I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along
the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before
and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before.
So, I have a bunch of questions:

1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
into College Park!)

3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?

4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for
a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav).
Anyone else have comments?

5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).

Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated!

-- David

--
David Rind

"David Rind" > wrote in message
...
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful.

When a sectional doesn't include enough real estate, get yourself a World
Aeronautical Chart.

IMHO the question of paper vs. software is different from the question of
"how much can I see on this chart?" They are both valid questions, but
answers to one don't necessarily imply answers to the other. If you like
software planning, use software. If you like paper planning, there are
charts available that are just fine for the longer trips.

I'm not familiar enough with the route to be able to answer your other
questions, sorry.

Pete

I use both paper and software for planning though I've grown more and more
to rely on the software as the primary means.
Don't know anything about your route but perhaps the method I use will help.
I use Flight Star at home and Aeroplanner on the road since I don't have a
laptop. Let the software pick the routes first then compare with the
sectionals particularly for the terminal phases. If you've got long
stretches over mountains during the enroute, I'll work the sectional to get
a better at_a_glance feel for safety issues. Then I plot the route on the
sectional, print the plan from the s/w and let it file with FSS.


"David Rind" > wrote in message
...
> I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
> with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
> the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along
> the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before
> and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before.
> So, I have a bunch of questions:
>
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?
>
> 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
> Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
> a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
> bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
> into College Park!)
>
> 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
> when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
> does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
> communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?
>
> 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for
> a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav).
> Anyone else have comments?
>
> 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
> would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
> keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
> before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
> much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).
>
> Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated!
>
> -- David
>
> --
> David Rind
>
>

> 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
> would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
> keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
> before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
> much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).
>
> David Rind
>

David,
I would have to say that depending on your route through the state of
Florida you may find some of the following airports to have positive
comments on Airnav.

SGJ - Scenic flight path along the ocean along with great restaurant.
ORL - Great stopover and rest stop. (No food on field available.)
DAB - Seaside with plenty to see and do while on rest stop.
TIX - Nice cozy little hamburger joint if you get there before 3pm (closing
time).

Once past central Florida you will be dealing with air traffic for PBI / FLL
/ MIA
on one side of the state and Everglades swampland on the other.

P.S. CDK on the westcoast of Florida is a must on your way back up.

David
KORL

) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).


St Augustine SGJ
But is more than 300 miles from there to the keys.
Make sure you talk to Bocatiquica, just before yo get to Key West. It is listed
as key West, but it is a military installation with lots of F16's
Hank

(Hankal) wrote
> Make sure you talk to Bocatiquica, just before yo get to Key
> West. It is listed as key West, but it is a military
> installation with lots of F16's Hank

Are you sure about that? When I was based there, the Naval Air
Station was named Boca Chica and "Key West Approach Control"
handled all traffic for the Naval Air Station and Key West I'ntl.

Bob Moore
NQX 1964

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:48:21 -0500, David Rind
> wrote:

>2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
>Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
>a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
>bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
>into College Park!)

I fly out of FME (as a renter) and it seems pretty good to me. I
haven't had the chance to land at GAI, so I don't really know how to
compare.

>3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
>when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
>does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
>communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?

I don't have my IFR rating, so I'm not entirely sure how the IFR part
works, but...

Basically, for us VFR pilots, as soon as we depart the pattern
(leaving the ADIZ) you check in with potomac approach. I assume that
this is exactly analogous to how IFR pilots would do it. As for
coming in, basically, call out to the controller that you have the
'field in sight'. He will then release you from his frequency and
then you are free to communicate on the CTAF. DO NOT SQUAWK 1200. He
will say 'maintain beacon code till you're on the ground' probably,
but if you squawk 1200, you will, be, um, in a bad place.

I assume that if he sees you doing anything else besides going
directly into the pattern and dropping off radar, you will, once
again, be in a bad place.

