Marco Leon mmleonyahoo.com wrote:

Hey Peter, how about a pirep on that [literal] cross-country trip?? Maybe a
separate thread. I don't remember hearing about one done in a single-engine
in one day. It would be an interesting read.

I started to put together a post about the trip complete with links to some
pictures a week or so after I completed the trip, but I procrastinated and
suddenly months flew by.

If I can get to it, I will see about finishing it up. But, as a quick
overview:

The trip occurred over Memorial Day Weekend (US holiday) of this year, May
26th trough May 30th. I took off in a Bonanza V35 with wing tip tanks
under an IFR flight plan from Syracuse, NY (KSYR), about 7:00am and landed
at my first fuel stop in Marshall, Missouri (KMHL), about 4.75 hours later.
VFR conditions into KMHL.

1/2 hour to fuel, use the bathroom, and check weather, then off to St. John
Arizona for my next fuel stop, a 4.5 hour leg. Numerous t-storms all over
the southwest. Another 1/2 hour rest stop, then about a 2 1/2 hour leg
into hazy Palm Springs, CA (KPSP). Slept the night at my father's house,
then it was off the next morning with him as a passenger up to Denver, CO.
That trip was two legs (around the mountains) and VFR around the largest
thunderstorm cell (near Albuquerque, NM) I have personally seen.

We spent three days at my brother's house, then launched for SYR. Got to
fly into the flight levels for the first time to take advantage of the
strong tailwinds at FL190 and FL210. Discovered my digital altitude
encoder, which had just had its biannual certification, had a 400 foot
error at those altitudes. The first controller who pointed out this error
thought I had forgotten to set my altimeter to 29.92 and gave me a terse
lecture.

I brought a cooler full of bottled water, Gatorade, and food, had XM
satellite radio to keep me company, and used a large orange juice container
for relief.

The week before the flight out, I used www.Airnav.com and Jeppesen's IFR
Flight Star software to plan several routes to interim airports with
excellent fuel prices. The night before the trip I chose the best route
based on thunderstorm avoidance.


--
Peter
























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