"Flying home"

Weather dots: Green/OK; Blue/poor; Red/bad

[Be sure to scroll down to view the most recent routes of the "flight"]

Even though I've planned and flown thousands of hours in gliders over the past 38 years, I have no experience planning a trip in an airplane (the "touring" part of the Phoenix "touring motorglider" designation).

The situations are very different: most soaring (aka "gliding") takes place in the warmer months from April through September, and generally in nice, sunny weather in the afternoon (that's kind of weather that produces the thermals that keep the glider aloft), but an engine means you can go anytime in any conditions, allowing you the "opportunity" to select bad weather, putting you and your passenger at risk..

 And, since traveling in February can involve lots of unsettled weather, I decided I'd better practice planning a lot before I had to do it for real.

To that end, I began a virtual flight from Melbourne, FL, to Eagleville, TN, where our son and his family live. It's the first leg on the trip back to Richland, WA. Remember, this a "faux flight": Jan and I are still sitting at home, and the glider still in Europe, and it's just pretending for now, so I can practice flight planning and non-pilots can get an idea of what's involved:

The "faux flight" begins:

Dec. 30 (Mon): mist and low clouds don't break until late in the afternoon, so the flight is postponed until tomorrow.

Dec. 31(Tue): it's cloudy, but clear, and the forecast shows improving weather to Eagleville. We leave Melbourne at 9 am, stop at Jimmy Carter Regional airport for lunch and fuel at noon, continue to Puckett (the airfield near Eagleville), arriving about 3 pm. 5 hours total flying, 630 miles, 20.5 gallons consumed. See the planned route above (click the pic to enlarge)

Will the "faux flight" be able to continue tomorrow? The weather for the next few days does look good.

Jan 1(Wed): A sunny day in Eagleville, TN, but the forecast is now for snow on Jan 2. We decide to head west to avoid the snow, and leave at 9 am for Seminole, OK, with a fuel stop at Batesville, AR. Generally nice weather, but a 25 knot quartering headwind makes it a slow flight, covering a total of 568 miles in 6 hours, using 24 gallons.

Eagleville, TN, to Seminole, OK. Blue areas show clouds (click it to enlarge it)

 Since we're not actually in Seminole, we don't have to get a motel, but maybe I should at least go through the motions, lest we discover the nearest one is 15 miles away from the airport, with no shuttle, and no rental car at the airport (the usual case for the smaller airports I like to use). Next time!

The next day, Thursday, has pretty good weather and lighter winds aloft. Here's the 3rd leg of the "faux flight":

Jan 2 (Thu): The first destination chosen - Alamosa, CO - had 15 degree morning temperatures forecast for Friday. Brrrr! No way, so I chose Moriarty, NM, which is supposed to be in 40's instead. It's a short leg, only 4.5 hours, 525 miles and 18  gallons of fuel, but going further meant sub-freezing temperatures in the morning, and a late start. Winds are lighter today.
 

An overview of the first 3 legs - still 1100 miles from Richland

 Jan 3 (Fri): This was a soaring day - a "wave" day - so I flew the area east of Moriarty, and landed back at Moriarty in the late afternoon. Tomorrow, we'll probably continue the "faux flight" towards home. Visit  Virtual wave flying today!  to see what happened today.

Jan 4 (Sat): A breezy but easy start from Moriarty, NM, became a slow slog to the west against 40-45 knot (46 to 57 mph) headwinds. Makes sightseeing easier (or leisurely, anyway), I suppose. The highlight for me would be seeing Meteor Crater from the air; in 2006, we saw it from the ground. Impressive, learn more here. 

After 5 hours "flying", not counting the fuel stop at Winslow, 20 miles east of the Crater, we landed at Boulder City, NV - breezy here, too. This leg was 443 NM/510 miles, 20 gallons total. The airport is right on the edge of the city, so it's a quick trip to the motel.

The weather still looks good for the "faux flight" tomorrow - only 652 NM/750 miles from home!

Jan 5 (Sun): the weather is still very good, but there's a hitch: Visalia, CA, where I'd intended to make a fuel and potty stop, is enveloped in mist that is forecast to last till noon. We'll leave Boulder City, NV, at 9 am anyway, monitor the Visalia conditions on the way, and plan to divert to another airport if it doesn't clear up by our 11 am arrival time. Good news: light winds mean a ground speed of 110 knots/125 mph!

I now realize I didn't pay enough attention to all the airspace restrictions on the direct path from Boulder City, NV to  Porterville, CA (Visalia visibility still too low). I've modified the route to avoid the Las Vegas airport and the Edwards Air Force airspaces. It only added a few minutes to the flying time.

Boulder City, NV, to Porterville, CA, with some wiggles to stay out of "restricted" airspace.

Porterville was OK, so we continue to Auburn, CA, to have lunch with my niece, then to Klamath Falls, OR, to visit my brother and his wife at their ranch, and spend the night. He'll have drive 20 miles into town to get us, 'cause he hasn't put in a suitable landing strip. Maybe next time! It's good weather all the way, so it will be a 700 mile total for the day, with 5:30 flying time and 22 gallons consumed.

Tomorrow: Home! We hope - it's only 2:30 hours away from Klamath Falls, so it could be a very easy "faux flight".

Jan 6 (Mon):Cold (20 deg F) morning, so we hung around till after lunch before leaving Klamath Falls, OR, for Richland, WA, our home. It was an easy 2:15 minute flight with a 12 mph tailwind, taking only 9.1 gallons to cover the 310 miles. That's 34 mpg, better than our Camry. Using "equivalent miles" (the number of miles the Camry would have to cover - 390 miles), the "auto equivalent" is (390 miles)/(9.1) gallons = 43 mpg. Fly that in reverse, against a 12 mph headwind, and it doesn't look so good: 29 mpg actual, 36 mpg "auto equivalent". Wind is a fickle friend!

The first "faux flight" is over. We'll start another one in a few days, when it isn't so very cold in the Eastern part of the country.