Sacremento to MSP in a 172?

[Matt Ketcham]

Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
Matt

[BTIZ]

going south adds new meaning to "great circle route"..
of by south you mean.. South of Grand Canyon, to northern New Mexico before
turning the corner and getting across the great plains..

yes.. terrain is lower.. a factor in winter ice/snow weather conditions..

if you could "perfectly time" your trip.. to cross the Sierra's to Reno
along I-80.. follow I-80 to SaltLake.. cross the Wasatch Range in great
VFR.. and pretty much follow I-80 until it crosses with I-25 to Denver and
Cheyenne.. then make your turn for MSP.

Winter is tough time to do it.. but pacing between weather systems is the
key..

BT
"Matt Ketcham" > wrote in message
...
> Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
> south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
> Matt
>
>

[Jim Weir]

What time of the year? I did SAC-OSH in a 172 for fifteen years without any
problems, but that's summer. And, it doesn't matter whether you go south or
north, you've still got to get to MSP in the winter, so I don't see what you are
going to gain?

Jim


"Matt Ketcham" >
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

->Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
->south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
->Matt
->

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[mikem]

Well, since I fly out of SLC, I'd just follow I80 to eastern WY, and
make a slight left turn.

On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:13:56 -0600, "Matt Ketcham"
> wrote:

>Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
>south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
>Matt
>

[Flynn]

Missed the original post but I've made the trip from the east coast to
Seattle in a Grumman, Seattle to Dallas in the Grumman and Duluth to Seattle
in the SR22. I've also made a number of round trips from Seattle to SAC
(MHR precisely) and back. The Grumman Tiger while faster wasn't any
"taller" and I never flew about 12.5.
So my suggested route from Sacramento to MSP would be north to LMT then via
Mullan Pass to Helena and on through the Dakotas. Weather's an issue no
matter what but this route I think has fewer really tall bumps to get over.


--
Patrick Flynn
Sammamish, WA
Cirrus SR22 N6099Z KRNT
"BTIZ" > wrote in message
news:OoTrb.21810$Zb7.8938@fed1read01...
> going south adds new meaning to "great circle route"..
> of by south you mean.. South of Grand Canyon, to northern New Mexico
before
> turning the corner and getting across the great plains..
>
> yes.. terrain is lower.. a factor in winter ice/snow weather conditions..
>
> if you could "perfectly time" your trip.. to cross the Sierra's to Reno
> along I-80.. follow I-80 to SaltLake.. cross the Wasatch Range in great
> VFR.. and pretty much follow I-80 until it crosses with I-25 to Denver and
> Cheyenne.. then make your turn for MSP.
>
> Winter is tough time to do it.. but pacing between weather systems is the
> key..
>
> BT
> "Matt Ketcham" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
> > south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
> > Matt
> >
> >
>
>

[Jeff]

over Denver...have you seen the MEA's over Denver...they are around 17,000 ft.
Also, I was told by a CFI who used to fly out of Denver, he said to not attempt
to fly over the rockies when the winds are 30 kts or higher.

Anyone here flown over Denver, west to east or vise versa -- Any problems?
(in a small plane, not B2's or 747's)


BTIZ wrote:

> going south adds new meaning to "great circle route"..
> of by south you mean.. South of Grand Canyon, to northern New Mexico before
> turning the corner and getting across the great plains..
>
> yes.. terrain is lower.. a factor in winter ice/snow weather conditions..
>
> if you could "perfectly time" your trip.. to cross the Sierra's to Reno
> along I-80.. follow I-80 to SaltLake.. cross the Wasatch Range in great
> VFR.. and pretty much follow I-80 until it crosses with I-25 to Denver and
> Cheyenne.. then make your turn for MSP.
>
> Winter is tough time to do it.. but pacing between weather systems is the
> key..
>
> BT
> "Matt Ketcham" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Anyone ever make the trip in a 172? What route did you take? I'm going
> > south but thought I'd ask for others experiences.
> > Matt
> >
> >

[Tom S.]

"Jeff" > wrote in message ...
> over Denver...have you seen the MEA's over Denver...they are around 17,000
ft.
> Also, I was told by a CFI who used to fly out of Denver, he said to not
attempt
> to fly over the rockies when the winds are 30 kts or higher.
>
> Anyone here flown over Denver, west to east or vise versa -- Any problems?
> (in a small plane, not B2's or 747's)
>
>

MEA's around Denver are in the 11K range going north, FL230 going SW or
west, and 17K going N-NW. Look at APA's Pikes Two and Rockies Three
departures.

I flew out of APA from 1976 until 1989 and made regular trips west bound and
return. Those were in a T182RG and a 340. Many who tried those in NA
172/182's (and even a few turbo's) were not seen again.

The bunch I worked for were doing a lot of business in the San Juan's and
northern New Mexico. I'm working for them again, 14 years later, but that
part of the business is no longer in operation. Now our trips are still out
over the Rockies, to/from Montana, Idaho, Santa Fe, Phoenix (my base) and
Minden, but we're using turbines now and our only piston-popper is a T210
(soon to be retired).

To an extent, I agree with the instructor about flying out of Denver and
heading west in something that is not turbo'd unless the pilot has VERY
EXTENSIVE mountain training and experience and a bird that is in tip-top
condition. It's shocking how often the forecasts are dead (key word there)
wrong and how fast weather can completely go-to-hell-in-a-handbasket.