If you had 3 months to travel in your plane, where would you go?

All around Australia. C’mon, every American wants to come “down-under”! Cheers.
 
FrankPilot said:
All around Australia. C’mon, every American wants to come “down-under”! Cheers.
Click to expand...
It would probably be tough to carry all the fuel I would need between some of the stops. At any rate, Basic Med will preclude that.
 
I'd fly to Arizona and fly practice approaches while doing horrible radio work.

You know you could make Alaska with the right plane, and stay out of Canadian airspace. Of course, you'd have to fly 12 miles offshore over the cold pacific. :eek:

3 months away from home. I'd try to plan is Sep/Oct/Nov and do WY,MT,ID,WA,OR in September. Some camping, some hotel stays. See a lot of things I've seen on previous trips from both the air and ground. Then as the weather gets cooler, work my way through CA, AZ, NM, and finish things off along the Gulf Coast states.
 
Van Johnston said:
My bucket list trip is flying the Lewis & Clark trail low and slow, from STL to the Pacific. I have the route all planned out. Tentatively targeting fall of 2024 or 2025. That's probably only a couple of weeks though. Beyond that, a bucket list of extreme airports: furthest N, S, E, W in contiguous US, Leadville and Death Valley. Then the airport where my plane was manufactured (like showing your kid the hospital they were born in I guess). The airport with the identifier that matches my initials. One or more of the lend-lease airports on the border.

Another trip a friend and I talked about was seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. That's probably not going to happen. Once we started talking details he figured out I was talking about flying, and I figured out he was talking about motorcycles.
Click to expand...


+1,000 to all above!

When I do the Lewis and Clark Trail I'll fly back and forth to Alaska from the NW and then down the Pacific coast highway to LA and then Route 66 back! Probably lots of detours in there as well. Going to be epic!
 
What is interesting to you?

National Parks are great.

Aviation museums are great, and there are a lot of them. And many are located at airports.

And you can mix and match.

3 months is a long time, you can do a lot. It is also not much time, you can't do everything.
 
Pinecone said:
What is interesting to you?
Click to expand...
The question I asked was to find out what was interesting to others, to maybe find new things I hadn't thought of yet.
 
Wherever my budget and the winds would allow.
 
Depends on what plane and your capabilities. In a cub you might make it to Oklahoma and back in 3 months.
We're big on good food, so nearest I've got is in 2020 we flew from WA to Maine for 2 weeks. Flew down the coast and ate lobster rolls everywhere we could - it was awesome. Had to scoot west early due to a hurricane blowing up the coast so ended up stopping in Columbus OH, found some good food and neat college town vibe there.
Pending time of year, I'd take that and expand it. Probably start by flying up to Maine about late September. Down the northeast leaf peeping for a few weeks. Lobster, steamers, cheesesteaks, you name it. I'd probably skip central east coast via GA, busy and I don't get along that well. Some good BBQ in the Carolinas, and flying down the eastern edge of the Smokies would be cool. I'd probably make a stop in FL just to say I did, but outside of Miami/Tampa most of the food scene is not great Italian, YMMV. Louisiana though, I'd make stops for cajun, crawfish, you name it. Obligatory stop for Tx BBQ in a few spots, then over to New Mexico for the tail end of Hatch Chile season.
A loop over southern CO would be beautiful, Gunnison/Telluride area. Careful in the hills, high country for sure.
Stop in AZ for some tex-mex en route to CA. Tamales in San Diego are great, not sure I'd want to fly there though. Stop in Napa, and eat at the Culinary Institute of America school. From there to Shelter Cove. Up to Coos Bay for fish and chips, then around Crater Lake and a stop at the Cowboy Dinner Tree in Silver Lake OR(depending on plane capabilities).
At that point it's likely pushing weather so maybe a loop back south hitting everything you missed on the way home.
 
