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Welcome back.

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SPC listeners.

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We're coming today with a new
Beyond the check write episode

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that's gonna have you going places.

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Stick around for episode 84
of the student pilot cast.

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Just go.

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Alright, everyone turns out being a
full-time flight instructor and working

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at a tech company as well doesn't leave
a lot of time for editing podcasts.

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But after a short hiatus, we're back with
another Beyond the check write episode.

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This one's probably been about 99%
done for a while, so it was time to

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finally kick this one out of the nest.

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In this episode, Kent and I
talk about some ideas about

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going places in airplanes.

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Probably one of the reasons many of us
got into aviation in the first place.

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So enjoy this episode, and as
usual, let us know what ideas you

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have about cross country flying.

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Enjoy.

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All right.

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Welcome back everybody to
another beyond the check ride.

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glad you're with us, Kent.

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Welcome back.

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How you been?

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I am great.

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It's always a great day when
you get to talk about flying.

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Oh, I couldn't agree more.

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And I think you've got a really cool
topic today for us, beyond the check

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ride about, you know, something that's
near and dear to my heart going places.

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So what's the topic for today?

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The topic for today is
using GA for travel.

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and you know, I think it's near and dear
to a lot of pilots hearts because I think

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that a lot of people have this in mind
when they become pilots, you know, they

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think about how can I get around the
country and the world to some extent.

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Easier and, you know, have more
freedom doing it, have a much

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better experience doing it.

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and so, I mean, I know that for me, it
was all about higher, farther, faster

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when I first started learning how to fly.

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And that was because
I wanted to go places.

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How about you?

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Yeah, for sure.

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going places was always
part of what I wanted to do.

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of course, since then I've found fun in
an airplane in a lot of different ways.

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Some of the most fun I've had is in light
sport airplanes that weren't really good.

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Go places airplanes.

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But yes, that was always part of
the dream and part of the reason

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to become a pilot and still is.

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I agree,

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Yeah.

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and you know, right off the bat,
you, you brought something up that I

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definitely want to cover and that's
what airplanes you can use to go places.

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And the real answer is any of
them with, with an asterisk.

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I will, there are.

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I think the most uncomfortable
cross country flight I ever had

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was, I flew from central Iowa to
northern Arkansas in a Citabria and

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it was an old Citabria with an old
interior and it was not comfortable.

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And, but I mean, it was a fun flight
cause I was at, you know, 500 AGL

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pretty much the whole time and, you
know, scaring horses and whatnot.

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So, it was definitely still a fun flight,
but it was not the most comfortable

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flight and that's not the airplane I
would buy if I wanted to go places often.

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yep, yep.

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And we've, we've talked about this before
my, you know, my son works for a company

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here locally, that's got eight extras,
that he helps kind of take care of.

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That be a hard plane to go places
into, lots of fuel stops and heart,

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you know, no autopilot and hard to
maintain, you know, altitude heading.

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I mean, it's just, you

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Yeah,

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but

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airplanes in general are not great
for cross country because of course

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they're designed to not be stable.

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And why would you put an autopilot in one?

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I mean, I know that's the thing
people do because they They do

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still like to go places and they
also like to turn upside down.

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So there are some, maybe more popular
on something like the aerobatic Bonanza

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or the Marchetti or something like that.

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That's kind of a combination
go places and fun airplane.

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But, yeah, I, I remember years ago, I
had a couple of friends, one of whom

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had previously owned a Pitts and one
of whom owned a Pitts at the time and

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flew it across half the country to
get to a fly in that we were all at.

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And, the guy who had it.

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And had just hopped out after flying, I
don't know, like a thousand miles in the

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thing asks the guy who used to have one.

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He says, how do you fly a
Pitts across the country?

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And the other guy goes,
are you effing nuts?

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You don't.

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Yeah, Exactly.

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yes, that is an example of a plane.

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That's not great, but I guess
what we're, what we're really

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getting at more is right.

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I mean, but you mentioned the light
sport and, Part of why this subject

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came up for me, is I've recently
talked to several different people

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about flying GA cross country.

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And one of them is a guy who
owned a 172 and I think maybe

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hadn't even thought about it.

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And there's nothing wrong with
flying a 172 cross country.

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It's maybe not the best ship there
is, but if it's what you got.

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Yeah.

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you don't have to have
a speed demon to do it.

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and so what if it takes you longer?

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That's more hours in the log book.

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It's

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Yep.

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Now, obviously there, there is a, there's
a balance there, especially if you have

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a spouse who's with you or something
like that, they may not want to sit

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in a little airplane for that long.

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So, you know, if you're looking for
what to buy, Yeah, buy something that

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fits your missions as well as possible.

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But if you already have an airplane,
even if it's not one, that's super

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conducive to cross country travel.

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I mean, there are people who fly from the
West coast into, Oshkosh every year in

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airplanes that, uh, in fact, one of the
people that I, I love watching on YouTube.

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Xyla Foxlin, she has, I think a
Luscombe, you know, and she's based

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in LA and she flew it to Oshkosh this
summer and posted a video about it.

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And yeah, it took her four days
to get there, but you know what?

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She had a great time.

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So, uh, and that's really what it's about.

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Um, If you're really going to be, you
know, if you're really gung ho to use GA

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for travel, there are lots and lots of
great airplanes for travel via GA, but

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just because you don't have one doesn't
mean that you shouldn't consider it.

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and we were kind of talking earlier that
my friend with a one 72, who I, I'm not

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sure if he even thought about taking it.

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when I kind of encouraged him to, it
was because he was asking about renting

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an airplane at his destination so that
he could take family members flying.

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And I went, you own a
perfectly good airplane.

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If you thought about taking that,
you know, there were, there were

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some other circumstances there to,
led to him not taking his airplane.

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And I, Given those, I would have
agreed with that, but you know,

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there's nothing that says you can't
take a one Luscombe or a light sport

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or whatever cross country as well.

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So,

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um, but yeah, if it's going to be
your mission, definitely buy for it.

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And the light sport I have the most
time in had a great autopilot in it.

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Yeah.

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slow, but fine.

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The biggest problem with the light
sport is you just can't take much stuff

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with you and that's people and things.

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So, a lot of times when you're traveling,
you want to take some stuff with you.

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so yeah, you got to make the,
make sure the airplane fits the

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mission, but I I'm with you.

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Anything can look anywhere.

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Any airplane is a cross country airplane.

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If you got the time.

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Right.

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Yep.

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Yep.

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I'm trying to think, I
mean, I, I know that.

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From Wisconsin, mostly I have flown an
archer to Kentucky and Arkansas and you

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know, I've flown the 182, fixed gear
182, literally all over the country,

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East coast, West coast, Gulf coast.

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I think I landed that thing in
somewhere between 30 and 35 states.

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So yeah, you don't need
a speed demon to do this.

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so, getting back to, why you do it.

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Well, It's part of the freedom
that we have as pilots to be

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able to do that sort of thing.

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and airplanes are with some
exceptions, of course, like we said,

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they're great traveling machines.

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And, I do like to tell people that,
flying is always an adventure.

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It just might not be the
adventure you had planned on.

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That's right.

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but I consider myself extremely
lucky in life to have had so many

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experiences in a small airplane, that
I just wouldn't trade for the world.

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And, so part of the whole point of
doing this episode is to encourage

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people to get out there and do it.

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now as pilots, we sometimes like
to justify ourselves, right?

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And this is where, especially like I
said, if you're going with a spouse

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or something like that, that might
change how you calculate things.

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or if you're going with small children
or, you know, there are asterisks all

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over the place in this episode, but we're
going to talk about some of those things

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and how you can do them successfully
and, have everybody have a good time.

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so one of the primary things
that people talk about is cost.

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Okay.

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and generally driving and flying the
airlines are thought of as cheaper.

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There's a reason that That
is the thought process.

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And that is that often they are cheaper.

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but, you know, just a little bit
ago we were talking about, a leg

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that I flew in the Mooney from New
Mexico to Wisconsin, and I actually

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burned less fuel flying the airplane
than I would have driving the car.

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Yeah.

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And you did that flight
in less than five hours,

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Yes.

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Yes.

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I. definitely burn less fuel than the car
would have burned at 200 miles an hour.

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Yes.

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So, so first of all, I would
encourage those of you who feel the

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need to justify things via cost.

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look at all the costs because GA
does come out ahead sometimes.

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And, especially if you're looking
at kind of more of a mid range trip,

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I would say, I guess the way I have
put it once was anywhere from 150 miles

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to two times whatever the cruise speed
times your, cruise speed of your airplane

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times the endurance of your bladder.

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You know, where can you get in two legs.

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you know, when you start having,

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Hey Kent, I, I gotta say, I am just
somehow not surprised that you have a

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rule of thumb for, trip making like that.

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I love it.

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I love it.

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well, that one I don't
actually use myself.

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I go, I go wherever, but you know,
I, I know that some of those longer

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trips are, are harder to justify,
especially for family members.

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The

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so,

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me less right now is if you said,
I also have a pneumonic for a trip.

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No, I'm just kidding.

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00:12:17,701 --> 00:12:22,451
but yeah, so the, the mid range trips
are the ones where GA really shines.

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you know, especially if you're going
someplace that is not an airline hub.

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Yeah, because, you know, cost is
one thing, but there's a lot of

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cost savings and flexibility too.

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00:12:36,936 --> 00:12:39,066
I think you're probably going
to talk about that, but,

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flexibility of time and place.

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Thanks.

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00:12:43,671 --> 00:12:46,171
Uh, can bring with it a lot
of cost savings, that you need

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to take into account as well.

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00:12:48,318 --> 00:12:48,748
yeah.

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00:12:49,948 --> 00:12:52,618
you know, a big one is hotel rooms.

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Since you mentioned flexibility,
there are plenty of times where I

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can fly a leg or maybe two home.

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after a day of having fun somewhere.

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And I saved myself a
hotel room that night.

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00:13:09,058 --> 00:13:12,538
I would have had to fly out in the
airlines the next day, or I would have

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had to have one less day of fun or
whatever I was doing at my destination.

