300 Nm Trip

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jmd51
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300 Nm Trip

Post by jmd51 »

Hello all,
I am planning on doing my 300 NM trip this month from Vancouver to Las Vegas In a Cessna 172. I know its way more that 300 miles but I need about 20 hours before I start the Multi IFR, so by that time I am done this trip I will be closer to 50 PIC XC. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on flying down there, has anyone done this route or similar before. My route is basically to follow the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California all the way to LA, then East to Vegas. Planning on stopping in North Bend Oregon and Montery California for fuel, and final stop at either North Vegas Airport or KLAS. I know the perks of the FBO's there are amazing, but any tips on how to get the most from the FBO's? Maybe free hotel or something, and any tips on American Airspace?
Any Suggestions would be great.
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SuperchargedRS
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by SuperchargedRS »

The perks ain't that great, go to north Las Vegas.

Careful of the restricted airspace, get flight following when you get near the busy areas and across the desert into Vegas.

Washington is fun, lots of fun places to go, good food at KHQM and 0s9 on your way down, be sure to stop by big bear l35 when you cut over to Vegas, nice Chinese place and a bar if you stay the night.


IMO Vegas is overrated and not that fun unless you're going to be spending big money and can handle a good hangover.
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I_Drive_Planes
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by I_Drive_Planes »

I flew that route (and a bit more) last summer. You can find my trip report here: http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopi ... lit=3000nm

Why stop in North Bend when McMinnville is right there? Do you hate aviation? :mrgreen: Take an extra day and tour the Evergreen museum (bring your swin trunks!).

US airspace is not different enough from Canadian to worry about and controllers are very friendly. On the back side of the US TAC charts they have what is called a FLY chart, it will show you the easiest way to get around the busy class B airspace. Using these I flew in and out of Seattle, San Franciso, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City all without saying a word to a terminal controller. Be very aware of the restricted airspace in the Las Vegas area, there is a lot of it, and they will be very unhappy with you if you penetrate it. I chose to do my trip without talking to anyone I didn't have to (relishing the freedom of flying the the USA), but it would probably be easier to use flight following. This is what many (probably most) American pilots do, and can help keep you out of trouble.

The legends you have heard about American FBOs are true, and I warn you that you will never again be satisfied with a Canadian FBO. I don't know about how to "get the most" from them (especially with the massive amount of fuel you are going to buy with your 172), but just show up and they will look after you. You can read FBO reviews on http://www.airnav.com that will give you a good idea as to the level of service and perks you can expect at an FBO. Being that there are so many airports in the USA you can really shop around for your fuel (but I assume that you're renting the 172 wet so fuel price probably won't matter so much).

Good luck on your trip, and make sure that you take enough time to actually have fun and see some things!
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nbinont
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by nbinont »

I did the trip from Victoria to Las Vegas last year. (As others have mentioned, North Las Vegas (KVGT) airport is the one to go to.)

Ended up leaving later in the day and elected to go pretty much direct with customs stop in Seattle (KBFI) and a fuel stop in Winnemucca (KWMC). Landscape was very natural and beautiful, but that route is sparsely populated!

The coastal route would have been interesting if I had more time.

It was getting dark by the time we left KWMC and while the weather was VMC there wasn't a moon to speak of. I ended up running mostly on instruments. There's virtually no lights on the ground. The GPS was worth it's weight in gold and the terrain features of the GTN are amazing. It has a setting to show you your true AMSL altitude! Certainly a good double check for my altimeter setting, especially where altimeter settings are few and far between. (And yes, I did have paper maps and checked them for altitudes frequently - adding a good margin on the highest thing around!)

Certainly watch out for all the restricted airspace north of Las Vegas. When we called up flight service a good 30NM north of the advisory airspace it took them a while to figure out where we were - partially because they weren't expecting someone to come in from the north and partially because there's very few landmarks to describe where you are! The advisory airspace was active, so we kept in contact with the controller, kept all the lights on and a very good lookout but never saw anyone. Ended up arriving around midnight.

We were cruising quite comfortably up high with the cabin vents wide open, but about half way through the decent I could have sworn someone closed the vent and turned on the heater full blast. I didn't bother debating cabin temperatures because I was busy with little things such as finding the airport, talking to the controllers and eventually entering the traffic pattern at an unfamiliar airport (the tower controllers had gone home by this time). Little things, y'know? After landing it turns out nobody had turned the heat on. The vents were still wide open and letting the hot Las Vegas weather in. I guess I'm not in Canada anymore.

