Flight Questions

On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 07:32:36 -0700, Jon
wrote:
If Acela
could get that ride down to around = 4 hours (time is only part of
the package for me), and airline delays continue, rail mode would be a
winner for me.

Check Amtrak's on-time performance. G

Vaughn Simon wrote:
Just curious, how long does it nominally take the little guys (say a
Piper or something that can make it w/o having to re-fuel) to get from
BOS to DCA, assuming weather isn't an issue?

That "weather thing" would be a big assumption. Even if pilot and plane
are instrument rated (many are not) the traveling schedule of your average
"Piper or something" is very vulnerable to bad weather. More than one
pilot-traveler has abandoned an airplane and taken the airlines home to wait
for better weather to return and fetch the family airplane. I am an
enthusiastic pilot, but realize that light airplanes do not make good travel
tools unless you have significant flexibility in your schedule and are
willing to change your plans in the interest of safety.


WTH? There are plenty of days where it's safe to fly relatively long distances
VFR. The only caveat is that it's one of those deals where the ultimate go/no
go decision is going to have to be the same day just before you take off
(assuming you do). Now I understand that the ultimate go/ no go is done then on
every flight but my point is that an IFR rated pilot is able to plan with an
excellent chance of mission completion days ahead while a VFR only pilot really
can't.

Now to answer the other gentlemen's question: it depends on the aircraft. A
C-210 could make the trip in just a couple of hours (I'm estimating... I made a
nonstop from Rock Hill, SC to Beverly, MA once in a 210 on one tank of gas some
years ago so the Washington to Boston leg must have been 2 hours or so.

In a C-172 or Warrior, I would guess closer to three or three and a half hours.
Certainly something doable on a pretty day on the Eastern seaboard.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

On Sep 3, 1:02 pm, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
wrote:
Vaughn Simon wrote:
Just curious, how long does it nominally take the little guys (say a
Piper or something that can make it w/o having to re-fuel) to get from
BOS to DCA, assuming weather isn't an issue?

That "weather thing" would be a big assumption. Even if pilot and plane
are instrument rated (many are not) the traveling schedule of your average
"Piper or something" is very vulnerable to bad weather.

Understood that weather up in these parts is often a factor. I was
looking for a best case time.

[good datapoints snipped for brevity]

Now to answer the other gentlemen's question: it depends on the aircraft. A
C-210 could make the trip in just a couple of hours (I'm estimating... I made a
nonstop from Rock Hill, SC to Beverly, MA once in a 210 on one tank of gas some
years ago so the Washington to Boston leg must have been 2 hours or so.

In a C-172 or Warrior, I would guess closer to three or three and a half hours.
Certainly something doable on a pretty day on the Eastern seaboard.

--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

Thanks Judah, Vaughn, and Mortimer for the info.

The reason I asked was that there was some talk a few years back about
the whether it would be feasible for work to go with their own shuttle
option (lease? rent?). On a typical day, I imagine there's at least
half a dozen or more that take the USAir shuttle to DCA and United to
IAD, so I'm revisiting the concept.

Just given the numbers of trips, there's usually at least a couple
horror stories about delays for a variety of reasons, not always
weather related. That and the cost of .gov fare are not at all
competitive given we usually have no choice but to fly on the contract
carriers.

The Tech Center has a shuttle to/from IAD-ACY which I've taken a few
times when work takes me there. Not sure what type of plane it is, but
I wanna say it's around a 40 seater and they run two daily trips each
way. It's loaded up in the cockpit for bad weather ("Weatherscope", as
I recall), and I was thinking something along those lines (or smaller)
would be good for helping with marginal weather days.

Regards,
Jon

Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
Vaughn Simon wrote:

Just curious, how long does it nominally take the little guys (say a
Piper or something that can make it w/o having to re-fuel) to get from
BOS to DCA, assuming weather isn't an issue?

That "weather thing" would be a big assumption. Even if pilot and plane
are instrument rated (many are not) the traveling schedule of your average
"Piper or something" is very vulnerable to bad weather. More than one
pilot-traveler has abandoned an airplane and taken the airlines home to wait
for better weather to return and fetch the family airplane. I am an
enthusiastic pilot, but realize that light airplanes do not make good travel
tools unless you have significant flexibility in your schedule and are
willing to change your plans in the interest of safety.



WTH? There are plenty of days where it's safe to fly relatively long distances
VFR. The only caveat is that it's one of those deals where the ultimate go/no
go decision is going to have to be the same day just before you take off
(assuming you do). Now I understand that the ultimate go/ no go is done then on
every flight but my point is that an IFR rated pilot is able to plan with an
excellent chance of mission completion days ahead while a VFR only pilot really
can't.

We did that trip recently (Culpeper, VA to OWD) in less then 3 hours and
on the way home we went ORD to Lancaster, PA where we put down and
rented a car (2 hour drive home) due to T-storms. The next weekend we
went back to Lancaster to get the plane. We probably still beat the
airline times even driving the last 100 miles :-).

Margy

Yeah, I knew I opened the door when I asked this.

Flight Attendant: "No, really - the plane gets narrower the further you
go back".
First Officer" "It does not. I'll bet you a dollar it's the same front
to back.
Flight Attendant" "OK - you go check, and I'll look after your stuff up
here".

I still don't see an explanation for the kerosene smell. I assume nobody
knows?

I've often smelled jet-engine exhaust (mainly the smell of jet fuel) after
landing. I assume this is exhaust partially drawn back into the engine and
the packs, but I don't really know. As for the smell in flight, that would be
unusual, and it's not obvious how exhaust could find its way back into the
packs.

On Sep 3, 10:33 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
I still don't see an explanation for the kerosene smell. I assume nobody
knows?

I've often smelled jet-engine exhaust (mainly the smell of jet fuel) after
landing. I assume this is exhaust partially drawn back into the engine and
the packs, but I don't really know. As for the smell in flight, that would be
unusual, and it's not obvious how exhaust could find its way back into the
packs.

Just flew into another jet's wake? Not uncommon.

Sqwawk 7500...this thread looks like it's been hijacked!

I can think of two things that might cause some exhaust smell in the
cabin:

(1) The plane's APU bleed air might be on and sucking in some engine
exhaust. But usually the APU bleed is only used for cabin ventilation
& pressurization on the ground, or sometimes during takeoff & initial
climb.

(2) More likely, the plane flew through the exhaust of another passing
jet and the a/c picked up the smell. The 717 doesn't recirculate cabin
air - it brings in fresh air for cabin ventilation and pressurization.
This also seems more likely since you describe it being an hour after
takeoff and short-lived.

As for the FO, did he visit the lav? Or maybe one of the flight
attendants told the crew that the cabin smelled, and he came back to
take a look (or sniff). I don't think running your hands along the
overheads as you move down the aisle has any particular significance.
But post-911 the flight attendants are noticeably more protective of
the cockpit area. I've even seen attendants block the area with their
body when a pilot comes out to visit the lav.

Paul kgyy writes:

Just flew into another jet's wake? Not uncommon.

I didn't think of that, it makes sense.

I still have no idea why anyone would smell exhaust in flight, but that has
never happened to me. If I smell it, it's generally on the ground, just after
landing.

TakeFlight writes:

I've even seen attendants block the area with their
body when a pilot comes out to visit the lav.

If the bad guys have the means to get through a cockpit door, I don't think a
flight attendant will be much of an obstacle.