Flying from Florida to California - Need suggestions

[Amandasdaddy]

Thanks for reading -

I'm new to this forum but found a lot of information! I am buying a
172RG II in Miami Beach area and will be flying solo back to San Jose,
california on May 19th.
My planned route is through the gulf, through New Orleans, Texas,
Arizona and then back to San Jose (KRHV).

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as far as the route, or
things to avoid? Any thoughts are appreciated!

Brian

[Peter R.]

Amandasdaddy wrote:

> My planned route is through the gulf, through New Orleans, Texas,
> Arizona and then back to San Jose (KRHV).
>
> Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as far as the route, or
> things to avoid? Any thoughts are appreciated!

My recommendation would be to avoid flying that far over the Gulf of
Mexico, especially in an aircraft whose actual maintenance was not
under your supervision prior to the trip. Looking at Jeppesen's
FlightStar, remaining over land (up Fla, then over the pan handle) adds
about 16 percent more distance and time to the trip. Is the risk of
going down in the middle of the Gulf worth the 50 to 60 minutes of
extra flying time?

I am also planned a cross country trip from upstate NY to Palm Springs,
California for late May. My route is going to take me down through
Texas, straight across New Mexico and Arizona, then over the border
into CA and Palm Springs. This route will avoid the higher peaks of
the Rockies.

Take a lot of pictures and post the story to a website, then share it
here. I would be interested in reading of your experience.

--
Peter

[Amandasdaddy]

Peter - I agree - I was modifying my route to avoid the water and take
a safer route. It would only add about 30-60 minutes or so - and is
well worth the peace of mind that I am not gonna be doing much swimming
if the worst case happened.
So I would fly along the coast of Florida, and maybe stopping in New
Orleans (KNEW). Then it would be a trek through Texas and into the
Phoenix area. From there i could do a day trip from Phoneix to KRHV in
San Jose.
I was thinking that staying out of the high mountains would be good
too.

Anyone have experience with weather conditions in these areas at this
time of year?

[Flyin'[email protected]]

> Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as far as the route, or
> things to avoid? Any thoughts are appreciated!

As others have already stated, I would avoid flying over the water.

Also, as I understand the mountains along the southern route are not as
tall. I think I would plan the Southern route (along the 8 freeway) then
cut north and go through the Palm Springs area. Of course, this is the
area I always fly anyway so I am more comfortable with it.

--
Mike Flyin'8
PP-ASEL
Temecula, CA
http://flying.4alexanders.com

[Robert M. Gary]

I would stick to the south and cross into California near Blythe. Then
go up the L.A. valley and over the grapevine and up through Fresno.
I've crossed the Sierras many times in my Mooney but I often have to
get over 16,000 feet to stay out of the clouds. You probably don't want
to go into the clouds over the Sierras, it can be pretty bumpy.

-Robert

[Gig 601XL Builder]

"Amandasdaddy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Peter - I agree - I was modifying my route to avoid the water and take
> a safer route. It would only add about 30-60 minutes or so - and is
> well worth the peace of mind that I am not gonna be doing much swimming
> if the worst case happened.
> So I would fly along the coast of Florida, and maybe stopping in New
> Orleans (KNEW). Then it would be a trek through Texas and into the
> Phoenix area. From there i could do a day trip from Phoneix to KRHV in
> San Jose.
> I was thinking that staying out of the high mountains would be good
> too.
>
> Anyone have experience with weather conditions in these areas at this
> time of year?
>

There are really only three kinds of weather along the gulf and through
Texas this time of year.

A. The short period before thunderstorms.
B. Thunderstorms
C. The short period after thunderstorms.

[Amandasdaddy]

I heard it is better to fly early in the morning in these areas and be
grounded by arond noonish before the weather gets ugly. Does that
sound about right?

I'm thinking it might take me more than 3-4 days to get back
home...Is that too aggressive of a goal? Florida to San Jose in 3-4
days?

Thanks

[Dan Thompson]

I fly between Texas and So. Fla. all the time. I make a turn at HEVVN
intersection, which keeps me out of the ADIZ and within comfortable distance
of the coast. Not really within gliding range at all times but within easy
range of the Coast Guard in case of a MayDay. Plus I can call up Flight
Watch and report in "15 miles west of HEVVN."

