300nm+ X-C Route Suggestions (Departing Toronto)

FL_CH · Post by **FL_CH** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 10:57 pm

Seeking some advice from the more experienced ones around,

Seeing how TC requires it for the CPL, and I don't mind doing it a bit, i'm trying to plan a long cross-country that would hopefully leave me some memories.

I've heard of people going down South, but it's not an option for me as i require a visa to the US, so it will have to be a domestic flight. I will be departing from Toronto area. Ideally, i'd like to fit in 8 hrs of flying or so, but i can save up more money, need be. Any suggestions on what a good destination could be? North, East? How possible is East Coast given C172 equip.? Hotes availabilty for overnight stay (+possible activities), everything counts.

Appreciate any suggestions,
Cheers.

duplicate2 · Post by **duplicate2** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:21 am

You're not going to be able to do the east coast (I'm assuming you also want to come back) on 8 hours. In a 172 you could figure more like 15+ hours. Other than that there would be no problem going to the east coast, plenty of navaids etc, terrain in N. Maine isn't too high, lots of friendly people.

If you're able to do that many hours, why don't you go up north and visit some companies that might hire you after you're done your CPL. Are you planning on going soon?

See if you can find a friend who needs their 300nm as well, share the costs.

FL_CH · Post by **FL_CH** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:12 pm

To be fairly honest, i'm just starting out (got roughly 100 hrs so far), and it's going to be at least 3 more years till CPL and possibilty of employment. So while I still have some money, I'd prefer to fly for the sheer joy of it - to see beautyful places, interesting terrain/approaches etc. I don't want to waste my "time building" on local shuttle flights in Southern Ontraio.

I'm rather new to the country as well, haven't been around too much, just thought some of you knew the scenic places around.

Walker · Post by **Walker** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:55 pm

FL_CH

If you are going the “work” rout with flying I am assuming that you are also going to be doing your MEIFR etc… I find that a lot of students who get to this stage are way below their PIC XC requirements, and often have to send them to burn holes in the sky for 20 hrs…
IF you are just starting out IE 100hrs, I would suggest you find a friend (or 2) like duplicate said, and do something REALLY cool while your at the stage that you can… If I were in your situation I would try something a bit more memorable, like try the OTHER coast…. If weather was ok you could make it to Vancouver or Victoria in 3 days; but if you have the opportunity I would try to stop and wander about a bit in-between legs…. There is some GREAT stuff on the coast…

-walk

PS so instead of looking at it as (I have to go 300nm) think I have to burn 20 hrs (or whatever it may be) so in a 172, lets say 95 kts x 20 hrs = 1900nm x 3 people = 5700nm….. I don’t have google earth on this comp, but Id hedge a bet that would get you here back and lots to spare… maybe do east coast, then west, then home…
Anyway! In envious! You’ll have a blast!!!!!!!

BusDriver · Post by **BusDriver** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:22 pm

If you are on a budget, try an exotic location like Wawa, it is far enough from Toronto and on the way up or on your way home you can pop in and out of some nice airports along the way. Stops may include: Wiarton, has always had cheap fuel. Tobermory, bikes are beside the terminal, get on them and go for some fish and chip's. Elliot Lake, just to say you have been there. Get out a VNC and check it out, the main thing is to make it fun rather than TC mandated element to your training. Good luck

water wings · Post by **water wings** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:00 pm

i totally agree with you there FM; you need 200 hours for your commercial, right? Please make a point of leaving the circuit more than once only because TC says you have to. Go Flying!!! Get your night time, too, as you will need the time eventually.

goldeneagle · Post by **goldeneagle** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:59 am

water wings wrote:i totally agree with you there FM; you need 200 hours for your commercial, right? Please make a point of leaving the circuit more than once only because TC says you have to. Go Flying!!! Get your night time, too, as you will need the time eventually.

Excellent advice. There's soooo many folks that waste the time building pounding around the circuit, or doing 'local east'. yes, you can pound up a couple hundred hours in the book that way, but, it doesn't really serve the purpose of building time. the whole idea of the time requirements, is to push you out and 'go flying'.

If you have to start and end in toronto, and you are going to use a 172, then the object of the exercise becomes real simple. Minimum distance is 300 nm. Draw a circle around TO at 300 miles. 8 hours in a 172 = 4 hours each way. 4*120=480 miles, draw another circle at the 450 or so area around the map. Now get your fishing rods and stuff in the plane, pick some fishing lodges that are outside the inner circle, inside the outer circle, and have airstrips either at the lodge, or within a couple miles. make sure at least a couple of them are gravel strips. If you want to do it on the inexpensive, load camping gear into the plane, and look for airstrips on lakeshores. Wont take a lot of creativity once you are looking at the maps, obvious 'great destinations' will jump out at you.

Mull the whole thing over for a few days, and you will finally settle on an itinerary of stops. Now, do ALL the homework, prepare all the flight planning data, and make sure you find all the tourist data on the destinations (google is your friend). When the big day comes, load up the airplane, and off you go on a really cool adventure. Couple of points to keep in mind, the object of the exercise is to have fun, learn about flying as a mode of transportation, and satisfy some legal requirements along the way. If you are blasting off with an airplane significantly below gross weight, you aren't learning about an airplane as a mode of transportation. Either find somebody else to come along, or load up more camping gear. If all of your legs are planned for 'middle of the day', strike 2. Do some of them at night, get some hours in the night column, so you dont have to fly extra hours later to fill the night column. If you blast off with 1000 foot cielings, it's good experience, learn some navigation. If it's severe clear weather, stop the climb at 1000 feet anyways, and pretend the cielings are low. View is much better, and you'll learn better map skills.

