Rapper
New Member
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Notes of a Roadable Aircraft Pilot (RAP)
Flight Log 26 SEP 2013
Renton (RNT) to Arlington (AWO) to Cawley South Prairie (Restricted) to RNT. The first leg should have been driven not flown. Conversion to aircraft mode was excessively long and the field went IFR while completing the preflight. Fog had been reported in route which was planned as an over flight as the aircraft is overweight for light sport and the pilot had a recent medical. A trip of 42 nm direct took 2.5 hours all told and drive time without traffic is one hour. Likely drive time with existing weather and traffic is estimated at less than an hour and a half.
A Special VFR clearance was requested with 900 broken and 6 miles visibility however the report was raised to 1,000 broken until I was clear of the class D airspace then returned to 900 broken as soon as I was clear. Special VFR would have closed airspace that would have affected other air traffic. The roadable aircraft used was vintage and not capable of a road takeoff or road landing (RTOL). If the aircraft were capable of Rapid Aircraft Conversion (RAC) and roadable take off (RTO) the VFR flight could have been easily accomplished in ½ hour. Roadable landing was not required as the destination was at an airport with public facilities.
The destination AWAS was routinely reporting 3,000 overcast for several hours both before and after arrival. However the equipment was obviously malfunctioning as actual ceiling was 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet. Enroute weather was accurately described as scud running with scattered clouds as low as 500 feet AGL and reduced visibility over the hills in mist and light rain. Flight speeds up to 80 kts were comfortable however higher speeds would have been an issue. The ability to slow to 6o kts was comforting and slower speed capabilities with RL options would have made the trip a pleasure rather than a challenge. I would have liked to climb on top, however tops appeared to be as high as 5 to 7 thousand feet in areas and the route was under and near overlying Class B airspace. In addition the bogus AWAS at AWO was reporting 3,000 feet overcast. The trip could have been accomplished as an IFR flight however this would have required additional planning and delays as well as additional legal requirements and lengthened the trip by a significant amount with no significant additional safety benefits.
Additional flights were made at AWO without conversion to road mode. The time and effort required to convert to road mode was excessive with respect to any necessary road travel. An available golf cart was put to good use along with some shoe rubber. Have you notice how “last century” shoe leather has become. It was noted that a roadable aircraft must have a good cell phone or text message capability. Several incoming calls were received during these flights. Drivers consider their electronics essential and will not give them up as they are required to do on the airlines. Noise issues made the calls difficult to impossible but cell reception was adequate despite the provider issues. Note that the existing cell system will not support widespread aerial usage. I have experience difficulties while hiking in mountainous terrain when cell coverage is adequate but multiple reception tower interference disrupts the call. Cell coverage generally works well for low altitude flights but for frequent high altitude flights (over 1,000 feet) changes will need to be incorporated into the provider cell tower receiver software as calls attempt to log into multiple towers. This will likely result in additional cell phone band with restrictions and will not be well received by the cell phone industry.
The leg from AWO to Cawley was flown as a conventional aircraft with ATC support. ATC had some difficulty with the destination airport as it is restricted and therefore not incorporated into their computer generated radar display. A destination position was given relative to the nearest public airport but the controllers do not have the ability to easily enter that data into their displays. Clearance through the Class B airspace was obtained with limited altitude restrictions. The flight was pleasant and efficient and the well equipped (expensive) aircraft was appreciated. All available systems were used and we (crew members) were kept busy in spite of the relative slow speeds of the aircraft. Average off to on flight time/speed was slightly under 100 kts. with the deduction of some “fun time” at the destination.
The return flight to RNT was accomplished in aircraft mode and again was fast and efficient. The time for conversion to road mode was again an issue and the aircraft was parked overnight on the ramp (with some concern) but this was the preferred choice rather than attempting the conversion at the O dark 30 time frame. Arrival at the final destination, home, was accelerated by at least a half hour by leaving the airframe at the airport and driving home. An early morning excursion is planned for 27 Sept to further attend to the aircraft needs.
This day was full and pleasurable and could not have been accomplished without the use of an aircraft capability. It would have taken two days to accomplish by surface travel what was easily done in one day by incorporating air travel. However, it should be noted that the road ability of the transportation system was an indispensable portion of the day even though much of the activity was centered on aerial activity.
It is not easy or often that one can justify the use of an aircraft these days but it is certainly nice when the details work out in a safe and efficient operation.