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So, you know, there's, there's
plenty of times where, in fact, I

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would say most times, Airline flying
kind of takes up your whole day.

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whereas I've had work trips where I worked
the whole day and then fly home and you

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know, we've had, pleasure vacations where
we're able to get some last minute play in

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and then hop in the airplane and get home
and not need another hotel that night.

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And so, definitely consider whether
you're going to need another night or

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two in a hotel and how much that's going
to cost you if you fly on the airlines.

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car, things.

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00:13:51,793 --> 00:13:52,113
Yeah.

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00:13:52,220 --> 00:13:57,080
And of course the airlines love to
charge fees for bags and you know,

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this and that and the other stuff.

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And, and of course then there
is also your, your time and

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00:14:02,570 --> 00:14:03,940
your enjoyment of the trip.

232
00:14:04,050 --> 00:14:08,240
being able to get somewhere
faster is really nice.

233
00:14:08,620 --> 00:14:12,180
Not having to deal with
the hassles of TSA.

234
00:14:12,180 --> 00:14:16,390
And, one of the things that made me
really start thinking about this hard.

235
00:14:16,585 --> 00:14:17,755
very early on.

236
00:14:18,275 --> 00:14:22,435
I think it was the same
summer I got my private.

237
00:14:23,245 --> 00:14:31,015
I went to my cousin's wedding and I was
already in Minneapolis for other reasons.

238
00:14:31,445 --> 00:14:34,245
Hopped on an airplane
there, flew to Albuquerque.

239
00:14:34,915 --> 00:14:39,305
and of course to get on the airplane,
you know, you have to go through

240
00:14:39,305 --> 00:14:41,535
all the regular airport stuff.

241
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:48,000
parking and security and check in
and checking bags and all that.

242
00:14:48,050 --> 00:14:52,660
And, you know, even though a lot of people
don't travel with checked luggage anymore

243
00:14:52,700 --> 00:14:56,880
because of the fees, well, okay, so you
didn't check it, but now they make you

244
00:14:56,890 --> 00:14:59,890
gate check it and then you still have
to wait at the other end and all that.

245
00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:03,000
So there's, there's time
involved in all of those things.

246
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,910
And so, you know, you have
to consider that time.

247
00:15:06,790 --> 00:15:11,060
But then I got to the other end and,
you know, Takes a while to get off the

248
00:15:11,060 --> 00:15:16,910
airplane, and then I spent 45 minutes
waiting for bags at Baggage Claim, spent

249
00:15:16,910 --> 00:15:22,840
another 45 minutes in line at the rental
car counter, drove an hour and a half to a

250
00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:28,460
town that had a perfectly good GA airport,
and I went, why did I just do this?

251
00:15:29,790 --> 00:15:34,390
I could have gotten myself
here just as fast in an Archer.

252
00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:36,250
So.

253
00:15:36,673 --> 00:15:36,933
Yeah.

254
00:15:37,385 --> 00:15:41,695
That was kind of a, an eyeopening
moment for me to, to have

255
00:15:41,695 --> 00:15:43,275
that experience and go, okay.

256
00:15:43,845 --> 00:15:47,825
You know, GA is really usable for
travel, even if you don't have the,

257
00:15:47,985 --> 00:15:50,145
the fanciest, fastest airplane.

258
00:15:50,155 --> 00:15:55,695
So, definitely consider all that time
and, you know, the, the difference

259
00:15:55,695 --> 00:15:58,185
in experiences between those as well.

260
00:15:58,185 --> 00:16:03,785
So if the actual numbers don't completely
work out in your favor, consider that

261
00:16:03,785 --> 00:16:07,275
it might be worth a couple hundred bucks
to see some really cool sites and to not

262
00:16:07,275 --> 00:16:09,435
have somebody groping you in the TSA line.

263
00:16:10,180 --> 00:16:12,940
Not to mention getting some
great experience as a pilot.

264
00:16:13,982 --> 00:16:14,612
yes.

265
00:16:14,682 --> 00:16:22,117
and you know, Cross country flights are
the best learning flying that you can have

266
00:16:22,117 --> 00:16:26,757
without an instructor aboard, I believe,
and I really think that they're a great

267
00:16:26,757 --> 00:16:31,087
way to increase your skills as a pilot,
you know, to get out of the nest and

268
00:16:31,517 --> 00:16:36,917
see new terrain and deal with different
controllers and all that and, I mean, the

269
00:16:36,917 --> 00:16:41,617
FAA has done a good job of designing the
National Airspace System so that things

270
00:16:41,627 --> 00:16:48,947
are familiar in any place you go, but
there's still enough that's different

271
00:16:48,957 --> 00:16:53,307
that it's, you know, you always learn
something when you go on a long trip, but

272
00:16:53,497 --> 00:16:56,997
you also just, you get to see new sites.

273
00:16:57,027 --> 00:17:03,627
And man, I cannot even begin to describe
some of the amazing sites that I've

274
00:17:03,627 --> 00:17:05,257
been able to see from a small airplane.

275
00:17:06,795 --> 00:17:07,105
Yeah.

276
00:17:08,717 --> 00:17:09,377
So

277
00:17:13,597 --> 00:17:14,137
awesome.

278
00:17:15,387 --> 00:17:19,927
so as far as the cost for flying
GA, you know, fuel is the big one.

279
00:17:20,567 --> 00:17:22,697
you do need to look at fees.

280
00:17:22,887 --> 00:17:27,997
you know, if you fly into Orlando
international, which I have, you're

281
00:17:27,997 --> 00:17:29,197
going to pay some fees there.

282
00:17:29,547 --> 00:17:34,907
so be sure you call ahead to the FBO
and at least, you know, find out what

283
00:17:34,907 --> 00:17:37,257
those fees are and what you're in for.

284
00:17:37,717 --> 00:17:42,837
but there are, you know, if, if you're
an accountant, you might think, well,

285
00:17:42,847 --> 00:17:49,057
I need to amortize this and divide that
across the hours and blah, blah, blah.

286
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:50,860
and all of that,

287
00:17:50,937 --> 00:17:54,237
Here's, here's how I look at it
when I'm deciding whether or not.

288
00:17:54,417 --> 00:17:58,447
I should financially be able to
justify going somewhere in my airplane.

289
00:18:00,347 --> 00:18:05,047
I do not divide the entire cost by
the number of hours in the year.

290
00:18:06,137 --> 00:18:08,617
If you do that, you'll
never fly the airplane.

291
00:18:09,107 --> 00:18:12,057
And if you don't fly the airplane,
why do you have the airplane?

292
00:18:14,317 --> 00:18:15,807
The way I look at it is.

293
00:18:16,127 --> 00:18:25,357
The first hour I fly every year costs
me somewhere between 12 and 28, 000.

294
00:18:25,847 --> 00:18:28,067
I don't want to get any
more accurate than that.

295
00:18:29,167 --> 00:18:33,097
And I'm sure that, you know, everyone's
costs are going to vary, you know, East

296
00:18:33,097 --> 00:18:38,227
coast hangers are really expensive, for
example, and so, but anyway, the first

297
00:18:38,237 --> 00:18:43,467
hour you fly every year is horrendously
expensive because, you know, just

298
00:18:43,467 --> 00:18:47,837
the fact that you have an airplane,
you're going to be paying for a hanger.

299
00:18:47,837 --> 00:18:49,667
You're going to be paying insurance.

300
00:18:49,667 --> 00:18:53,537
You're going to be paying for an annual
inspection, et cetera, et cetera.

301
00:18:54,837 --> 00:18:57,257
But if you look at it this
way and say, okay, Okay.

302
00:18:57,597 --> 00:19:04,857
My first hour costs me 20 grand, all the
other ones cost me, you know, 60, right.

303
00:19:06,207 --> 00:19:10,297
cause really gas and, you know, if
you decide that you want to keep an

304
00:19:10,307 --> 00:19:13,887
engine reserve fund, you know, you
might want to consider that as well.

305
00:19:13,887 --> 00:19:19,897
But to me, the cost of travel is
strictly the variable costs, the

306
00:19:19,927 --> 00:19:22,077
incremental costs of flying the airplane.

307
00:19:22,597 --> 00:19:27,547
Because, you know, just the decision you
made to own an airplane, is what cost you

308
00:19:27,547 --> 00:19:29,767
that first 20 grand or whatever it is.

309
00:19:30,197 --> 00:19:32,207
the more you fly it, the cheaper it is.

310
00:19:32,297 --> 00:19:34,047
and that's absolutely true.

311
00:19:34,107 --> 00:19:35,407
Airplanes love to fly.

312
00:19:35,757 --> 00:19:38,267
They get cheaper to maintain
the more hours you put on them.

313
00:19:38,837 --> 00:19:44,887
And so by looking at it that way and being
able to justify trips means that, you

314
00:19:44,887 --> 00:19:50,567
know, my average per hour price goes down
just because I'm using the airplane more.

315
00:19:50,567 --> 00:19:50,937
So,

316
00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:52,320
Interesting.

317
00:19:54,147 --> 00:19:55,837
I should have mentioned at the top here.

318
00:19:56,377 --> 00:19:57,557
just where I'm coming from.

319
00:19:57,557 --> 00:19:58,177
Now.

320
00:19:58,227 --> 00:20:05,777
It's been 21 years since I got my private
and I have used single engine piston

321
00:20:05,777 --> 00:20:10,557
airplanes to travel to around 40 states.

322
00:20:10,697 --> 00:20:13,767
I'll have to actually count them
sometime and see if I've hit 40 yet.

323
00:20:14,117 --> 00:20:16,187
I know it's at least 35.

324
00:20:16,737 --> 00:20:19,537
like I said, East coast, West
coast and Gulf coast being

325
00:20:19,537 --> 00:20:20,727
based here in the Midwest.

326
00:20:21,197 --> 00:20:28,937
and I have been to the Bahamas, so I have
done lots of travel by GA. I know I have

327
00:20:28,937 --> 00:20:31,722
at least 2400 hours across country time.

