NorCal to FL - which route would you pick?

moonshine

moonshine

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Looks like I might have a trip like that in the near future.
Say KCIC to KDED - which route would you pick? Not a mountain flyer yet - fly to SoCal and then head East? Any other "easy" options? Aircraft is turbonormalized, but I'm a flatlander and don't have that much experience with flying high up (above 11-12k)
Thoughts and suggestions are welcome
 
Hop over at Tahoe, slide down the east side of the Sierras all the way to Lake Havasu. No need to be above 10k. I did the western portion (NorCal --> Oklahoma) a few years back.
 
Safety, Personal pleasure and interest, minimize Fuel costs, Timing to have stop overs in interesting places, Total Distance.

I would use these categories in this priority from left to right.

Your plane will do any route you wish. I'd buy or rent O2 for a hop over although flying day vfr you should be able to get across under 12k'. I am assuming Day VFR flying as you did not mention otherwise. It is hot and bumpy over the flatlands so O2 might help there as well. Although you normally do not need fly above 8k-10' to avoid heat rise turbulence. I've crossed coast to coast three times and I have always done it at 11k'. At that altitude and not using o2 I can go 3 hrs and begin to get a slight head ache from lack of o2. Taking 10 minutes of 02 before descent makes for easy transition into landing mode and clears any brain fog.

Night VFR flying is absolutely gorgeous over the flat lands. 02 helps with night vision as well.

It would be important for me to fly over the Grand Canyon had I not yet done that, or fly over Crater, AZ and spend the night in Sedona, AZ and or Santa Fe, NM stop over. Once you get East of Rockies there is little to see over the flat lands so this is another reason to night flight over flatlands.

If you are a BBQ buff a stop in KC, Memphis and Alabama might be in order. If you are a country lover you might stop in Nashville. If interested in minding you might stop and see museums in Kentucky. Savannah GA has the reputation for the most haunted city in the country and might warrant a stop over. You can come over one way and return the other way to maximize your flight experience and tourest sites. I would like to see the big eazy (new Orleans) and get some Cajun food.

Once in FL do you want to fly to the Bahamas for another 55 NM flight? I loved flying into Key West, feeling like flying into a Caribbean Island.

If you have little or no interest in any of the above you might use airnav gas management to plot the cheapest fuel stops.
 
Easiest route is head straight down the valley, cross the Tehachapi to Lancaster/Palmdale then east to Barstow, pick up I-40 and pretty much follow that route. A few mountains at Flagstaff and Albuquerque then flat. Or, if you go further south to Tucson then east through El Paso, basically following I-10 you will encounter virtually no mountains at all.
 
Silvaire said:
Easiest route is head straight down the valley, cross the Tehachapi to Lancaster/Palmdale then east to Barstow, pick up I-40 and pretty much follow that route. A few mountains at Flagstaff and Albuquerque then flat. Or, if you go further south to Tucson then east through El Paso, basically following I-10 you will encounter virtually no mountains at all.
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Yes, this route is very utilitarian. I wouldn't want to cross I10 desert this time of year for the heat. Sooner or later you have to stop for fuel and take off again. 123 d F are reaonsably expectable on a tarmac.
 
Beautiful country you're going over. I'd go due east over Tahoe since you'll be going with the prevailing wind, that helps. Grab gas at Reno area and then off to Page AZ. Take a swim, rent a boat and stay a day. Get up early and fly through Monument valley and swing south through Santa Fe or Los Alamos. Cruise SE from there into N TX for cheap fuel, then down to the gulf coast for some Jumbalaya, and across the N gulf to FL.
 
I just did FL to Nor Cal as a new pilot. We planned on following 10 to Texas then across 40. Ended up more north coming out of FL to avoid weather but went from Daytona to Dallas area day one, Dallas to Albuquerque then to Las Vegas Day two, Las Vegas to Nor Cal via Tehachapi Pass over to Bakersfield then north day three.

We were at 8500' in the NM area and popped up closer to 10,000 for a bit around Grand Canyon. Never needed to go higher.

Basically took the I-40 route but had I-10 as a backup but the weather pushed us more north. Plan on getting up in the air at the crack of dawn and being down in the afternoon as the weather picks up. The weather in the rest of the country is much more rapidly changing than CA weather. ADS-B weather was the only way we made it as fast as we did and only landed once at an airport we planned!...so stay flexible!
 