"Amandasdaddy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks for reading -
>
> I'm new to this forum but found a lot of information! I am buying a
> 172RG II in Miami Beach area and will be flying solo back to San Jose,
> california on May 19th.
> My planned route is through the gulf, through New Orleans, Texas,
> Arizona and then back to San Jose (KRHV).
>
> Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as far as the route, or
> things to avoid? Any thoughts are appreciated!
>
> Brian
>

[Nathan Young]

On 4 May 2005 11:48:05 -0700, "Amandasdaddy" >
wrote:

>Thanks for reading -
>
> I'm new to this forum but found a lot of information! I am buying a
>172RG II in Miami Beach area and will be flying solo back to San Jose,
>california on May 19th.
> My planned route is through the gulf, through New Orleans, Texas,
>Arizona and then back to San Jose (KRHV).
>
> Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as far as the route, or
>things to avoid? Any thoughts are appreciated!

General advice:

1. Don't fly over large bodies of water in an unfamiliar plane.
2. Don't fly at night.
3. Don't fly in IMC.
4. Fly high. Glide range is your friend.

I follow all these rules when my own plane gets out of maintenance. I
certainly would follow them for a plane that is new to you.

-Nathan

[John Galban]

Amandasdaddy wrote:
>
> Anyone have experience with weather conditions in these areas at this
> time of year?

For the lowest route with the least mountains, follow I-10 from west
Texas to Palm Springs.

As for weather, it's warming up already, so you can expect regular
afternoon turbulence from El Paso to Palm Springs. Usually continuous
light to moderate chop to about 10,000 ft., sometimes higher if it's
really hot. The good news is that it's currently the dry season in
the southwest deserts. You'll see occasional isolated thunderstorms
scattered about, but the real action doesn't start up until the monsoon
season arrives in early July.

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

[Amandasdaddy]

Ok - I'm new and all - so what is "15 miles west of HEVVN."

Is that an IFR vector?

[Jose]

> Ok - I'm new and all - so what is "15 miles west of HEVVN."
>
> Is that an IFR vector?

It's a location. HEVVN is probably an intersection. I don't have a
database in front of me and am not about to peruse all the charts from
Florida to California, but intersections used in IFR are all supposed to
be five letters and pronouncable. Intersections are used (among other
things) to define IFR routes. They are usually defined by crossing VOR
radials, sometimes by VOR and DME. Nowadays I bet they are putting in
some that exist only in the imaginations of GPS boxes too.

So, wherever HEVVN is, 15 miles west of it is... well, fifteen miles
west of it. Unless you're a country singer, in which case it's West
Virginia.

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Cecil Chapman]

Hey 'neighbor'! Do you fly out of RHV? It is my home away from home
<grin>.

Your adventure sounds just too cool! Be sure to document it with pics and
maybe a video or two and put it up on a web page or blog where it will be
well visited! This has to be a major dream for most of us who haven't done
it yet (i.e., coast-to-coast) but would like to!

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL-IA
Student - CP-ASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -

[Peter R.]

Amandasdaddy > wrote:

> I heard it is better to fly early in the morning in these areas and be
> grounded by arond noonish before the weather gets ugly. Does that
> sound about right?

I dunno. Watching the Weather Channel, I have seen some pretty nasty
looking thunderstorms at 7:00am local time for those poor Floridians. In
your case, it will just have to be the luck of the day.

Whatever you do, watch those impenetrable lines of t-storms. I recall
reading an NTSB accident report where one such line forced a small
instructional flight off the coast and over the ocean. The CFI and
student had the unenviable decision of either attempting to penetrate the
line or run out of fuel over the ocean and ditch. They tried to penetrate
the line... and failed.

> I'm thinking it might take me more than 3-4 days to get back
> home...Is that too aggressive of a goal? Florida to San Jose in 3-4
> days?

Are you instrument rated? Also, are you looking to sight-see along the
way, or simply fly the route to get home. To me, three days a tad on the
long side if you are an instrument pilot looking to simply fly home without
sight-seeing. If you are VFR-only? The time is probably about right.

A few years ago I flew from Kansas to upstate NY as a VFR-only pilot.
Remnants of a tropical storm parked over the Northeast US and it took me
three days to get home. A close call with another aircraft while trying to
fly under a low layer convinced me to get my instrument rating and I
started training within a week of arriving home.

