State #49 (New Mexico) and Vegas
After spending entirely too much time in China during the past month, I was finally able to squeeze in a good IFR x-country trip. There was a meeting in Vegas that I wanted to attend and conveniently New Mexico was sort of on the way 😉 The routing was fairly direct, as you can see […]
Shaking Off the Rust / Test Flight
Last week I returned from China and was planning to go a for a joyride with a fellow pilot named Ron, who was visiting town from Atlanta. This flight was a multi-purpose mission: First, and most important, I wanted to “shake off the rust” after 2 1/2 weeks of zero hours in the logbook. Second, […]
Tough Start To A Very EZ Journey
This week’s mission was to go from Tampa,FL to Danbury, CT, which is a perfect mission for an SR22 with one fuel stop. Surprisingly, the weather forecast was beautiful everywhere along the route except Florida. Usually, it is the other way around. So I was expecting a takeoff in moderate / heavy rain, which is OK. […]
Fuel Planning Over The Gulf
Last weekend was a perfect example of why you must “get good” at flight planning while enroute. I planned a simple direct flight over the gulf at 16000 FT from Tampa, FL to Galveston, TX. Conventional wisdom says you do your flight planning on the ground and then simply execute in the cockpit. It sounds […]
Fuel Planning Over The Gulf
Last weekend was a perfect example of why you must “get good” at flight planning while enroute. I planned a simple direct flight over the gulf at 16000 FT from Tampa, FL to Galveston, TX. Conventional wisdom says you do your flight planning on the ground and then simply execute in the cockpit. It sounds […]
Ribbon Cutting Flight In A Cub
On the way home from Lansing, I decided to make a pit stop @ Dayton Wright Brothers airport. Partly out of necessity (because I needed one fuel stop between Lansing and Tampa). But more significantly, it was a great excuse to meetup with a fellow pilot blogger named Steve from the Mile of Runway blog. As often […]
Migration 9 Trip Summary
I have finally arrived in Colorado Springs and the journey was quite amazing! It is hard to summarize a 4200 mile trip. (But here goes…) Some of it what was “as expected ” ; Some of it reinforced how flexible you need to be on a journey like this. Between weather, customs formalities, spotty radar, […]
The Scenic Route to M9
As some of you know, this week is the 9th annual Cirrus migration, known as M9. While not as big as Osh Kosh or Sun N Fun, it is the biggest Cirrus event of the year. This year, M9 is being held in Colorado Springs. Cirrus pilots from around the country (and even a few from other countries) will […]
White Plains and NYC Skyline
I spent this week in NY, specifically in White Plains, which is just on the northern edge of the New York Class B airspace frenzy. But more importantly, it is also the home of IBM Flight Operations. The IBM fleet consists of a number of aircraft, including Gulfstream 550s, Falcon 200s and even helicopters. As […]
The Art Of Flying IFR
This week was another long x-country that got me thinking about the “art of flying IFR”. The route is shown below: The map is not zoomed in enough to tell… But this routes goes through LOTS of special use airspace along the way, including military operating areas, restricted areas, the dreaded Washington DC SFRA, and […]