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Preparing for the long Cross Country

Abstract: The purpose of the seminar will be to consider all of the planning aspects of the long cross-country trip. Have you considered a flight to Sun & Fun or Oshkosh? This seminar will review the planning required for a long cross country by working through the planning required for the trip to Oshkosh this summer. It will be a good opportunity to get "Back to Basics" of flight planning by working through a multi-leg trip to OSH.

Outline

  • What the trip entails
    • Departure at 0-dark-30
    • Multiple stops - Fuel - Food - Bio
    • Camping Equipment - heavy loads
      • Can you fly over gross?
      • Should you?
      • Density altitutes - Very humid, hot time of year.
    • Bring or Buy
      • What to bring
      • What did we forget that we really missed.
    • Inadvertent overnights / Weather Delays
  • Preflight Process
    • What are the requirements of a good preflight plan
    • Getting the OSH NOTAM
    • Knowing your limitations - Pilot Pre-flight
    • Weather Planning
    • Fuel Planning
    • Route Planning
      • Over Water?
        • Lakes Reporting Service
      • Over Canada?
        • ADIZ requirements
    • Route strategy - Max Speed / Max Endurance
      • Know your aircraft
    • TFRs
    • Paperwork
      • Radio License, Radiotelephone Permit, Passport (Flying or Landing in Canada?)
      • Required records - Airworthiness Cert, Signed Weight & Balance, Registration
      • What not to bring
        • Logbooks,

  • Loading up
    • Fuel considerations
    • Weight & Balance. (When was the last time you really did one?)
    • Temporary modifications - (Removing those seats - Legal?)
    • Securing the load
      • What goes where? - Need to reach in flight?
        • Life Jackets
        • Sleeping bags or other cushions for off-airport landings
      • Organizing the paperwork
  • Departure
    • Last minute pre-flight
    • Checklists - Top of climb
    • Flight Following
    • Enroute Weather
    • ATC along the way
      • Lakes Reporting Service
    • Weather flying
      • "Scud Running" post 9/11
      • IFR and Weather
      • Enroute Weather - Garmin XM Weather
      • Thunderstorm tactics
  • Enroute Emergencies
    • Emergency Landings
    • Communications
    • Loss of Communications
    • Off-airport landings
    • Ditching
  • OSH Arrival
    • Arrival Routes
    • Flying the Ripon arrival
      • (Tape of ATC)
    • Landing
    • Taxi to Camping
  • Setting up camp
    • Staying Dry
      • Move your clothes, valuables into the plane when not around. Weather blows in fast.
      • Tents leak! We put a blue "roofing" tarp over the wing and pitch the tent under the tarp.
    • Staying Safe - Tiedowns
      • Thunder storms and major wind events - doggie anchors are not effective
      • Dirt can be very hard - need to drive in stakes
      • We use 2 2' rebar driven at angles at each tiedown.
      • Gorilla plastic stakes for the tarp - even they pulled out in the thunderstorms last year.
    • Getting around
      • Bus service circles the camping area stopping at showers, restaurant, connection to museums, shopping. (But long waits)
      • Bicycles are really handy especially if camped distance from showers
    • What to do
    • Fuel & Service
  • Departure Planning
    • Weather briefings
    • Reservation System
    • How to make friends with your neighbors
      • Powering out of your tiedown
      • Scattering all tents, tarps, furniture in the neighboring rows
    • (Planning in a tent in the rain in the dark is not the same as planning in your kitchen)
    • Soft field technique!
      • Taxi ways are on grass - often heavy rains will soften the earth

-- GeorgeClark - 05 May 2006
"If you want more room Captain, push your seat back." --ORD Tower

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