Planning & Preparation I

Hi there!

This is me; Eduair. Ready for my next adventure.

Preparing all you need when you plan to fly coast to coast with a small airplane is no easy task. I decided to start by getting a full US aeronautical map and began tracing my routes, seizing the magnitude of the trip, letting my imagination fly and most importantly start owning the new adventure.

• Starting Airport: KPAO, Palo Alto, California

Together with San Carlos (KSQL) my home airports in the Bay Area at West Valley Flying Club

• Destination Airport: KFFA, First Flight Airport, North Carolina

Airport right next to where the Wright brothers did their first flights in the sand dunes of the Outer Banks

...and then back to Palo Alto!

Let's start with some facts and numbers:

Airplane: a Cessna 172SP with tail number N669TW from the WVFC.

-Has a 180 HP engine

-Weights about 1700 LBS (~772 Kg)

-About 36 feet wingspan (~11 meters)

-Max speed 126 knots (1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour) (233 Km/h)

-Average cruising speed of 100-110 knots

-Can take up to 53 usable gallons of aviation fuel

-Range of about 500-600 nautical miles / 4-6 hours

-Coast to coast distance (KPAO-KFFA): About 2,503 nautical miles (~2,878 miles or 4,632 Km)

-Flying time: Around 25 hours each way at about 100 knots (Not counting detours for weather or flying closer to land routes, or other distractions...)

Planned Routes:

A southern route for the trip East and a more northerly route for the return trip. As usual these are only intended planned routes. Depending on weather conditions and other factors these will surely change...

It will be interesting to see what will the actual legs be. Foreflight can record tracks as you fly so I should be able to compare at the end.

The Wright brothers gliding over the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk, 1902

(To share this blog use this link: http://educoasttocoast.blogspot.com)