What airplane would you use? (Trip planning)

An acquaintance of mine used to do a similar trip on a regular basis (south FL to CT).

First in a turbo Saratoga with a stop along the way.

Then in a Conti powered Malibu non-stop and without masks (only once in 50 trips he had to stop for fuel).

When good fortune came his way, he upgraded to a PC-12, the only SE turboprop that could consistently do the trip without a fuel stop (and had enough payload to take his two Harleys along :D ).

So I would say you should aim for a PC12 :yes:
 
Dream the dream with all the 'proper' suggestions here, but know that you could do the trip in an Arrow, not too long after getting your ASEL, as long as everyone is up for the 'adventure' of it (my adventure meter would be a little too pegged out, would make it a three day trip, leaving around sunrise each travel day).
 
FloridaPilot said:
There is NO WAY I would get in a plane that I couldn't handle and try to fly it. Take offs are optional, Landings are mandatory!!
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Why do you think there is a plane you couldn't handle, especially out of the crop of available certified aircraft? Any Bonanza is easier to handle than a 152; if you don't believe you can handle gear and a constant speed prop with an extra 30-50% speed, then in reality you aren't safe in any flying machine. It's all the same, I had a twin Travelair with 60 hrs TT, no worries, and my insurance was half the price as if I had bought a Bonanza.
 
docmirror said:
Why don't you take your judgmental, I'm better than you, no one can fly like me attitude and get bent.

Nice way to show a new guy the welcome he deserves. Asshat.
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Immature reply. It's obvious your knowledge of an aerostar or a superstar is limited.
 
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Henning said:
Why do you think there is a plane you couldn't handle, especially out of the crop of available certified aircraft? Any Bonanza is easier to handle than a 152; if you don't believe you can handle gear and a constant speed prop with an extra 30-50% speed, then in reality you aren't safe in any flying machine. It's all the same, I had a twin Travelair with 60 hrs TT, no worries, and my insurance was half the price as if I had bought a Bonanza.
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I'm very optimistic but very cautious at the same time. I probably could fly any airplane With Instruction how to use what and when. When I am not clear on something I ask questions until I understand, then work on imperfections. No way I would just get my PPL and think I can fly any airplane. I'm not wired that way.

Take me up, I will pay my share and fly it around until I'm comfortable with it. Then, (And only then) will I fly it by myself. That is why I know my training is going to take a while and I want to be prepared for it.
 
catmandu said:
Dream the dream with all the 'proper' suggestions here, but know that you could do the trip in an Arrow, not too long after getting your ASEL, as long as everyone is up for the 'adventure' of it (my adventure meter would be a little too pegged out, would make it a three day trip, leaving around sunrise each travel day).
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I don't mind doing 900nm for a day but 3 days is a bit much.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Yeah, but $1500-$2000 per hour to go at 210 cruising speeds is a bit much for most folks budgets.
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You can do that in a Mooney for a lot less, but what an awesome looking plane. If I could also get in a P38 Lightning my life would be complete!!
 
FloridaPilot said:
I don't mind doing 900nm for a day but 3 days is a bit much.
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What I meant is go north day 1 early, enjoy your destination for 1.5 days, return south day 3 early. Or maybe I don't understand at all and we are comparing apples and koalas.
 
FloridaPilot said:
I don't mind doing 900nm for a day but 3 days is a bit much.
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I am trying to understand what '2 days' or '3 days' means in this discussion.

You can cover St Pete to Westchester in a day with many GA aircraft. Anything from a 33/35 series bonanza on up will cover that trip with a single fuel stop somewhere in North Carolina. Take off at 8, get to some place around Fayetteville around 11. Have lunch, get back in the plane at 12:30 and get to HPN around 3:30. If you are VFR, you just have to build a lot of flexibility in the schedule.
 
catmandu said:
What I meant is go north day 1 early, enjoy your destination for 1.5 days, return south day 3 early. Or maybe I don't understand at all and we are comparing apples and koalas.
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Yeah, we crossed up a little. I thought you meant get there in 3 days. Whereas I could've driven that distance and got there sooner!

Getting there same day is cool too, I would definitely stop for Fuel and hangout for awhile, maybe find someplace to go sightseeing.
 
weilke said:
I am trying to understand what '2 days' or '3 days' means in this discussion.

You can cover St Pete to Westchester in a day with many GA aircraft. Anything from a 33/35 series bonanza on up will cover that trip with a single fuel stop somewhere in North Carolina. Take off at 8, get to some place around Fayetteville around 11. Have lunch, get back in the plane at 12:30 and get to HPN around 3:30. If you are VFR, you just have to build a lot of flexibility in the schedule.
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I thought he meant fly there in three days but I got crossed up.
 
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