Preparing for the long Cross Country

Abstract: The purpose of the seminar will be to consider all of the planning aspects of the long cross-country trip. Have you considered a flight to Sun & Fun or Oshkosh? This seminar will review the planning required for a long cross country by working through the planning required for the trip to Oshkosh this summer. It will be a good opportunity to get "Back to Basics" of flight planning by working through a multi-leg trip to OSH.

Outline

• What the trip entails
  • Departure at 0-dark-30
  • Multiple stops - Fuel - Food - Bio
  • Camping Equipment - heavy loads
    • Can you fly over gross?
    • Should you?
    • Density altitutes - Very humid, hot time of year.
  • Bring or Buy
    • What to bring
    • What did we forget that we really missed.
  • Inadvertent overnights / Weather Delays
• Preflight Process
  • What are the requirements of a good preflight plan
  • Getting the OSH NOTAM
  • Knowing your limitations - Pilot Pre-flight
  • Weather Planning
  • Fuel Planning
  • Route Planning
    • Over Water?
      • Lakes Reporting Service
    • Over Canada?
      • ADIZ requirements
  • Route strategy - Max Speed / Max Endurance
    • Know your aircraft
      
  • TFRs
    • For NFL, MLB, NASCAR and NCAA, see http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/stadiums.html
    • NFL Stadiums - Nothing from now until September. Major stadiums along the way: Detroit, Buffalo, Chicago, Green Bay
    • MLB Ballparks - Chicago, Cleveland,
    • NASCAR - Watkins Glen, ....
    • See also: http://airspace.nifc.gov/mapping/nifc/index.cfm http://www.iflyamerica.org/temporary_flight_restricted_area.asp
  • Paperwork
    • Radio License, Radiotelephone Permit, Passport (Flying or Landing in Canada?)
    • Required records - Airworthiness Cert, Signed Weight & Balance, Registration
    • What not to bring
      • Logbooks,

• Loading up
  • Fuel considerations
  • Weight & Balance. (When was the last time you really did one?)
  • Temporary modifications - (Removing those seats - Legal?)
  • Securing the load
    • What goes where? - Need to reach in flight?
      • Life Jackets
      • Sleeping bags or other cushions for off-airport landings
    • Organizing the paperwork
• Departure
  • Last minute pre-flight
  • Checklists - Top of climb
  • Flight Following
  • Enroute Weather
  • ATC along the way
    • Lakes Reporting Service
      
  • Weather flying
    • "Scud Running" post 9/11
    • IFR and Weather
    • Enroute Weather - Garmin XM Weather
    • Thunderstorm tactics
• Enroute Emergencies
  • Emergency Landings
  • Communications
  • Loss of Communications
  • Off-airport landings
  • Ditching
• OSH Arrival
  • Arrival Routes
  • Flying the Ripon arrival
    • (Tape of ATC)
  • Landing
  • Taxi to Camping
• Setting up camp
  • Staying Dry
    • Move your clothes, valuables into the plane when not around. Weather blows in fast.
    • Tents leak! We put a blue "roofing" tarp over the wing and pitch the tent under the tarp.
  • Staying Safe - Tiedowns
    • Thunder storms and major wind events - doggie anchors are not effective
    • Dirt can be very hard - need to drive in stakes
    • We use 2 2' rebar driven at angles at each tiedown.
    • Gorilla plastic stakes for the tarp - even they pulled out in the thunderstorms last year.
  • Getting around
    • Bus service circles the camping area stopping at showers, restaurant, connection to museums, shopping. (But long waits)
    • Bicycles are really handy especially if camped distance from showers
  • What to do
  • Fuel & Service
• Departure Planning
  • Weather briefings
  • Reservation System
  • How to make friends with your neighbors
    • Powering out of your tiedown
    • Scattering all tents, tarps, furniture in the neighboring rows
  • (Planning in a tent in the rain in the dark is not the same as planning in your kitchen)
  • Soft field technique!
    • Taxi ways are on grass - often heavy rains will soften the earth

-- GeorgeClark - 05 May 2006