First Big Trip Planned

Post by **bullojm1** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:29 pm

Some friends of mine are meeting up in Detroit this weekend, and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to use the RV for what it is designed for -- going places! However, since this is my first "big" trip in the RV, I can't help but feel a little concerned about the unknown.

I did my flight plan on Foreflight. It snakes from my homebase in KDMW, under Pittsburgh and Cleveland, around Toledo, over Ann Arbor and then to KVLL (North of Detroit). Here is a nice pic:

For weather I am using WeatherMeister to get an idea of what might pop up along the route. In the air, I have ADS-B weather via the Stratus ADS-B receiver connected to my iPad.

I have called ahead to KVLL and they have inexpensive hangars to rent. What am I missing? Any good advice for a first "real" cross country? Thanks for any input!

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:18 pm

that's how I did it. Weathermeister and Foreflight for my Texas trip last April. I was nervous also, as I have very little XC experience. But I planned 2 fuel stops vs 1 and was ready to turn around and go home if things weren't progressing well.

You can do it, so can your RV

painless · Post by **painless** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:08 pm

How do you like th Stratus?? Is the coverage good along your route?

Vlad · Post by **Vlad** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:26 pm

Mike your route looks good. Could be very interesting flight at lower levels but expect it to be bumpy.

I would go direct. It's only 2.5 hours. Punch in Flight Following get on top of everything and sail smoothly. Over Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Lake Erie. Beautiful views from altitudes. You have very capable machine.

Let us know how it went.

Post by **bullojm1** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:56 pm

painless wrote:How do you like the Stratus?? Is the coverage good along your route?

Jeff,

I have to say I was a little disappointing in the Stratus at first. The recommended mounting location is on the dashboard of an airplane. However, since it is constructed out of black plastic, it gets very hot, very fast (Apparently there is a 95 degree upper operating temp limit). Also, I noticed the LED on the unit that indicates that ADS-B data is available would not stay on solid. When the LED was off, I would simply move the unit from the dash to the middle of the cockpit, and voila - reception would start. I think the internal antenna of the Stratus is attenuated by the all-metal glareshield of the RV.

Not liking this situation, I decided to rig up a separate antenna for the Stratus. I didn't feel like paying the $60+ for the antenna that is supposed to work with the Stratus. I determined that the transponder antenna is about the right length for ADS-B information, so I bought a $20 TED transponder antenna from Aircraft Spruce. I purchased some cables with MCX connectors on them from EBay, and I had a remote antenna for the Stratus. I mounted it in the middle of my cockpit to test it out before I drilled any holes in the bottom of the RV.

Once I got the antenna issue worked out, the Stratus ADS-B receiver has been working great. Local radar is updated every 7 minutes or so, with national radar every 15 minutes. Cloud coverage is not included in ADS-B, but all METAR's and TAF's are.

As for coverage, as of 6/12/2012, this is a map of the coverage in the US:

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:15 pm

looking at that map it'll be a while until I get Stratus.

painless · Post by **painless** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:13 am

Thanks for the review Mike. I'm really surprised that there is coverage up by me near da UP of Michigan. And here I thought I wasn't buying any big ticket items this year at OSH......

Post by **bullojm1** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:44 am

I've run into my first snag of the trip - Presidential TFR for his bus tour from Toledo to Cleveland on Thursday:

From the news, the trip continues onto Pittsburgh on Friday, so I am expecting another TFR in my route. If I decide to make the trip on Thursday, it's only an extra 30 minutes to fly around the TFR. Always something!

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:45 pm

Any updates Mike?

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:45 am

Looks like political rainclouds ahead!

Watch out for them, Mikey!

CJ

Post by **bullojm1** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:01 pm

Short story is I made it to Detroit! 2.9 hours - sure nicer than the 10 hour drive. I will give a full report when I get back home of my adventure. Right now I'm drinking non-fruity beer and golfing with buddies!

What a machine!!!