328
00:20:31,722 --> 00:20:34,512
So, it's, it's a thing I love to do.

329
00:20:34,512 --> 00:20:36,542
And I, I think everybody
should give it a shot.

330
00:20:38,490 --> 00:20:39,480
I couldn't agree more.

331
00:20:41,552 --> 00:20:47,182
So, now we talked about, beyond
the check ride and how this is

332
00:20:47,182 --> 00:20:51,842
a thing that I think a very high
percentage of pilots want to do.

333
00:20:52,892 --> 00:20:56,232
And of course the, the next
thing is always, well, I have

334
00:20:56,232 --> 00:20:57,342
to get my instrument rating.

335
00:20:57,342 --> 00:20:59,392
I can't do that until I
get my instrument rating.

336
00:21:00,312 --> 00:21:04,092
And yes, I have my instrument rating
and I've had it most of that time,

337
00:21:04,452 --> 00:21:09,962
but you do not have to have an
instrument rating to fly cross country.

338
00:21:10,392 --> 00:21:12,502
you do need to have more
weather flexibility.

339
00:21:12,502 --> 00:21:14,852
If you don't have your instrument
rating, you know, there

340
00:21:14,852 --> 00:21:16,447
will be times where you get.

341
00:21:16,747 --> 00:21:21,357
stuck at some little podunk place
for, you know, days potentially.

342
00:21:21,947 --> 00:21:24,947
that sort of thing doesn't tend to happen
when you have an instrument rating,

343
00:21:25,047 --> 00:21:28,157
but that's also kind of a horror story.

344
00:21:28,277 --> 00:21:29,457
Yeah, that's true.

345
00:21:30,097 --> 00:21:30,587
Um,

346
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:31,960
the one you expected.

347
00:21:32,267 --> 00:21:38,412
yes, I, I. I know some guys who
have a great story about driving

348
00:21:38,422 --> 00:21:42,202
hundreds of miles home in a U Haul
because it was the only thing they

349
00:21:42,202 --> 00:21:47,102
were available to rent in whatever
little podunk town they ended up in.

350
00:21:49,002 --> 00:21:52,442
so yeah, you, you might have a, an
adventure, but you'll definitely

351
00:21:52,442 --> 00:21:53,732
get a good story out of it.

352
00:21:54,292 --> 00:21:57,132
but even though I, I w I was
going to say, this is kind of a,

353
00:21:57,482 --> 00:22:02,062
a horror story that gets repeated
throughout this industry that keeps

354
00:22:02,062 --> 00:22:03,622
people from using their airplanes.

355
00:22:04,152 --> 00:22:06,572
You know, I mentioned flying
to Kentucky in an archer.

356
00:22:06,612 --> 00:22:09,952
I did that that first fall
that I had my private.

357
00:22:10,292 --> 00:22:11,502
so no instrument rating.

358
00:22:12,172 --> 00:22:14,952
I flew the 182 to Texas
without an instrument rating.

359
00:22:15,052 --> 00:22:21,712
I went on a gigantic 5800 nautical
mile adventure over the course of

360
00:22:21,712 --> 00:22:25,332
three weeks, put 63 hours on that 182.

361
00:22:26,862 --> 00:22:31,132
I had the instrument rating for that, but
since I was out west, like the whole point

362
00:22:31,132 --> 00:22:34,567
of it was to, you know, See the sites.

363
00:22:35,597 --> 00:22:38,217
And so I was IFR for about.

364
00:22:40,290 --> 00:22:41,180
to get my instrument.

365
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:42,190
After

366
00:22:42,577 --> 00:22:47,417
I mean, it took me, I think
it took me three years.

367
00:22:47,542 --> 00:22:47,922
Well,

368
00:22:47,959 --> 00:22:50,609
were three years that I got some
good cross country flight in.

369
00:22:52,889 --> 00:22:55,069
Well, thank you, but I don't think so.

370
00:22:55,679 --> 00:23:00,329
Um, But yeah, I mean, in those three
years, like I said, I've done, I did

371
00:23:00,329 --> 00:23:04,169
some really good long cross countries,
without an instrument rating.

372
00:23:04,169 --> 00:23:08,129
And I did that huge West coast
adventure, like I said, with an

373
00:23:08,129 --> 00:23:12,049
instrument rating, but I was IFR for
maybe 20 minutes of that entire trip.

374
00:23:12,979 --> 00:23:20,189
and it was certainly, you know,
the IFR, if I had waited maybe

375
00:23:20,189 --> 00:23:21,799
two hours, it would have been.

376
00:23:22,329 --> 00:23:23,379
The weather would have been through.

377
00:23:23,679 --> 00:23:24,139
So,

378
00:23:24,773 --> 00:23:25,123
All right.

379
00:23:25,123 --> 00:23:28,183
I'm going to, I'm going to
take a slight, tangent here

380
00:23:28,581 --> 00:23:28,961
okay.

381
00:23:29,303 --> 00:23:31,253
to ask you, what's
hopefully a quick question.

382
00:23:32,243 --> 00:23:34,343
If you are traveling somewhere.

383
00:23:34,688 --> 00:23:41,728
And the weather's okay, you
file IFR, or do you fly VFR?

384
00:23:43,251 --> 00:23:43,921
Wow.

385
00:23:43,991 --> 00:23:47,021
That is a big old, it depends.

386
00:23:47,171 --> 00:23:50,981
I mean, that's the answer to
every question in aviation.

387
00:23:51,121 --> 00:23:51,941
It depends.

388
00:23:52,428 --> 00:23:52,908
Good point.

389
00:23:53,551 --> 00:23:57,811
There are so many variables
involved and it really does.

390
00:23:57,921 --> 00:24:00,631
Yeah, there's, I've done plenty of both.

391
00:24:01,111 --> 00:24:02,771
you know, especially out west.

392
00:24:02,771 --> 00:24:04,661
I love being VFR.

393
00:24:05,121 --> 00:24:09,051
and it's conducive to VFR,
when you're in the mountains

394
00:24:09,051 --> 00:24:10,981
because the air is pretty dry.

395
00:24:10,981 --> 00:24:13,781
And, you know, there's
rarely a whole lot of clouds.

396
00:24:13,781 --> 00:24:18,071
And when there are clouds, you might
not want to be flying IFR either.

397
00:24:19,378 --> 00:24:19,738
Right,

398
00:24:20,036 --> 00:24:24,226
You you, have a lot more
limited options when you're,

399
00:24:24,246 --> 00:24:26,016
when you're out that way, IFR.

400
00:24:26,016 --> 00:24:30,286
And of course, if you make a mistake, the
consequences can be a lot more severe.

401
00:24:30,846 --> 00:24:36,316
well, I do want to talk about the
flip side and that is, when I would go

402
00:24:36,596 --> 00:24:40,806
IFR, even if the weather is, is fine.

403
00:24:41,856 --> 00:24:47,336
And usually that's for operational
reasons like, you know, if you're going

404
00:24:47,356 --> 00:24:54,706
somewhere in the Washington DC area, I
feel like it's a lot easier to fly there.

405
00:24:54,856 --> 00:24:57,716
IFR, things are generally the same.

406
00:24:58,236 --> 00:25:03,026
I believe you still have to take the,
the SIFRA familiarization course and

407
00:25:03,026 --> 00:25:06,426
learn about all the ways that they're
going to shoot you down and all the

408
00:25:06,426 --> 00:25:08,516
ways that they're going to warn you
that they're going to shoot you down

409
00:25:08,516 --> 00:25:10,656
if you go in the wrong place out there.

410
00:25:10,656 --> 00:25:14,491
But, and of course what the procedures are
so that they don't don't shoot you down,

411
00:25:14,491 --> 00:25:20,811
but really, the, the key there is that the
easiest thing to do if you're not familiar

412
00:25:20,811 --> 00:25:25,291
with those procedures and, you know,
because you're based far away is just

413
00:25:25,301 --> 00:25:31,056
file IFR and, you know, make sure you stay
IFR, all the way to the ground and you

414
00:25:31,106 --> 00:25:33,266
pick up IFR before you get off the ground.

415
00:25:33,296 --> 00:25:35,506
And then pretty much nothing's different.

416
00:25:36,026 --> 00:25:38,196
so that sort of situation is one example.

417
00:25:38,546 --> 00:25:45,026
The other one is like if you're flying
into a primary class Bravo airport, or any

418
00:25:45,086 --> 00:25:47,636
other sort of really, really busy airport.

419
00:25:48,026 --> 00:25:52,826
it's just a lot easier because
they know you're coming, they

420
00:25:52,836 --> 00:25:54,266
know how to deal with you.

421
00:25:54,366 --> 00:25:57,966
You know, one of my flight instructors
had an incident where he was trying to

422
00:25:57,966 --> 00:26:04,616
fly VFR into Chicago O'Hare because the,
he was taking some charter pilots to pick

423
00:26:04,616 --> 00:26:12,406
up an airplane that had been left there
and the controllers at O'Hare at the time

424
00:26:13,836 --> 00:26:16,161
literally had no idea how to work him.

425
00:26:17,321 --> 00:26:22,511
You know, because O'Hare, you know,
they're, they've gotten so much better,

426
00:26:23,181 --> 00:26:30,411
but they used to be so, I hate to
say anti GA, but they really were

427
00:26:31,138 --> 00:26:31,818
focused.

428
00:26:32,531 --> 00:26:32,941
right.

429
00:26:33,551 --> 00:26:35,771
All, all one 21 all the time.

430
00:26:35,771 --> 00:26:36,061
Right.

431
00:26:36,071 --> 00:26:41,631
And so he ended up
circling outside the Bravo.

432
00:26:41,891 --> 00:26:46,721
And I think he had to call on six
different frequencies before someone

433
00:26:47,171 --> 00:26:51,481
finally got on the phone and called
the controller that he needed to call.

434
00:26:51,501 --> 00:26:58,381
Let's tell them this, you know, this is
how you work a VFR aircraft because, you

435
00:26:58,381 --> 00:27:00,191
know, they just weren't used to it at all.

