Yesterday, while delivering a Super Cub from Yakima, WA to Roseburg, OR, it occurred to me that a typical PA-18 cruises at Warp Factor 0.000000134204843882569.

Pretty inane huh? Most of our back country fliers aren't fast. I'm curious what others think about on a long cross country?

Wow this is some rough country. What is that funny noise

How fun it would be to own a turbine, pressurized, Piper.

G'Day

What 95% of all men think about. The other 5% think about the 95%.

Other than gas, food, and coffee, the next landing/takeoff site where I could take a leak.

If I hold the bottle in this hand and my dick in the other, can I drive with my chin?
If a bird was flapping around in here, would it only add to the weight of the aircraft when stationary or both flying and stationary?
I wonder if the gummint puts cameras in those new gps's?

I've flown my 100 mph Kitfox from Wisconsin to Florida, North Carolina and hope to soon head west toward the big rocks.

I'm a flatlander so I'll stop before I get too close, though...

I think about what airstrips I am flying over and what the weather ahead is like. Leaving fly ins I often think how much I would love big tires....then I look at my speed and my fuel flow and think how ill beat everyone home!!! Suddenly I feel better about small tires! it's amazing what you can see at 12000+ ft and [email protected]

"Am I about to shit my pants?"

You're supposed to think?

I love this shit!! I love this shit!! I love this shit!! I love this shit!! I love this shit!! I love this shit!! I love this shit!!
How far do I need to go.

When I'm in a cub I think, man I wish I was in the pa14, when I'm in the 14, I think man I wish I was in my 170, when I'm in my 170 I think, man I wish I was in the 206.

When I'm on final for a short rough strip, the order reverses.

That old shag a hag with beaver tales I had last night was pretty wore out. But damn she was fun!!

Depends a lot on how far along I am on that leg. In the early part of the leg, I think, "I'm so privileged to be able to do this!" Early on, I start looking at possible landing spots and think, "Could I land there if I had to ?" Any time the leg exceeds 3 hours, I think, "can I make it without having to pee?" If I'm on short final after nearly 4 hours, I think, "Cary, this better be the smoothest landing you've made in awhile." And sometimes I don't really think at all.

Cary

I'm always amazed at how much fun it is; even after 4 or 5 hrs, it's getting bumpy, the WX is changing, I've flown this route before many times, STILL fun. Different music on the sat radio for different types of flying, I've had some absolutely stunning moments landing some new site for the first time and just when I commit and land just happen to tie it in with the music reaching some kind of crescendo, couldn't do that if I tried! Mostly I just zone out and think about it all when I quit flying that day, like rewinding a movie. The really cool flights get played back for a few days, automatically. Too much sensory stimulation to process it all while it's happening I guess:? Bushwheels have taken thinking about where I'm going to take a leak out of the equation, 'bout anywhere will do.

I read one of the aviation writers give this answer to a similar question recently. I just laughed as it summarized my experience so well:

When flying sometimes one hears an odd noise. The reaction to which is one of two things.

If flying a rental, then I wonder what that noise is connected to and how it will make me crash.

If flying my plane, then I wonder what that noise is connected to and how big the repair bill is going to be.

This why the best times of my flying career were the years I had in Kotzebue flying mail and freight in the lowly Sleds (C207's).

It was looooong days in the air, as in eight hours logged a day, seven days a week. No pax or other crew to bug me. Hoser the Wonder Dog in the right seat keeping his thoughts to himself. And the best view in the world out the windshield, along with the purr of that big Continental working to free up my mind to ponder whatever the hell I wanted to.

Really made me learn to appreciate solitude. And man oh man, I miss those days so...

Gump

I look down and think of how the landscape has changed over the 30 years I've been looking down at it, trying to figure out why the hell I like flying so much, and thinking of just how lucky I am.

Looong flight....mmm. I wonder if I can afford those Oregon aero memory foam seats ....next upgrade....

Unless there is weather or terrain to deal with, I usually play the "where will I land" game, with the goal of picking out my next option as the last option is slipping out of range...or a little earlier if over more hostile terrain. But I am guilty of zoning out and just sightseeing. I blame my work flying for that and have to remind myself to scan the sky ahead of me more frequently. I especially like having music to listen to and the lack of constant chatter on the radio. I've flown with pilots that wonder why I don't flight follow more. Right or wrong I figure I have guard or center's freq in standby if it need it and I prefer the solitude.