• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Another biplane XC advice thread - Memphis to Connecticut

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dana

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
12,666
Location
CT, USA
Time for another biplane XC flight advice thread. As I mentioned elsewhere, I recently bought a 1982 Starduster SA-100 (single seat). I haven't flown it yet, but in April or May I plan to fly it from Memphis, Tennessee, home to Connecticut, 1000 miles. Unlike Glenn (freerangequark)'s planned Chicago to Sacrement trip, I don't have to cross any really high mountains. The trip is about twice as long as any cross country I've yet made (but I didn't have GPS back then). I'm debating whether to use the old Garmin 196 that came with the plane, or Avare on my smartphone. Avare is superior to an old grayscale GPS, but the Garmin may be more reliable with its external antenna.

The plan is for 5 legs of roughly 200 miles each, or a little under 2 hours at the planes 115 mph cruise speed. I'll be camping out with the plane at each overnight stop. I've tried to pick airports where I can walk to a restaurant. The tentative plan is a more or less direct route, starting from M01 in Memphis and continuing across Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, a tiny corner of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southern New York, and into Connecticut. Most likely I'll spend the morning of the first day familiarizing myself with the plane, then fly the first leg in the afternoon, with two legs on each of the next two days. Or I may leave the next morning and have a shorter day the last day.

The airports and route I've tentatively picked, subject to change based on advice, are:

M01 to M91 (Springfield, TN) Might be a crew car available to get dinner according to Airnav.
M91 to I50 (Stanton, KY) Looks like the airport is within easy walking distance to town.
I50 to W22 (Buckhannon, WV) Hotel and food within 1 mile.
W22 to 58N (just east of Harrisburg, PA) restaurant 1/2 mile away.
58N to SNC (Chester, CT, my home base) on more familiar territory here.

This route avoids most troublesome airspace... I'll pass through two TRSAs, which are optional as far as communication with ATC goes, then the Allentown class C which I can go over above 4400', and skirt NYC to the north (familiar territory).

Any advice from people along the route is welcome...

Dana
 
Last edited:
Back
Top