436
00:27:00,701 --> 00:27:05,821
so yeah, it goes a lot smoother
when you're tangling with, you

437
00:27:05,821 --> 00:27:07,031
know, a whole bunch of jets.

438
00:27:07,051 --> 00:27:10,021
If you just operate the
way they do, you know.

439
00:27:11,086 --> 00:27:16,266
Learn how to fly a fast approach,
file IFR, and then just go on in.

440
00:27:16,896 --> 00:27:20,456
and I generally don't go
places like that on purpose.

441
00:27:21,688 --> 00:27:22,048
Right.

442
00:27:22,076 --> 00:27:26,236
I tend to avoid Bravo's because they're
expensive and you know, there's a

443
00:27:26,236 --> 00:27:28,026
lot of traffic to deal with and,

444
00:27:28,408 --> 00:27:28,728
takes a

445
00:27:28,896 --> 00:27:29,256
and

446
00:27:29,726 --> 00:27:32,816
one of the time advantages that we have.

447
00:27:33,121 --> 00:27:37,641
with GA is being able to land
closer to our actual destination.

448
00:27:38,291 --> 00:27:43,461
so yeah, it's, it's rare that I, I
fly GA and do a primary Bravo, but

449
00:27:43,871 --> 00:27:47,431
you know, I've flown into Baltimore,
Washington international several times.

450
00:27:47,431 --> 00:27:53,351
I've flown into Orlando international,
New Orleans, and a few others.

451
00:27:53,501 --> 00:27:54,421
I'd have to sit down and.

452
00:27:54,856 --> 00:27:56,146
figure out the whole list.

453
00:27:56,166 --> 00:28:00,546
But, yeah, that's, that's a situation
where I would probably file IFR.

454
00:28:03,386 --> 00:28:06,676
So I think we, we pretty well
beat that question to death.

455
00:28:07,408 --> 00:28:12,758
Yeah.

456
00:28:13,176 --> 00:28:19,396
so I, you know, one of the notes that
I put in here for the show on IFR vs.

457
00:28:19,396 --> 00:28:23,286
VFR was just, do you have to be IFR?

458
00:28:23,716 --> 00:28:25,856
No, go ahead.

459
00:28:25,856 --> 00:28:27,246
Fly those long cross countries.

460
00:28:27,276 --> 00:28:27,926
VFR.

461
00:28:28,286 --> 00:28:32,816
just have that extra flexibility so
that you can make good decisions.

462
00:28:33,336 --> 00:28:35,226
is it helpful to have
an instrument rating?

463
00:28:36,016 --> 00:28:36,766
Absolutely.

464
00:28:37,436 --> 00:28:42,306
you know, there's plenty of times where,
you know, there's a overcast layer at a

465
00:28:42,306 --> 00:28:44,596
thousand, 1500 feet, something like that.

466
00:28:45,146 --> 00:28:49,516
and it's only 500 or a thousand feet
thick, and it's going to keep VFR

467
00:28:49,516 --> 00:28:53,766
pilots sitting on the ground for, like
I said, potentially a couple of days.

468
00:28:54,266 --> 00:28:56,126
whereas if you're an IFR pilot, you just.

469
00:28:56,536 --> 00:28:58,166
Blast up through it
and you're on your way.

470
00:28:58,776 --> 00:29:02,166
so I would say if traveling is going to
be a goal, then the instrument rating

471
00:29:02,176 --> 00:29:04,816
should be a goal, but not a requirement.

472
00:29:04,886 --> 00:29:09,826
And I do have some friends who have flown
all over the country for years and years

473
00:29:09,826 --> 00:29:11,516
and never got their instrument ratings.

474
00:29:11,526 --> 00:29:15,716
So, definitely don't let the lack
of an instrument rating be something

475
00:29:15,716 --> 00:29:17,176
that stops you from trying it.

476
00:29:18,056 --> 00:29:19,186
one little,

477
00:29:19,576 --> 00:29:20,846
Oh boy, here we go again.

478
00:29:20,846 --> 00:29:22,036
I have another rule of thumb.

479
00:29:25,586 --> 00:29:26,966
that's related to all this.

480
00:29:27,526 --> 00:29:32,076
basically it's, it's the 1, 110 rule.

481
00:29:32,496 --> 00:29:36,616
and that is that if you're going
on a thousand mile trip and you

482
00:29:36,616 --> 00:29:41,156
have to go 100 miles off course in
the middle, it only actually adds

483
00:29:41,156 --> 00:29:44,541
about 10 miles to the trip distance.

484
00:29:45,035 --> 00:29:46,835
something that blows people's minds, huh?

485
00:29:47,238 --> 00:29:47,708
yeah,

486
00:29:50,088 --> 00:29:50,438
yeah.

487
00:29:50,438 --> 00:29:57,948
And, it's just a, if nothing else,
it's a reminder to keep flexibility in

488
00:29:57,948 --> 00:30:01,978
mind, you don't have to go direct from.

489
00:30:02,188 --> 00:30:05,038
Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Houston, you know,

490
00:30:05,488 --> 00:30:10,668
you can go well off course in the
middle and really not affect the length

491
00:30:10,668 --> 00:30:12,578
of the trip significantly at all.

492
00:30:12,998 --> 00:30:17,708
And so, you know, you have a luxury on
the longer trips of being able to say,

493
00:30:18,868 --> 00:30:20,448
I don't really like that weather there.

494
00:30:20,448 --> 00:30:23,628
So I'm going to go over
that way and go around it.

495
00:30:23,708 --> 00:30:26,838
And hey, as a bonus, if that's
a trip you've done before,

496
00:30:26,948 --> 00:30:28,368
now you get to see new stuff.

497
00:30:29,535 --> 00:30:29,975
Yeah.

498
00:30:29,975 --> 00:30:32,595
It also gives you flexibility
to find cheaper fuel

499
00:30:33,035 --> 00:30:33,165
for

500
00:30:33,168 --> 00:30:33,978
Absolutely.

501
00:30:34,845 --> 00:30:35,185
Yeah.

502
00:30:36,508 --> 00:30:41,828
So, that kind of leads us into
planning and how we do that.

503
00:30:42,208 --> 00:30:48,568
specifically, I would say the process
I follow is to, you know, look at my

504
00:30:49,328 --> 00:30:51,408
departure and destination airports.

505
00:30:51,428 --> 00:30:53,298
You know, my departure is where I'm based.

506
00:30:53,308 --> 00:30:58,818
My destination is, almost always
going to be the closest paved runway

507
00:30:58,818 --> 00:31:01,378
to the actual spot I'm trying to go.

508
00:31:02,608 --> 00:31:05,978
I don't try to avoid grass runways.

509
00:31:07,128 --> 00:31:11,888
I just don't find a whole lot of them in
the places that I'm actually trying to go.

510
00:31:12,318 --> 00:31:14,638
You know, they tend to be more rural.

511
00:31:15,558 --> 00:31:15,928
Yeah.

512
00:31:17,308 --> 00:31:17,578
Yeah.

513
00:31:17,578 --> 00:31:21,698
It's just the, you know, if you
think about where they are in

514
00:31:21,698 --> 00:31:26,228
relation to population centers,
which are, you know, the, the more.

515
00:31:26,813 --> 00:31:29,833
population a place has, the more
likely you're going to be to go there.

516
00:31:30,223 --> 00:31:33,483
not that I'm going to New York City on
every trip or anything like that, but,

517
00:31:34,383 --> 00:31:38,383
you know, if I'm going to visit friends
or relatives, unless they're living on

518
00:31:38,383 --> 00:31:41,693
a farm in the middle of nowhere, you
know, they're living near other people.

519
00:31:42,163 --> 00:31:43,383
And so it's

520
00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:44,620
even then

521
00:31:45,410 --> 00:31:46,600
a paved runway close by.

522
00:31:46,723 --> 00:31:47,313
Right.

523
00:31:47,563 --> 00:31:50,963
You know, it's, it would be
interesting to know how many counties

524
00:31:51,203 --> 00:31:52,763
in the U. S. don't have that.

525
00:31:52,943 --> 00:31:54,443
Have a paved runway anywhere.

526
00:31:55,023 --> 00:31:55,340
most

527
00:31:55,403 --> 00:32:00,503
as, as, I don't want to say unhealthy,
but maybe as malnourished as G.

528
00:32:00,503 --> 00:32:05,503
A. S. There are still lots and
lots of airports in this country.

529
00:32:05,503 --> 00:32:07,843
And, you know, I'm Very thankful for that.

530
00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:12,663
so yeah, generally that's going to be,
where I'm going is the, the nearest

531
00:32:12,793 --> 00:32:18,193
paved runway, unless there's some reason
to, to go somewhere else nearby, but

532
00:32:18,493 --> 00:32:24,023
I'm always aiming to get as close as
I can to my destination in between.

533
00:32:25,298 --> 00:32:27,348
Boy, you have a million options.

534
00:32:27,848 --> 00:32:33,538
And so the first thing I do usually
is I, I start looking at, okay, how

535
00:32:33,538 --> 00:32:35,878
many stops am I going to need or want?

536
00:32:36,648 --> 00:32:38,078
and then I start working from there.

537
00:32:38,608 --> 00:32:44,358
I also, I'm going to be looking at, is
there any terrain I want to go around or

538
00:32:44,558 --> 00:32:48,198
is there anything I want to see that might
be a little ways off course, you know?

539
00:32:48,258 --> 00:32:51,628
So, I guess before the
stops, I probably need.

540
00:32:51,868 --> 00:32:55,448
do those two things and kind of
decide what I want my overall

541
00:32:55,448 --> 00:32:57,408
course for the entire trip to be.

542
00:32:58,258 --> 00:33:02,118
And then start looking at, okay,
where am I going to fuel the plane?

543
00:33:02,328 --> 00:33:03,848
Where am I going to fuel myself?

544
00:33:05,348 --> 00:33:11,218
You know, I would say that often we will
pack sandwiches and snacks and stuff like

545
00:33:11,218 --> 00:33:12,968
that in the airplane when we go somewhere.

