Flight planning challenge

[Keith Smith]

But on the bright side, I could point to the empty 2 seats behind me and be excited about the cargo carrying capacity that I used to use on 1% of my flights!

[Keith Smith]

Alisha, sorry, coudln't resist Truth be told, there are times where the 650nm range has been an issue. What I plan to do, longer term, is retrofit the O-360 to make it an IO-360, get some balanced injectors and dual electronic ignition and then run it lean of peak. This'll cost about 5-7kts but will bring the fuel burn down to 8gph or less, and I think I might be able to get 5-7kts back with gap seals and a plenum for the cowl to reduce cooling drag if it's really needed. At 8gph, I can do an honest 4.5 hours of flying, bringing the range closer to 850nm (at 190ktas), or more if I get the speed back.

I never thought having 650nm would be an issue, but since it's just a 3.25hr leg, I find myself being ready for more at times.

I can't complain, though. If the upgrade never transpires, I'll still be happy with this plane for quite some time. It's a beast...as long as I don't spend any time looking at a Legacy. That plane is staggering. A friend of mine got a ride in one recently (built and maintained by a guy who was a crew chief for one of the Red Bull racing teams). They were doing 180kts by the end of the runway, climbing at 3500fpm, sustained. His had some additional mods in it, though, not surprisingly.

[Mooniac]

No problem, Keith. I actually considered getting a Lancair when I was shopping around. The speed and economy is very enticing. At the time most of my flying was either by myself or with one other person. Now virtually all of my flying is with two people with frequent flights of 3 people or two people and two dogs, etc., so I'm happy with my decision to get a four-seater.

Other factors to my decision are legroom (don't know how it is in the Lancair, but the Mooney is great for that), comfort for some longer flights, and not having the big EXPERIMENTAL sign for some skittish friends.

If I ever win the lottery I'd probably go for something like a PC12 or Meridian. Guess I'd better start buying lottery tickets.

[Keith Smith]

Alisha,

There's a plane for every mission. You probably have one of the most efficient 4 seater piston singles out there. I looked pretty hard at the Mooney 201 before the Lancair. In the end, my mission is better suited to the Lancair, and you have just the right plane for your mission. Life is good

[Keith Smith]

For anyone who might be curious about the planning that goes into the trip, I plan on flying this on Tuesday morning (Oct 8). I just started looking at the weather this evening. Looks like the cold front will have past by the time Tue morning rolls around, leaving nothing but high pressure between NJ and TX. The winds aloft will be from the north at 3-6k, shifting westerly if I fly much above that. That lasts for a couple of hundred miles. After that, getting closer to the center of the high, the winds aloft swap to more of an easterly direction, so rather shockingly, I'll have a light tailwind for most of the trip.

Should be clear skies the entire way with a light tailwind. Not very exciting, but I'll take it. I've had my share of exciting weather heading out that way in the past, this will be a welcome relief. The only thing I'll do a little differently will be to stay at 6500 initially to avoid some of the early headwinds.

[Keith Smith]

Here's the 1800z winds aloft at approx 10,000ft for that Tue. This will be about 3hrs into the flight. The 1200z prediction is not markedly different.

eta54hr_700_wnd.gif (59.51 KiB) Viewed 4328 times

[Pieces]

I would say adjust your flight plan to stop in at MZZ (about 30NM longer) but the gas at Paoli is so cheap. We're still up at $5.30.

[Keith Smith]

Reece, $0.05/gal doesn't change the game much, but with it being relatively far out of the way, I'll have to pass as I have a lot of ground to cover that day.

[Pieces]

Doh! I was reading Paoli as $4.60 instead of Sherman. BTW, Sherman's website says $4.25 as of Sept 30.

[Keith Smith]

Right you are, I just updated the main list. I'll do one more check of fuel prices. 100ll.com is reporting $4.25 for Sherman, as you said, showing a date of Oct 7, which is even better.

$4.25...that's fantastic. That's a full $2/gal cheaper than the cheapest gas at FTW. That translates to $60-$70 saved on just one fill up.