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cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:12 am Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

My cross country dream for my Mark II:

Waycross, GA to Carmi, IL



Instruments\equipment on my Mark II:

EGT CHT ASI ALT Tach ELT - cannot fly at night or into B or C airspace

handheld NAV/COM radio

very basic etrex garmin gps (not aviation and no built-in map)



Fuel:

10 gallon tank -have to mix my oil

burn 4-5 gph

cruise at 65-70 IAS



What do you think?  Only a dream?  Or a possibility?

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:21 am Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Cristal --



Go to my website, Texas-Flyer.com, and read about my cross-country flight from Minnesota to the Texas Gulf Coast, in a Bucaneer with a 582.  Yes, absolutely, cross-countries as you described are not only easy, they're GREAT fun!

 

Just do it!   



  -- Robert

On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 12:12 PM, cristalclear13 <cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com (cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com)> wrote:

 [quote]--> Kolb-List message posted by: "cristalclear13" <cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com (cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com)>

  

 My cross country dream for my Mark II:

 Waycross, GA to Carmi, IL

 

 Instrumentsequipment on my Mark II:

 EGT CHT ASI ALT Tach ELT - cannot fly at night or into B or C airspace

 handheld NAV/COM radio

 very basic etrex garmin gps (not aviation and no built-in map)

 

 Fuel:

 10 gallon tank -have to mix my oil

 burn 4-5 gph

 cruise at 65-70 IAS

 

 What do you think?  Only a dream?  Or a possibility?

 

 --------

 Cristal Waters

 Mark II Twinstar

 

 

 

 

 Read this topic online here:

 

 [url=http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 0697#200697]http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 0697#200697[/url]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [b]

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:32 am Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Cristal



Do you think you can fly maybe 100 miles? Plot out your trip in 100 mile 

increments. Its just a bunch of short trips put end to end. If you don't 

like mid day thermals then take a long lunch break. Start at sunrise and put 

in 2-3 legs in the morning then 1-2 evening legs. If the weather gets bad 

don't fly. Be sure to allow alot of time. You never know how long the 

weather will hold you up.



Your plane will hold camping gear if you want to save money. There are free 

courtesy cars at alot of small airports. Use them to get food and or motels. 

Alot of small airports will allow sleeping in the lounge. I know one airport 

that has a fold up bed, shower, free courtesy car and free ice cream. These 

are fairly secure pilot lounges with key pad locks on the doors. The numbers 

are published in airport directories. Worst case call a cab. I have done all 

the above.



For extra fuel I carry a 6+ gallon aux tank in the passenger seat with a 

faucet electric pump to transfer fuel in flight.



Plan your trip for late July and camp with us at Oshkosh.



Rick Neilsen

Redrive VW powered MKIIIC



---

russ(at)rkiphoto.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:06 am Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Go for it girl!XC  is great fun & as Neilsen suggested, consider it a string of 100-mile jumps. Hard to get lost that way! Take paper charts & don't feel you have to make it to an  airport if the wx turns sour. People have been  killed that way, ignoring many safe off-airport places to land. Kolbs can land in LOTS of other places.

Remember IFR can  also mean I Follow Roads. The 4-lanes will always pick the lowest route thru the mountains too, and you have miles of runway under you if you really need it.

You're sensible, & you'll make it handily. Only, what? 6-700 miles? Piece of cake.

Have a ball!





On Aug 26, 2008, at 1:12 PM, cristalclear13 wrote:

[quote] [quote][b]

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:16 am Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

> My cross country dream for my Mark II:

 	  Quote: 	
		   Waycross, GA to Carmi, IL



 > What do you think?  Only a dream?  Or a possibility?
	




 	  Quote: 	
		   Cristal Waters


	




Cristal/Gang:



Don't know why not.



576 sm from your airport to Carmi Airport, divided by 65 mph ground speed is 

about 9 hours flight time, or 60 mph ground speed will take 9.6 hours.  That 

would make a two day flight of about 5 flight hours per day.