Jim_R said:
I would really like to fly down to Mexico and beyond. If I spoke Spanish a little better (or had a Spanish-speaking companion to travel with), I'd feel more confident about attempting that, but as a gringo with very limited Spanish skills, I'm just a little too apprehensive to seriously consider such a journey.
Click to expand...

The official language of Brazil, the largest country in South America, is Portuguese.
 
Clip4 said:
The official language of Brazil, the largest country in South America, is Portuguese.
Click to expand...
Yes, and the official language of Belize, just south of the Yucatan, is English. A little farther south, Guyana also is an English-speaking country. And Surinamese Dutch is spoken in Suriname. And (surprise, surprise), French is the official language of French Guyana.

But most of the countries south of the border--and most of the countries I would be tempted to reach in my own plane--speak Spanish.
 
If you happen to pass through the Texas Hill Country, pay a visit to Fredericksburg (T82) and spend the night in the Hangar Hotel, a step into a time machine with all the accommodations to match. Sometimes T82 has warbird fly-ins and the town (founded by Germans in the mid-1800s) is full of history, great restaurants, and entertainment.
 
My bucket list includes flying US 1, coast to coast starting at first flight, the Mississippi stopping at small river towns and the Bahamas.
 
Allan Cobb said:
If you happen to pass through the Texas Hill Country, pay a visit to Fredericksburg (T82) and spend the night in the Hangar Hotel, a step into a time machine with all the accommodations to match. Sometimes T82 has warbird fly-ins and the town (founded by Germans in the mid-1800s) is full of history, great restaurants, and entertainment.
Click to expand...
I'm close enough that T82 can be a day trip for me, so I've never spent the night in the HH. Maybe I should do it sometime just for the experience.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I think I’d like to fly the circumference of the continental US.
Click to expand...

Yep. That's what I would do. Low and slow within a mile of the border/coastline and then cruise around the Southwest looking for the best barbecue/Mexican food near an airport.
 
IK04 said:
...then cruise around the Southwest looking for the best barbecue/Mexican food near an airport.
Click to expand...
I call that "Saturday". :D

From Copperas Cove you can hit a couple dozen world-class BBQ places within a 2 hr flight, even if you're in a Cub (though some might require an Uber or a rental to reach after you land).
 
Jim_R said:
I call that "Saturday". :D

From Copperas Cove you can hit a couple dozen world-class BBQ places within a 2 hr flight, even if you're in a Cub (though some might require an Uber or a rental to reach after you land).
Click to expand...

You've got that right. I make a point to visit a new BBQ joint every two weeks or so and combine it with some sort of adventure involving airplanes, helicopters and firearms.
 
Budget would be key, 3 months of hotels, rental cars, and dining out I would estimate to be at least $250/day, so you’re looking at $22,500 plus fuel, hangar, and other plane related expenses.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Budget would be key, 3 months of hotels, rental cars, and dining out I would estimate to be at least $250/day, so you’re looking at $22,500 plus fuel, hangar, and other plane related expenses.
Click to expand...
Yup. This will likely be a once-in-a-lifetime excursion, if it happens. I expect there will be some locations where i hang out for an extended time and may be in an Airbnb where I can get groceries and have some meals there, but yeah, no matter how you slice it, it's going to be very expensive.

But I'm at a place in life where I can afford it.
 
I would highly recommend spending one of the months in the Bahamas! I flew from Michigan to the Bahamas last May. We bounced around to most of the "out islands" and it was amazing! We enjoyed it so much that it will now become an annual trip for us. I would think 4 weeks would be enough to properly see and do just about everything. We were there for 8 days and visited, North Eleuthera, Cat island, Great Exuma, Black Point, Staniel Cay, Normans Cay and a few other quick stops. 8 days really wasn't enough time but we made it work. One "must do", rent a boat at Staniel Cay and visit all the amazing attractions. This is the area with the swimming pigs, iguana island, thunderball grotto and several others. Flying to the Bahamas was much easier than I had expected too.
 
