Your best flight

[TDTURBO]

I know allot of you have thousands of hours, I was curious if some of you had an opportunity, before flying heavies exclusively, to fly a high-performance single such as a R182 to Alaska or some other technical destination.


I have only taken one from Chicago over Cuba to the Caymans and Belize and back to EYW for the final leg back up to Chicago. Or, we just spent 3 weeks island-hopping all over the Bahamas and shooting back up to the windy city.

I thought those flights were cake, I also think that a pacific trip up to Alaska would be awesome and extremely difficult to say the least.

It's probably10x more difficult with the mean clouds, low-overcast freezing levels, mountains, wind-shear, density altitude, antelope and what ever else runs across the runways up there. Not to mention airway management.


Are there any old timers here that can give pointers, is it worth it? What is the best time to go? How long should I go? Where in Alaska should I go? Just questions like this would prove very helpful and entertaining for everyone........Lets hear some stories!

 

[starvingcfi]

you're going to take a 182 up to alaska?...from chicago?...and you're paying for it? jesus. what the hell do you do for a living? i should switch jobs.

 

[TDTURBO]

Starvin,

I own it, so its cheaper to fly it allot then let it sit. Gas is 1.75/gal and with fixed costs never changing I might as well fly the sh*t out of it. I can also right off all the flying and related expenses if I attend CME classes.
It is still hideously expensive but worth it in the long run. I became a physician so I could fly, that is and always will be my true passion.

So, has anyone flown to Alaska before?

 

[DIRT]

C182

I flew a C182 from ATL - LAS and earlier this year, the seats were full and I think the total fuel bill ended up about 220 USD per person which wasn't bad considering. It beat the heck out of a commercial flight. TDturbo if you are interested I went to a site called www.airnav.com and planed the trip based on stopping wherever we could get the cheapest fuel, it worked perfect except one place out the middle of Texas with nothing else around the self serve pumps were struck by lighting the week before and the nearest place for fuel was about 20 minutes (flight time) away. I was not cutting the fuel very close but with some scattered storms in the area and night approaching I did not want to take a chance so I actually found a couple airport bums that happened to have about 10 gallons of avgas in a couple of cans so I used a strainer and dumped the fuel in and made it to the next town to buy fuel. sorry I digress. I have actually thought about a C182 trip to Alaska but I think I better get some more experience down here first.

 

[TDTURBO]

Dirt,

I use that site exclusively to plan and find fuel stops. It has taken me to some pretty strange places along the way for sure. I have allot of x-country and international experience but most of it is crossing the eastern mountains and flying over water. I have no experience with the Rockies. My plane is normally aspirated so I need to be extra careful planning high altitude work. Thanks for the link though.

Fly Chicago,

Unless your a hot looking late-twenties early thirtees women, I would be inclined to pass. If I am going to drop that kinda cash on a trip, the view inside and out of the cockpit should be just as fine. On the other hand, if you ever want to go buzz around the lakefront drop me an IM, I am always flying around Meigs, my home airport is Lansing. BTW, where are you based out of?

 

[ceo_of_the_sofa]

Yew flew a 182 to Caymans? From where? Did you bring a trailer to carry your balls in? wow...

 

[DIRT]

Chicago

TDTURBO,

I was dating a girl that lived over by Lincoln Park and I used to beg her to take me out to Meigs Field but she never took me out there, anyhow, what is it like flying out of their?? Are their still any TFR's around that airspace?? The girl is long gone but I still want to check Meigs Field out. And by the way kudos for the strip down to the islands. I had some friends take a Cherokee down there a few months back and they had a blast. Also the 182 I fly is naturally aspirated as well so I took the southern route down around Guadoloupe (sp?) Pass out west and stayed out of most of the tall stuff it was still pretty interesting at one point we were at gross with about a 7900 ft density altitude.

 

[A Squared]

TDTurbo,

I've flown to and from Alaska about a dozen times in various light aircraft. What sort of information are you looking for?

regards

 

[TDTURBO]

A Squared,

I figured if anybody has done it, you have.

I would like to hear about some of the pitfalls getting through the mountains in Canada, when the best time summer to go, ie; early or late and if I should contemplate any of the high altitude stuff in actual IMC. Flying down to the Caymans through weather and arriving at minimums is one thing but flying up north to Alaska from here is entirely another. I hate NDB's so I would prefer to do most of it VFR, but in a pinch, I want to know some of the preffered routes, ins and outs and what it is like flying up there. For example, I know that Canada has different lingo when it comes to certain ATC instructions and radar coverage is non-existant. Position reports become important if not required and I have never needed to do much of it.

Thanks!

On a side note, if anyone is thinking of going to the Bahamas or Caymans, it is pretty easy. They do have a Cayman Caravan once a year but charge 500 bucks to do the paper work for you. If you do it alone it isn't that bad and the Cuban overfly permit is only 10 bucks so I would recommend against paying them, besides it's good experience. The only scarey thing is flying over hundreds of miles of just ocean with no radar coverage, you gotta have trust in your mechanic. It's a blast, the diving in Cayman is great but it's pricey, the diving in the Bahamas suck and it's just as pricey but the beaches on Long Island are choice.

 

[Rush Limbaugh]

"the diving in Cayman is great but it's pricey, the diving in the Bahamas suck and it's just as pricey but the beaches on Long Island are choice."

Try the diving in Curacao. It is a short 400 mile flight south of Puerto Rico. It is supposed to be some of the best diving in the world and it isn't too expensive either. The beaches there are also choice, especially the topless ones.