Flying from the Mid-Atlantic to the PNW, California, and back again

[mhoran]

I'm planning a cross-country trip from my home base of Linden, NJ to the PNW and down the California coast before returning home in a few weeks. I've set aside a few weeks starting approximately June 30 through July 19. I've put together a rough routing thanks to the incredible resources provided by Colin (https://flyingsummers.com/crossing-the-country/) and Mike Miller. I figured I'd run my plans by the hive mind in case I've made any poor decisions. I haven't figured out all my fuel stops along the way, so if you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

Equipment wise I've purchased an Inogen G5 and the Inogen Aviator kit for supplemental oxygen. My plane is at the shop right now getting an upgraded 28v cigarette plug installed. I fly a 2007 DA40 with a freshly (50 hour) overhauled engine. This will be my longest trip by far, with the current longest being Cat Island in the Bahamas in 2021.

Kicking things off on June 30 we will fly from Linden, NJ to Minneapolis, MN for our first overnight. There are quite a few airports in Minneapolis so if you have a favorite please let me know!

The next day we will fly from Minneapolis, MN to KGTF in Great Falls, MT for our second overnight. Great Falls doesn't look incredibly interesting, but I'd like to stay somewhere close enough to the mountains to get up and over them early enough the next day (or days...weather depending).

Weather permitting on July 2nd we will fly from Great Falls, MT to Seattle, WA. I was thinking of keeping the plane at KBFI Boeing Field as the fees seem reasonable. Open to other options as well.

On July 5th we'll move on from Seattle, WA to KAST Astoria, Oregon.

On July 9th we'll move on from Astoria, Oregon to Redwoods, CA. In Redwoods I plan to spend a night or two by KACV -- California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport. We'll be visiting a friend who is camping in Redwoods. Hopefully I can find a rental car and get in there to visit him, with a convenient enough hotel.

From Redwoods we'll be heading down to Santa Monica to stay with a friend for the week.

On the 16th we'll begin our trip home, flying from Santa Monica to Albuquerque, NM via KPHX. We will spend the night in Albuquerque. Alternatively we may fly through El Paso. I presume Albuquerque might be more interesting for the overnight, despite the fact that it sends us a bit out of the way for the rest of our trip.

On the 17th we'll fly on from Albuquerque (or El Paso) to Austin and spend the night.

On the 18th we'll fly from Austin to New Orleans (KNEW) and spend the night.

Finally, we'll fly from New Orleans to Salisbury, NC to drop the plane at SouthTec for some work.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the plan, especially if you have recommended fuel stops along the way, or if any of this routing is absolutely crazy.

Thanks!

[Chris]

On July 5th we'll move on from Seattle, WA to KAST Astoria, Washington.

On July 9th we'll move on from Astoria, Washington to Redwoods, CA.

Minor correction... Astoria (KAST) is in Oregon, not Washington.

If you take any day trips out of Astoria along the Oregon coast, consider dropping by 3S7 (Nehalem Bay State Park), which is where I'll probaby be all that week. Manzanita has a great beach and some nice options for lunch.

I've done the overnight at KGTF before and it's decent option for waiting until morning to head over the mountains. As you said, there's not a lot there, and you'll need a shuttle or Uber/Lyft to get from the airport to pretty much anywhere. IIRC, Holman Aviation may have arranged a ride for us, but that was several years ago.

[Soareyes]

Just finishing a similar trip at the moment. Currently spending the night in downtown (KFSD) Sioux Falls, SD which is a nice discovery. We want to come back here someday and spend more time.

Spent previous night in (KGTF) Great Falls, MT - They let us have a crew car for the night. Perfectly fine but the town didn’t give us much desire to return. Bunch of new hotels and businesses being built down by the river so somebody wants to go there.

Landed IFR at (KBFI) Boeing Field in Seattle for fuel and to drop off a passenger. Very busy, they were turning away VFR flights from entering their Delta airspace. Departing, we sat idling for 30+ minutes in a line of planes at the hold short line waiting to take off.

If you haven’t done SoCal/LA basin before, it is a different world. Not only busy but ATC assumes you have a lot of local knowledge, gives less “Here’s what to expect” helpful information and likes to assign what seem like unnecessarily complex routings. Want to go north? OK, first fly 30 miles south, switch between heading mode, GPS and both VOR radios, intercept crossing radials which may or may not be a named fix but they don’t tell you. If you don’t quite get it the first time good luck getting word in to request they say again. Turning into a rant here but I admire you pilots who can do LA to San Diego well.