AlphaMike said:
I would highly recommend spending one of the months in the Bahamas! I flew from Michigan to the Bahamas last May. We bounced around to most of the "out islands" and it was amazing! We enjoyed it so much that it will now become an annual trip for us. I would think 4 weeks would be enough to properly see and do just about everything. We were there for 8 days and visited, North Eleuthera, Cat island, Great Exuma, Black Point, Staniel Cay, Normans Cay and a few other quick stops. 8 days really wasn't enough time but we made it work. One "must do", rent a boat at Staniel Cay and visit all the amazing attractions. This is the area with the swimming pigs, iguana island, thunderball grotto and several others. Flying to the Bahamas was much easier than I had expected too.
Click to expand...
One of the ideas I had would be to work my way down the islands, all the way to Puerto Rico. I would have to do a lot more research before embarking on that kind of a trip, though.
 
AlphaMike said:
I would highly recommend spending one of the months in the Bahamas! I flew from Michigan to the Bahamas last May. We bounced around to most of the "out islands" and it was amazing! We enjoyed it so much that it will now become an annual trip for us. I would think 4 weeks would be enough to properly see and do just about everything. We were there for 8 days and visited, North Eleuthera, Cat island, Great Exuma, Black Point, Staniel Cay, Normans Cay and a few other quick stops. 8 days really wasn't enough time but we made it work. One "must do", rent a boat at Staniel Cay and visit all the amazing attractions. This is the area with the swimming pigs, iguana island, thunderball grotto and several others. Flying to the Bahamas was much easier than I had expected too.
Click to expand...

Not to be negative, but what happens if you have a problem at one of these desolate islands, do they have resident APs or do you have to fly one in from the states?
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Not to be negative, but what happens if you have a problem at one of these desolate islands, do they have resident APs or do you have to fly one in from the states?
Click to expand...
I did see "mechanics" around most of the smaller islands. Some were tinkering away on local airplanes. Now I don't know if they are actual APs or not. For all I know they work on outboard motors one day and airplanes the next. I always keep a decent tool set with me in the plane just incase.. I'm not an A&P but I am very mechanically inclined. In a pinch I would probably do my own repairs and have an A&P check it out when I get back to the states.
 
How do you solve the last mile problem? Many smaller airports have no rental cars, or rental cars are all booked. Uber/Lyft is not available in smaller towns.
 
lucius said:
How do you solve the last mile problem? Many smaller airports have no rental cars, or rental cars are all booked. Uber/Lyft is not available in smaller towns.
Click to expand...

Walk? If just stopping for the night I pick an airport that is within walking distance of hotels/fast food restaurants. Gives me a chance to walk after sitting all day. You just pick airports bordering towns or close to highways, use favorite map search to check for facilities in area.
 
lucius said:
How do you solve the last mile problem? Many smaller airports have no rental cars, or rental cars are all booked. Uber/Lyft is not available in smaller towns.
Click to expand...
Some small towns have a loaner car or two at the airport. Some pilots carry bikes in their plane, but I don't. If a town doesn't have any good ground transport options and it's too far to walk, then I just don't go there.
 
On the Vans Air Force page, there is a section for Trip Write ups. Very possible to lose endless hours going through people's threads.

I don't recall the details, but several years ago, someone here on POA linked a post over there about a guy who I think was doing a trip circumnavigating the entire US. I want to say he was a teacher, so he was doing the trip over the course of a 3-month summer vacation.

He was mostly camping, with the occasional hotel and occasional FBO floor. It was well documented, and the guy was a good writer. If you can find the thread, or if someone here remembers it, it might be good inspiration.

OP, what kind of plane do you have?
 
fasteddie said:
OP, what kind of plane do you have?
Click to expand...
It's a Cherokee Challenger (a PA28-180 from 1973). I won't be getting anywhere fast, but she's just right for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top