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wife + 2 kids that same afternoon. Finished the checkride, went to lunch and came back and few a XC for a touch n go at a field 52 nm away and returned. Flight went well but my wife and daughter were not impressed by the ratted out 172 interior.

Skew T and Windy for an overall picture for long XC.

Next time up it a bit - tell her you are going skydiving after your ride your bike to the airport and fly. If that does not work maybe add some base jumping in for good measure.

Those guys and Premier1Driver are my favorites. Both very professional.

JYO - Leesburg is another nice option. I go in there every couple months, super nice people and no parking fee when you buy fuel which is reasonably priced.

Plan for morning arrivals and departures in FL if you can. Much less afternoon pop up activity before 2:00.

Make sure you are flexible with your schedule in case of weather. Don't be tempted to let time make a bad decision for you. When I was about 70 hrs TT, I did a similar trip in a DA40 with the whole family (kids were small). PTK - VNC - MLB - RDU - IAD - PTK plus fuel stops along the way...

My vote is SR22T. I like to be comfortable for those longer legs and the extra speed over a 182 is nice. But more important than the plane I think is your desire to fly long distances VFR only. Getting the IR does not mean you have to use it, but sure does give you more flexibility and I...

Yep, furtherance of business makes that a commercial op. The fact that they would ask you to do that...not good. And what is wrong with extending downwind to let a plane depart ahead of you? Not sure why CFI would be upset, sounds like good communication between you and the other plane. I...

I have used both Gary and Executive. Both are nice, really depends on what part of town you are going to and which direction you are coming from. For FBO's, Coleman at Gary is great and Hawthorne at Executive.

I had the same decision - ended up with the SR22 and love it. The 120k twins probably won't have anti-ice or glass panel either.

Last year we cleared customs in Bimini. Very laid back, didn't look at our stuff or plane at all. Was not a real fast process, but was not hard. Seemed the primary concern was paying the fees.

ForeFlight does a nice job of highlighting them. Initially I reviewed them on the 800WXBRIEF web page after I filed. Not too hard to see, but the point of this was to make sure you check. Even for a short easy flight you have done a bunch of times.

Just another reminder to check your NOTAMs. Planning a flight for tomorrow. Plan was to start at PTK, pick up pax in Saginaw and then head to BMG. Planned to use HYX in Saginaw. Reading NOTAMs it started out with all the usual nonsense. Burned out lights, towers in the distance. Then read...

I looked at the accelerated programs, but ended up going with a flight school that is fairly local - about 45 min away at a different field. Turned out to be cheaper (I think) than most of the flat rate places. When I started I had 0 complex and 0 Piper Arrow time. Took my checkride at 14 hrs...

6000' class D. I was in a 172 and an SR22.

I had all self study for ground. 16 hours in the Arrow IV before the checkride. Hardest part was the transition from the Cirrus to the Arrow. Really wish they would get rid of that complex requirement for CFI. I really don't want to fly that doggy, heavy unresponsive Arrow again.

I specifically eliminated a couple flight schools that only allowed taxi backs. I think the primary motivation for them was $$. They all charged by hobbs time, not tach so they collect full price while students slowly taxi back. One of the worst schools is also known for encouraging huge...

You can get a SIC spot on a Caravan with 350 hours, pay is probably terrible, but you can do it.

I would plan one stop in western NY and another in MI to be safe with low IFR. DA40 is 40 gal and burns about 9.5 up high, right? Not real long IFR legs.