546
00:33:12,968 --> 00:33:16,978
But if you're going on a longer trip where
you're going to need more than one meal

547
00:33:16,988 --> 00:33:21,143
along the way, you probably are going to
want to, be able to stop someplace where

548
00:33:21,143 --> 00:33:26,243
there's a convenient way to get some food,
either on the airport or real close to it.

549
00:33:28,423 --> 00:33:34,363
if I'm really going far away or if
maybe, you know, we're working and

550
00:33:34,363 --> 00:33:37,843
then leaving on the same day and
we're leaving in the evening, I'm

551
00:33:37,843 --> 00:33:39,433
going to stay overnight somewhere.

552
00:33:39,493 --> 00:33:42,073
You know, I kind of like to
figure out those overnight stops.

553
00:33:42,753 --> 00:33:46,093
so, you know, I figure
out that overall course.

554
00:33:46,338 --> 00:33:50,928
and then the stops, and
then I do it all over again.

555
00:33:51,268 --> 00:33:58,708
So that was plan A. And I would say
normally I want to have maybe three

556
00:33:58,708 --> 00:34:06,123
plans, column A, B, and C. you might
want to look at, okay, If I'm going

557
00:34:06,123 --> 00:34:10,483
off course 100 miles in the middle this
way or 100 miles in the middle that way

558
00:34:10,483 --> 00:34:12,763
for weather, what would that look like?

559
00:34:13,233 --> 00:34:16,153
is there a different way around some
of that terrain that I might want

560
00:34:16,153 --> 00:34:19,493
to try out or something different
I might want to see along the way?

561
00:34:19,963 --> 00:34:24,453
You know, look at some of those same
things, but on a completely different

562
00:34:24,453 --> 00:34:28,053
route that's, significantly different
just so that you have some options if

563
00:34:28,053 --> 00:34:32,053
the weather, one or two of those routes
turns out to be bad when you depart.

564
00:34:33,260 --> 00:34:36,960
We have to stop and see the
world's largest rubber band ball.

565
00:34:37,885 --> 00:34:38,955
We just have to.

566
00:34:38,955 --> 00:34:41,805
Yeah.

567
00:34:42,293 --> 00:34:44,003
after we're done recording this episode.

568
00:34:44,003 --> 00:34:45,643
What's the weirdest thing I've seen?

569
00:34:49,118 --> 00:34:53,598
I mean, I have seen, like
I said, many cool things.

570
00:34:54,088 --> 00:35:01,628
and I want to point out that even
after your A, B and C to be as safe

571
00:35:01,778 --> 00:35:05,278
as possible on a cross country trip,
you have to be willing to throw all

572
00:35:05,278 --> 00:35:09,438
your plans away and come up with a
completely new one at the last minute.

573
00:35:09,658 --> 00:35:11,348
While you're already flying sometimes.

574
00:35:11,915 --> 00:35:15,585
Including turning around
and 86 and the whole thing.

575
00:35:15,995 --> 00:35:16,085
It's

576
00:35:16,238 --> 00:35:16,958
Absolutely.

577
00:35:17,768 --> 00:35:18,058
Yep.

578
00:35:18,678 --> 00:35:22,438
There have to be those times where, you
know, and, and this will happen in the

579
00:35:22,448 --> 00:35:25,968
middle of the trip, filled up with fuel.

580
00:35:25,988 --> 00:35:29,968
And I think the weather is going
to be okay up ahead this way.

581
00:35:29,968 --> 00:35:33,088
And while you take off and you
kind of look around and just go,

582
00:35:34,545 --> 00:35:35,105
Nope.

583
00:35:35,458 --> 00:35:41,038
turn around, get on the ground, sit
it out for a while, There are, you

584
00:35:41,038 --> 00:35:45,148
know, lots of horror stories that
people talk about, but honestly, I've,

585
00:35:45,188 --> 00:35:51,258
I've never pretty sure I have never
had to make an unplanned overnight.

586
00:35:52,048 --> 00:35:56,388
you know, yeah, and, you know,
lots of people have, but,

587
00:35:57,158 --> 00:35:57,460
but it,

588
00:35:57,558 --> 00:35:59,338
horror stories as there are.

589
00:36:00,018 --> 00:36:00,558
Yeah,

590
00:36:01,158 --> 00:36:02,178
it always is.

591
00:36:03,108 --> 00:36:08,858
But as many horror stories is people will
tell about how awful G. A. Is for travel.

592
00:36:09,548 --> 00:36:14,528
I've actually found it to be
highly reliable, not 100%.

593
00:36:14,728 --> 00:36:16,098
Nothing is 100%.

594
00:36:16,148 --> 00:36:18,008
And you know, you need
to be okay with that.

595
00:36:18,368 --> 00:36:22,218
You need to be okay with some schedule
flexibility and all that sort of thing.

596
00:36:22,738 --> 00:36:26,888
But it should definitely not
stop you from doing anything.

597
00:36:27,528 --> 00:36:36,018
Or at least planning to, so anyway, come
up with three big overall plans, you know,

598
00:36:36,018 --> 00:36:38,708
at least down to the leg level and then.

599
00:36:39,518 --> 00:36:42,398
You know, kind of go from
there, be willing to throw them

600
00:36:42,398 --> 00:36:43,718
out the window if you need to

601
00:36:45,125 --> 00:36:45,355
Yeah.

602
00:36:45,355 --> 00:36:45,605
That,

603
00:36:45,748 --> 00:36:46,848
as you get closer.

604
00:36:47,305 --> 00:36:50,805
about, that flexibility you're
talking about, I think is it.

605
00:36:51,260 --> 00:36:56,890
You know, it's, it's a safety
feature and, I, I think, you know,

606
00:36:56,890 --> 00:37:02,630
we have to, we talk about, you
know, get their itis and things.

607
00:37:02,630 --> 00:37:06,930
We have to be willing to be flexible
and throw out our plans all the

608
00:37:06,930 --> 00:37:08,680
time if we want to stay safe.

609
00:37:09,318 --> 00:37:09,758
Yeah.

610
00:37:09,828 --> 00:37:13,548
And we'll get to that in a little
bit when we talk about more of

611
00:37:13,558 --> 00:37:18,598
the safety aspects of this, but,
planning wise, I think having three.

612
00:37:18,873 --> 00:37:22,103
three main routes is,
is a good thing to do.

613
00:37:22,813 --> 00:37:27,253
and then finally, once you figure out
which of those routes you're going to fly,

614
00:37:27,723 --> 00:37:32,543
then you're probably going to want to get
in your EFB and split them into separate

615
00:37:32,543 --> 00:37:37,313
legs and plan each leg individually
with, you know, approach and departure

616
00:37:37,313 --> 00:37:39,463
procedures and that sort of thing.

617
00:37:39,993 --> 00:37:42,953
you know, get in a little more
detail and plan out each leg

618
00:37:42,953 --> 00:37:44,333
the way that you normally would.

619
00:37:46,107 --> 00:37:47,507
It's kind of fun to do that anyway.

620
00:37:48,380 --> 00:37:48,930
It is.

621
00:37:48,990 --> 00:37:50,660
I mean, it's, it's a good exercise.

622
00:37:50,660 --> 00:37:55,920
I, I really enjoy planning flights
and I've probably planned at least 10

623
00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:57,680
flights for every flight I've ever taken.

624
00:37:59,910 --> 00:38:05,000
Sometimes it's, it's just fun to dream
and you know, especially if you just blew

625
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,250
all your money on one trip and you can't
take another one for a little bit, you

626
00:38:08,250 --> 00:38:14,310
know, figure out what that next one is
going to be and start a fantasy planning.

627
00:38:15,022 --> 00:38:20,422
I've, I've planned at least 10 times more
flights than I've ever taken, for sure.

628
00:38:20,590 --> 00:38:21,000
Yeah.

629
00:38:21,897 --> 00:38:27,007
And I've got flights saved in my, in
for flight that I have never taken

630
00:38:27,007 --> 00:38:30,787
and may never take, I've got them in
there because I wanted to see what

631
00:38:30,787 --> 00:38:32,207
it would be like to do that flight.

632
00:38:32,670 --> 00:38:33,200
Yup.

633
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:38,040
I have a, I have a plan for an Atlantic
crossing that has been sitting in

634
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,260
my foreflight for at least a decade.

635
00:38:42,037 --> 00:38:42,937
That's a doozy.

636
00:38:44,970 --> 00:38:45,530
It is.

637
00:38:45,820 --> 00:38:48,600
Well, hopefully someday
I'll be able to afford that.

638
00:38:49,427 --> 00:38:52,137
That's, that's way beyond the check ride.

639
00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:53,420
Yes.

640
00:38:53,540 --> 00:38:54,050
Yes.

641
00:38:56,330 --> 00:38:58,560
That's potentially beyond sanity, but

642
00:39:02,570 --> 00:39:06,050
So let's talk a little bit about
some of those safety things.

643
00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:10,060
And like you mentioned, flexibility
is, that is to me, the most

644
00:39:10,090 --> 00:39:12,440
important way of staying safe.

645
00:39:12,900 --> 00:39:20,030
If you are a person who absolutely has to
adhere to plan A, don't travel by GA. Um,

646
00:39:20,030 --> 00:39:20,680
Buy and airplane

647
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:21,000
ticket.

648
00:39:21,365 --> 00:39:21,815
Yep.

649
00:39:22,865 --> 00:39:27,865
and you know, there will be times
where that's your, your plan B,

650
00:39:27,955 --> 00:39:32,045
even if you are planning to fly
yourself, you know, get there.

651
00:39:32,045 --> 00:39:32,285
Right.

652
00:39:32,285 --> 00:39:33,745
This is, is a big deal.

653
00:39:33,805 --> 00:39:36,095
there's a reason that
it has a name, you know?

654
00:39:36,735 --> 00:39:42,875
And so, You know, what I generally
like to do to avoid that is to plan to

655
00:39:42,875 --> 00:39:47,455
leave early enough that if there's a
place that I have to be at a specific

656
00:39:47,455 --> 00:39:53,765
time, I just leave early enough in the
airplane where, you know, let's say I go

657
00:39:53,765 --> 00:39:57,565
to the airport, the airplane fails its
mag check and I'm not flying anywhere.

