"m. lamphier" wrote:

I am looking at flying to Bristol/Tri-Cities
and then following I-81 NE to Roanoke to bring me over the mountains.

I've done that route through several times. It's usually great. Be prepared to
avoid the Bristol class-D; they have a habit of refusing to talk to transient
VFR aircraft. IMO, avoiding to the west is the best route. The area around
Wytheville is frequently IMC near ground level. ROA controllers are friendly
and professional.

My route from Knoxville is usually direct to Bristol, then ROA, then SHD, where
I stop for fuel. I then head to the Linden VOR near FRR, turn towards N67, and
head home from there. You would want to run a bit further north than N67. That
course takes me through (or under) the Dulles class-B and south of the Camp
David zone.

If you're IFR, then you'll have more leeway than I.

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that can
be learned no other way.