I *assume* for the IFR guys that if you choose to proceed VFR in VFR
conditions, you would cancel in the air. If it is IFR conditions all
the way down, then I guess you would do what you normally do...

aw

In article >, David Rind
> wrote:
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

Get a set of WAC charts or IFR charts.
Use DUATs and flightplan your IFR route for the entire route.
Let DUATs perform the headwind/tailwind calculation and print the
flight times for each waypoint. Once you know the time to each fix you
can determine where your two-hour stops will be.

"David Rind" > wrote in message
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

Aeroplanner is an excellent choice. However, if you print out only the
triptiks along your route, you will have to stay along that route. In other
words, printing out triptiks may preclude you from flying up the west coast
instead of the east coast should weather dictate that you do so (been there,
done that).

However, you should not need but three charts. Perhaps four. Having a good
set of charts gives me a warm, squishy feeling on a trip of that magnitude.

> 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
> would make a good place to stop for fuel/food?

I made it form EYW to Daytona with plenty of fuel to spare. Jacksonville
folks were about as nice as controllers and FBO's can get if your route
brings you close to them.

> Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated!

Don't forget about the surveillance balloon near EYW. It's on a cable that
can be up to 14,000 feet high. Hitting it would suck. It's marked very
well on the charts.

The taxi from the airport to wherever you are going is damn expensive. I
think it was forty bucks to get one to take me two miles to my hotel.

Scooters are the best way to get around the place. Don't even think of
renting a car.

Use sunscreen.

Wear a rubber.

--
Jim Fisher

David Rind > wrote in message >...

> I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
> with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
> the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along
> the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before
> and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before.
> So, I have a bunch of questions:
>
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

I normally fly IFR on cross countries like this. I do fly VFR when
crossing the Southwest, and find WAC charts helpful. The GTE DUATS
flight planner works well and is free. The www.airnav.com site is
very helpful for choosing fuel stops.
>
> 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
> Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
> a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
> bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
> into College Park!)

(Shudder) In my limited experience, FME was the Roach Motel -- you can
check in, but you can't check out. It brings back memories of
listening to busy signals from Potomac Tracon until my flight plan
timed out or cell phone batteries gave out.

In all fairness, these experiences all happened during last summer's
Code Orange, when aircraft bound for the inner DC area airports all
had to stop there first for TSA inspection. As this thread shows,
some people actually do manage to fly from there, and even like it.
Possibly, things have improved since last summer, or maybe, everything
just fell apart during Code Orange. Even if the airport is now
actually practical to use, some severe problems remain. FME is located
in a large patch of suburban wasteland half way to Baltimore and is in
the midst of one of the most congested metropolitan areas in the
world. It is not remotely near Bethesda.

GAI, on the other hand, has a direct radio relay to Potomac Tracon,
allowing you to get your IFR clearance or ADIZ squack quickly and
efficiently. The Metro, which runs to Bethesda, is a short cab ride
away. I-270 is one of the most usable roads in the area and makes
driving to Bethesda from GAI quite practical. Off rush hour, it might
take 20 minutes. I would say that there is no rational alternative to
GAI.

>
> 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
> when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
> does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
> communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?

Coming in IFR, you cancel IFR in the air, but retain your squack until
on the ground. You do not have to cancel anything once you have
landed.
>
> 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for
> a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav).
> Anyone else have comments?

Never been there
>
> 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
> would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
> keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
> before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
> much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).

Ditto, but Key West sounds very appealing to me won a grey November
day. Have fun!

Paul
>
> Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated!
>
> -- David

David Rind wrote:
>
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful.

Well, I use a DOS-based flight planner that's no longer available, but after
getting the route done there, I still lay out sectionals on the dining room
table and draw in the tracks. There may be features on the sectional that I
didn't notice on the screen, and, in any case, I'll want the marked-up charts
when I actually make the flight.

George Patterson
They say nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is, death
doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.

"David Rind" > wrote in message ...
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

If you want to do it with paper charts, the easiest way is to get
the FAA planning chart. It's essentially about the size of a sectional
unfolded but covers the entire US. It has VOR's and Airports (larger
ones at least) on it. You draw your line on this and then you have
the basis to go plot it out on your sectionals if you want.

