"Peter Gibbons" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking to hear from others who have made trips like this and what
advice you might have and/or pitfalls to watch for.

I'm sure you'll get good info from people more familiar with that particular
route. My only advice is to make sure you have plenty of buffer built into
your schedule for weather delays, regardless of the time of the year, and to
remember that a 10-hour cross country is just five 2-hour cross countries
put together.

In other words, all of the same stuff you learned during your initial
training is applicable, and sufficient for the most part. You'll just be
exercising more of it over a shorter period of time. If you haven't had any
mountain-specific training, that would be a good idea before you go too,
since there are a few hills on the way from Fort Worth to San Diego.

As for particular pitfalls, one big one is to make sure you contact your
anticipated fuel stops, as well as nearby alternates. You want to make sure
fuel is available where you expect it to be, and that if something does go
wrong, you have someplace nearby to go (at one fuel stop, I found that even
though the fuel pump worked, their credit-card approval system didn't, for
example...they didn't find out about the problem until their first credit
customer of the day -- that was me -- showed up). Check on parking
arrangements, ground transportation, and lodging, for overnight stops.

Other than that, it's just like the flying you've already done, only more
fun because you get to see a lot of new places, and meet lots of new people.


Pete