Good Evening/Morning y’all,

First time poster but have always been following the forums. So nice to see a place where pilots share their expertise and knowledge.

Here is the situation:

I’m a flight instructor and airline pilot. I stay proficient with my GA flying as to not become lazy with my stick and rudder skills. So I consider myself proficient at flying GA. The problem is that I’m a flat-earther (you know the kind I’m talking about....hopefully). My “Mountain Flying” experience consists of just a couple of hours flying around the Appalachians. Getting formal flight instruction on backcountry and mountain flying is on my to-do list but right now it’s a bit difficult to take the time off to do it.

An opportunity has been presented to me to ferry a 160HP Cessna 172M from Eugene OR (KEUG) to Lakeland FL (KLAL). Naturally, my initial flight plan was to avoid as much as possible the high rise terrain and circumnavigate the Rockies north. However, part of me was wondering if there was a more direct way through, that would avoid the vast majority of the mountains in order to keep the delays down to a minimum. This is what I came up with in terms of routing to get me through the terrain:

KEUG -> KBOI -> KLGU -> KRWL -> MBW -> KCYS -> (On to Florida)

Just to be clear, going around the high rising terrain is still on the table and I will not jeopardize safety. I was just wondering if a route like this is feasible and safe for someone with not a lot of experience flying in high density altitudes.

Thank you for your inputs!

-Lucas

Just you, all by yourself, alone in that 172? I'd expect it should perform well enough with a light load.

When are you planning to go? DA issues will become greater when the full heat of summer arrives.

My best advice is to plan for a several day, if not weeks long window so that you can cover the mountainous areas in perfect conditions.

Avoid flying directly over the Rockies unless there are clear skies and no winds. The 13-14k terrain can be challenging in any GA Airplane, but especially one that is naturally aspirated 1XX hp with fixed pitch prop.

I just made a similar trip in my 180 Bend Oregon to Western Louisiana and back. I went across Boise to Logan and down the east side of the Wasatch, through Moab and south of Durango across New Mexico and Texas. There is high country all through there as well, but no 13-14k peaks.

Wyoming is often extremely windy. I have flown that route many times as well. Once I was over I-80 west of Laramie and I thought my old 170 was going to break up in flight.

Get-there-itis can be a real bad deal.

Give yourself time and be prepared to back out of a flight and sit a spell if you encounter rowdy skies.

Yea, I’d be by myself and one travel sized bag no more than 10-15lbs.

Thank you! My plan would be to leave sometime around the week of the 5th of June.

When I ferried my Stinson from S21 to KDED, I did something like KPVU->KPUC->KCNY->KABQ, then east from there. This was done in March or April, so the temps were cooler. Made it from S21 to KABQ the first day. On the return trip in my Maule, I used a similar route to what you're planning, since I was returning from OH. I believe I went KAIA->KBMC.

The route Scolopax noted is a good one. I've flown a similar route a number of times east to west and west to east. I'd plan on early starts each day as the bumps in the afternoon can get very bad due to thermals etc. Early morning departures are very helpful if the weather allows.

MW

185Midwest wrote:The route Scolopax noted is a good one. I've flown a similar route a number of times east to west and west to east. I'd plan on early starts each day as the bumps in the afternoon can get very bad due to thermals etc. Early morning departures are very helpful if the weather allows.

MW

Yes, but watch the weather through the southern part of that route. Some very violent weather this time of year. I’ll take mountains to those storms any day.

But, whatever the route you choose, Scolopax’ advice is right on: plan plenty of time to get it done.......

MTV

Over the past 40+ years, I've crossed the Rockies multiple times both east, and westbound. When traveling from the Seattle area, Mullen pass is my go to place to cross unless forest fires are raging along that route (and they often are in the summer). I've also gone through Boise, but I flew south over Great Salt Lake and along I-15 past Provo to get to lower ground. I crossed the Wasatch range north of Salt Lake City via I-84 once and got my teeth kicked in by turbulence. On one flight, my wife joined me for the journey from Seattle to Virginia and I went WAY out of my way to make it comfortable and fun for her. We cruised down the valley in California and crossed at Tehachapi Pass. The ground is high through there, but the pass is wide. The wind can blow, so we started through the pass in the early AM and had a very uneventful crossing. New Mexico & Colorado typically have strong winds all spring, so I avoid that area like the plague until mid to late June. Then there is the chance of afternoon thunderstorms, so I make sure I have planned stops available by mid-afternoon in case the skies get angry. Even with an IFR rating, you don't want to mess with towering Cu-nims. I've had to divert WAAAY out of my planned route to avoid long lines of imbedded thunderstorms that just didn't want to clear. As others have said, allow a lot more time than straight flight planning suggests. If you're going to make the trip, add some interesting waypoints along the route. I do my flight planning on an app that lets me see the route on a sectional and on google maps. I look for interesting sights along my general route and adjust my plan to incorporate them into the flight. This is an amazing country and you don't want to rush across it if you can see some of the magic along the way. I've overflown meteor crater, Mt Rushmore, the Chief Crazy Horse monument, Acoma/Sky City in New Mexico, Yellowstone, and other amazing sights in my crossing of the country. I've also included stops at interesting airports like Gastons (3M0) in Arkansas. That one is right along your planned route and is a very worthwhile stop.

Boise has the highest gas price in the area, you can save $1.00 or more per gallon at Caldwell, Nampa, Emmett, or Mountain home. Airnav.com has current prices most of the time.

That sounds like a great idea for a flight plan. I put it on Foreflight and definitely looks like a good contender!

Thank you very much!

From Boise area, I'd head east through southern Idaho, to Idaho Falls, then north over Monida Pass, then work your way north and east, past Dillon, Bozeman, and east through Bozeman Pass, which is easy. Monida Pass is kinda high, but really wide open. Once you're past Bozeman Pass, everything east is low till you get waaaaay east.

As I said, watch the national news any night, and look at the big lines of storms moving across the southern plains to the northeast.

MTV

Icsixto,

Welcome. If you want a very experienced passenger, PM me. After the mountains, you could drop me at Aurora Missouri 2H2 if I had talked your head off.

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