Frankly, I use Aeroplanner and/or the DUAT planner to pick me a
route.

>
> 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
> Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
> a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
> bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
> into College Park!)

There's nothing wrong with GAI. FME is a long ways away from
Bethesda ground distance wise. GAI is a nice straight shot down
270 or 355.

> 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
> when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
> does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
> communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?

You need to continue on the squawk to the ground. They will switch you
over to the CTAF, but you need to continue to squawk until you are down.

David Rind > wrote in message >...
> I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
> with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
> the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along
> the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before
> and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before.
> So, I have a bunch of questions:

> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

At home, we start with Airnav actually, looking for good fuel
prices. Then I use something called a "low altitude flight planning
chart" which has the whole E coast of the US on one chart. I
also use DUATS flight planner for "VOR direct routing" (if going
via airways) or "direct routing for GPS" (if going direct). The
latter gives a nice printout to plot direct routes on VFR sectionals.

Enroute replanning, we use the "low altitude flight planning chart"
to pick reasonable destinations and the PDA progam "CoPilot" with
Paul Tomblin's database to compute distances and ETAs. We also
load the relevant sections of the AOPA Airport Directory in our
PDA.

I'm not sure how it would fit with your stops, but BWI is IOE
a very GA-friendly airport with a substantial fuel discount on
weekends, even though it is Signature. We've also stopped
at Suburban (Laurel, MD) but be careful, it's very close to the
FRZ.

I think Zephyrhills, FL (KZPH) is about the right distance
from Key West, and usually has good fuel prices. There isn't
much there if you need to spend the night or want a real meal,
though. There's a golf clubhouse w/ decent sandwiches
a short walk away IIRC and a nice area with tables to flight
plan or eat in the FBO.

Can't answer any of your other questions.

What are you flying?

HTH and have fun,
Sydney

"Snowbird" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm not sure how it would fit with your stops, but BWI is IOE
> a very GA-friendly airport with a substantial fuel discount on
> weekends, even though it is Signature. We've also stopped
> at Suburban (Laurel, MD) but be careful, it's very close to the
> FRZ.

It's also relatively short, narrow, and last time I landed there, the
pavement wasn't in very good shape. It may or may not be suitable for an
airplane that cruises at 155 knots (hard to know without knowing the exact
make and model).

I too have heard great things about the GA side of BWI.

Pete

"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message
m...
> If you want to do it with paper charts, the easiest way is to get
> the FAA planning chart. It's essentially about the size of a sectional
> unfolded but covers the entire US. It has VOR's and Airports (larger
> ones at least) on it. You draw your line on this and then you have
> the basis to go plot it out on your sectionals if you want.
>
> Frankly, I use Aeroplanner and/or the DUAT planner to pick me a
> route.

I (use to) use WAC charts in the cockpit and cross-reference to something
like AeroPlanner.

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message >...
> "David Rind" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> > like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> > other seems a bit painful.

> When a sectional doesn't include enough real estate, get yourself a World
> Aeronautical Chart.

Well, for planning a Boston to Key West trip, I'm not entirely sure
that 3 WAC charts is a big improvement on 5 sectionals spread over
the floor. Still rather unwieldy.

If one is going to plan on paper, the thing is to buy the low-altitude
planning chart. If planning an E-W trip across the middle of the
thing, buy two, they're cheap and can be reused until they fall apart.

FWIW, I don't like the WAC charts; they don't have the three letter
abbreviations for airports, which makes it harder to relate the
chart to the database in a GPS. And, if one really needs info
about the terrain for some reason, they're not sufficiently detailed.

If one just wants some VFR charts as backup to IFR enroutes, they're
OK I guess. We buy them sometimes when the choice is between 4
sectionals vs 1 WAC.

OTOH, I don't like Aeroplanner Tripticks either. They're a great
idea, but on long trips (~900 mile-ish) it's just not uncommon
for us to have to detour outside the area they cover. I did a
set for our CFI and friend on one of his last long trips, and
he came back w/ the same evaluation. Just a modest detour for
afternoon t-storms took him off the edge of the triptick.

