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#1
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Long flight plan
I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month
with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before. So, I have a bunch of questions: 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so, is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing? 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda. Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly into College Park!) 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining communications with ATC while in the ADIZ? 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav). Anyone else have comments? 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots). Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated! -- David -- David Rind |
#2
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"David Rind" wrote in message
... 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. When a sectional doesn't include enough real estate, get yourself a World Aeronautical Chart. IMHO the question of paper vs. software is different from the question of "how much can I see on this chart?" They are both valid questions, but answers to one don't necessarily imply answers to the other. If you like software planning, use software. If you like paper planning, there are charts available that are just fine for the longer trips. I'm not familiar enough with the route to be able to answer your other questions, sorry. Pete |
#3
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"Peter Duniho" wrote in message ...
"David Rind" wrote in message ... 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. When a sectional doesn't include enough real estate, get yourself a World Aeronautical Chart. Well, for planning a Boston to Key West trip, I'm not entirely sure that 3 WAC charts is a big improvement on 5 sectionals spread over the floor. Still rather unwieldy. If one is going to plan on paper, the thing is to buy the low-altitude planning chart. If planning an E-W trip across the middle of the thing, buy two, they're cheap and can be reused until they fall apart. FWIW, I don't like the WAC charts; they don't have the three letter abbreviations for airports, which makes it harder to relate the chart to the database in a GPS. And, if one really needs info about the terrain for some reason, they're not sufficiently detailed. If one just wants some VFR charts as backup to IFR enroutes, they're OK I guess. We buy them sometimes when the choice is between 4 sectionals vs 1 WAC. OTOH, I don't like Aeroplanner Tripticks either. They're a great idea, but on long trips (~900 mile-ish) it's just not uncommon for us to have to detour outside the area they cover. I did a set for our CFI and friend on one of his last long trips, and he came back w/ the same evaluation. Just a modest detour for afternoon t-storms took him off the edge of the triptick. Cheers, Sydney |
#4
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I use both paper and software for planning though I've grown more and more
to rely on the software as the primary means. Don't know anything about your route but perhaps the method I use will help. I use Flight Star at home and Aeroplanner on the road since I don't have a laptop. Let the software pick the routes first then compare with the sectionals particularly for the terminal phases. If you've got long stretches over mountains during the enroute, I'll work the sectional to get a better at_a_glance feel for safety issues. Then I plot the route on the sectional, print the plan from the s/w and let it file with FSS. "David Rind" wrote in message ... I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before. So, I have a bunch of questions: 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so, is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing? 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda. Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly into College Park!) 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining communications with ATC while in the ADIZ? 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav). Anyone else have comments? 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots). Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated! -- David -- David Rind |
#5
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5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots). David Rind David, I would have to say that depending on your route through the state of Florida you may find some of the following airports to have positive comments on Airnav. SGJ - Scenic flight path along the ocean along with great restaurant. ORL - Great stopover and rest stop. (No food on field available.) DAB - Seaside with plenty to see and do while on rest stop. TIX - Nice cozy little hamburger joint if you get there before 3pm (closing time). Once past central Florida you will be dealing with air traffic for PBI / FLL / MIA on one side of the state and Everglades swampland on the other. P.S. CDK on the westcoast of Florida is a must on your way back up. David KORL |
#6
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) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that
would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots). St Augustine SGJ But is more than 300 miles from there to the keys. Make sure you talk to Bocatiquica, just before yo get to Key West. It is listed as key West, but it is a military installation with lots of F16's Hank |
#7
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#8
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On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:48:21 -0500, David Rind
wrote: 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda. Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly into College Park!) I fly out of FME (as a renter) and it seems pretty good to me. I haven't had the chance to land at GAI, so I don't really know how to compare. 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining communications with ATC while in the ADIZ? I don't have my IFR rating, so I'm not entirely sure how the IFR part works, but... Basically, for us VFR pilots, as soon as we depart the pattern (leaving the ADIZ) you check in with potomac approach. I assume that this is exactly analogous to how IFR pilots would do it. As for coming in, basically, call out to the controller that you have the 'field in sight'. He will then release you from his frequency and then you are free to communicate on the CTAF. DO NOT SQUAWK 1200. He will say 'maintain beacon code till you're on the ground' probably, but if you squawk 1200, you will, be, um, in a bad place. I assume that if he sees you doing anything else besides going directly into the pattern and dropping off radar, you will, once again, be in a bad place. I *assume* for the IFR guys that if you choose to proceed VFR in VFR conditions, you would cancel in the air. If it is IFR conditions all the way down, then I guess you would do what you normally do... aw |
#9
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In article , David Rind
wrote: 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so, is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing? Get a set of WAC charts or IFR charts. Use DUATs and flightplan your IFR route for the entire route. Let DUATs perform the headwind/tailwind calculation and print the flight times for each waypoint. Once you know the time to each fix you can determine where your two-hour stops will be. |
#10
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David Rind wrote in message ...
