Must haves for cross country

Dana said:
If I plan to overnight, tiedowns.
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Any trip can turn overnight - planned or not.
Bringing my ride home after purchase - brief said solid VFR, no problems. Only a couple hundred miles.

Got about 3/4 of the way and ran into a wall of thunderstorms. Got into some random airport, found that I had forgotten my tiedown lines and had to use airport tiedowns - the worst looking stuff that I had ever seen. And then the line of storms came through. I was amazed that they held...
 
schmookeeg said:
I gotta say, in pilot fashion circles, that's a strong B- grade. :D
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hey it worked in a pinch! I forgot a charger chord too that trip. A courtesy car to a gas station that night and $70 later I had a hat, sunglasses and charger chord :) lol

not sure the sunglasses and hat were any more fashionable! I looked like I was driving an 18 wheeler - not flying a plane :)
 
I was AOG in Pierre, SD a month ago. I was not prepared to overnight from a clothing perspective. But all my devices were powered just fine. Priorities. :D Luckily I got a hotel room that night. Woulda been a rough night sleeping in the plane.
 
As others have mentioned credit cards. Multiple. From my life experience- if you throw enough money at a problem, it usually goes away.

Probably won’t work in a mayday situation though, so plan for those along with $$.
 
I do 3 hour XCs a lot. I plan my flight in SkyVector and print pages of the complicated airspaces I fly near to have a paper reference. I also write out the pertinent info for airports, runways and communication frequencies. I also list my way points in order so it is easy to program into the GPS when I get there.

I also keep an emergency first aid and survival kit in my bird. I got a couple of different kits and 2 space blankets for under 100 bucks. They include a couple of different fire starters mult-tools and such. I am hoping that since I have them, I'll never need them.
 
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JM93 said:
I'm doing my longest XC so far, just under 400 nm, and I'm curious what others like to bring on a flight with them that is planned to be just over 3 hours.
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I always carry a 11# survival kit under the back seat. My flight bag is always with me. I carry a sleeping bag with me all the time. Tow bar, wheel chocks, and tie downs are always in the plane. Last week a added a sweat shirt, hat and gloves for this winter. Full Water bottles are always in the cup holders. This is standard equipment in my plane.

Then if I am going to over night I bring the canopy cover and the Claws which are heavy if I am going to tie down in the grass.
 
I have no idea where I got this 4 dollar cup holder made for cars. It fits perfect between the seats in my 172. It holds 2 pair of glasses, 2 bottles, and a flashlight. I put it there as soon as I got the plane.
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Gary Ward said:
I have no idea where I got this 4 dollar cup holder made for cars. It fits perfect between the seats in my 172. It holds 2 pair of glasses, 2 bottles, and a flashlight. I put it there as soon as I got the plane.
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That is a very useful addition. I'm usually fumbling for stuff like that from my bag or recruiting a passenger to be my flight attendant. Unfortunately for me, no space up front like that in a Grumman Traveler.
 
I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I've been updating my flight bag and the "to pack" list accordingly.
 
Gary Ward said:
I have no idea where I got this 4 dollar cup holder made for cars. It fits perfect between the seats in my 172. It holds 2 pair of glasses, 2 bottles, and a flashlight. I put it there as soon as I got the plane.
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Funny, we the same one. Pretty handy! Found mine at a auto parts store. It also fits under the copilot seat and rear seats of the 182 in case its in the way.
 
In addition to the above. I carry a Yeti spare battery on long trips. Smaller and lighter than a car battery but can plug anything into it. Gatorade for hydration. Trail mix or something simple for snacks. My club has provided first aid kits in all of the planes. Including a tourniquet. Doesn’t do any good to land alive off field and end up bleeding out.

Also, one of the best tools to carry along is FF. That’s gonna get you the help you need the quickest.

I also disagree that a 3-4 hour flight is “short”.
Heck, a 30-minute flight could be “long” if not playing things smart.
 
In the last week I flew my Dakota from Reno to St. Louis to Ft. Worth. Bring water (if you have to land off field somewhere), snacks that aren’t too salty, O2 if you are in the Mountain West, if you are solo, a fuzzy animal for the dash to keep you company.

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