grjtucson
Well Known Member
As I got nearer to the end of my 16-year build of my RV-7 I began to envision a flight touching the airspace of the 48 contiguous states. Alaska would have to wait and Hawaii just isn't in the cards for me and this plane.
The rules were arbitrary as these things should be. I once drove to the Panama Canal and back with a couple of friends over 42 days, a very similar sort of flag-planting adventure, and the rules for that "journey is the destination" trip were similar:
Yes, I recognize this is a little ridiculous from some perspectives but for me it was a symbolic "victory lap" that would be an incredible experience in the vein of my favorite flying stories from Richard Bach, Rinker Buck, Stephen Coonts, and many others. It most certainly won't be my last "flight of fancy" though I understand this sort of whimsy is a long way from everyone's cup of tea. There's no reason that learning and enjoyment, the foundations of experimental aviation, cannot be a little whimsical and perhaps even ridiculous.
I landed back in Tucson, AZ yesterday after 8 days and 7 nights travel and "tagged" all 48 states in the trip. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is how absolutely routine and trouble free the whole experience was. Simply put, it was both incredibly exciting and fulfilling in all the right ways and absolutely uneventful and without incident, also in all the right ways. There are no truly noteworthy or jaw-dropping stories.
Big takeaways are far from final, I'm still processing the experience. These come to mind immediately:
The rough route that I followed is below, see attached screen cap and don't mind the TFRs and fuel limit bar shown when I captured it. There were deviations for weather and to tag states. Flight Aware will give you even more detail if you really want to dive deep (N567AJ) though it lost me in a couple of places. Airports that I landed at are in bold, RON are underlined:
KRYN KLVS KCAO KEHA KBVO KGMJ 0M8 2R0 0R1 KVPC KTOC KONGO KOKV KFDK 17N TICKL MICAL KDXR PUT KPSM KSDC KIAG 9G0 KCLE KIRS KMGC KGYY VPFTS KAXA KFSD HANTS KCUT KEFC ARCOT MAGYE KBIL KHLN KMSO KLWS KMAN KEKO 67L KEED KRYN
Here are some stats that help tell the story:
A few pics and notes will follow in this thread in the next day or so.
Don't hesitate to ask me anything, I dare not attempt to go too far down any rabbit hole without that guidance as I'm likely to bore anyone near me to tears with my attempts to describe the experience.
George
The rules were arbitrary as these things should be. I once drove to the Panama Canal and back with a couple of friends over 42 days, a very similar sort of flag-planting adventure, and the rules for that "journey is the destination" trip were similar:
- Safety first should go without saying but I'm saying it anyway.
- Touch the airspace of every one of the lower 48, no need to land in all of them.
- Do so in roughly the least amount of flying necessary, both distance and time, while sensibly minding the weather and airspace restrictions. No hurry, but no unnecessary delays or diversions either.
- Don't try to see any friends or family, that'll be other trips.
- Don't sight-see unless it's truly on the way, that'll also be for other trips. This was more of a "first look recon mission" and given #3 above, limited in scope. There were many very interesting states that I was in for less than a minute. Don't be offended if you live in one, I'll be back, probably with my wife this time ;-)
Yes, I recognize this is a little ridiculous from some perspectives but for me it was a symbolic "victory lap" that would be an incredible experience in the vein of my favorite flying stories from Richard Bach, Rinker Buck, Stephen Coonts, and many others. It most certainly won't be my last "flight of fancy" though I understand this sort of whimsy is a long way from everyone's cup of tea. There's no reason that learning and enjoyment, the foundations of experimental aviation, cannot be a little whimsical and perhaps even ridiculous.
I landed back in Tucson, AZ yesterday after 8 days and 7 nights travel and "tagged" all 48 states in the trip. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is how absolutely routine and trouble free the whole experience was. Simply put, it was both incredibly exciting and fulfilling in all the right ways and absolutely uneventful and without incident, also in all the right ways. There are no truly noteworthy or jaw-dropping stories.
Big takeaways are far from final, I'm still processing the experience. These come to mind immediately:
- We live in an extraordinary country, from nearly any perspective. I only covered a limited track but it was more than enough to be even more impressed than I had been on prior travels. I had already been to 44 of these states.
- The aviation community is spectacular. Too many stories to tell but it confirmed what I already knew, we are very lucky to be part of it.
- I did not have a single unpleasant experience with anyone I met, just the opposite in fact, and it wasn't limited to the aviation side of things.
- I love my little airplane, even more than I could imagine. Thanks to Van and all that are involved in making it possible to do this.
- Thanks in particular to Beetle Bailey, Paul Dye, and Mike Seager, just three of the very many people that helped make this dream a reality.
The rough route that I followed is below, see attached screen cap and don't mind the TFRs and fuel limit bar shown when I captured it. There were deviations for weather and to tag states. Flight Aware will give you even more detail if you really want to dive deep (N567AJ) though it lost me in a couple of places. Airports that I landed at are in bold, RON are underlined:
KRYN KLVS KCAO KEHA KBVO KGMJ 0M8 2R0 0R1 KVPC KTOC KONGO KOKV KFDK 17N TICKL MICAL KDXR PUT KPSM KSDC KIAG 9G0 KCLE KIRS KMGC KGYY VPFTS KAXA KFSD HANTS KCUT KEFC ARCOT MAGYE KBIL KHLN KMSO KLWS KMAN KEKO 67L KEED KRYN
Here are some stats that help tell the story:
- 8 days of flying
- 7 overnight stays
- 17 flights, 17 airports
- ~45 flight hours (~145 TTAF to ~190 TTAF)
- ~6,000 NM
- ~300 gals of avgas
Code:
Day Hrs New States
1 3:36 2 AZ, NM
2 3:02 4 TX, OK, CO, KS
3 6:30 8 MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC
4 5:19 10 NC, TN, VA, KY, WV, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT
5 6:34 9 RI, MA, NH, ME, VT, PA, OH, IN, MI
6 3:33 5 IL, WI, IA, MN, SD
7 6:12 4 NE, WY, ND, MT
8 8:53 6 ID, WA, OR, NV, UT, CAA few pics and notes will follow in this thread in the next day or so.
Don't hesitate to ask me anything, I dare not attempt to go too far down any rabbit hole without that guidance as I'm likely to bore anyone near me to tears with my attempts to describe the experience.
George
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