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:21 pm

a most excellent way to travel for sure

Post by **Spike** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:36 am

Way to go Mike! Sounds like you guys made great time!

Spike

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:00 am

Very cool Mike! Glad the trip went well, and you're right...they are almost time machines!

Post by **bullojm1** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 8:12 am

Here is the trip report. My plan was to leave KDMW (Westminster, MD) at 6:30 am and make it to KVLL (Oakland/Troy Airport, MI) by 9:30am. A last minute look at Weathermeister showed good conditions in MD, with some fog in Western MD and eastern OH, predicted to burn off by 9am. I wasn't thrilled with the fog, but I figured I'd try to see how bad it was. I clumbed up to 8,500' to give myself plenty of space from the ground. The winds aloft weren't a factor this morning - there was only a 5 minute total trip time difference between crusing at 4,500' and 10,500'. The first thing I encountered at 8,500' was it was chilly in the cockpit. I felt sort of guilty turning on the heat when I knew it was going to be 100+ degrees in Detroit that day.

My recent ADS-B Weather (FIS-B via Stratus/ForeFlight/iPad) upgrade was priceless for this trip. Immediately I could see airport conditions getting better ahead of me. The only issue I ran into with the airplane was the CHT's were HOT - 390 degrees, and my fuel flow was higher than expected - 9.2 GPH at 75% power. Any time I leaned back the engine started running rougher. My EGT's were also lower than normal -- in the high 1300's instead of mid/low 1400's. Other than those anomalies, the engine was running fine. My theory on my hot temps were I was probably climbing at too low of an airspeed and the engine heated up to much on my climb?

The trip was very easy. It went exactly as planned. I flew the autopilot most of the trip and was relaxing listening to music piped into my intercom through the iPad.

The trip back home on Sunday was a little more exciting. I saw a storm was rolling across southern Michigan and could potentially block me from rounding Toledo. I took off (in a hurry) from KVLL and headed down to Ohio. When I took off, the current weather over eastern ohio was calling for the ceiling to be 2,800' or so. I was expecting this to lift slightly by the time I got there, but this was not the case. I was able to maintain VFR by cruising at 3,500'. However, I knew in mid-PA there was a mountain range that was 3,500'. As soon as I crossed into PA, the clouds got worse and the visibility went down. I decided to land at Washington County airport, just south of Pittsburgh to wait out the weather.

When I landed at Washington County, a nice guy by the name of Robbie greeted me at the FBO. He immediately started asking me all kinds of questions about my RV. I showed him all my RV had to offer and needless to say he was impressed. Robbie was also nice enough to drive me to Wendy's for lunch, then he showed me his hangar with a Pitts in it. Turns out Robbie's daughter lives in DC, so him and I chatted about all the options for getting through the SFRA.

Once I got back to the airport, the weather cleared up somewhat, and I decided to make a run for it. There were storms rolling across MD, and I knew if I waited too long they would be where my home airport was. The clouds were slightly higher (5,000'), and I was cruising at 4,500' which gave me enough room to make it over the mountains. The terrain functionality on the GRT made crossing the mountain range a no brainer. I knew immediately that I was high enough 10 miles before I got to the range. The next concern I had was the storms that were popping up in MD. With the help of the ADS-B onboard radar uplink, I was able to see exactly where the cells were and adjust my course accordingly. Throughout this process I was always looking for alternative airports to land at in case the weather went south. I landed at 4pm at KDMW.

This has to be the best way I have ever traveled out to MI. I have driven the 10 hour drive a number of times and it is just miserable. I have also flown a number of times and it is just inconvenient. When I landed in MI, I couldn't really perceive that I went somewhere this far. It seemed like I was still in MD because the trip has always been a hassle to make. What a machine!

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:02 am

how sweet it is.

BSwayze · Post by **BSwayze** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:56 am

Mike,

I LOVE this story! What an excellent trip report. This is exactly the kind of traveling I'm looking forward to.

Thanks for posting it for all of us. It's very motivational!