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How to plan flight from kentucky to arizona?


kentuckynet

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Pretend they are cones on the road and just go around. :unsure:

I would go around to the south as farther north gets in to more mountains.

Mack fly into Albuquerque, NM and fly the rest of the way with those guys.

Mack after all our conversations I can't wait to meet in person. :D

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its good to be concerned about turbulence, it occurs on the leeward side of mountains, ridges ..etc. if wind speeds are above 20kts turbulence near the terrain can become meaningful.

 

rough terrain is what flying out of page is all about, no avoiding that.

Thanks, I meant the rough/mountainous/high-rish for single engine/go down and not be found soon enough terrain just getting there....Not the group grop..

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The flight shows some of the mountains to be at or around 12k...not to say when i get there i wont see places to cross that i can be lower....

 

i'm surrounded by 13,000' and 14,000' terrain yet i can fly north/south/east or west and stay at 10,000' or below.

 

you will need a reasonably high cruise altitude out west but you don't have to fly absolutely strait line and climb over everything on that line.

 

if the terrain is high turn left a little.

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I bought a "pulse oximeter" to use while flying at higher altitudes. It is one of those things you clip on your finger for a few seconds and it gives you a reading of your oxygen saturation. From what I've read from Dr. Bruce, the AME on the AOPA board, most pilots are significantly impaired if oxygen saturation drops below 90%. Since you don't really feel the impairment setting in, this gives you a nice objective measure.

 

Mine came from Amazon for about $65 a year or so ago, but I see there are some available there as low as $28.99 today.

 

I have my 696 set to remind me every 30 minutes to check the balance between the fuel tanks, and I check the O2 level at the same time if I am flying above 8,000 feet.

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Bottom line, if it outside your comfort zone, don't do it and wait till conditions are more favorable.

 

The CT is one of those airplane where the power to weight ratio is in your favor and you have lots of power available to challenge the terrain.

 

Too many people have made the mistake of defying mother nature, so AGAIN, if it does not feel right wait a day until it does feel good.

 

Final piece of advice: Cross the mountains as early in the day as you can!

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I took the liberty of plotting the southern route through NM, staying a bit south of Santa Fe. 8500' will clear any peak but I'd suggest a couple minor details from the route in western NM for better horizontal distance from some taller peaks. I've attached the route in two PDFs with sectionals for the mountain areas. I skipped the last sectional snippet into Page since it put me over the 2M limit but you'll get the idea. The cost of the southern route vs. direct -- 47 nm.

ToPage1.pdf

ToPage2.pdf

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I'm in Albuquerque. Last year I flew direct to Farmington, crossed over the border to Utah and directly west through Monument Valley to Lake Powell and then south to Page. No terrain to worry about and an absolutely beautiful flight. A little longer than direct but much more scenic. Difference in time is negligible. There may be some small bumps to go around between Alb and Farmington but nothing serious or time consuming.

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On a tangent, I've planned a coast to coast flight from NC to CA via a "southern route" with www.landings.com where the highest terrain is under 7,000' msl.

 

what a great plan to avoid the best scenery :unsure:

 

high mountains and pilots are like magnets, some are attracted to them and others are repelled from them.

 

i used to fly my quad city challenger (part 103 ultralight design) over mt whitney.

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;)Yeah but why encourage folks new to different terrain, surroundings and routes, plus all manner of different flying conditions by inferring we're being overly cautious and won't see the forest for the trees..so why bother?

 

Anyway Next subject: When routes like this take you out of familiar (familiar, as in, Don't know where to get MOGAS) territory, then do you resort to whatever it takes to hook it down to town to buy a container and fetch 5 gals of gas......How do you guys factor in the convience of finding MOGAS in your flight planning? Will you spend all kinds of time routing to the best MOGAS located airport? Even if it takes you 40 miles out the way or just pump LL????

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When on a trip, I just bite the bullet and pump AVGas.... with a bit of Decalin. If I end up using it for a significant number of hours, I make sure to do an early oil change. Sure, I'll ask about MoGas, or see if a fellow CT'er can help out with some MoGas.... but otherwise don't let it interfere with the trip or cause me to go out-of-the-way.

Tim

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;)Yeah but why encourage folks new to different terrain, surroundings and routes, plus all manner of different flying conditions by inferring we're being overly cautious and won't see the forest for the trees..so why bother? ...

 

any such inference was unintentional. i just find it interesting that some of us seek out flying where terrain is high (the ct is capable) and others avoid it. southern california glacier flying is awesome but it wouldn't occur to most.

 

sight seeing by air out of page is serious buisness and the same type of judgment will be required there.

post-6-044250100 1283030321_thumb.jpg

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This is not how I think of a long cross country, and I have crossed several times in LSA. Its all about the weather. I look at the forecast for the next day and the day after and ask: what general route is in the general direction that I want to go, and has the best forecast for weather. Then I go to a WAC chart and think about specific routes and altitudes. Next day, I do it all over again starting from where ever I got to. You can't really plan these things very far ahead, and there aren't many general routes that you can't find a specific way to accomplish in the CT. - WF

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  • 1 month later...

First, use your own judgement and never have "get there itis".

 

Best bet is go around the forecasted weather. North Texas and all of OK have a high chance of T-storms. You can't go over these. Best to give a wide berth or wait them out. I would guess deviating south of the front on Monday would cost you no more than an hour. It's also probable the forecast will change before Monday.

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im getting all ready tommorow for leaving out monday morning, figured late sunday night i should be able to figure out which way to fly......

 

i dont thave the get ther itis but the forcast for all the areas i pass through in ok say 30 to 40% chance of showers.....didnt seem the thunderstorms chances were very high.....

 

thanks

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