Georgia to California

[Henning]

Well done.

 

[danhagan]

What's IFR or not IFR got to do with it?

When I do that route I'm probably IFR 80 percent of the time. If weather sucks, it is just one more tool to help you get through it.

We don't get benign IFR out here (ice or TS) very often. The cell approaching the El Paso area that the OP describes will drive you right into the ground.

 

[Fearless Tower]

We don't get benign IFR out here (ice or TS) very often. The cell approaching the El Paso area that the OP describes will drive you right into the ground.

Yeah, I got that (I'm from Arizona), but understand the difference between IFR and IMC. I'm IFR most of the time I make that route. That doesn't mean I am IMC - I have found ATC to be very helpful at rerouting for weather in flight.

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

#1 Storms from OK to TX
#2 Somewhere out west
#3 Cell near El Paso area
#4 Isolated cell from TX to CA

 

[BillTIZ]

Glad you had a non eventful trip!

 

[FloridaPilot]

Looks like you flew a Cirrus, how does it fly?

 

[write-stuff]

I made that trip in reverse last year - LA to Atlanta. It was VFR the whole way and we had a pretty easy route over New Mexico and Arizona. Fuel stop at Sedona was especially nice.

 

[mkosmo]

I much prefer operations like Cutter and TAC Air.

I've only stopped at one TAC Air, but I was less than impressed with their customer service.

 

[luvflyin]

I think I'm going to spend more trying to decide on where to stop based on what I should see. I wish going VFR was an option, but the owner has requested the IFR portion because they want to track my progress (I know VFR FF does the same thing). From that I can decipher that taking an exaggerated scenic route really isn't an option.

I think I'll just point the airplane West for now and make the I-10/I-40 decision based on weather the closer I get.

Weather permiting go OTP. He'll be able to track you as an IFR, you might be able to get some relief on unwanted routings and altitude assignments.

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

Well done.

Thanks.

Glad you had a non eventful trip!

Thanks!

Looks like you flew a Cirrus, how does it fly?

I did. Normally-aspirated SR22.

The more and more I fly them, the more and more I like them. They have quirks that you have to be familiar with, but once you're aware, it's a beautiful airplane to run around in.

The roll rate is impressive.

I made that trip in reverse last year - LA to Atlanta. It was VFR the whole way and we had a pretty easy route over New Mexico and Arizona. Fuel stop at Sedona was especially nice.

I'd be more than happy to do more trips across the U.S. in small aircraft. I've done Steamboat, Aspen, and Vegas in the Pilatus but they weren't nearly as fun.

I've only stopped at one TAC Air, but I was less than impressed with their customer service.

Same here. We have stopped in Amarillo, TX twice on the way out to Vegas and I didn't really care for them. I'm sure the other locations would be a different story.

 

[jordane93]

Looked like a great trip!

 

[mkosmo]

Same here. We have stopped in Amarillo, TX twice on the way out to Vegas and I didn't really care for them. I'm sure the other locations would be a different story.

Springfield, MO, twice. To and from OSH this year.

 

[txflyer]

Good trip and write up.

I'm planning on flying to PHX in the fall so this was a good read.

We will be going VFR by way of ELP vortac and sticking to small no fee airports where I can.

 

[Fearless Tower]

We will be going VFR by way of ELP vortac and sticking to small no fee airports where I can.

Deming, NM makes a decent fuel stop. ELP is well over $6 a gallon and class C.

There USED to be a cheap fuel stop just outside of ELP (Horizon) but the airport closed unfortunately. If you need gas before ELP, I'd go to Pecos or Fort Stockton.

 

[DrMack]

We made the round trip from Dallas to southern California last week in our DA40. We broke the trip up into two days each way. All legs were IFR but we had clear skies for almost the entire trip. We carry a survival kit (http://www.rei.com/product/867416/rei-emergency-kit), a gallon jug of water, and oxygen (https://aerox.com/product/aerox-portable-oxygen-system-2-user-d-system-13-cu-ft).

Here's how it went:

Day1
KRBD KING9.MQP V66 ABI V16 BGS E11 8000MSL
E11 INK V16 ELP 10000MSL

Day2
KELP MOLLY V94 TOTEC KCGZ 10000MSL
KCGZ TFD V94 BLH V64 NIKKL KSNA 12000MSL

Return Trip

Day1
KSNA MUSEL7.OCN V458 BZA V66 GBN V94 TFD KCGZ 11000MSL
KCGZ TOTEC V94 EWM KELP 11000MSL

Day2
KELP ELP V16 INK E11 9000MSL
E11 BGS V16 ABI.KNEAD7 KRBD 9000MSL

We were in California for a week to visit family and made an easy day trip up to KPAO during the week. The best fuel prices were at E11 and KCGZ. We met some wonderful people along the way and had a great time. Even in our little 135KT bug smasher the trip was very easy and we will be doing it again. Getting an early start in the day over the desert is highly recommended. We were in no hurry so each day's flying took place mostly before noon.