I started doing longggg cross country flights in 1984, in my Ultrastar, then 

my Firestar until 1990.  In 1992, I started flying the MKIII and have never 

looked back.



The only way to learn to fly cross country in any kind of aircraft is to get 

out there and do it.  I started off with one day flights, then an overnight 

flight to insure I had the camping gear I needed.



I don't fly into c or b airspace, unless an emergency, and seldom into d 

airspace.  Normally, do not fly at night unless caught out after dark 

between airports.



My life has been made up of dreams of thing I wanted to do.  If I really 

want to do something, I can always find a way to do it.  I think it keeps me 

thinking younger and feeling a lot better.



Take care,



john h

mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:55 am Post subject: Re: Cross Country Dreams

Thanks for the encouragement.

Thanks for the stories and pictures too.



Is there a guide anywhere that tells what airports are ultralight-friendly?  



Has anyone used the online EAA or AOPA flight planners?  I see the links to them but haven't registered to use them.

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

lcottrell

Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

I was under the impression that your plane was N numbered. If so you might 

still think of it as an Ultra light, but you have the same rights as any GA 

plane. Don't let any body tell you other wise either.

Larry C, Oregon



do not archive



---

_________________
do not archive

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

> Is there a guide anywhere that tells what airports are 

ultralight-friendly?

 	  Quote: 	
		  

 Has anyone used the online EAA or AOPA flight planners?  I see the links 

 to them but haven't registered to use them.



 --------

 Cristal Waters


	


Cristal:



You no longer have to be concerned with UL friendly airports.  Your MKII is 

N numbered.



When I was flying UL's cross country, occassionally I would fly into one 

that had a complete "horse's butt" running the FBO.  Had one at Tallahassee 

Commercial Airport threaten me with arrest, went into the FBO to call the 

Leon Country Sheriff.  Saved him some trouble and took off for Quincy, FL. 

That was 1984, and I was flying back to my home town.  I grew up a few miles 

south from the airport on Lake Jackson.



Best way to handle those situations, no matter what, is not argue, be calm, 

do what you need to do, and go find another airport that needs your 

business.



One word of advice for UL and lt plane xc flyers.  Don't walk up to the FBO 

with your empty gas can, ask the FBO to use the courtesy car to go to town 

to buy fuel.  The man is trying to make a living.  Your airplane, two or 

four stroke will run on 100LL.



The EAA Aderoplanner is good and free to EAA members.



Here is John Williamson's flight planning/aviation info page.  Everything 

you need is located right here.  Would be a good idea to bookmark John's 

urls.  They may not be available forever.



Take care,



mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

lcottrell

Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:20 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

 	  Quote: 	
		  

 Is there a guide anywhere that tells what airports are 

 ultralight-friendly?



 Has anyone used the online EAA or AOPA flight planners?  I see the links 

 to them but haven't registered to use them.



 --------

 Cristal Waters

 Mark II Twinstar


	




Sorry about that, my finger got a little previous on the send button.  The 

trip that Arty and I took on our way to Texas ended up being some 2700 

miles. Some of the days we were only able to fly 100 or so miles due to 

weather. We spent quite a lot of the nights in various airports and met no 

problems or cranky people anywhere we stopped. The only airports that you 

are likely to have trouble with would be the larger ones with towers, and 

that only if you screw up or do not have an N number. Most of them are happy 

to sell even 5 or 10 gallons of gas, and all of them really like almost any 

kind of aviation.

Larry C, Oregon



do not archive

_________________
do not archive

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:21 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Cristal --



To do the long cross-countries, I usually did all my planning with:



  *  aeroplanner.com (EAA membership gets you the level you need; or you can pay for a higher level)

   *  airnav.com

  *  whatever sectionals I needed

  *  GPS



The combination of airnav.com (showing best routes, and descriptions of services available at the smaller airports -- the ones I prefer) and aeroplanner, is unbeatable.

 

I always would figure out 3 different routes, in case of weather.



