VFR from San Diego to Las Cruces

[Steve F.]

Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
LRU (Las Cruces, NM):

1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.

2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
conditions.

Thanks,

Steve

[Jeff]

I would go direct.
best time to go would be almost any time, the weather is seldome bad here

"Steve F." wrote:

> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

[...]

IFR is not very much an issue in the Southwest, but it can get rather
windy in Spring and you may have the usual thunderstorms in the
afternoon during Summer.And watch out for the zillion MOAs and
restricted areas on the way.

Chris

Steve F. wrote:
> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

[lance smith]

Hi Steve,

You don't have to worry much about IFR conditions in the southwest
much but remember that CRQ is on the coast. Socal does have a May/Gray
and June/Gloom and the coast is often overcast. It's kinda random and
mostly gone in the mid-late summer but it still can pop up
occasionally. If CRQ is socked-in land at RNM (Ramona, CA) to get a
IFR/CFI ferry and at L80 (Temecula-French Valley, CA) if you want to
spend the night. There are some nice vinyards near L80.

Note that in the summertime the desert heats up. No big deal but it
will cause some light turbulence. What kind of plane are you going to
be in? Passengers?

The best route is direct. Check the route ahead of time, sometimes the
restricted areas open up on the weekends and cutting across them will
save you buku time. ATC is usually quite helpful (and nice) about this
too.

-lance smith



(Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

[Andrew Sarangan]

Having been to LRU many times, I have never seen IFR conditions there.
If you are flying in the spring, you can expect high winds.


(Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

[John Galban]

(Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>

I've been flying from Phoenix to LRU regularly for about 15 years.
For the route, a course that generally follows I-8 into southern AZ,
then I-10 from Tucson to LRU is fairly free of mountainous terrain.
The Tucson to LRU leg can be done at 6,500 ft.

Weather wise, you have to keep an eye on the charts. It's not
unusual for a winter storm front to pass through and leave you with
low clouds and rain/snow for a day or so. Someone else pointed out
the spring winds. They can howl up to a steady 40 kts on the ground
if a front is passing. Fortunately, LRU has 3 long runways in a
triangle, so crosswinds are rarely a problem. In the summer(Jul -
Sep), you'll have to deal with the afternoon monsoon that often
generates a north-south line of thunderstorms in eastern AZ and
western NM. If you leave early, it's not usually a problem.

Those are the worst things that you can expect. If the weather
charts are showing a nice block of high pressure (as they usually
are), you can expect smooth flying in cool weather and continous chop
in hot weather.

If you stop in at the Southwest Aviation FBO, tell 'em John from
Phoenix says Hi.

John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[Steve F.]

Hi Lance,

I'll be flying a Diamond DA-20-C1, not the 85hp Katana, but the 125hp
fuel injected continental. Burns about 5.6 gph @ 75% power (~122kts).

-s


> Hi Steve,
>
> You don't have to worry much about IFR conditions in the southwest
> much but remember that CRQ is on the coast. Socal does have a May/Gray
> and June/Gloom and the coast is often overcast. It's kinda random and
> mostly gone in the mid-late summer but it still can pop up
> occasionally. If CRQ is socked-in land at RNM (Ramona, CA) to get a
> IFR/CFI ferry and at L80 (Temecula-French Valley, CA) if you want to
> spend the night. There are some nice vinyards near L80.
>
> Note that in the summertime the desert heats up. No big deal but it
> will cause some light turbulence. What kind of plane are you going to
> be in? Passengers?
>
> The best route is direct. Check the route ahead of time, sometimes the
> restricted areas open up on the weekends and cutting across them will
> save you buku time. ATC is usually quite helpful (and nice) about this
> too.
>
> -lance smith
>
>
>
> (Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> > Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> > LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
> >
> > 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
> >
> > 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> > conditions.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Steve

[Jeff]

MOA's are not much of an issue, I blow through them everytime I fly.
there is a restricted area near oceanside thats active 24/7 (from what I was
told when I wanted to fly through it)
Thunderstorms in nevada and arizona during the summer...not an issue. We get
about 6 inches of rain a year.