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Safety - important.
Personal pleasure and interest - would love some pretty mountains on the way, rest isn't horribly important. My co-pilot and our daughter are sitting this one out, so won't be zig-zagging for recreation too much
minimize Fuel costs - not too important within reason
Timing to have stop overs in interesting places - I've spent sleepovers in some high quality boonies, not too worried about it
Total Distance - direct is good :) but not when there's vertically developed terrain.

Sooo... Safe route with pretty mountains to see, as straight as practicable is what I need.
Will probably get the O2 just in case
 
Thank you all for the input. The trip will be in 2-3 weeks, routing will probably depend on the weather as much as anything else. Both the airplane and myself are IFR capable, but I take it VFR flying allows for lower alts enroute.

Well, if it works out I'll be sure to post about it
 
KCIC KMHV KDED

(plus whatever)

Highest terrain seems to be under 8k.
So 9500 or 11500 would work.
 
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Stay south as much as you can. There isn't anything more worthwhile to see east of the rockies regardless of latitude. Have made many a coast to coast flight, and it doesn't get any more boring than flying over the midwest or SE. There are some decent pit stops, but I wouldn't go to them aside from necessity. I'd much rather get a straight tanker drag from coast to coast and never land anywhere that doesn't involve a beach.
 
Find a way to LHS - cut across either PMD and TNP to BLH and then ELP, and across - or LHS DARTS DEWAY rest of route unchanged . . .

The terrain to 8000 will likely encourage turbulence, mountain waves etc - even in mid September. Find lower terrain.

IFR to the Calif border requires mostly 10000 MEA +/- then there is a stretch out in Arizona thats 9000 MEA - then you're clear to descend IFR -VFR you can do most of it at 7500 and then below once you get east of BLH except for a single ridgeline on the airway SE of Gila Bend.
 
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35 AoA said:
Stay south as much as you can. There isn't anything more worthwhile to see east of the rockies regardless of latitude. Have made many a coast to coast flight, and it doesn't get any more boring than flying over the midwest or SE. There are some decent pit stops, but I wouldn't go to them aside from necessity. I'd much rather get a straight tanker drag from coast to coast and never land anywhere that doesn't involve a beach.
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Depends, really. Went to AR few months back, pushing against very stiff headwind (35+ at 6500) stayed low, 4500 ft tops (about 18 kts there) - took a whole bunch neat pictures of things that are normally too tiny.

But I'm with you on the tanker drag when it's just a "get from point a to point b" deal
 

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comanchepilot said:
Find a way to LHS - cut across either PMD and TNP to BLH and then ELP, and across - or LHS DARTS DEWAY rest of route unchanged . . .

The terrain to 8000 will likely encourage turbulence, mountain waves etc - even in mid September. Find lower terrain.

IFR to the Calif border requires mostly 10000 MEA +/- then there is a stretch out in Arizona thats 9000 MEA - then you're clear to descend IFR -VFR you can do most of it at 7500 and then below once you get east of BLH except for a single ridgeline on the airway SE of Gila Bend.
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Thanks!
 
It really depends on weather and winds aloft the day I'm going. There's no big deal to flying at altitude in a turbo equipped plane, UNLESS the turbo craps out on you lol, but you typically have plenty of time to slowly drift down. Most planes that would be equipped with a turbo won't have a problem maintaining 12,000-14,000 without it as long as you have a waste gate you can open. Turbos are pretty simple and reliable so I wouldn't particularly worry about that. West bound over the mountains is typically down wind, so you're unlikely to get in trouble there, just remember, if the plane climbs on it's own, pull back and climb with it, if the plane is dropping out of the sky, put the nose down and go for airspeed and get out of the down draft. If there is a crosswind component, stay on the windward side of the mountains, in their lee is where you find the ugly air. If the weather isn't good, I'd head south down the valley and turn left around Vegas and point it towards Alamosa CO. From there routing is just steering around the weather cells. If it's one of those days when the storms make it from Canada to Mexico, the further south you are when you hit a line of T-Storms the higher the bases will be, I never penetrate the clouds through there by my choice, too much not fun stuff in there. I stay underneath and drive around the cells that are actively dumping, I also keep up on the winds aloft so I can stay upwind of the the anvil side of the big cells, remember, the winds at 30-50k where some of these anvils are can be opposite to the winds you are in, so when I come up on a line I call in and get a winds aloft update in real time if I can't see the tops. Green skies are the enemy, never drive into green, it's worse than black, green is hail.
 
moonshine said:
Looks like I might have a trip like that in the near future.
Say KCIC to KDED - which route would you pick? Not a mountain flyer yet - fly to SoCal and then head East? Any other "easy" options? Aircraft is turbonormalized, but I'm a flatlander and don't have that much experience with flying high up (above 11-12k)
Thoughts and suggestions are welcome
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Chico up I-80 to Reno, across to Elko and then either north across Lucin or south across Wendover to Salt Lake. (Wendover is kind of cool ... you land in Utah and taxi to the terminal in Nevada.)

