not current.
 
denverpilot said:
Expect the unexpected.
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This is one part of XC flying that you can't really train for. My last big trip was to Grand Cayman, which required a long stretch from FL to the island. Before leaving FL, I called and confirmed they had fuel. In the 3.6 hours it took me to get there, they ran out of fuel. Since they were the only source of 100LL on the entire island and I didn't have enough fuel to get anywhere, I was stuck. The FBO ended up finding a customer based there who was willing to let me siphon the fuel I needed out of his plane.

Ryan
 
n12365 said:
This is one part of XC flying that you can't really train for. My last big trip was to Grand Cayman, which required a long stretch from FL to the island. Before leaving FL, I called and confirmed they had fuel. In the 3.6 hours it took me to get there, they ran out of fuel. Since they were the only source of 100LL on the entire island and I didn't have enough fuel to get anywhere, I was stuck. The FBO ended up finding a customer based there who was willing to let me siphon the fuel I needed out of his plane.

Ryan
Click to expand...

Wow, that is unexpected. I will have access to several airports even if I have to rent a car and buy a fuel container, so this should not be an issue. I was going to land with plenty of fuel, but now that the company says they will waive my $7 per day fee if I can get 10 gallons in the plane of their fuel I'm going to try to do that. My first "accurate fuel planning" test! The plane holds 26 gallons I believe so that should not be a problem.
 
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