"..." wrote:

> IFR is not very much an issue in the Southwest, but it can get rather
> windy in Spring and you may have the usual thunderstorms in the
> afternoon during Summer.And watch out for the zillion MOAs and
> restricted areas on the way.
>
> Chris
>
> Steve F. wrote:
> > Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> > LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
> >
> > 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
> >
> > 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> > conditions.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Steve

[Jeff]

If your flying during the summer, only fly before noon, after that time it can get really bad due to the
thermals, Density Altitude will also be an issue for you during the summer.

"Steve F." wrote:

> Hi Lance,
>
> I'll be flying a Diamond DA-20-C1, not the 85hp Katana, but the 125hp
> fuel injected continental. Burns about 5.6 gph @ 75% power (~122kts).
>
> -s
>
> > Hi Steve,
> >
> > You don't have to worry much about IFR conditions in the southwest
> > much but remember that CRQ is on the coast. Socal does have a May/Gray
> > and June/Gloom and the coast is often overcast. It's kinda random and
> > mostly gone in the mid-late summer but it still can pop up
> > occasionally. If CRQ is socked-in land at RNM (Ramona, CA) to get a
> > IFR/CFI ferry and at L80 (Temecula-French Valley, CA) if you want to
> > spend the night. There are some nice vinyards near L80.
> >
> > Note that in the summertime the desert heats up. No big deal but it
> > will cause some light turbulence. What kind of plane are you going to
> > be in? Passengers?
> >
> > The best route is direct. Check the route ahead of time, sometimes the
> > restricted areas open up on the weekends and cutting across them will
> > save you buku time. ATC is usually quite helpful (and nice) about this
> > too.
> >
> > -lance smith
> >
> >
> >
> > (Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> > > Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> > > LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
> > >
> > > 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
> > >
> > > 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> > > conditions.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Steve

[lance smith]

Hi Steve,

I didn't know there was a new version of the Katana. Nice!

You'll have to climb to 9500 leaving CRQ -left- downwind to clear the
mtns east of San Diego. It can get kindy windy in those mtns, the
glider folks love it. (apologies if you fly out of CRQ) Once in the
desert you will want to stay up high if you want flight following,
radar can't pick you up down low because of the mtns everywhere.

-lance smith



(Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> Hi Lance,
>
> I'll be flying a Diamond DA-20-C1, not the 85hp Katana, but the 125hp
> fuel injected continental. Burns about 5.6 gph @ 75% power (~122kts).
>
> -s
>

[Jeff]

speaking of San Diego, on the news tonight, they said about a week and a half ago, a marine captain and his
fiance, both from San Diego, departed vegas heading home, they were lost on radar around Jean, Nv.
Today, they found the wreckage. It looked to be mostly destroyed by fire.

Jean is about a 12 minute flight or less from the henderson airport. There is also a airport at jean. The
plane wreckage was on the side of a mountain facing a different direction then San Diego (per the news) near
the power station.

lance smith wrote:

> Hi Steve,
>
> I didn't know there was a new version of the Katana. Nice!
>
> You'll have to climb to 9500 leaving CRQ -left- downwind to clear the
> mtns east of San Diego. It can get kindy windy in those mtns, the
> glider folks love it. (apologies if you fly out of CRQ) Once in the
> desert you will want to stay up high if you want flight following,
> radar can't pick you up down low because of the mtns everywhere.
>
> -lance smith
>
> (Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> > Hi Lance,
> >
> > I'll be flying a Diamond DA-20-C1, not the 85hp Katana, but the 125hp
> > fuel injected continental. Burns about 5.6 gph @ 75% power (~122kts).
> >
> > -s
> >

[Skyking]

(Steve F.) wrote in message >...
> Two questions about VFR x-country from CRQ (Palomar, Carlsbad CA) to
> LRU (Las Cruces, NM):
>
> 1) What's the best VFR route for a low time pilot.
>
> 2) What's the best time of year so that stranded in LRU by bad or IFR
> conditions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

Take I-8 to I-10, Eloy would be a good stop but watch out for Skydivers.
Then continue on I-10 to Las Cruces. Actually, Avra Valley, just north
of Tucson would be better because they have a good cafe. There are GA
airports all along the way.

Good Luck,

Skyking