- Joined
- Jul 17, 2019
- Messages
- 1,985
- Location
- Chicago suburbs
- Display Name
Display name:
The Little Arrow That Could
TLDR; great trip. Photos at bottom.
Just got back from a trip to the Southwest and thought I'd share some trip details in case there is anyone else who has it on their radar to go down there. Broken out into sections for Route, Notes and Safety Notes. Disclaimer: I'm sure the PoA members from the southwest can also provide substantially more thoughts on flying down there, but I wrote this as sort of a layman making their first foray down there.
Route:
To get to PHX I used this route (airports have a leading K, the rest are VORs):
KDPA -> BDF -> IRK -> ANX -> KOWI (SW of Kansas City)
KOWI -> EMP -> ICT -> MMB -> KAMA (Amarillo, TX)
KAMA -> TXO -> CME -> PIO -> V280 -> WHOLE -> EWM -> V94 -> KDMN (Deming, NM)
Map below. Red check mark is a refueling stop.
Total distance: ~1450nm
Time enroute (KDPA-KSDL): 12h (with no help from the wind and a little turbulence)
Time enroute (KSDL-KDPA): 11h (with virtually no turbulence so full throttle ahead)
Aircraft: Piper Arrow II (200hp, non-turbo)
GPH: 9gph
TAS: Originally planned for 135kts but ended up at 130kts
Cruise altitude: 6500 from Chicago to Amarillo TX, 8500 from Amarillo TX to Scottsdale AZ. On the way back 5500 from Scottsdale AZ to Tuscon AZ then climbed to 7500 over Tuscon to Las Cruces NM (KLRU), then 9500 from KLRU to Amarillo (night flying, wanted plenty of clearance).
Flight following: I used FF the whole trip and it was available except for a couple short stretches between KROW and KELP, and KDMN to KTUS (never more than 20 miles). During those periods they instructed me to try again every 10 miles until reaching someone.
Notes:
- Somewhere, deep in the recesses of my mind I knew that AZ didn't observe daylight savings. Since I failed to recall that fact at the needed time -- my ignorance cost me a $75 call-out fee as I landed in New Mexico expecting them to be on the same time as AZ but the FBOs were all closed. Note to self: pay better attention to time zones
- Since I usually fly in the Midwest I'd never really had to lean-out before on take-off/landing, but some of the DAs in NM/AZ were pretty high (5-7k.. super high for a midwesterner!). This makes landing/departure leaning a must. I can only imagine if you land at a 5k+ airfield during the summer time. You also need to not advance mixture to full on start-up.
Safety notes / that I wish I'd known going into it:
...* rating indicates how much of a surprise it was for me, but YMMV!...
- (****) Night flying down there is extraordinarily dark. It feels more like instrument flying than VFR because of a lack of horizon. Luckily I only had a 2hr stretch that I ended up doing at night.
- (***) Absolutely must takeoff/land while paying strict attention to your airspeed. I knew to expect a higher groundspeed, but had I ignored my airspeed and flown only by experience/feel I would have stalled and crashed on final. The difference in groundspeed at elevation makes it feel like you're going far too fast on final (to me). It's not some small effect.
- (**) I am based below the Chicago bravo airspace and have flown into several others bravos. Admittedly I did zero prep work for flying into PHX except a quick glance at the VFR sectional. My arrogance resulted in me unknowingly accepting a transition that I wasn't familiar with, causing me to be rightfully chided by ATC who then begrudgingly gave me vectors. Could have been prevented doing even a little homework on it.
- (**) I didn't expect PHX Bravo to be that busy, esp with trainers. There are SO many little trainers flying around in their myriad delta airfields. Eyes open and stay on flight follow if able.
- (*) Don't underestimate how stiff the southwest winds can be...
- (*) Critters were walking around like they own the place in New Mexico. Luckily no runway obstructions or incidents. But I saw a number of animals: notably deer and skunks. Especially around KSRR in the mountains.
Filter-less Photos:
Sunsets are unreal. Camera can't do it justice.
West of El Paso
New Mexico
Heading out of AZ, near Tuscon.
Cool land features
We don't have these in the midwest...
Great expanse of AZ
Near TUS I think
If you're looking for a weekend getaway this casino hotel/resort outside of Roswell has some truly incredible views. Here's one from their lobby. It's called "Inn of The Mountain Gods" about 25 mins south by car of Sierra Blanca Regional (KSRR).