658
00:39:58,095 --> 00:40:00,685
I want to be able to just
get in the car and drive.

659
00:40:01,090 --> 00:40:05,340
If I have to, so sometimes
that means, you know, you're

660
00:40:05,340 --> 00:40:06,750
going to be leaving a day early

661
00:40:07,622 --> 00:40:07,942
Yeah.

662
00:40:08,340 --> 00:40:12,940
and what that means is that 99
percent of the time you get an extra

663
00:40:12,940 --> 00:40:17,470
day of vacation at your destination,
you know, but the 1 percent of the

664
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,440
time you're at least still safe.

665
00:40:22,770 --> 00:40:24,520
So that's, that's a big thing.

666
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,900
It's just the schedule flexibility.

667
00:40:27,220 --> 00:40:31,750
It gives you the time to fly around
weather systems instead of through them.

668
00:40:32,170 --> 00:40:36,630
you know, it's, it's just, to me,
it's the most important aspect of

669
00:40:36,630 --> 00:40:41,660
staying safe when you're trying
to travel by GA is flexibility.

670
00:40:42,380 --> 00:40:44,370
you know, the bonus again is.

671
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:47,650
you get to your destination
early and you get home early.

672
00:40:48,220 --> 00:40:52,690
if it happens to not work out that way,
Oh, well, at least you're still safe.

673
00:40:52,710 --> 00:40:54,160
You still got to where you were going.

674
00:40:54,750 --> 00:41:01,330
but that Southwest, I can't remember what
they call it, but not the cheapest ticket,

675
00:41:01,340 --> 00:41:06,690
but the, you know, the, the more expensive
Southwest tickets, that are refundable.

676
00:41:07,470 --> 00:41:08,240
There you go.

677
00:41:08,710 --> 00:41:11,660
And they let you board first
and get the best seats.

678
00:41:11,700 --> 00:41:13,290
And, but yeah, you can.

679
00:41:13,795 --> 00:41:15,735
cancel them for a full refund.

680
00:41:17,275 --> 00:41:18,955
Obviously, don't quote me on this.

681
00:41:18,985 --> 00:41:22,555
Don't depend on it, but my experience
is that you can cancel for a full

682
00:41:22,555 --> 00:41:25,095
refund right up until departure time.

683
00:41:26,135 --> 00:41:26,815
and so that.

684
00:41:27,402 --> 00:41:27,772
point.

685
00:41:27,812 --> 00:41:29,372
That's a safety feature right there.

686
00:41:29,382 --> 00:41:33,042
Like have, have an alternate
plan, uh, that doesn't cost

687
00:41:33,042 --> 00:41:34,092
you money if you don't need it.

688
00:41:34,882 --> 00:41:36,212
That's a, that's a great idea.

689
00:41:39,330 --> 00:41:45,200
So in the process of being flexible,
like we've both already alluded to,

690
00:41:45,470 --> 00:41:47,080
you can have some great adventures.

691
00:41:47,610 --> 00:41:52,390
Um, like I said, it's always an
adventure, just not necessarily

692
00:41:52,390 --> 00:41:53,400
the one you had planned on.

693
00:41:53,762 --> 00:41:54,092
That's

694
00:41:54,330 --> 00:42:00,360
I mean, there are times where you will
plan to go somewhere that's neat and fun.

695
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:04,070
And there are times where you will just
discover it completely by accident.

696
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,580
one of our favorite stops
now is one that I discovered

697
00:42:07,580 --> 00:42:10,194
completely by accident, on a trip.

698
00:42:10,845 --> 00:42:13,875
To see my brother, in
the Pacific Northwest.

699
00:42:15,135 --> 00:42:21,395
I just decided I want to stop and buy some
fuel landed at Granite Falls, Minnesota.

700
00:42:22,105 --> 00:42:25,435
And you know, there's not
a whole lot out there.

701
00:42:25,435 --> 00:42:27,635
It's, it's nowhere close to the cities.

702
00:42:29,370 --> 00:42:33,920
But I fly in and right behind me, there's
this warbird that enters the pattern

703
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,050
and lands and pulls up to the hangar.

704
00:42:36,050 --> 00:42:40,830
And, you know, I only landed there
because they had cheap fuel, having no

705
00:42:40,830 --> 00:42:42,710
idea what else might be at this airport.

706
00:42:42,710 --> 00:42:46,670
And this warbird comes in behind me
and taxis up and this hanger opens.

707
00:42:46,670 --> 00:42:50,730
And I kind of look over there
and, oh, you know, there's several

708
00:42:50,730 --> 00:42:52,860
really, really nice hangers here.

709
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,290
And it's all a museum and
it's called Fig and Fighters.

710
00:42:56,390 --> 00:42:58,270
absolutely wonderful museum.

711
00:42:58,700 --> 00:43:02,240
one thing that they do that I have
not seen anywhere else is that they

712
00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:08,950
actually paint the inside walls of the
hangers so that you'll see, okay, here's

713
00:43:08,950 --> 00:43:12,320
this airplane that's sitting on the
floor of the hanger and there'll be a

714
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:15,460
painting of it up on the wall in battle.

715
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:19,300
and they even have like, there
are paratroopers coming down and

716
00:43:19,310 --> 00:43:22,520
there are some, some of them,
actually they'll have like half of a

717
00:43:22,550 --> 00:43:24,100
mannequin sticking out of the wall.

718
00:43:24,700 --> 00:43:26,760
So it's a little bit more 3d.

719
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:28,130
Yeah, it's, it's really cool.

720
00:43:28,130 --> 00:43:29,390
They, they did a great job.

721
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:34,970
But, one of the things that really caught
my eye there was they have a, a Waco

722
00:43:34,970 --> 00:43:40,220
CG for a glider, which is one of those
troop transport gliders that was pulled

723
00:43:40,220 --> 00:43:46,080
by a DC three and dropped behind enemy
lines on, on the night before D day.

724
00:43:46,504 --> 00:43:46,744
that's

725
00:43:46,916 --> 00:43:51,176
there are not very many of those
left because, you know, the Germans

726
00:43:51,176 --> 00:43:54,616
knew they were coming and put up
all kinds of obstacles to them.

727
00:43:54,616 --> 00:44:00,636
And of course, glider flying at night
is pretty dangerous to begin with.

728
00:44:01,086 --> 00:44:04,594
and even the ones that were used during
the day, you know, that, they had to

729
00:44:04,604 --> 00:44:06,394
be able to find a good landing site.

730
00:44:06,394 --> 00:44:11,554
And, I'm not sure they ever actually
retrieved any of the ones that were used

731
00:44:11,624 --> 00:44:15,844
operationally, because that's, I mean,
obviously picking up a glider from a

732
00:44:15,844 --> 00:44:18,704
field is, a challenge when it's that big.

733
00:44:19,044 --> 00:44:22,744
I think they carried something
like 20 or 25 troops on every one.

734
00:44:22,744 --> 00:44:26,564
So, they're fairly sizable and
that, that's the only one of those

735
00:44:26,584 --> 00:44:28,464
gliders I've ever seen anywhere.

736
00:44:28,464 --> 00:44:29,194
So that, yeah.

737
00:44:29,374 --> 00:44:30,334
Kind of blew me away.

738
00:44:30,334 --> 00:44:34,724
But the other thing that they
have there is a control tower.

739
00:44:34,724 --> 00:44:39,554
It's like a period control tower, and
you can climb up the stairs to the top

740
00:44:39,584 --> 00:44:45,504
and they have period radios with manuals
and everything, in this control tower.

741
00:44:45,504 --> 00:44:48,884
So you can go up there and check
all that out and look out over the

742
00:44:48,884 --> 00:44:50,244
airfield while you're at it and

743
00:44:50,697 --> 00:44:52,837
And you found this just
completely by accident.

744
00:44:53,004 --> 00:44:54,354
completely by accident.

745
00:44:54,454 --> 00:44:58,944
So, and now, yeah, every time we go
to the West coast, we stop there on

746
00:44:58,944 --> 00:45:03,289
the you know, get some fuel and check
out the museum for a couple of hours.

747
00:45:03,289 --> 00:45:06,889
And it just makes a great way
to take a break for the family.

748
00:45:06,889 --> 00:45:10,219
And, you know, kids quit
complaining for a while after that.

749
00:45:10,219 --> 00:45:11,089
Are we there yet?

750
00:45:13,619 --> 00:45:16,579
I actually don't have that problem with
the airplane most of the time, but it,

751
00:45:16,629 --> 00:45:18,719
you know, it's a good break for everybody.

752
00:45:19,509 --> 00:45:22,109
the other one I like to talk
about is, and this was something

753
00:45:22,109 --> 00:45:23,579
I. Couldn't plan for it all.

754
00:45:23,579 --> 00:45:26,439
This was one of those throw
out all the plans situations.

755
00:45:26,439 --> 00:45:28,779
We were in, western Montana.

756
00:45:29,529 --> 00:45:33,534
did I talk about this one on the
podcast already with the puking son?

757
00:45:33,534 --> 00:45:34,939
All

758
00:45:37,267 --> 00:45:38,157
I'm not sure.

759
00:45:38,397 --> 00:45:38,867
I don't think so.

760
00:45:40,979 --> 00:45:41,239
right.

761
00:45:41,269 --> 00:45:46,584
Well, so we were, On the way out to the
West Coast and we're over the mountains

762
00:45:46,584 --> 00:45:51,264
in Western Montana and it's bumpy,
you know, it's kind of late afternoon.

763
00:45:51,654 --> 00:45:54,234
I think we were aiming for
Idaho Falls for that night.

764
00:45:54,234 --> 00:45:58,954
So, you know, just kind of the
late afternoon turbulence plus,

765
00:45:59,224 --> 00:46:02,594
you know, probably some mechanical
turbulence from the terrain as well.

766
00:46:02,604 --> 00:46:02,664
And

767
00:46:03,204 --> 00:46:04,484
just really bumpy.