Cheers,
Sydney

Thanks everyone for the many helpful answers and comments.
I'm always impressed at how easy it is to get useful information
here. I'm not sure how people survived before the Web and Usenet.

To answer the question that came up a couple of times, I'll be
flying a 1986 Socata Trinidad TB-21. Nice plane with reasonable ability
to get in and out of short fields, but can also theoretically cruise
at 187 knots at 25,000 feet. The theoretical part is that given
the O2 requirements for a mask, I won't really fly it that high.
Also it gets quite cold up there in a TB-21. For some of the
legs I'll fly with nasal oxygen at 16 or 17,000 feet and can
get better than 165 knots at that altitude (the POH says 175,
but I'm not convinced).

BWI had not occurred to me since I would not have guessed,
as several people have mentioned, that it is actually GA-friendly.
Despite that, I'm guessing it's a long haul from Bethesda, but
given Ron Natalie's comments about FME, I'm wondering whether
actual ground travel is faster there than I realized? If not,
based on the various comments, I'll probably go to GAI.

--
David Rind

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:39:31 -0500, David Rind
> wrote:


>BWI had not occurred to me since I would not have guessed,
>as several people have mentioned, that it is actually GA-friendly.
>Despite that, I'm guessing it's a long haul from Bethesda, but
>given Ron Natalie's comments about FME, I'm wondering whether
>actual ground travel is faster there than I realized? If not,
>based on the various comments, I'll probably go to GAI.

FME is, like other people said, really out in the middle of nowhere as
far as public transportation goes.

For Bethesda, I'd probably stick with GAI. The problem with the DC
Metro system is that if you are currently outside of the city on one
radial (if I may mix my metaphors) and you want to go to another
radial, you pretty much have to go all the way in and all the way back
out, which makes it very inconvienent for Greenbelt/Bethesda or
Vienna/Bethesda trips.

As far as the code orange situation that the earlier poster alluded
to, I definitely agree, several months back in the summer the retry
times for Potomac Approach on the phone were extremely long. It has
definitely gotten much much better.

aw

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message >...
(Suburban)
> It's also relatively short, narrow, and last time I landed there, the
> pavement wasn't in very good shape.

I guess I don't think if it as any of the three relative to some
airports we fly to or what our now-home-base used to be, but it *is*
a ~2000 ft strip surrounded by poplars which may or may not have any
relation to the FAA's "50 ft obstacle" and them's the facts.

They do periodically lop them.

However it sounds like a moot point given others comments on
the DC Metro system and dealing with ATC in the ADIZ.

Cheers,
Sydney

"Jim Fisher" > wrote in message >...

> However, you should not need but three charts. Perhaps four. Having a good
> set of charts gives me a warm, squishy feeling on a trip of that magnitude.

???????

> The taxi from the airport to wherever you are going is damn expensive. I
> think it was forty bucks to get one to take me two miles to my hotel.
>
> Scooters are the best way to get around the place. Don't even think of
> renting a car.

Just a note, there is also a city bus system which runs from the
airport into town. Reasonable price, sometimes during holiday season
it's free. There are two buses which circle the island
in opposite directions, and depending on where you want to go,
it's important to get on the right bus. For example, there's
a nice beach actually pretty close to the airport, but if you
get on the wrong bus it's an hour's ride to get there. Ask me
how I know :).

Cheers,
Sydney

David Rind > wrote in message >...
> I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
> with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
> the way back....

> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?

You might look into the low-altitude VFR/IFR planning chart. It's not
available at all FBOs, but here's a link:
http://www.pilotcharts.com/ifrvfrplan.html Sporty's also carries it I
think. I've not planned a trip this long, but this chart seems like
the way to go.

> 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
> when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
> does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
> communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?