I'm planning to fly from Boston to Key West next month with a stop near Bethesda on the way down and in Charlotte on the way back. I'll need/want to make some additional stops along the way, of course. This is a longer flight than I have made before and much of it will be through states I have not flown in before. So, I have a bunch of questions: 1) What do people like to use for flight planning for something like this? Laying multiple sectionals on the floor next to each other seems a bit painful. Is Aeroplanner a good choice? If so, is the basic Aeroplanner the right level for this kind of thing? I normally fly IFR on cross countries like this. I do fly VFR when crossing the Southwest, and find WAC charts helpful. The GTE DUATS flight planner works well and is free. The www.airnav.com site is very helpful for choosing fuel stops. 2) I'm thinking of flying to Tipton (FME) to get near Bethesda. Anyone have opinions on this airport? GAI seems to have gotten a lot of negative comments on AirNav, though if the weather is bad I'll probably go there instead. (I miss being able to fly into College Park!) (Shudder) In my limited experience, FME was the Roach Motel -- you can check in, but you can't check out. It brings back memories of listening to busy signals from Potomac Tracon until my flight plan timed out or cell phone batteries gave out. In all fairness, these experiences all happened during last summer's Code Orange, when aircraft bound for the inner DC area airports all had to stop there first for TSA inspection. As this thread shows, some people actually do manage to fly from there, and even like it. Possibly, things have improved since last summer, or maybe, everything just fell apart during Code Orange. Even if the airport is now actually practical to use, some severe problems remain. FME is located in a large patch of suburban wasteland half way to Baltimore and is in the midst of one of the most congested metropolitan areas in the world. It is not remotely near Bethesda. GAI, on the other hand, has a direct radio relay to Potomac Tracon, allowing you to get your IFR clearance or ADIZ squack quickly and efficiently. The Metro, which runs to Bethesda, is a short cab ride away. I-270 is one of the most usable roads in the area and makes driving to Bethesda from GAI quite practical. Off rush hour, it might take 20 minutes. I would say that there is no rational alternative to GAI. 3) If I fly into the Washington ADIZ IFR, can I cancel in the air when I have the airport, or do I need to cancel on the ground? How does switching over to the CTAF work if I'm supposed to be maintaining communications with ATC while in the ADIZ? Coming in IFR, you cancel IFR in the air, but retain your squack until on the ground. You do not have to cancel anything once you have landed. 4) I'm thinking about stopping at North Myrtle Beach (CRE) for a fuel stop in at least one direction (nice comments on AirNav). Anyone else have comments? Never been there 5) Is there an airport about 300 miles north of Key West that would make a good place to stop for fuel/food? (I'm trying to keep legs to about 300 nm each so that I'm only flying about 2 hours before stopping, since my wife won't tolerate being in the plane much longer than that -- plane cruises at about 155 knots). Ditto, but Key West sounds very appealing to me won a grey November day. Have fun! Paul Any additional comments/suggestions will be appreciated! -- David |
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