There's way to many folks that view 'time building' as a chore they must get thru on the way to the next license plateau. Done right, time building is an adventure that'll stick with you as 'fond memories' for the rest of your life. If you haven't flown the airplane far enoughthat it needs a tank of gas to get home, you are wasting time, not building it. Instructors tend to push people into the attitude that airplanes are machines for doing training exercises, and flights are 'to the east practise area'. Airplanes are tools for getting from point A to point B. Use it as such when building your time, and you'll never regret it. If the instructor says you should be practising in the practise area, you need a new instructor....

Luscombe · Post by **Luscombe** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:04 am

From Toronto, 300NM would take you just east of Montreal. For those of you who have experienced Quebec, it's home to some of the most beautiful women in the world.

Now THAT'S something that would make for a very memorable trip. Go with a buddy (to confirm your wild tales and share the expenses). Toronto to Kingston for lunch, Kingston to one of the many fields around Montreal and stay the night. Ste Catherine street.... mmmm everything any red-blooded young guy could ever want.

Next day, depending on how hung-over you are, complete the trip to St Jean or whatever airport you need to make your 300 NM radius from Toronto and return home.

Have fun

cyyz · Post by **cyyz** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:21 am

Luscombe wrote: For those of you who have experienced Quebec, it's home to some of the most beautiful women in the world.

lol

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:23 am

Quebec City. The only city in the country with a European flavour! The women are HOT! Even thier mothers are HOT!!

FL_CH · Post by **FL_CH** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:37 am

Well, the only "circuit" or "training area" time I've logged post flight test was a part of the checkout. I'm trying to do as much X-C as possible.

Thanks for the advices though, good food for thought.
I was looking towards Quebec City originally, but haven't heard about it from anybody before, but if it what you say it is........

Any info on cheap/inexpensive lodging or other practical issues like car rental? What airport would be best to land at?

mduffy · Post by **mduffy** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:06 pm

My 2 cents - go south - cross the border and experience general aviation in the US. Experience red carpet service and courtesy cars when you put 10 gallons in your C-172. Enjoy the controled VFR and high desity airspace.

Also, keep in mind that if you go east, you will have to cross a couple of weather systems coming home that may bring poor wx. If you go west, you will probably be able to come home within one system = if you depart in good weather, you are more likely to have good weather all the way home.

av8tor_assrope · Post by **av8tor_assrope** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:07 pm

ya that's what i'm trying to do in the gta.....DUE SOUTH........but everyone i know has a HARD-ON for staying in ontario and getting their 300 done in a day!!!!

1) if there's any cpl students in the gta, who wants to do a trip south and aren't too anal, or nerdy pm me

2) what are some good stops enroute to florida? good service, good women good views, good beer?

cheers

RatherBeFlying · Post by **RatherBeFlying** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:43 pm

YYZ - YHU with a stop at Morrisburg for dinner did it for my Commercial back in '80.

Sault Ste. Marie would be even more scenic. Maybe Gore Bay or Elliot Lake would be far enough.

Do remember to check the weather for when you plan to return.

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:11 am

Just a thought - but what about going to AirVenture?

FL_CH · Post by **FL_CH** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:15 pm

Like the rest of the interesting stuff, AirVenture is in the US, which I can't go to due citezenship/visa status.

It'll be Quebec, all I need is a plane...

mellow_pilot · Post by **mellow_pilot** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:44 am

If you don't speak french, it would be a good idea to take someone who does. Quebec City and surrounding area can get interesting when you don't speak the language. And I don't mean on the ground, they speak both offical languages on the radio. If you don't understand french, you'll spend alot of time going, "where the F is he?" I'm not saying that it will cause you alot of trouble, but it got interesting for a couple friends of mine.

I did my ppl in yqb and loved it. Fun town, nice airport and scenery is great (on the way and once you get there

)

Plus you can't really get lost, just follow the river. I would also recommend the trip to Sault Ste. Marie. Your first job probably won't be in southern ont. unless you instruct. Might as well see what the bumpy part of the country looks like.

2R · Post by 2R » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:07 am

Armed with a french /english berlitz phase book you can enjoy la belle province and amuse them with franglais.Meet them half way and enjoy the food and nice people, make an honest attempt and it will be fun.
Go to Las Vegas Baby fly the Grand Canyon ,then follow the rockies north to snake river valley hang a left to Portland north to Vancouver east to Calgary through Revelstoke and kicking horse pass fly the Trans Canada and follow the Great Lakes back to Toronto .
Then you might understand why birds sing

TorontoGuy · Post by **TorontoGuy** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:23 pm

2R wrote:Armed with a french /english berlitz phase book you can enjoy la belle province and amuse them with franglais.Meet them half way and enjoy the food and nice people, make an honest attempt and it will be fun.
Go to Las Vegas Baby fly the Grand Canyon ,then follow the rockies north to snake river valley hang a left to Portland north to Vancouver east to Calgary through Revelstoke and kicking horse pass fly the Trans Canada and follow the Great Lakes back to Toronto .
Then you might understand why birds sing

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!
Signed,
"Stuck in an office tower on a mild, sunny day"

Jeffbrownridge · Post by **Jeffbrownridge** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 9:26 pm

I did mine from Peterborough to Quebec City with a stop in Ottawa there and Montreal on the way back. You don't get navigation much easier than that!

300nm+ X-C Route Suggestions (Departing Toronto)

300nm+ X-C Route Suggestions (Departing Toronto)

Go East Young Man

Re: Go East Young Man