Do you flight plan?

Basically, I download DUATs weather the night before and run my
Flitesoft program to get a time enroute. Then I run my finger across
my route and the charts to look for any special use airspace. The
thing that concerns me most nowadays is the TFR's. I usually look for
them in the DUATs download, the aeroplanner website, or both. In good
weather that's about it. In times of poor weather, I may monitor it
for a couple days before on various internet sites. On longer flight I
check out the cheap fuel on airnav.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.




Having received my PPL recently and been on several cross countries, I was
wondering how extensive of a flight plan do people prepare before the trip?

Do you guys do all the checkpoints on a map, calculate time/distance/fuel to
each leg? Do you just draw the line on the map and mark checkpoints that you
expect to see but not calculate other things? Do you always calculate winds
aloft and fly the appropriate heading?

I have found myself getting lazy and I dont do all that I did when planning
x-countries when I was training. I tend to draw my line and mark
checkpoints, make sure I have plenty of fuel to get to my destination (plus
an hour more) based on 6gal/hr average. But I dont calculate
time/distance/fuel to each leg. I also have a GPS so that makes getting lazy
easier!

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

Nasir

I need to know what the weather is enroute and at destination. I need
to know how far it is. I need to know the headwinds. I need to know
how much fuel. I need to know the restricted airspaces along the way.
I need to know the frequencies I need. If I have that, I am usually
set to go. How I get this information depends on how far it is, and
how familiar I am with the route etc. It all depends. I use
Fligh****ch a lot during my longer flights, and I monitor on shorter
ones. If it is fairly good weather, I can get the enroute and
destination weather from Fligh****ch enroute. The GPS and charts give
me the rest of the information I need. I can also monitor the AWOS's
along the way. If things get dicey, I can file a flight plan enroute
and pick up flight following. If i am above the cloud deck, I can pick
up a "pop-up" for an approach or descent to below the clouds. Good
luck on your training!

Of course as a primary student, you need to do a formal flight plan.
Later on, you will learn how to abbreviate it. We have a lot of flying
freedom in the country, and I like it and respect it. Just don't run
out of gas!

(Gene Seibel) wrote in message . com...
Basically, I download DUATs weather the night before and run my
Flitesoft program to get a time enroute. Then I run my finger across
my route and the charts to look for any special use airspace. The
thing that concerns me most nowadays is the TFR's. I usually look for
them in the DUATs download, the aeroplanner website, or both. In good
weather that's about it. In times of poor weather, I may monitor it
for a couple days before on various internet sites. On longer flight I
check out the cheap fuel on airnav.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.




Having received my PPL recently and been on several cross countries, I was
wondering how extensive of a flight plan do people prepare before the trip?

Do you guys do all the checkpoints on a map, calculate time/distance/fuel to
each leg? Do you just draw the line on the map and mark checkpoints that you
expect to see but not calculate other things? Do you always calculate winds
aloft and fly the appropriate heading?

I have found myself getting lazy and I dont do all that I did when planning
x-countries when I was training. I tend to draw my line and mark
checkpoints, make sure I have plenty of fuel to get to my destination (plus
an hour more) based on 6gal/hr average. But I dont calculate
time/distance/fuel to each leg. I also have a GPS so that makes getting lazy
easier!

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

Nasir

Nasir wrote:

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

If I haven't made the trip before, I crank up the computer and use the fuel
finder web site to get me a selection of fuel stops. Then I plug in a few of
these into my flight planning program and pick a route I like. I usually plan
for 2 to 3.5 hour legs. I'll usually plan two scenarios, one of which is a 25
knot headwind. I'll then transfer the route to sectionals. Since this area has
lots of controlled airspace, I will usually have to select waypoints that will
allow me to avoid problem areas, but those are the only waypoints I use or
chart. For example, a flight from New Jersey to Tennessee will start at 3N6. My
first waypoint is N67 (north of Philadelphia). The next is the Linden VOR near
Front Royal, VA. From that point on, it's SHD, ROA, TRI, and my destination at
Knoxville.