Density altitude is no joke, and taking off from high altitude airports / climbing up high has noticeably worse performance. We managed to end up in Las Vegas with temperatures in the low to mid 40's. Luckily I was in a reasonably powerful plane and had no trouble making my takeoffs and altitudes, but it really drives home the point to verify your aircraft capabilities! Oh, and watch your CHT's in that climb carefully.

Note that flight plans aren't required in the US unless crossing a border (though probably a good idea). Be sure to check with flight service for "Adverse conditions" aka TFRs which seem to be *way* more common down south and can pop up with little warning. If there's any doubt, flight following is your friend.

You'll have a great time, learn a lot. But above all, fly safe and enjoy the trip!
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SuperchargedRS
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by SuperchargedRS »

I can count on one hand the amount of times I filed a VFR flight plan without crossing a boarder.

Just get flight following, WAY better than a flight plan.
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awitzke
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by awitzke »

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Last edited by awitzke on Mon May 11, 2015 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Colibri
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by Colibri »

You may want to consider Henderson Executive airport. I've always had great experiences flying into there. Quick ride to the strip.
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PilotDAR
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by PilotDAR »

JMD, consider the territory you'll be flying over, and be prepared. Airplanes are reliable, but things occasionally happen. For each leg of the flight, ask yourself if you have aboard what you'll need, if you have to spend the night at some point along the way. Carry lots of water, it's not always available at a place you could have to land. There have been some good posts here about emergency kits, they are worth a search and review. I take a SPOT when I travel away. A portable radio is a good idea too.

It's worth having the plane have a recent inspection, with no snags deferred. And, have some "phone a friend" plans for little problems you could have of a maintenance nature.

FBO's are your friend, but don't ask for free stuff. If they can offer you something, they will. If they don't pay your way with pride.

Placerville, California is a cool airport, and a quaint town for a night's stay

Take your time, there's always tomorrow for the flight, if you give tomorrow a chance....
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Shiny Side Up
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by Shiny Side Up »

PilotDAR wrote:JMD, consider the territory you'll be flying over, and be prepared.
Indeed. Its hard to think of the U.S. as unpopulated, but lots of it away from the great lakes and seaboards has no one for miles.
Placerville, California is a cool airport, and a quaint town for a night's stay
Its up on top of a hill which is pretty neat, sticking out of the surrounding suburbia. Last time I was there, a few warbirds called it home. There was some guy doing circuits in a T-28, a few SNJs parked on the field and an O-2 in appropriate markings complete with hardpoints.
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doan_1
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by doan_1 »

I flew to Parker Arizona for three months last year as a fresh PPL, and flew back with 95% of my CPL time. Ironically this wasn't my 300 as I did that from Havasu to Douglas. Anyway it was gorgeous. Did the coast down and the interior back (passing Vegas), going through a pass just south of Seattle. I really have an appreciation for how the US does GA flights. I filed flight plans for every leg as I was in training: it was a school mandate and just a good idea. Flight following was awesome and how efficient their filing system was. The people you talk to to file the plans seem 1000X happier and eager to help than who we talk to here. I didn't have to ask about weather or MOAs most of the time, it was suggested or offered. NOTAMS or Pilot reports were almost automatically given and filtered for relevance. Prescott radio was small enough that I got to know the people well and started calling our aircraft "Alphabet Soup" even in the air, but they were all really good. Flight following was a godsend. One transponder code for the entirety of most trips.

With the busy airspace I just made sure I did my homework. Used the VORs that are littered all over the place down there as I didn't have GPS and found it less distracting. Followed highways that were easy to make out and outside the airspace. When in doubt, call flightwatch. In a lot of ways I'm jealous of the US system. Even their version of the CFS is more intelligent IMO. Just watch for the cruise missile routes! ;)

I have photo's from my trip if anyone wants to check them out!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_I06 ... authuser=0
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Rookie50
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Re: 300 Nm Trip

Post by Rookie50 »

Couple of tips -- as noted above call flightwatch on 122.00 anywhere -- although station names change -- to get weather updates. They are very helpful.

Stay on FF whenever possible.

Get a briefing before you leave, and each leg, by phone, specifically TFR's and restricted airspace (another good reason to use FF). It's on the phone it's on tape, that way if someone screws up and forgets to post the TFR -- IT happens -- you are covered.

Controllers are very helpful, just ask if uncertain.

Watch your density altitude both for crossing terrain and take offs. Do both in morning if either temps or winds are forecast to strengthen.
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