Texas to Northeast

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wtxdragger
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Texas to Northeast

Post by wtxdragger »

I have started doing some programming work in the Northeast and can see the potential to make a trip or 2 from Texas. The work is in the Southwestern part of Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia and Eastern Ohio.

I have a Maule M7-235 with 31" AB and have an extra set of 8.50 that I could change to.
I'm not even sure that I would be able to make the trip, but I feel that I would rather do that than get on a diesel ride.
I have basic questions about flying weather going into the Winter months.

Will I be able to make trips in the Maule?
How long will I be able to make trips into the winter?
Any other concerns about low and slow trips up North?

Thanks
Mercifully Free from the Ravages of Intelligence
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psehorne
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by psehorne »

I can't speak directly to your questions, but I can offer the following:
It might be a good idea to base at an FBO that can supply some services like inside hangar and cold start assistance.
Last edited by psehorne on Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mog
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by Mog »

Call me inexperienced, but I would not have even considered any of this. Aside from simple daily weather I cant see why a flight to PA or otherwise would be a problem any time of the year.

Genuinely interested now in others responses.

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wtxdragger
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by wtxdragger »

I'm hoping to hear the same. as I see posts year round from people all over the cold climates.
It's just being from Texas and never having to deal with the cold weather, besides screaming wind, I just wanted some tips.
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Andy Young
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by Andy Young »

This is a very tricky set of questions to answer, without knowing your weather flying and/or weather judging experience. It’s not an issue at all to operate all winter long in the north, but there are some caveats. There are also plenty of days (and even long stretches) when no flying happens.

Weather can be IMC for long periods of time, so you need to be prepared to get stuck and go to plan B, or wait it out. Plan B can be IFR, but icing frequently makes that a risky proposition.

Being from Texas, you might not be used to clearing snow/ice/frost off the plane, preheating the engine, etc. Make sure you’re prepared to do this, either via items you have in the plane, or support available at the airport. Some folks also like to preheat the cabin, especially if one has gyros, as they suffer spinning up in the cold. All these steps add time and effort. It’s worth it for some folks, not so much so for others.

Occasionally, you will wait out a storm, wake up to a beautiful, cold, sunny day, get your airplane cleaned off and pre-heated, and find that the airport hasn’t plowed the runway or taxiways yet. So you’re still stuck.

It’s totally do-able, and plenty of us fly in cold places all winter long. You just need to be mentally and logistically ready to deal with more variables than you might be used to. You’re talking about covering long distances, so you’ll need to be adept at interpreting the forecasts all along the way, and deciding before you go if that particular trip is likely to be do-able over the entire route.

Certainly arranging for hangar storage at the northeast end will make a lot of this much simpler. Pretty much eliminates most of the hassle; then the main challenge becomes the flying weather.

If you have the flexibility to try it out and possibly get part-way and get stuck, it’d be a great way to expand your horizons!

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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by bentmettle »

Andy Young wrote:
Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:16 pm
You’re talking about covering long distances, so you’ll need to be adept at interpreting the forecasts all along the way, and deciding before you go if that particular trip is likely to be do-able over the entire route.
Don't forget you can call flight service and talk to a real human being if you have questions about the weather. They're not going to make a go/no-go call for you, but they can help smooth some of the edges off the weather work.

In between Texas and Ohio is the band of the country that experiences freezing rain. By and large, I've always lived north of it and only have had to deal with the endless gray winter skies.

Does your heater work? I suspect it doesn't get used much in Texas. :mrgreen:

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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by andy »

You can expect weather changes on a long trip so be prepared to divert and wait it out. Don't take chances with weather. Have two or three different routes planned in advance to make diverting in flight easier. Do a lot of weather research.

I decided to stop reserving hotel rooms along the way when I flew to and from McCall ID to Hickory NC in 2016. Weather diversions caused me to change my route almost every day in August. Some hotels will charge you if you don't cancel at least 24 hours in advance. Occasionally, this results in no rooms available so bring tent, sleeping bag, etc.

Pre-heat before starting is essential in cold weather. Bring a portable non-electric preheater with you, like the Northern Companion which will run on AVGAS. I have an insulated Kennon cowl cover with spinner and prop blade covers that really helps retain heat overnight in cold weather. You can't always get transient hangar space along the way. I tried to stay with airports that had AWOS and maintenance capability. I have 31" bush wheels as well so the availability of grass beside the paved runway was important to minimize wear on these expensive tires. If you plan to spend a lot of time on paved runways and taxiways, switching to the 8.50s might be wise, although most runways east of the Rockies have some kind of grass beside the paved runway. Avoid tower controlled airports if you want to land in the grass. Controllers often don't know how to deal with an off-runway landing.

Clean ALL frost off wings and control surfaces before takeoff. Often, you can position the airplane on the ground so that the sun helps melt frost even in cold weather.