THrough Joseph pass to Evanston WY, then across Rock Springs and Rawlins (good gas stop).

Then south by Laramie and CHeyenne or north across Medicine Bow to Scottsbluff NB.

You are now in the flatlands a third of the way to Florida. Progress by whatever route you choose to your destination.

Jim
 
weirdjim said:
Chico up I-80 to Reno, across to Elko and then either north across Lucin or south across Wendover to Salt Lake. (Wendover is kind of cool ... you land in Utah and taxi to the terminal in Nevada.)

THrough Joseph pass to Evanston WY, then across Rock Springs and Rawlins (good gas stop).

Then south by Laramie and CHeyenne or north across Medicine Bow to Scottsbluff NB.

You are now in the flatlands a third of the way to Florida. Progress by whatever route you choose to your destination.

Jim
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Thanks, Jim

This looks like a much more scenic route, will highly consider it
 
moonshine said:
Thanks, Jim

This looks like a much more scenic route, will highly consider it
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I've flown back and forth across the country coast to coast many times starting the day after I got my PP and can tell you all the routes are quite scenic out west although what you see varies a bit. Make multiple plans on various routes, but don't settle on one until the morning you depart. It's the weather of the day that makes my decision for me, some days N is better, some days S is better, and some days I can fly direct. In over 30 trips, they have all had one thing in common, I have never completed a flight on the predetermined routing, weather has always made me go somewhere I wasn't planning on lol. I just go where the weather dictates and I've had some really fun stops at diversions.
 
Henning said:
I've flown back and forth across the country coast to coast many times starting the day after I got my PP and can tell you all the routes are quite scenic out west although what you see varies a bit. Make multiple plans on various routes, but don't settle on one until the morning you depart. It's the weather of the day that makes my decision for me, some days N is better, some days S is better, and some days I can fly direct. In over 30 trips, they have all had one thing in common, I have never completed a flight on the predetermined routing, weather has always made me go somewhere I wasn't planning on lol. I just go where the weather dictates and I've had some really fun stops at diversions.
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I hear you. I always plan on x+30% (or so) around the eastern part of the country - if I need to go 600nm and the weather dictates 800nm route, I'll go. If more - there's always tomorrow.
I do normally end up somewhere planned though, but only because there's always plans through G or H :lol:
 
If you don't want to fly high, plan on stopping by noonish everyday in the SW. If I really wanted to cover some ground by flying all day, I'd use that TN and fly in the mid-upper teens (whatever avoids the afternoon bumps).

Also, I would plan on landing at places you want to be vs. just any old gas stop. I personally never make that trip without a stop in Vegas. Interesting flying inside the bowl and the rooms are cheap.:)
 
moonshine said:
Depends, really. Went to AR few months back, pushing against very stiff headwind (35+ at 6500) stayed low, 4500 ft tops (about 18 kts there) - took a whole bunch neat pictures of things that are normally too tiny.

But I'm with you on the tanker drag when it's just a "get from point a to point b" deal
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Speaking of AR, I will go out of my way to stop through FSM. Awesome folks at the FBO, good BBQ, ice cold sweet tea, and normally a good opportunity to make fun of AF guys too :) I guess that is about the start of where the scenery starts to get interesting again. Not really applicable to the OP's route to FL, but one of my favorite places to fly over is TN, which is normally right after FSM on the flight home. Really pretty view
 
moonshine said:
Thanks, Jim

This looks like a much more scenic route, will highly consider it
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I forgot to mention ... if you aren't in Rawlins by noon, plan on shutting it down for the night there. Afternoon in the summer across the continental divide is my SECOND most favorite place in the world to be, right after everywhere else.

France Flying Service in Rawlins has a beater truck as a complimentary guest vehicle, but be prepared to drive a late 50s one-ton truck without power steering.