 

[MikeELP]

Deming, NM makes a decent fuel stop. ELP is well over $6 a gallon and class C.

There USED to be a cheap fuel stop just outside of ELP (Horizon) but the airport closed unfortunately. If you need gas before ELP, I'd go to Pecos or Fort Stockton.

5T6 (Dona Ana County, NM) is just 15 NM west of KELP and right on the way if you're taking the low route over El Paso. Francis Aviation has a very nice facility and gas is $1 per gallon cheaper than Cutter or Atlantic at KELP. Self serve also available that can save another 40 cents.

 

[Fearless Tower]

5T6 (Dona Ana County, NM) is just 15 NM west of KELP and right on the way if you're taking the low route over El Paso. Francis Aviation has a very nice facility and gas is $1 per gallon cheaper than Cutter or Atlantic at KELP. Self serve also available that can save another 40 cents.

Mike, whatever happened to Horizon just southwest of ELP? It was there a few years ago, but sectional shows it closed now.

 

[docmirror]

Good trip and write up.

I'm planning on flying to PHX in the fall so this was a good read.

We will be going VFR by way of ELP vortac and sticking to small no fee airports where I can.

Lordsburg. cheap gas, no fees, no one is around. E11 Andrews in TX on the way back he always keeps his prices the lowest. Again, no fee, no one around, but they both have bathroom and water. Sometimes you can get a ride into town for a lunch.

 

[danhagan]

Mike, whatever happened to Horizon just southwest of ELP? It was there a few years ago, but sectional shows it closed now.

The original owner died (private but open to the public). His son tried to run it for a few years, but I guess couldn't make a go of it. They did a lot of glider activity out of there ... not sure where that went. I made a one man refueling effort (I only refueled there for a couple of years) hoping others might do the same to keep it open.

 

[Fearless Tower]

The original owner died (private but open to the public). His son tried to run it for a few years, but I guess couldn't make a go of it. They did a lot of glider activity out of there ... not sure where that went. I made a one man refueling effort (I only refueled there for a couple of years) hoping others might do the same to keep it open.

That's too bad. I remember that it was a LOT cheaper than ELP.

 

[txflyer]

Deming, NM makes a decent fuel stop. ELP is well over $6 a gallon and class C.

There USED to be a cheap fuel stop just outside of ELP (Horizon) but the airport closed unfortunately. If you need gas before ELP, I'd go to Pecos or Fort Stockton.

I was planning a Pecos stop, then Deming, and then maybe on to KSDL or stop an hour or so out if there's cheap gas close to enroute before I go in. Then just pay the overnight parking at Scottsdale. It's all weather dependent, and I try to take my time and stay rested so that it's fun and not a beat down.

I might do some VFR down on the deck, you never know.

Lordsburg. cheap gas, no fees, no one is around. E11 Andrews in TX on the way back he always keeps his prices the lowest. Again, no fee, no one around, but they both have bathroom and water. Sometimes you can get a ride into town for a lunch.

I'll keep Lordsburg and E11 in the memory banks, and not in my don't go there thread.

 

[MikeELP]

The original owner died (private but open to the public). His son tried to run it for a few years, but I guess couldn't make a go of it. They did a lot of glider activity out of there ... not sure where that went. I made a one man refueling effort (I only refueled there for a couple of years) hoping others might do the same to keep it open.

As I heard it, Dan, there was wording of some sort in Phil's estate that said it was to remain an airport for X period of time (a year or two). The family had commercial and/or housing developers drooling to get ahold of the land.

Kind of a no-brainer for the rest of the family as they all had other interests and no real desire to run an airport and FBO.

I also wonder what happened to the gliders. They used to be pretty active on weekends.

 

[BillTIZ]

This might be the glider operation that launched by winch. They had a problem with the winch launch a few years ago and there was a fatality.

IIRC, The winch was not developing enough power and the glider over flew the winch at low altitude and landed off airport. They did not terminate the launch early enough when the power did not develop to allow a landing on airport short of the winch.