"S Green" wrote in message ...
Got myself a 6 month break (sabbatical) coming up in the next year or so.

I want to do plenty of flying so rather than do a coast to coast I figured
on trying to fly and land in each State/county in the contiguous US.

I considered doing that (landing in every state), but when it got
down to the details I realized that there would be a lot of
not-very-interesting flights involved. I had a 2 month sabbatical in
'99 and flew to Alaska. That trip was well worth the effort. In 2001
I took 2 yrs. off and spent the time flying to airshows, fly-ins,
aviation museums and other aviation related attractions around the
U.S. and Canada. I had a great time, but still didn't see everything.

Welcome any thoughts on best plane for the mission, best time of year /
route to capitalise on the weather re most flyable days.

If flying solo or with 1 other person, I'd recommend at least
something with 180 hp (Piper or Cessna) to negotiate the mountainous
regions. I have a 180 hp Cherokee and regularly fly into backcountry
airstrips in the Rocky Mountains during the summer months. A 150 hp
Super Cub would do nicely too.

Summer will generally get you the most flyable (and longer) days for
that kind of trip. You'll have to consider the higher density
altitudes out west, but you won't have to worry about winter storms
and low freezing levels (icing).

Have a great time!

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