As Andy Y said, I avoid IFR in IMC in the winter due to concerns about icing.

On my Idaho trip, I planned 3-hour legs to be kind to my back and bladder. I didn't fly more than 6 hours in a day. You'd be surprised how fatigued your body and brain can get in 6 hours. When you're tired, you make mistakes. Enough said.

It will cost you more to fly the Maule a long distance than commercial air travel because of the overnight lodging, food, fuel, rental car, etc. I planned 3.5 days each way and it actually took me 5 days each way because of weather. A commercial flight can get you anywhere in the lower 48 without any overnight stays unless there's a problem. The airlines mostly fly over the weather while I'm limited to 12,000 MSL. There's no need for you to plan for any legs that will require oxygen from TX to PA. I do not recommend night flight over unfamiliar terrain in a single engine airplane. I've done it a lot in a Cessna 185F coming back from forest fires but it was mostly familiar terrain. If you get into that situation, follow major interstate highways. They're well lighted, wide, with fewer wires across the road and run through mountain passes. If you have to make an emergency landing on an interstate, watch the power poles on either side and land where there are no poles. Wires can't run across an interstate unless there are towers or poles to support them on either side.

Take a satellite communicator like the Garmin InReach so that someone can track you along the way. I don't file VFR flight plans because it's a pain to refile when you need to divert and I have a hard time remembering to cancel my flight plan. Instead I use ATC VFR flight following and my InReach. The InReach can report your position to ATC even when there is no radar coverage if you file the IMEI number in your profile with Leidos Flight Service. ADS-B Out will do the same thing but it doesn't always work when you're flying low and there aren't any ground stations in range.
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wtxdragger
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by wtxdragger »

Andy, Andy, bentmettle,

These are the answers I was looking for.
I've been flying for many years, but I've always been the fair weather Texas pilot. The only long cross country I've ever made was when I purchased the Maule. I flew from Jeremy's home base (2O3) back to Iraan, but I also had my instructor with me. The flight was in November and we had perfect weather until we got home.

I will have the luxury of not being pressed for time or for an arrival date either way, so this will help.

I guess I better get the heater checked, and I did have the Tanis Engine Heat system installed a couple years back.

I'll see how the work pans out over the next month or so and will give it a try.

Thanks for the info, and if I go I'll post.
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Andy Young
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by Andy Young »

Since you don’t have a set schedule, that, in my mind, removes much of the danger factor. If you just take it a leg at a time, and start out conservative, it seems like it could be an excellent opportunity to learn, and to expand your experience and comfort envelope.

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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by AndrewK »

When I picked my plane up from the Columbus, OH area for the flight back to Dallas in 2010 we stopped at Red Stewart (40I) northeast of Cincinnati, OH for gas and Paragould, AR (PGR) for gas and lunch (short walk to strip mall). In case you keep the 31s on for the trip we picked these airports for their grass runways and according to the charts/directory they appear to still be usable.

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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by norcal64d »

I'll chime in with a second for calling a weather briefer. On my last flight from Colorado to Alabama a few weeks ago I had some major thunderstorms and convective sigmets popping up. Talking to a weather briefer and explaining my capabilities allowed him to help me plan a route south through Texas and around all the weather areas. I've done the trip from Colorado to Alabama a few times now and my technique has been to allow a few days for weather (although its always been a one day trip for me) and to stop at airports with some sort of maintenance on the field just in case. If something happens to the plane or weather turns ugly, my backup plan is to rent a car and drive or catch a commercial flight and come back for the plane on a weekend.

Foreflight is a fantastic resource for long XC flights and don't forget to call Flight Watch on 122.0 for enroute updates if you're not sure what the weather is trying to do.

For planning weather I recommend looking at the aviation weather center surface prog charts. They go out a week and half or so and show the big picture of what you're flying into. The day before I recommend looking at the AWC's graphical forecast tool and changing the drop down from surface to clouds if you are trying to go VFR. This is only good out 18 hours but it will show cloud tops and bottoms over large areas.

Edited to add some weather information.
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Re: Texas to Northeast

Post by Beekeeper »

New here to Maulepilots. I echo the words of many here seeing the realistic side of this. If you're not pressed on time constraints, and you are disciplined and can accept undue delays then its Do-able. But let me offer these considerations. As a pilot with 20k+ hrs and 40yrs experience from tailwheel to jets, I would highly advise against regular trips of this distance in a Maule for work. Why? 1) Its a long trip anyday for a single pilot, non-ice equipped a/c. 2) Get home-Itis is one of the leading causes of gross errors and crash. Over confidence and “I can do it” mentality leads that. 3) Although a Maule is a one of a kind aircraft, its not designed or the choice of flying 800-1000NM regularly. 4) Both TX and NE winter wx can change rapidly, icing is common, and plan B-Cs are essential.
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