XC Massachusetts to Key West

[PaulS]

Doing the longest XC so far for me. Going to do it over two days, Massachusetts to NC, then NC to Key West. Looks like the weather might get a little active on the days I plan to fly. Saturday to NC, then Monday to Key West. And of course the reverse about 10 days later, don't know about the weather then...

Any helpful, or even not so helpful hints appreciated.

I'll be flying a Fiki Cirrus SR-22 and am instrument rated and current.

 

[Pugs]

Vacation starts the minute you leave the house and not when you get to Duvall Street so no need to rush and make a decision that results in you having to use exceptional pilot skills.

Watch out for R2916 on the way down the keys if you cancel and go VFR.

Enjoy. If you've not been there before Key Weird is a unique experience.

 

[George Mohr]

Bring a life jacket for all the occupants. Then you can more comfortably make the jump over the gulf from the everglades to KEYW. Alternatively, fly Rt 1 from Largo to KEYW and enjoy the view. Either way you'll probably be significantly over water and will appreciate the life vests. Amazon sells belt style inflatable ones for like 80 bucks.

Signature in KEYW is 35 bucks a night for tiedowns. You can't walk to the plane so they will shuttle you. Make sure you secure the airplane with gust locks and the cover before they move it from the main ramp.

As noted above, watch out for "Fat Albert", an aerostat tethered to Cudjoe key (about 15 nm east of Key West) up to about 15,000 ft. If you fly VFR along the islands, stay south of the highway at all times and you'll never have an issue. If you do the VFR route, you will probably get a class D transition from Navy tower about 3 miles offshore to the south.

Having spent a lot of my childhood in the lower keys, talking to Navy tower and TRACON was a bit of a dream come true for me. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[Tantalum]

Looking forward to a trip report and pics!

 

[AlleyCat67]

I did an upstate NY -> Florida trek last month. Nothing too hard about it. Just beware the military/special use airspace in the Southeast - ATC can advise you which areas are hot, but I worked my flight planning to either mostly avoid them or fly over/under them. My overnight was Washington NC - great little airport with a helpful staff. I arrived after 4pm and they let me keep the crew car overnight. Have fun!

 

[mondtster]

Whatever route you plan and are cleared for, you will likely be getting an amended route/clearance once you hit Florida. I’d also plan to see a lot of traffic while you’re flying down there. Having ADS-B in with traffic on a display available can be a big help.

There has been weather to deal with in the southeast on almost every trip I’ve made down there. The controllers have always been pretty helpful and flexible while trying to navigate the storms.