Spent one night in (KELP) El Paso. Prefer Albuquerque. Santa Fe even better, especially if you can budget two nights there.

Weather will dictate changes in your routing. Enjoy the adventure!

[waynemcc999]

Matt, kudos to you for planning an awesome trip! I agree with all the above comments.

Some random thoughts/suggestions:
-- Rapid City ND (KRAP) is a surprisingly hip town (redone downtown with breweries/eateries, etc)
-- McCall ID (KMYL) is a nice area (mountain lake ala a small Lake Tahoe)
-- I'd personally skip most of Seattle and instead spend that time in the San Juan Islands... Orcas Island (KORS) or Friday Harbor (KFHR)
-- on a blue sky day, a lunch stopover in Shelter Cove CA (0Q5) would be wonderful
-- at least a fly-by of Lake Tahoe (KTRK to KTVL)
-- lunch at Half Moon Bay (KHAF)
-- Catalina CA (KAVX) is a near-must-do
-- Sedona AZ (KSEZ) would be a great lunch stop

BTW, most of your on-the-coast stops will be subject to morning marine layer and likely instrument approaches.

Have a great trip... and report back!
Wayne

[mhoran]

If you take any day trips out of Astoria along the Oregon coast, consider dropping by 3S7 (Nehalem Bay State Park), which is where I'll probaby be all that week. Manzanita has a great beach and some nice options for lunch.

I'm currently planning to work during most weekdays but this looks like a great day trip. I'll let you know if I can swing it!

I've done the overnight at KGTF before and it's decent option for waiting until morning to head over the mountains. As you said, there's not a lot there, and you'll need a shuttle or Uber/Lyft to get from the airport to pretty much anywhere. IIRC, Holman Aviation may have arranged a ride for us, but that was several years ago.

Good to know this seems to be a reasonable option for the overnight.

Landed IFR at (KBFI) Boeing Field in Seattle for fuel and to drop off a passenger. Very busy, they were turning away VFR flights from entering their Delta airspace. Departing, we sat idling for 30+ minutes in a line of planes at the hold short line waiting to take off.

Okay, good to know. Maybe KBFI isn't the way to go. Perhaps KRNT is a better option.

If you haven’t done SoCal/LA basin before, it is a different world. Not only busy but ATC assumes you have a lot of local knowledge, gives less “Here’s what to expect” helpful information and likes to assign what seem like unnecessarily complex routings. Want to go north? OK, first fly 30 miles south, switch between heading mode, GPS and both VOR radios, intercept crossing radials which may or may not be a named fix but they don’t tell you. If you don’t quite get it the first time good luck getting word in to request they say again. Turning into a rant here but I admire you pilots who can do LA to San Diego well.

So I've heard. It can be this way in the Northeast especially the NYC area as well. I've gotten used to "don't speak unless spoken to" when interacting with our controllers. I've familiarized myself with the VFR procedures for KSMO and will print them out for the trip as well. I planned to do most flying under IFR but it sounds like cancelling early in the LA area is the way to go.

Spent one night in (KELP) El Paso. Prefer Albuquerque. Santa Fe even better, especially if you can budget two nights there.

Thanks for the confirmation / recommendation! Will take that into consideration.

Some random thoughts/suggestions:
-- Rapid City ND (KRAP) is a surprisingly hip town (redone downtown with breweries/eateries, etc)
-- McCall ID (KMYL) is a nice area (mountain lake ala a small Lake Tahoe)
-- I'd personally skip most of Seattle and instead spend that time in the San Juan Islands... Orcas Island (KORS) or Friday Harbor (KFHR)
-- on a blue sky day, a lunch stopover in Shelter Cove CA (0Q5) would be wonderful
-- at least a fly-by of Lake Tahoe (KTRK to KTVL)
-- lunch at Half Moon Bay (KHAF)
-- Catalina CA (KAVX) is a near-must-do
-- Sedona AZ (KSEZ) would be a great lunch stop

We have family in Seattle so that is the reason for this stop. I'd love to be able to visit the islands if possible!

Catalina is on my bucket list for sure. Just not sure if I can make it work this time. Perhaps I can break free one of the days... or work from the beach?!

I planned to make the gas / lunch stop in Phoenix but it seems Sedona may be just as good of a stop.

BTW, most of your on-the-coast stops will be subject to morning marine layer and likely instrument approaches.

