"A Lieberman" wrote in message
. ..

Several reasons why I wanted to do the original scenerio.

Winds aloft from 3,500 to 5000 made for a 15 minute difference in flight
time. Had I gone to 7000 feet to ensure radar coverage, it would have
added another 5 minutes. With passengers, that extra 20 minutes would
have
been significant difference.

Going the victor highways would have added about 20 minutes as compared to
direct.

Most importantly, I love the second pair of eyes for traffic advisories.
Sure, I could do flight following VFR, but since I am already in the
system, might as well stay in the system without the risk of being
dropped.


I still don't get it. If you have to go to 7000 to ensure radar coverage
then that's how high you'd have to go for that second pair of eyes. If
you're high enough to ensure radar coverage you're high enough to be cleared
direct.