768
00:46:04,484 --> 00:46:11,619
And, my wife had downloaded some things to
her phone for my son to watch as we were

769
00:46:11,669 --> 00:46:14,479
flying along, just in case he got bored.

770
00:46:14,479 --> 00:46:16,939
And so he's sitting there with
this little screen in front of him,

771
00:46:17,509 --> 00:46:22,509
bouncing all over the place and
completely without warning, he just

772
00:46:22,509 --> 00:46:27,679
hurls all over himself like, Oh, okay.

773
00:46:28,039 --> 00:46:28,939
Time for a new plan.

774
00:46:29,009 --> 00:46:32,599
So, because we were in the
mountains, there weren't any airports

775
00:46:32,599 --> 00:46:35,494
that were like right there, but
like, 20 miles in front of us.

776
00:46:35,494 --> 00:46:40,534
There was there was an airport and you
know, landed there completely unplanned.

777
00:46:41,084 --> 00:46:45,204
hadn't looked at any airport information
before we got there or anything like that.

778
00:46:45,344 --> 00:46:47,914
And so we land to get
the kid in the car seat.

779
00:46:48,139 --> 00:46:51,449
Cleaned up and luckily it
all stayed in the car seat.

780
00:46:51,519 --> 00:46:53,299
We didn't have anything to
clean up in the airplane.

781
00:46:53,949 --> 00:46:59,259
and while we're doing that, I, I see
this guy walking around and getting

782
00:46:59,259 --> 00:47:01,899
ready to go flying and in his airplane.

783
00:47:01,899 --> 00:47:07,129
And, I, I don't know, he
caught my eye for some reason.

784
00:47:07,129 --> 00:47:08,429
It's kind of hard to explain.

785
00:47:09,199 --> 00:47:13,639
my sister works for NASA, so I've
been lucky enough to meet him.

786
00:47:14,499 --> 00:47:20,459
Quite a few astronauts and this
guy, he had, let's just say he was

787
00:47:20,459 --> 00:47:24,059
wearing some stuff that I was pretty
sure hadn't come from the gift shop.

788
00:47:24,837 --> 00:47:29,387
Did he, did he possibly
have the right stuff?

789
00:47:32,999 --> 00:47:33,789
That was awful.

790
00:47:33,789 --> 00:47:34,449
But yes,

791
00:47:35,089 --> 00:47:35,509
could just,

792
00:47:35,937 --> 00:47:36,597
resist.

793
00:47:37,009 --> 00:47:39,469
was wearing something that
had a NASA logo on it.

794
00:47:39,469 --> 00:47:44,669
And I'm like, yeah, that doesn't
look like gift shop merge to me.

795
00:47:44,669 --> 00:47:47,479
That looks like actual, you know,

796
00:47:49,504 --> 00:47:53,464
This is the official mission patch
sweatshirt or something like that.

797
00:47:53,734 --> 00:47:57,494
And I honestly can't even remember
exactly what it was, but I kind of

798
00:47:57,494 --> 00:47:59,634
went, eh, that's, that's not normal.

799
00:48:00,724 --> 00:48:01,504
And so.

800
00:48:02,654 --> 00:48:05,224
I just kind of said, Hey,
are you an astronaut?

801
00:48:05,234 --> 00:48:06,244
And he said, yeah.

802
00:48:07,034 --> 00:48:08,894
So I'm like, oh, that's, that's cool.

803
00:48:08,894 --> 00:48:12,474
And you know, my sister works for
NASA and, because my sister does

804
00:48:12,474 --> 00:48:15,254
work directly with the astronauts,
they actually knew each other.

805
00:48:15,744 --> 00:48:15,884
So,

806
00:48:16,367 --> 00:48:16,857
wow.

807
00:48:17,147 --> 00:48:17,787
Amazing.

808
00:48:17,874 --> 00:48:18,394
yeah.

809
00:48:18,729 --> 00:48:20,199
Nice little small world moment.

810
00:48:20,199 --> 00:48:24,749
But, and you know, so we got to talk
for a little while and then, you know,

811
00:48:24,749 --> 00:48:28,789
he flew off, went his way and I went
my way and, we're still friends on

812
00:48:28,799 --> 00:48:34,619
Facebook and he's a, like most astronauts
are super, super interesting guy.

813
00:48:34,619 --> 00:48:39,459
And, so, you know, you, These
are just some of the, right.

814
00:48:39,479 --> 00:48:43,839
These are just some of the random
experiences that you can have on a

815
00:48:43,839 --> 00:48:48,939
long cross country trip when you end
up throwing your plans out the window.

816
00:48:48,939 --> 00:48:52,979
So, absolutely is always an adventure.

817
00:48:53,199 --> 00:48:56,099
so don't be afraid to throw those
plans out the window because

818
00:48:56,169 --> 00:49:01,129
honestly, sometimes it seems like
things are more fun that way.

819
00:49:01,783 --> 00:49:02,673
I, I agree.

820
00:49:05,776 --> 00:49:08,876
and all of that, you know,
just knowing all that.

821
00:49:09,491 --> 00:49:14,711
Is a big help to keeping that attitude
about flexibility that keeps you safe.

822
00:49:14,921 --> 00:49:18,571
so if you're new to this and you haven't
been able to have that experience

823
00:49:18,571 --> 00:49:23,891
yet, absolutely don't be afraid to be
flexible, throw your plans out, you

824
00:49:23,891 --> 00:49:32,881
know, and just, you know, be willing to
experience what comes to you because I've

825
00:49:32,881 --> 00:49:36,011
had so many cool adventures that way.

826
00:49:36,801 --> 00:49:38,081
and I guess the, the other.

827
00:49:38,468 --> 00:49:39,058
places.

828
00:49:39,386 --> 00:49:44,676
Yes, and kind of the last thing on
this, on this vein, safety on these

829
00:49:44,676 --> 00:49:51,496
long trips is, you know, recognize
in your planning, and this is part

830
00:49:51,496 --> 00:49:57,286
of the reason for doing the detailed
planning, recognize when things are

831
00:49:57,306 --> 00:50:00,586
going to be a little bit on the edge.

832
00:50:00,871 --> 00:50:06,351
you know, every pilot should know their
own personal envelope and we're going to

833
00:50:06,351 --> 00:50:11,131
talk about this in an upcoming episode
to how to expand that personal envelope

834
00:50:11,131 --> 00:50:15,691
a little bit, but you kind of have an
idea when things are going to be on

835
00:50:15,691 --> 00:50:19,811
the edge and, you should think about.

836
00:50:21,466 --> 00:50:25,376
And visualize beforehand,
what could go wrong?

837
00:50:26,846 --> 00:50:31,796
What happens if I have more of a headwind
and I'm not going to make that fuel stop

838
00:50:31,826 --> 00:50:36,116
that I had planned on, you know, out
West, there's not that many airports.

839
00:50:36,116 --> 00:50:39,146
And so, you know, you might have to fly.

840
00:50:40,191 --> 00:50:42,011
A long way to get to a different one.

841
00:50:42,621 --> 00:50:46,141
and you'll have to obviously
recognize that situation early.

842
00:50:46,141 --> 00:50:49,791
And in the case of fuel, I
actually had a situation on my,

843
00:50:49,981 --> 00:50:52,041
my last trip to the Northwest.

844
00:50:52,491 --> 00:50:55,291
I was in Minnesota, went
to my first fuel stop.

845
00:50:56,281 --> 00:50:57,241
Pump was busted.

846
00:50:58,281 --> 00:51:01,401
Now, crap, go to the second fuel stop.

847
00:51:02,081 --> 00:51:03,561
credit card machine was busted.

848
00:51:04,758 --> 00:51:05,628
Oh my goodness.

849
00:51:06,711 --> 00:51:08,691
you know, these things do happen.

850
00:51:09,091 --> 00:51:10,411
you need to be prepared for it.

851
00:51:10,411 --> 00:51:16,271
And so if you're planning to get all the
way down to Dave VFR fuel reserves, don't.

852
00:51:18,001 --> 00:51:22,981
So, you know, make sure you're not
getting too close to those edges of the

853
00:51:22,981 --> 00:51:25,091
envelope for either you or the aircraft.

854
00:51:27,651 --> 00:51:35,941
The other thing is that I would say, try
to make as many decisions early if they're

855
00:51:35,941 --> 00:51:38,011
going to be tough decisions as you can.

856
00:51:39,225 --> 00:51:40,085
great advice.

857
00:51:41,633 --> 00:51:45,483
yeah, I think one of the things that
happens pretty frequently with get it,

858
00:51:45,493 --> 00:51:49,553
get their itis, you know, it's the worst
kind of get their itis is get home itis.

859
00:51:50,533 --> 00:51:55,423
There was actually a fatal accident
here a number of years ago that was

860
00:51:55,423 --> 00:52:00,703
a get home itis thing and it was a
guy who was trying to get home on

861
00:52:00,743 --> 00:52:04,393
Sunday night, you know, and get back
to work the next morning or whatever.

862
00:52:04,763 --> 00:52:06,803
So he had that pressure there.

863
00:52:07,513 --> 00:52:10,823
and of course you always want to be
home instead of in a hotel, right?

864
00:52:11,913 --> 00:52:13,483
Well, he was running low on fuel.

865
00:52:13,503 --> 00:52:19,173
Ran into one of those situations where
for whatever reason he could not pump

866
00:52:19,183 --> 00:52:24,383
fuel and he just flat out did not
have enough to get to another airport.

867
00:52:25,063 --> 00:52:29,763
he actually used, I don't know
what kind of container he used, but

868
00:52:29,763 --> 00:52:31,443
he had some sort of a container.

869
00:52:32,253 --> 00:52:37,473
He sumped fuel out of the tanks of
an airplane that was parked there.

870
00:52:38,430 --> 00:52:38,890
Oh,

871
00:52:38,918 --> 00:52:43,088
just left them a note and said,
Hey, I took some of your fuel.

872
00:52:43,578 --> 00:52:45,588
Give me a call here and
I'll pay you for it.