Thanks for the reminder. I trained out of Oakland for a bit and recall many canceled / rescheduled lessons. But I've been flying on the East coast for much longer so that hadn't been on the top of my mind! I am instrument rated and current and the plane now has WAAS. But I will plan to book some time in the sim and familiarize myself with the approaches and departure procedures.

[michael.g.miller]

Landed IFR at (KBFI) Boeing Field in Seattle for fuel and to drop off a passenger. Very busy, they were turning away VFR flights from entering their Delta airspace. Departing, we sat idling for 30+ minutes in a line of planes at the hold short line waiting to take off.

Okay, good to know. Maybe KBFI isn't the way to go. Perhaps KRNT is a better option.

FWIW, I've been to BFI maybe 5 times, and have had no problem at all. It is by far the most convenient airport to Seattle. The only "gotcha" is that they have VFR departure procedures they expect you to know: https://kingcounty.gov/~/media/services ... ashx?la=en

Given you're based in busy NYC airspace, I wouldn't bat an eye at KBFI, especially if you're staying in Seattle. Modern has an amazing new facility I highly recommend!

[Boatguy]

If you stop in El Paso, eat at Elemi!

https://elemirestaurant.com/

[CFIDave]

Based on many east/west US x-country trips in Diamonds (and now our Epic), I'd suggest one MAJOR change in your thinking: Don't pre-plan your fuel stops until the day before departure due to WEATHER! Just as no warplan survives contact with the enemy, I've never been able to plan my fuel stops (or WHEN I will depart on each leg of the journey) until weather conditions became known or very predictable.

In my experience flying east/west all the way across the US, I've always needed the flexibility to fly way south or north to work around major weather systems, lines of thunderstorms, icing conditions, turbulence, and/or major headwinds. This is doubly true if you aren't flying a pressurized aircraft that can get above most of the weather, or if your plane lacks de-ice or onboard weather radar. In my experience I never seem to find weather good enough to fly the shortest legs, pick airports with the cheapest fuel, or visit those that have the best restaurant/hotel options. When flying long distances across the US, my routing is aways going somewhere other than what I would have chosen with perfect weather.

Assume that you can't determine your routing and fuel stops until the "very last minute." And expect to gain knowledge of some new places you wouldn't have visited otherwise.

[Soareyes]

Case in point, here is the last leg of our recent Washington/Florida flight. Starting in Northern Arkansas, preflight planning done weeks ago was for a straight line back to Central Florida. On the day of departure however a major storm system extended from Dallas east to the Atlantic Coast, predicted to last for days. Monitoring the radar reports, a window opened up for us to get at least to New Orleans. One step at a time. Planned to get there and reassess our options including leaving the plane in a hangar (I called ahead for availability) and flying home commercial. Enroute, the onboard weather showed a 20 crosswind gusting to 28 at KNEW. Hmmm, Baton Rouge (KBTR) has a runway aligned with the wind so deviate there. A wild, bucking bronco ride on final but at least not a crosswind.

Staring at my ipad in the lobby at KBTR, it looked like the storms were going to stay inland for a while so we were able to hug the coast (with some inflight reroutes for MOAs going hot) and make it home.

Note, these FlightAware pics show the radar returns at the end of each flight. We did not penetrate any storms.

[photoSteveZ]

Landed IFR at (KBFI) Boeing Field in Seattle for fuel and to drop off a passenger. Very busy, they were turning away VFR flights from entering their Delta airspace. Departing, we sat idling for 30+ minutes in a line of planes at the hold short line waiting to take off.

Okay, good to know. Maybe KBFI isn't the way to go. Perhaps KRNT is a better option.

FWIW, I've been to BFI maybe 5 times, and have had no problem at all. It is by far the most convenient airport to Seattle. The only "gotcha" is that they have VFR departure procedures they expect you to know: https://kingcounty.gov/~/media/services ... ashx?la=en

Given you're based in busy NYC airspace, I wouldn't bat an eye at KBFI, especially if you're staying in Seattle. Modern has an amazing new facility I highly recommend!

I’ll put in another good word for BFI and Modern Aviation. I always stop there when visiting my son’s family in the area. My most recent trip had me overnight there in both directions: good JetA pricing for C.A.A. members, reasonable ramp fees, great line personnel, and a beautiful new facility. GoRentals will bring your car right out to the ramp. No trouble with ATC for IFR arrivals and departures, and no waiting for IFR release.