I have a LORAN on board and use it for navigation as well as ETA information.
While enroute, I follow my flight on the chart and note visible features as I
pass them. This allows me to double-check the LORAN and would let me continue
the flight by pilotage if the LORAN dies.

When I bought my Maule, it had no radio gear. My technique at that time was to
use closely spaced waypoints at the start of each leg to establish my course.
After the first few miles, however, my waypoints might be 50 miles apart. If I
saw something distinctive on the ground between waypoints, I would try to locate
it on the chart. Sort of the reverse of what they usually teach you to do.

When we brought it back from Georgia, my CFI did the navigation. He used a
similar technique but paid more attention to time than I usually do. He also
used the airways a lot, even though we had no NAV radio. At altitudes of only
a few thousand feet, the VOR transmitters make good landmarks.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really
hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote:

Nasir wrote:

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

If I haven't made the trip before, I crank up the computer and use the fuel
finder web site to get me a selection of fuel stops. Then I plug in a few of
these into my flight planning program and pick a route I like. I usually plan
for 2 to 3.5 hour legs. I'll usually plan two scenarios, one of which is a 25
knot headwind. I'll then transfer the route to sectionals. Since this area has
lots of controlled airspace, I will usually have to select waypoints that will
allow me to avoid problem areas, but those are the only waypoints I use or
chart. For example, a flight from New Jersey to Tennessee will start at 3N6. My
first waypoint is N67 (north of Philadelphia).

Better update that flight planner. N67 became KLOM a year or two ago.

Anyone know if there is any significance to the letters LOM or are they random? The
airport is in Whitpain Township, uses Blue Bell as its post office, and is near
Norristown. .

Lynn Melrose wrote:

Better update that flight planner. N67 became KLOM a year or two ago.

Has to be more recent than that. It's N67 on a November, 2002 sectional.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really
hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".

I was pretty rigorous about flight planning for about the first year after
getting my PPL... I am much more willing to start a flight off the GPS then
I was back then. I think the most important thing is situational awareness
- before I'm out of my "comfort zone" where I recognize everything, I will
pop out the sectionals, and tag my last known point every 10 or 15 minutes
just to make sure.

If I'm flying for the first time to a new destination, I will be a little
bit more rigorous - marking the sectional, checking minimum altitudes, etc.
Admittedly, I use 10 GPH on a C172 as my rule of thumb - while I do
generally lean, I also can't guarantee that I am going to do better than
10, and quite frankly, my bladder has yet to last more than 5 hours in a
single leg anyway...

Really, I think weather is the big one... If there's any chance of weather
issues, I will watch it carefully - not only before I leave, but by tuning
in the ATIS/AWOS/ASOS frequencies of airports ahead of me. If there's real
concerns, I will check in with Flight Watch too...

And I ALWAYS get flight following. Quite frankly, I'd rather have FF than a
Flight Plan - if something happens, I think it will provide much more aid,
much more quickly.

Besides that, I generally have a mind flash every 10 or 15 minutes or so to
check for the nearest safe landing spot and figure out what it would take
to get there - whether it be an airport, golf course, field, or highway. Of
course, there are certain areas that I fly over where there are lots of
fields, and it seems like a non-issue, or where it's rocky and hilly, and
also a relative non-issue. So I always try to keep track of the nearest
airport, since it will be easier to deal with an emergency there than on
the 9th Hole...

On the other hand, I have always also tried to keep my skills "honest" -
and fly by hand except on really long trips. And I have recently started my
IFR training to get even better...

But then, just cause I'm a bigger slacker than you are doesn't necessarily
make it right.



"Nasir" wrote in
news
Having received my PPL recently and been on several cross countries, I
was wondering how extensive of a flight plan do people prepare before
the trip?