--
Peter













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[Peter R.]

Amandasdaddy > wrote:

> Ok - I'm new and all - so what is "15 miles west of HEVVN."

15 miles west of Heaven! Get it?

HEVVN is an airway intersection and also a name of "that eternal place."

--
Peter













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[Dylan Smith]

In article . com>, Amandasdaddy wrote:
> I heard it is better to fly early in the morning in these areas and be
> grounded by arond noonish before the weather gets ugly. Does that
> sound about right?

Not really. I spent several years living (and flying) on the Texas Gulf
coast; the issue with afternoons is that it is uncomfortably hot. Well,
in the summer the mornings and evenings are also uncomfortably hot.

However, I did most of my flying after noon (I'm hardly an early riser).
Just pay attention to the weather briefer, make sure you see the radar
yourself and don't fly under/through or too close to thunderstorms. The
usual afternoon storm around coastal Texas is an isolated airmass storm
(not one of the rapacious monsters of the mid-west) and you can steer
around them. They tend to get nastier as you move inland, in my
experience (in the six years I lived on the south side of Houston I
never saw one hailstorm - in fact I've seen more hailstorms in the Isle
of Man than I ever saw in Houston - but the probability of destructive
hail got higher as you went further inland - I saw plenty of hail
reported on the radar or by the weather briefers for the north side of
Houston).

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

[Denny]

You've had a ton of good advice on route, weather, etc., so I'll skip
that and make one comment... KNEW is a fine airport and priced like
one... The French Quarter, etc. is a total waste of time unless you
are looking to get drunk and fleeced... Burbon Street is an over
priced dump infested with drunks, business ladies, and tourists
shuffling along like zombies... Off Burbon Street, and especially
after dark, you are simply a mark to be pick pocketed or taken anyway
they can... I have a couple of interesting incidents to relate, maybe
later when i'm in the mood to type...
Like you, I had never been there so we passed through last week... It
wasn't worth the cost of the gas to get there...
My opinion... YMMV...

denny

[Amandasdaddy]

Ok -
Thanks! It sounds like I can skip New Orleans then. Does anyone
have a suggestion as to where would be a good stop for me, between
Florida and Texas? I am not familiar with too many places in that
area. From Florida to New Orleans was about 4.5 hours, and I can go
about another hour or so west.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Morgans]

"Amandasdaddy" > wrote

> Thanks! It sounds like I can skip New Orleans then.

Not so fast.

It depends what you like, if you should go to Bourbon Street. If you
happen to like jazz, especially the Dixieland type, you need to go there.
The big easy is the home of the stuff. It also has great seafood, some
unusual drinks, that will pickle your gizzard, with a smile on you face.

You do need to wear a moneybelt, because there are more than a few thieves.
--
Jim in NC

[Casey Wilson]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Amandasdaddy" > wrote
>
>> Thanks! It sounds like I can skip New Orleans then.
>
> Not so fast.
>
> It depends what you like, if you should go to Bourbon Street. If you
> happen to like jazz, especially the Dixieland type, you need to go there.
> The big easy is the home of the stuff. It also has great seafood, some
> unusual drinks, that will pickle your gizzard, with a smile on you face.
>
> You do need to wear a moneybelt, because there are more than a few
> thieves.
> --
> Jim in NC

I don't know about the money-belt, but I do heartily recommend an oyster
Po' Boy at the Acme Cafe, just off Bourbon St.
If'n y'all ain't nevah been ta Nawlins, y'all ain't lived!
I do, however, have a problem with the smell of stale beer, rotting
veggies, and the occasional pool of vomitus when the temperature and
humidity are both in the the nineties before 10 a.m. When I go there, I
generally stay out of the French Quarter by several blocks on the west side.

[RST Engineering]

A lot of them wearing sunglasses, badges and carrying sidearms.

{;-)


Jim


>
> You do need to wear a moneybelt, because there are more than a few
> thieves.
> --
> Jim in NC
>

[Grumman-581]

"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
> (in the six years I lived on the south side of Houston I
> never saw one hailstorm

Yeah, they tend to stop at around I-10 where all the car dealerships are...

[Grumman-581]

"Denny" wrote in message
oups.com...
> You've had a ton of good advice on route, weather, etc., so I'll skip
> that and make one comment... KNEW is a fine airport and priced like
> one...