I fly out of Leesburg, VA, an aiport well inside the ADIZ. You need
to file your ADIZ flight plan, and make sure the FSS you do it with
sends it to ZDC. See AOPA's ADIZ info, it's useful. When entering
the ADIZ, it's basically call Potomac Approach up 5-10 miles outside
and tell them "Nxxx inbound for landing at YYY, ADIZ plan on file."
They'll respond with a code, and your good to go.

If you're on an IFR plan (I'm told) or have flight following, the
above steps are very easy and almost automatic. After all, you're
already talking to them and have a code right? That's the NOTAM
requirements. Ask 'em anyhow though... It won't hurt and procedures
and controller's preferences change.

At some point they'll ask you to tell them when your airport's in
sight. When you say that it is, you'll get "change frequencies,
maintain code till you're on the ground". Occasionally, they'll ask
you to cancel on the ground, usually through the clearance frequency.
If they forget and wait too long, just ask if you can change
frequencies. Don't change w/o an ok though.

You don't cancel however. You especially don't cancel in the air.
Your ADIZ plan follows you to the ground, you maintain your code till
you're on the ground. Cancel from there if you'd been asked to.
Cancelling implies a code of 1200 which is something you really don't
want to do! Unless you like being featured in news stories about
pilots violating the ADIZ that is. <grin>

This above is based on my experience as a low-time pilot out of
Leesbug.

Sounds like a fun flight!

-Malcolm Teas

I recently flew from Nebraska to Miami. Longest flight I'd made. Really
just a series of 2 1/2 to 3 hr flights. I used the planning chart to more
or less lay out the route. But it kind of changed as I went because
of weather. Just picked airports with computer weather planning.

I parked at Tamiami (KTMB) in SW Miami for a few days. Wasn't too bad ..
they were nice there. I suppose that would be okay for a fuel stop before
heading to KW. If you only have one motor you may not feel comfy
out over the Everglades. Down the VFR flyway just west of the city is a good
choice.


"David Rind" > wrote in message
...
> I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
> with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on
> the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along
> the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before
> and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before.
> So, I have a bunch of questions:
>
> 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
> like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
> other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so,
> is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing?
>
> 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda.
> Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten
> a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is
> bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly
> into College Park!)
>
> 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
> when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How
> does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining
> communications with ATC while in the ADIZ?
>
> 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for
> a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav).
> Anyone else have comments?
>
> 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
> would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to
> keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours
> before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane
> much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots).
>
> Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated!
>
> -- David
>
> --
> David Rind
>
>

BWI is even further from Bethesda than FME. If you arrive durng peak
commuting times, the roads will be jammed.

GAI has two disadvantages:
1 Lousy routings southbound (figure on flying about 15 minutes out of
your way)
2 High minimums on the approaches, and a greater chance of low weather
than the metro airports to the south.

Under the best of circumstances, BWI to Bethesda is an hour drive.
However, if it is not essential to visit Bethesda, BWI, with its ILS
approaches and good southbound departures, would be the better choice.

Paul

"Paul Hamilton" > wrote in message m...

> Under the best of circumstances, BWI to Bethesda is an hour drive.
> However, if it is not essential to visit Bethesda, BWI, with its ILS
> approaches and good southbound departures, would be the better choice.
>
Dulles is also an option. You can get a coach to the West Falls Church
Metro. It's about 30 minutes (with light traffic) to drive it. I've made NIH
from my office (we're on the north end of the field) in about 20 minutes at
the dawn of crack in the morning.

>1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something
>like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each
>other seems a bit painful

It's what I do, and it's not painful at all. In fact, I kind of like it.
(although I wish I had an old WAC chart I could use for the initial flight
planning). Once I've gotten the overall route down, I can do the detailled
planning one chart at a time.

>>
GAI seems to have gotten
a lot of negative comments on AirNav,
<<

Just flew there last month (yet to comment on it on Airnav though). It was
fine, though I got water in the gas the first time. I mentioned it to them
when I refueled the second time, and the gas was clean.

>>
3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air
when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground?
<<

You can cancel in the air, but you retain your squawk code. DO NOT SQUAWK
1200!

Jose

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