Driving around NM
Wispy clouds over Kansas on the return trip
And when you're done flying for the day, why not get a cold beer in Roswell NM at a place like this?
Just got back from a trip to the Southwest and thought I'd share some trip details in case there is anyone else who has it on their radar to go down there. Broken out into sections for Route, Notes and Safety Notes. Disclaimer: I'm sure the PoA members from the southwest can also provide substantially more thoughts on flying down there, but I wrote this as sort of a layman making their first foray down there.
Route:
To get to PHX I used this route (airports have a leading K, the rest are VORs):
KDPA -> BDF -> IRK -> ANX -> KOWI (SW of Kansas City)
KOWI -> EMP -> ICT -> MMB -> KAMA (Amarillo, TX)
KAMA -> TXO -> CME -> PIO -> V280 -> WHOLE -> EWM -> V94 -> KDMN (Deming, NM)
Map below. Red check mark is a refueling stop.
Total distance: ~1450nm
Time enroute (KDPA-KSDL): 12h (with no help from the wind and a little turbulence)
Time enroute (KSDL-KDPA): 11h (with virtually no turbulence so full throttle ahead)
Aircraft: Piper Arrow II (200hp, non-turbo)
GPH: 9gph
TAS: Originally planned for 135kts but ended up at 130kts
Cruise altitude: 6500 from Chicago to Amarillo TX, 8500 from Amarillo TX to Scottsdale AZ. On the way back 5500 from Scottsdale AZ to Tuscon AZ then climbed to 7500 over Tuscon to Las Cruces NM (KLRU), then 9500 from KLRU to Amarillo (night flying, wanted plenty of clearance).
Flight following: I used FF the whole trip and it was available except for a couple short stretches between KROW and KELP, and KDMN to KTUS (never more than 20 miles). During those periods they instructed me to try again every 10 miles until reaching someone.
Notes:
- Somewhere, deep in the recesses of my mind I knew that AZ didn't observe daylight savings. Since I failed to recall that fact at the needed time -- my ignorance cost me a $75 call-out fee as I landed in New Mexico expecting them to be on the same time as AZ but the FBOs were all closed. Note to self: pay better attention to time zones
- Since I usually fly in the Midwest I'd never really had to lean-out before on take-off/landing, but some of the DAs in NM/AZ were pretty high (5-7k.. super high for a midwesterner!). This makes landing/departure leaning a must. I can only imagine if you land at a 5k+ airfield during the summer time. You also need to not advance mixture to full on start-up.
Safety notes / that I wish I'd known going into it:
...* rating indicates how much of a surprise it was for me, but YMMV!...
- (****) Night flying down there is extraordinarily dark. It feels more like instrument flying than VFR because of a lack of horizon. Luckily I only had a 2hr stretch that I ended up doing at night.
- (***) Absolutely must takeoff/land while paying strict attention to your airspeed. I knew to expect a higher groundspeed, but had I ignored my airspeed and flown only by experience/feel I would have stalled and crashed on final. The difference in groundspeed at elevation makes it feel like you're going far too fast on final (to me). It's not some small effect.
- (**) I am based below the Chicago bravo airspace and have flown into several others bravos. Admittedly I did zero prep work for flying into PHX except a quick glance at the VFR sectional. My arrogance resulted in me unknowingly accepting a transition that I wasn't familiar with, causing me to be rightfully chided by ATC who then begrudgingly gave me vectors. Could have been prevented doing even a little homework on it.
- (**) I didn't expect PHX Bravo to be that busy, esp with trainers. There are SO many little trainers flying around in their myriad delta airfields. Eyes open and stay on flight follow if able.
- (*) Don't underestimate how stiff the southwest winds can be...
- (*) Critters were walking around like they own the place in New Mexico. Luckily no runway obstructions or incidents. But I saw a number of animals: notably deer and skunks. Especially around KSRR in the mountains.
Filter-less Photos:
Sunsets are unreal. Camera can't do it justice.
West of El Paso
New Mexico
Heading out of AZ, near Tuscon.
Cool land features
We don't have these in the midwest...
Great expanse of AZ
Near TUS I think
If you're looking for a weekend getaway this casino hotel/resort outside of Roswell has some truly incredible views. Here's one from their lobby. It's called "Inn of The Mountain Gods" about 25 mins south by car of Sierra Blanca Regional (KSRR).
Driving around NM
Wispy clouds over Kansas on the return trip
And when you're done flying for the day, why not get a cold beer in Roswell NM at a place like this?