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Notes of a Roadable Aircraft Pilot (RAP)
Flight Log 26 SEP 2013
Renton (RNT) to Arlington (AWO) to Cawley South Prairie (Restricted) to RNT. The first leg should have been driven not flown. Conversion to aircraft mode was excessively long and the field went IFR while completing the preflight. Fog had been reported in route which was planned as an over flight as the aircraft is overweight for light sport and the pilot had a recent medical. A trip of 42 nm direct took 2.5 hours all told and drive time without traffic is one hour. Likely drive time with existing weather and traffic is estimated at less than an hour and a half.
A Special VFR clearance was requested with 900 broken and 6 miles visibility however the report was raised to 1,000 broken until I was clear of the class D airspace then returned to 900 broken as soon as I was clear. Special VFR would have closed airspace that would have affected other air traffic. The roadable aircraft used was vintage and not capable of a road takeoff or road landing (RTOL). If the aircraft were capable of Rapid Aircraft Conversion (RAC) and roadable take off (RTO) the VFR flight could have been easily accomplished in ½ hour. Roadable landing was not required as the destination was at an airport with public facilities.
The destination AWAS was routinely reporting 3,000 overcast for several hours both before and after arrival. However the equipment was obviously malfunctioning as actual ceiling was 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet. Enroute weather was accurately described as scud running with scattered clouds as low as 500 feet AGL and reduced visibility over the hills in mist and light rain. Flight speeds up to 80 kts were comfortable however higher speeds would have been an issue. The ability to slow to 6o kts was comforting and slower speed capabilities with RL options would have made the trip a pleasure rather than a challenge. I would have liked to climb on top, however tops appeared to be as high as 5 to 7 thousand feet in areas and the route was under and near overlying Class B airspace. In addition the bogus AWAS at AWO was reporting 3,000 feet overcast. The trip could have been accomplished as an IFR flight however this would have required additional planning and delays as well as additional legal requirements and lengthened the trip by a significant amount with no significant additional safety benefits.
Additional flights were made at AWO without conversion to road mode. The time and effort required to convert to road mode was excessive with respect to any necessary road travel. An available golf cart was put to good use along with some shoe rubber. Have you notice how “last century” shoe leather has become. It was noted that a roadable aircraft must have a good cell phone or text message capability. Several incoming calls were received during these flights. Drivers consider their electronics essential and will not give them up as they are required to do on the airlines. Noise issues made the calls difficult to impossible but cell reception was adequate despite the provider issues. Note that the existing cell system will not support widespread aerial usage. I have experience difficulties while hiking in mountainous terrain when cell coverage is adequate but multiple reception tower interference disrupts the call. Cell coverage generally works well for low altitude flights but for frequent high altitude flights (over 1,000 feet) changes will need to be incorporated into the provider cell tower receiver software as calls attempt to log into multiple towers. This will likely result in additional cell phone band with restrictions and will not be well received by the cell phone industry.
The leg from AWO to Cawley was flown as a conventional aircraft with ATC support. ATC had some difficulty with the destination airport as it is restricted and therefore not incorporated into their computer generated radar display. A destination position was given relative to the nearest public airport but the controllers do not have the ability to easily enter that data into their displays. Clearance through the Class B airspace was obtained with limited altitude restrictions. The flight was pleasant and efficient and the well equipped (expensive) aircraft was appreciated. All available systems were used and we (crew members) were kept busy in spite of the relative slow speeds of the aircraft. Average off to on flight time/speed was slightly under 100 kts. with the deduction of some “fun time” at the destination.
The return flight to RNT was accomplished in aircraft mode and again was fast and efficient. The time for conversion to road mode was again an issue and the aircraft was parked overnight on the ramp (with some concern) but this was the preferred choice rather than attempting the conversion at the O dark 30 time frame. Arrival at the final destination, home, was accelerated by at least a half hour by leaving the airframe at the airport and driving home. An early morning excursion is planned for 27 Sept to further attend to the aircraft needs.
This day was full and pleasurable and could not have been accomplished without the use of an aircraft capability. It would have taken two days to accomplish by surface travel what was easily done in one day by incorporating air travel. However, it should be noted that the road ability of the transportation system was an indispensable portion of the day even though much of the activity was centered on aerial activity.
It is not easy or often that one can justify the use of an aircraft these days but it is certainly nice when the details work out in a safe and efficient operation.
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