Do you guys do all the checkpoints on a map, calculate
time/distance/fuel to each leg? Do you just draw the line on the map
and mark checkpoints that you expect to see but not calculate other
things? Do you always calculate winds aloft and fly the appropriate
heading?

I have found myself getting lazy and I dont do all that I did when
planning x-countries when I was training. I tend to draw my line and
mark checkpoints, make sure I have plenty of fuel to get to my
destination (plus an hour more) based on 6gal/hr average. But I dont
calculate time/distance/fuel to each leg. I also have a GPS so that
makes getting lazy easier!

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

Nasir

Judah wrote:

Admittedly, I use 10 GPH on a C172 as my rule of thumb - while I do
generally lean, I also can't guarantee that I am going to do better than
10, .....

What engine do you have in there? I burn 8.6 gph with my 160 hp O-320 and flight
plan for 9. My redline is 2700 rpm, IIRC.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really
hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".

I rent out of Panorama at HPN. They have all late-model C172S's - SP's,
Millenium Editions, etc... They have O-360, 180HP engines in there, and I
think the redline is also 2700. IIRC, they're supposed to get around 8.6
at 65%, and up to either 9.2 or 9.5 at 75%, depending on density altitude
and temp and all that... I could look it up for you if you want...

The planes are really nice - I like them a lot. And like I said, an extra
gallon/hr is going to work out longer than TMTBPS (Total Mean Time
Between Pee Stops) anyway. So I generally figure on 10gph and am happy to
have an extra few minutes to be sure.

That said, now that I have started my IFR training, I might have to be
more precise, since fuel planning is more critical, or should I say,
somewhat more restrictive...



"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in
:



Judah wrote:

Admittedly, I use 10 GPH on a C172 as my rule of thumb - while I do
generally lean, I also can't guarantee that I am going to do better
than 10, .....

What engine do you have in there? I burn 8.6 gph with my 160 hp O-320
and flight plan for 9. My redline is 2700 rpm, IIRC.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what
they really hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with
no heavy lifting".

In article , G.R. Patterson III wrote:
What engine do you have in there? I burn 8.6 gph with my 160 hp O-320 and
flight
plan for 9. My redline is 2700 rpm, IIRC.

That seems a bit high too. I used to reliably get 6.6gph at 6500' out of
our club's C172N at 105 KTAS.

--
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"

The reason we teach all that stuff in your training is so that you
understand the steps to create a complete and thorough flight plan.
Once you gain some experience, you can decide which steps to skip
over. You have to learn the long way first before taking short cuts.

If the flight is VFR, I draw a straight line on the sectional, look
for any airspaces, and then let DUATS figure out the wind corrections
and times etc.. It takes just a few minutes to do this.

I always call FSS immediately prior to the flight to check for any
NOTAMs or TFR. This has become a hot issue recently with all the
airspace incursions.

Just yesterday we witnessed such an airspace violation. It is a class
D airport whose tower normally closed on Sundays (reverts to class G).
But yesterday there was a NOTAM saying the tower will remain open.
Just as we were on final approach, an airplane was landing in front of
us. Tower altered us that that airplane was not talking to anyone.


"Nasir" wrote in message .com...
Having received my PPL recently and been on several cross countries, I was
wondering how extensive of a flight plan do people prepare before the trip?

Do you guys do all the checkpoints on a map, calculate time/distance/fuel to
each leg? Do you just draw the line on the map and mark checkpoints that you
expect to see but not calculate other things? Do you always calculate winds
aloft and fly the appropriate heading?

I have found myself getting lazy and I dont do all that I did when planning
x-countries when I was training. I tend to draw my line and mark
checkpoints, make sure I have plenty of fuel to get to my destination (plus
an hour more) based on 6gal/hr average. But I dont calculate
time/distance/fuel to each leg. I also have a GPS so that makes getting lazy
easier!

How much do you all plan before each x-country? Am I the only slacker?

Nasir