If you go by Kansas CIty way, stop in for fuel at Lee's Summit. Good folks and mogas if you can burn it legally. Tell them the guy who took the prettiest girl in Kansas City home to Grass Valley last year as a bride said hi. Also say hi to Barnyard Bob at the EAA hangar if you see him.

Dip your wing to KGOO (Nevada County Intentional Peapatch) as you go by and I'll wave to you

Jim
 
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weirdjim said:
I forgot to mention ... if you aren't in Rawlins by noon, plan on shutting it down for the night there. Afternoon in the summer across the continental divide is my SECOND most favorite place in the world to be, right after everywhere else.
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Just to make sure I get this right - sunrise in Chico will be, say, 7am
Chico to Rawlins looks like about 5.3 or so and will require a fuel stop for me, so +1 hr. 6.5hrs all in all for a round number. That'll be 1330 Pacific or 1430 Mountain - so I just tie down for the day there?

Thanks for all the other suggestions too! This deal is still in the works and will be a one way trip, but we're thinking about flying out to the West coast in our airplane in a year or two
 
moonshine said:
Just to make sure I get this right - sunrise in Chico will be, say, 7am
Chico to Rawlins looks like about 5.3 or so and will require a fuel stop for me, so +1 hr. 6.5hrs all in all for a round number. That'll be 1330 Pacific or 1430 Mountain - so I just tie down for the day there?

Thanks for all the other suggestions too! This deal is still in the works and will be a one way trip, but we're thinking about flying out to the West coast in our airplane in a year or two
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I try to roll around 5, just as the horizon starts to get bright. You will be half an hour from Chico to where the hills start to get spikey and by that time you will have light enough to set it down if you have to. Fly CIC directly over Grass Valley and hang a left 45 at I-80 at Blue Canyon to keep you out of the big stuff until it lightens up a bit.

Wells NV doesn't look like much on the map, no FBO, no coke machine, pit toilet, but it is the best gas stop between here and Rawlins.

If you can cut that gas stop down to half an hour, you will be in Rawlins just barely by noon, but that ought to be enough...Scottsbluff or Cheyenne are another hour or so and THAT is a good day's work.

Jim
 
Quick update - did fly coast to coast for the first time. Ended up taking the Southern route since the actual trip began at E16.
E16 - KAVQ - KSJT on day one, KSJT - KHBG - KDED on day two.
20 kts of headwind all the way! :mad2:

Oh well.
It was a good trip.

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Looking at Foreflight, it looks like Kernville and then getting past Demming out of AVQ would have been your greatest altitude challenges, and the latter would have been the balloon at Burdick Hills. Did you get any pictures of Davis Monthan?
 
gprellwitz said:
Looking at Foreflight, it looks like Kernville and then getting past Demming out of AVQ would have been your greatest altitude challenges, and the latter would have been the balloon at Burdick Hills. Did you get any pictures of Davis Monthan?
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Sorry, no pictures of the DMA
I went VFR all the way, 7500 most of the time, a bit of 9500 east of Tucson (mostly to stay on the radar for the flight following, the minimum around there is 8000-8500), then requested and got 9000 to stay sufficiently far away from the clouds. Point being, never had to go above 9500 throughout the trip.
 
I wouldn't recommend flying over or east of the Sierra if you aren't comfy with mountain flying. Winds aloft forecasts are often BS (got bit by that one last time I went to Mono Lake), and strong prevailing westerly or northerly winds will KNOCK YOUR TEETH OUT, unless you fly very high.

Owens Valley is a kitten in calm wind, but if it's blowing the usual 20 knots over the Sierra peaks at over 14000, it's likely to be real turbulent below 10,000.

As has been mentioned, you can cross the southern Sierra where the altitudes are much lower over KTSP. Watch for high winds and restricted airspace. KTSP (well, east and south of it, along the ridgetops and far slopes) is the site of one of the oldest wind farms in the US for really good reason.

It's still pretty hot in the desert. Afternoon winds get up to 20 knots or so. They are almost always in the same direction, so a lot of the runways are lined up nicely. If you prefer, you can take fuel stops in northeastern LA (say, KONT), as it isn't that much further south.
 
Hey MAKG,

OP here, just flew the Southern route, everything went fine.
Afternoon bumps in AZ and NM were pretty benign and comparable to flying Florida.
 
OK, I guess I'm just a bit late to the party.

I have a flight planned south tomorrow. Weather is looking marginal. Ecch.
 
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