Avoiding the MOA's
Planing on flying my RV7A down to Melbourne FL. from the Adirondack region of New York. Those of you that have made trip before any suggestions of route taken would be appreciated. Planing on leaving Fri Nov !3.
Thanks in advance.
Ed Hamilton
Ed,
I used my GPS 296 to consider your route possibilities. You would add about 10 minutes to your travel time using the route via Hagarstown with a comfort stop and self-serve fuel at (8W2) New Market, VA in the Shenandoah Valley. It would be about 2 hours 45 minutes if you are starting at 4B7. I am using my RV-9A cruising speed of 160MPH in my GPS. I also like to stop in South Georgia to get fuel when I head to Florida. I can go down there to Melbourne, Stuart, West Palm Beach and back to S. Georgia on a tank of fuel easily.
You might want to check out this route in your GPS to avoid MOA's and class B airspace. It is west of DC and east of Charlotte class B airspace.
4B7, KHGR, 8W2, KLYH, CTF VOR, COINT intersection, EDS VOR, KBHC (Baxley, GA fuel stop), CRG VOR, KMLB.
The COINT intersection and EDS VOR waypoints will keep you clear of the restricted airspace near Columbia, SC. You will fly over the CLASS C for Shaw AFB on that part of the route. On the way to KBHC, you will pass under Coastal 8 MOA which has a floor of 11,000 MSL. The route from Baxley to the Jacksonville, FL area is clear of any MOA's and gives you plenty of time to climb up over the JAX class C and follow Victor 3 from CRG to MLB.
IF you want to see what is down there, you can look at my web site on some of the trips I have flown on that route. This link shows aerial photos going down V-3 from JAX to MLB. My particular flight that day was non-stop from Chattanooga to Stuart, FL (KSUA).
http://www.n2prise.org/rv9a200.htm
Considering the flight time from NY to Florida, you may want to call Lil or Ricky at the Baxley airport and ask about motels there and using the courtesy car overnight. The number at the airport is 912-367-3232. Right now, the avgas price there is $3.35 per gallon. That is the lowest price in Georgia.
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KBHC