873
00:52:46,198 --> 00:52:50,168
but unfortunately that was not able
to happen because he apparently

874
00:52:50,168 --> 00:52:52,198
still didn't take enough thought.

875
00:52:52,198 --> 00:52:56,888
He had enough, tried to get home,
ran out of gas at night, you know,

876
00:52:57,338 --> 00:52:58,768
Crash into some trees and died.

877
00:52:59,968 --> 00:53:00,928
Don't be that guy.

878
00:53:01,098 --> 00:53:04,988
think about, again, those things
that are kind of on the edge, you

879
00:53:04,988 --> 00:53:11,298
know, what's going to happen if I
get to a half hour away from home.

880
00:53:12,093 --> 00:53:13,993
And my fuel reserves are a little bit low.

881
00:53:15,463 --> 00:53:21,893
Well, you know, every one of us, if we are
honest with ourselves are going to want to

882
00:53:22,133 --> 00:53:29,723
push ahead anyway, we also know that there
are a million reports in the NTSB files

883
00:53:29,763 --> 00:53:35,803
that we have looked at and gone, why did
that guy make such an idiotic mistake as

884
00:53:35,803 --> 00:53:37,963
to run out of fuel five minutes from home?

885
00:53:38,803 --> 00:53:44,353
So think about that stuff in advance and
make the decisions in advance as well.

886
00:53:45,023 --> 00:53:47,243
The example I want to
give here was actually

887
00:53:47,780 --> 00:53:48,250
thick of it,

888
00:53:48,543 --> 00:53:51,253
yes, because that's when
you make the wrong decision.

889
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:52,140
That's right.

890
00:53:53,308 --> 00:53:58,158
And so the, the story I'm going to tell
you here was actually a commercial flight.

891
00:53:58,258 --> 00:54:00,498
not, not airline, but one that I flew.

892
00:54:01,058 --> 00:54:08,778
and it was one of these ones where it was
kind of bordering on the, the range of

893
00:54:08,788 --> 00:54:11,048
the airplane at the weight we were flying.

894
00:54:11,248 --> 00:54:14,908
You know, we, we had the seats
full, so we couldn't take full fuel.

895
00:54:15,588 --> 00:54:21,228
And it was a situation where there was
forecast to be an increasing headwind, The

896
00:54:21,228 --> 00:54:23,158
further we went toward the destination.

897
00:54:23,808 --> 00:54:26,588
so there's kind of strike two right there.

898
00:54:27,848 --> 00:54:33,208
And then, of course, it was the
big wigs from our biggest client.

899
00:54:34,448 --> 00:54:38,558
You know, and so, you know, there's
going to be that passenger pressure.

900
00:54:38,558 --> 00:54:41,288
They want to get there without that
fuel stop, if they can help it.

901
00:54:42,188 --> 00:54:45,608
And so I went, okay, we are
not going to make this decision

902
00:54:45,608 --> 00:54:47,088
in the airplane because.

903
00:54:47,663 --> 00:54:50,763
We know that our passengers are
going to want us to push on.

904
00:54:51,033 --> 00:54:55,623
We know that we're going to want to
push on, I mean, how would it look if

905
00:54:55,643 --> 00:55:00,963
you're flying some clients somewhere
and you have to stop 20 miles away

906
00:55:00,963 --> 00:55:04,753
from your destination to fuel up,
they're not going to like that at all.

907
00:55:05,486 --> 00:55:05,613
So

908
00:55:07,083 --> 00:55:07,463
right.

909
00:55:07,463 --> 00:55:10,333
Well, and that's the thing is
you got to think of that stuff.

910
00:55:10,678 --> 00:55:16,418
In advance, what is it going to feel
like when I am in this situation that

911
00:55:16,418 --> 00:55:20,228
I think could happen, because I'm
a little closer to the edge of the

912
00:55:20,228 --> 00:55:21,658
envelope that I would like to be.

913
00:55:22,278 --> 00:55:28,178
and so the plan I came up with was, okay,
here's an airport that's halfway there.

914
00:55:28,598 --> 00:55:30,658
I know has decent facilities.

915
00:55:31,733 --> 00:55:35,523
And, actually the airport was
more like three quarters of the

916
00:55:35,653 --> 00:55:39,643
way there, but halfway there was
a way point on the flight plan.

917
00:55:39,643 --> 00:55:43,773
I went, okay, when we hit this way
point, we are going to evaluate the

918
00:55:43,773 --> 00:55:49,313
situation and here is the minimum
number of gallons I will accept.

919
00:55:50,073 --> 00:55:54,033
on board at this time
to not do the fuel stop.

920
00:55:54,933 --> 00:55:57,903
If we don't have that number
of gallons, Automatically

921
00:55:57,903 --> 00:55:59,073
we're going to that fuel stop.

922
00:55:59,763 --> 00:56:04,683
and then I made a second one where,
okay, when we're a beam, that first

923
00:56:04,683 --> 00:56:08,953
one, we're going to evaluate again, and
we're going to need this many gallons

924
00:56:08,953 --> 00:56:12,803
to continue, and this is where we're
going to go if we don't have enough.

925
00:56:13,313 --> 00:56:18,853
And so by making those plans in advance
and making the situation a little bit more

926
00:56:18,883 --> 00:56:23,593
black and white, And being able to take
all the emotion out of it, because that

927
00:56:23,593 --> 00:56:28,403
emotion doesn't exist yet when you made
the decision makes it a piece of cake.

928
00:56:29,173 --> 00:56:34,853
and then we flew the flight, got to
that first way point, went, okay.

929
00:56:35,423 --> 00:56:36,143
Looks good to me.

930
00:56:36,143 --> 00:56:36,833
Do you agree?

931
00:56:36,883 --> 00:56:37,293
Yes.

932
00:56:37,323 --> 00:56:37,753
Okay.

933
00:56:37,978 --> 00:56:40,918
We're going to continue to the
next one, make that decision again.

934
00:56:40,918 --> 00:56:44,498
And we were able to make the flight
without a fuel stop, but we were

935
00:56:44,498 --> 00:56:48,498
able to do it safely, because we had
done that decision making in advance.

936
00:56:48,498 --> 00:56:52,718
So try and think through some of
those possible, scenarios that

937
00:56:52,718 --> 00:56:57,368
you might run into and go through
that decision making in advance.

938
00:56:57,368 --> 00:57:01,588
And, and, you know, you'll be able to
keep yourself a lot safer that way.

939
00:57:02,528 --> 00:57:07,003
and I think if you do all of that,
You're going to have a safe trip, you're

940
00:57:07,003 --> 00:57:11,033
going to have a great trip, you're
going to learn things, you're going to

941
00:57:11,033 --> 00:57:14,503
get great use out of your airplane, and
you're going to have a whole lot of fun,

942
00:57:15,716 --> 00:57:16,306
I

943
00:57:16,543 --> 00:57:19,383
experience, and you're going
to want to do it again.

944
00:57:19,473 --> 00:57:19,883
So,

945
00:57:20,816 --> 00:57:21,286
Yep.

946
00:57:21,386 --> 00:57:22,406
Over and over again.

947
00:57:22,706 --> 00:57:24,056
Spend that time flying.

948
00:57:24,783 --> 00:57:25,583
absolutely.

949
00:57:26,676 --> 00:57:27,476
Well, thanks Kent.

950
00:57:27,806 --> 00:57:29,726
Awesome things to be thinking about.

951
00:57:29,756 --> 00:57:36,076
I know I learned a few things here so you
guys out there listening and watching, we

952
00:57:36,076 --> 00:57:38,046
love that you're here, reach out to us.

953
00:57:38,046 --> 00:57:39,956
Let us know your stories, your thoughts.

954
00:57:40,816 --> 00:57:44,276
You can reach us at the contact
page on studentpilotcast.

955
00:57:44,276 --> 00:57:47,146
com, or you can send an email
to bill at studentpilotcast.

956
00:57:47,146 --> 00:57:47,496
com.

957
00:57:47,526 --> 00:57:48,786
Either way, it'll get to us.

958
00:57:49,746 --> 00:57:53,316
we just want to hear about, you know,
your travel stories and things that

959
00:57:53,316 --> 00:57:57,066
you've learned, and the things you would
add to the, the listing of things that,

960
00:57:57,186 --> 00:57:59,296
that we've talked about here today.

961
00:57:59,786 --> 00:58:00,846
So appreciate that.

962
00:58:00,876 --> 00:58:02,226
And Kent, thanks again.

963
00:58:02,446 --> 00:58:04,176
Great topic, great stuff.

964
00:58:04,671 --> 00:58:06,056
and we'll catch you next time.

965
00:58:07,223 --> 00:58:08,813
Sounds good, looking forward to it.

966
00:58:10,266 --> 00:58:10,676
All right.

967
00:58:10,816 --> 00:58:11,276
We'll see you.

968
00:58:15,168 --> 00:58:15,708
Okay.

969
00:58:15,708 --> 00:58:18,798
I hope you enjoyed taking things a
little bit beyond the check ride.

970
00:58:19,218 --> 00:58:22,398
Let us know your thoughts and as
usual, you can reach us at the

971
00:58:22,398 --> 00:58:27,378
website@studentpilotcast.com, on the
contact page or via email at either

972
00:58:27,378 --> 00:58:29,928
Bill orKent@studentpilotcast.com.

973
00:58:30,498 --> 00:58:33,498
I can be found on X as well at Bill will.

974
00:58:33,498 --> 00:58:38,058
That's Bravo, India, Lima,
Lima, whiskey, India, Lima.

975
00:58:38,510 --> 00:58:40,010
Thanks again for hanging out with us.

976
00:58:40,010 --> 00:58:43,400
And keep in mind, there's always
ways to expand our comfort zone in

977
00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:47,660
aviation, and if it's just taking
trips, that's one of the areas that you

978
00:58:47,660 --> 00:58:49,490
want to expand your own experience in.

979
00:58:50,030 --> 00:58:52,940
Just get out there and do it safely.

980
00:58:52,940 --> 00:58:53,540
Of course.