Oxygen use at Hobbs

[WB]

I'm an easterner (US) going to Hobbs in June and thinking about supplemental O2. Asking all y'all with experience at Hobbs: Roughly how often is O2 needed and how long is one on O2 per flight out there? Wondering how long my 15 ft3 tank will last.

Thanks!

WB

[Tom Kelley #711]

On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 8:13:01 PM UTC-6, WB wrote:
> I'm an easterner (US) going to Hobbs in June and thinking about supplemental O2. Asking all y'all with experience at Hobbs: Roughly how often is O2 needed and how long is one on O2 per flight out there? Wondering how long my 15 ft3 tank will last.
>
> Thanks!
>
> WB

Refills have always been available. Good days we see 12-16 thousand.

Best. #711.

[[email protected]]

Hey Wally,

Typical day we should hope to be running at altitudes we will need it most of the flight. In 2015 there was a lot of flooding in the area throughout the spring and don't think we ever legally needed it but that is unusual. Strong Hobbs weather we should be around 15k all day long.

Mike

[[email protected]]

On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 7:13:01 PM UTC-7, WB wrote:
> Wondering how long my 15 ft3 tank will last.

With EDS set to 10K and night mode toward the end of the day to keep me sharp it's good a couple 8 hour flights.

5Z

[WB]

On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 9:30:57 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 7:13:01 PM UTC-7, WB wrote:
> > Wondering how long my 15 ft3 tank will last.
>
> With EDS set to 10K and night mode toward the end of the day to keep me sharp it's good a couple 8 hour flights.
>
> 5Z

Thanks Tom, Mike, Tom! That's the info I needed. Knowing that I will need refills at Hobbes means I will need to get my tank hydro'ed before heading west.

[MNLou]

One other thought - a number of we "not in our 40s anymore" pilots are setting the O2 to kick in at 5000 msl.

O2 is cheap. Clarity of mind at altitude - priceless!

Lou

[Frank Whiteley]

On Friday, May 19, 2017 at 7:49:38 AM UTC-6, MNLou wrote:
> One other thought - a number of we "not in our 40s anymore" pilots are setting the O2 to kick in at 5000 msl.
>
> O2 is cheap. Clarity of mind at altitude - priceless!
>
> Lou

Clarity well before landing after a long flight is good also.

[WB]

On Friday, May 19, 2017 at 8:49:38 AM UTC-5, MNLou wrote:
> One other thought - a number of we "not in our 40s anymore" pilots are setting the O2 to kick in at 5000 msl.
>
> O2 is cheap. Clarity of mind at altitude - priceless!
>
> Lou

Spent some time clambering around mountains in Colorado a couple years ago. I really felt the degradation of my exercise tolerance when we were much above 10,000. Even so, I never got the altitude headaches that everyone else seemed to get. Regardless, I'll not scrimp on the 02 use at Hobbs.

By the way, when we were on top of Mt. Evans, I looked up to see a glider passing by overhead. It was too high to make out the tail number but it appeared to be an LS-1f judging from the horizontal tail profile (don't think it was a Standard Cirrus since the fuselage was pretty skinny).

[[email protected]]

On Friday, May 19, 2017 at 11:12:30 AM UTC-7, Frank Whiteley wrote:
> Clarity well before landing after a long flight is good also.

That's why I go to night (100%) mode toward the end of the day.

-Tom

[[email protected]]

On Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 4:02:11 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> On Friday, May 19, 2017 at 11:12:30 AM UTC-7, Frank Whiteley wrote:
> > Clarity well before landing after a long flight is good also.
>
> That's why I go to night (100%) mode toward the end of the day.
>
> -Tom

Tom, nothing wrong with that but..
Flying with my Mountain High system on long flights out West I do check O2 saturation occasionally with my finger-tip device. I',m always at 97-98%. Will 100% O2 mode get you above those numbers? I don't think so.
Herb