Long X/C Flight

Flyhound · Post by **Flyhound** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 6:55 pm

I just bought an MX7-180C in the Seattle area and had the distinct pleasure of flying it all the way back to Virginia where I live. We flew a big dog-leg to Southern California, through Tehachapi Pass, across Arizona and into New Mexico. Then thunderstorms blocked our eastward progress so we flew up to North Platte, NE; across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and then home. My photo collection has a bunch of ground shots, but there are some good flying and airplane pictures too. That was a big item on my bucket list that I can partially check off now. There are still more places to see, and I will fly the plane back to the northwest across the northern route with stops in Idaho after I get to know it better.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... a5c7286ade

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:53 pm

I'm 10 mins from Santa Rosa, could've got you that glass of wine.

Flyhound · Post by **Flyhound** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 4:59 am

Dang! I'll just have to repeat my trip but give myself enough time to explore each place I stop. With a bit more time, I could have posted each planned stop in advance and taken advantage of local information from other Maule pilots. Sigh...

MAU MAU · Post by **MAU MAU** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:18 am

I just discovered your trip pictures and they are beautiful.

Congratulations on your new Maule!

I noticed in some of your flight pictures that you were at zero degrees of flaps and some at negative seven while in cruise. How much airspeed did you gain with the negative seven?

Thanks.........Rob

Flyhound · Post by **Flyhound** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:21 am

Rob: We had gobs of turbulence on a lot of the flight, and for those legs I kept my flap setting at 0 degrees and flew at, or below maneuvering speed. When things smoothed out, I raised the flaps to minus 7 degrees but I also bumped the power from 20 to 23 inches of manifold pressure, so I don't have much hard data on the speed difference exclusively due to the negative flap reflex. The few times I made the change at a constant power seeing it seemed to offer 5 - 7 Mph difference. That isn't huge but these planes aren't known for their speed, so every little bit helps when traveling longer distances.

Flyhound · Post by **Flyhound** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:26 am

Jeremy: I hope to repeat this trip several times over the next couple of years. Future travels will include more time to enjoy each stop. Well be sure and give a holler in advancebefore we pass through Santa Rosa next time. I look forward to sharing that glad of wine with you. The airspace around the DC area is really complicated and messy. Well eventually settle further west both for more flying days per year and for more friendly skies.

MAU MAU · Post by **MAU MAU** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:17 am

Thanks for the reply Flyhound.

With the tri-gear, it was the same increase of 5-7 knots.

I thought the conventional gear may be able to eek out a few more knots due to decreased drag but I guess not.

What color is your accent stripe as it looks quite unique. Burgundy?

Flyhound · Post by **Flyhound** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:10 am

Yup, the accent stripe is burgundy with a pinstripe of gold that isn't clearly visible in the pictures. The original owner was big on Greek mythology and named the plane Aurora, for the goddess of the dawn. Her colors were burgundy and gold. The story is good enough, I'm keeping the name.

rw2 · Post by **rw2** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:24 am

Flyhound wrote:Yup, the accent stripe is burgundy with a pinstripe of gold that isn't clearly visible in the pictures. The original owner was big on Greek mythology and named the plane Aurora, for the goddess of the dawn. Her colors were burgundy and gold. The story is good enough, I'm keeping the name.

Yeah, good enough name to keep. Ours was unnamed so we went with La Naranja Danzante because the letters in the registration are both dances and it's orange colored.

Long X/C Flight

Long X/C Flight

Who is online