You pay for the convenience of being close to downtown... I used to fly into
there quite a bit, but since I was on a DoD contract, I didn't have to pay a
landing fee even if I didn't buy their overpriced fuel...

> The French Quarter, etc. is a total waste of time unless you
> are looking to get drunk and fleeced...

Spoke like someone who doesn't appreciate the finer points of trading cheap
plastic beads for glimpses of female flesh... <grin>

> Off Burbon Street, and especially after dark, you are simply a mark
> to be pick pocketed or taken anyway they can...

I've never had a problem there... Then again, I'm a Texan, so maybe they
just knew better... The good thing about the New Orleans area is that the
swamps are close so you don't have to go that far to dispose of the
bodies... Gators gotta eat too, ya know...

[Grumman-581]

"Casey Wilson" wrote in message news:kQzee.996$sZ2.320@trnddc04...
> I do, however, have a problem with the smell of stale beer, rotting
> veggies, and the occasional pool of vomitus when the temperature and
> humidity are both in the the nineties before 10 a.m.

That's what the afternoon thunderstorms are for -- the wash the swill out of
the streets in the Quarter...

[Grumman-581]

"Morgans" wrote in message ...
> You do need to wear a moneybelt, because there are more than a few
thieves.

Hmmm... I carry a .45... I've *never* needed a moneybelt...

[Grumman-581]

"Amandasdaddy" wrote in message
oups.com...
> From Florida to New Orleans was about 4.5 hours, and I can go
> about another hour or so west.

Cheaper fuel can usually be found at St John the Baptist Airport in Reserve,
LA... I was based there when I first moved to the New Orleans area... A few
miles down the road is La Place, LA... Great andouille sausage...

[Patrick Mayer]

Hi,

>
> I'm thinking it might take me more than 3-4 days to get back
> home...Is that too aggressive of a goal? Florida to San Jose in 3-4
> days?

I once flew from Fort Myers to LA in an Arrow. Not over the Gulf, of course
(safety, as mentioned earlier). A couple of thunderstorms rerouted me, so my
trip was: Fort Myers - New Orleans - Lubbock, TX (ts reroute) - Prescott, AZ
(visited my first flight school; you HAVE to fly around Sedona - try to land
there, looks like an aircraft carrier!) - LA. 4 days. I wouldn't do it in 3
in a 172. Make it 4-5 days, that should hit the spot (wx permitting)..

Happy flying,
Patrick

[smf]

I've flown South fla to Louisiana many times. The thunderstorms in the early
summer are hit and miss. I would usually fly Mia area to Cross City (cheap
gas), panama city then to BTR. If you don't want to sight see in N.O. how
about over to Lafayette (real cajun country). You can't help but get a
fantastic meal and hotel close to the airport. Next stop would be W.
Texas...maybe Ft. Stockton or Alpine then finally to destination.
If you get started early in Fla you shouldn't have too much of a problem
getting to Louisiana.
By the way...I've lived in S. Louisiana many years and have been to the
french quarter many times without a problem. If you want to bypass the
mayhem try Lafayette. A little west of lafayette is Jennings with a Holiday
Inn on an uncontrolled field. You can taxi up to the hotel.

Steve
Glasair II
Khwo (Hollywood-N. Perrry)

"Grumman-581" > wrote in message
news:YIDee.59297$WI3.45523@attbi_s71...
> "Denny" wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > You've had a ton of good advice on route, weather, etc., so I'll skip
> > that and make one comment... KNEW is a fine airport and priced like
> > one...
>
> You pay for the convenience of being close to downtown... I used to fly
into
> there quite a bit, but since I was on a DoD contract, I didn't have to pay
a
> landing fee even if I didn't buy their overpriced fuel...
>
> > The French Quarter, etc. is a total waste of time unless you
> > are looking to get drunk and fleeced...
>
> Spoke like someone who doesn't appreciate the finer points of trading
cheap
> plastic beads for glimpses of female flesh... <grin>
>
> > Off Burbon Street, and especially after dark, you are simply a mark
> > to be pick pocketed or taken anyway they can...
>
> I've never had a problem there... Then again, I'm a Texan, so maybe they
> just knew better... The good thing about the New Orleans area is that the
> swamps are close so you don't have to go that far to dispose of the
> bodies... Gators gotta eat too, ya know...
>
>