And, last, after the planning was done, I'd mark up the sectionals so that I wasn't relying on my GPS.  And I always had my sectional out and folded to the appropriate leg, and would keep track of landmarks as I traversed each leg.

 

Oh, and I used to put my legs into my GPS, too, but I found that wasn't all that necessary since things -always- happen on a cross-country and it'd too difficult to change all the legs to accomodate that change.  At each airport, just before leaving, I'd put in the destination airport, and that was all I did.  Most of my cross-countries were done using an AirMap 100... you can get an AirMap 300 off of eBay for about $80, so, not much of an excuse to not have an aviation GPS on board.

 

Never let a GPS replace the sectionals, though...  the sectionals are best.

  -- Robert

On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 2:55 PM, cristalclear13 <cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com (cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com)> wrote:

 [quote]--> Kolb-List message posted by: "cristalclear13" <cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com (cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com)>

  

 Thanks for the encouragement.

 Thanks for the stories and pictures too.

 

 Is there a guide anywhere that tells what airports are ultralight-friendly?

 

 Has anyone used the online EAA or AOPA flight planners?  I see the links to them but haven't registered to use them.

 

 --------

 Cristal Waters

 Mark II Twinstar

 

 

 

 

 Read this topic online here:

 

 [url=http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 0735#200735]http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 0735#200735[/url]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [b]

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

jb92563

Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 314
Location: Southern California

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:26 pm Post subject: Re: Cross Country Dreams

Probably a good idea to work you way up to XC flights.



Once you fly longer and longer you'll soon discover if you need extra cushions, drink holder, bigger fuel tank etc and you should practice landing at strange airports and also doing a few motor idle and motor off simulated emergency landings.



Also do the weather and route planning on your practice hops to get familiar with sources of information....Wx-brief, and on radio sources.



The radio stuff always made me a bit uneasy as I did not always know the correct way to talk on the radio, but all you need to remember is a few simple things; Say what/who/where you are and explain what you are doing and where you are going....the rest comes from practice and listening to others on the radio.



I must be doing something right because the girlfriend says I sound sexy on the radio....LOL....just on the radio???!!!



Once you are comfortable and have the bugs worked out and can be comfortable on long flights then you and the Kolb will be ready to fly your dreams.



Also if you dont like a big map in your lap while flying and can not afford a glass cockpit, then get a PDA with GPS card and free flying moving map software and use that.



I bought a used PDA Dell Axim x-51 including a plugin GPS unit for it $150 and loaded the free moving map software "XC-soar" and loaded the terrain, waypoint and airspace files for my area.



I now have everything a map would have plus a whole lot more for the price of a cheap altimeter.



It tracks my flight path, gps altitude in case of no altimeter, ground speed, coordinates in case I need to call rescue, terrain clearance, closest airports, frequencies, airspace so I can stay out,  roads etc.



Well worth the $150.

_________________
Ray

Kolb UltraStar (Cuyuna UL-202)
Moni MotorGlider
Schreder HP-11 Glider
Grob 109 Motorglider

Do Not Archive

NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Cristal



I use the flight planner that EAA has a link to. I works great and is free 

to EAA members. The charts that are printed save you from having to purchase 

the most current charts and they are printed in a format that fits on my 

knee board. No more folding maps in flight. You have to navigate around all 

their pay services but it is worth it.



I don't know of a friendly airport guide but if you post your route of 

flight we will as a group make emendations of good airports. Sometimes its 

worth the effort to find them on your own but sometimes you find bad ones.



Rick Neilsen

Redrive VW powered MKIIIC



---

Jimmy Young

Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 182
Location: Missouri City, TX

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:06 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Cristal,



You have a registered N #'d aircraft, and a pilot's license to operate  

it, so you are not in the "ultralight" catagory. You can land at any  

Class E and D airports.



My first cross country flight I ever made, other than in flight  

training, was this past July from Houston to the Nauga Fly-In north of  

Baton Rouge. I planned and planned. Worried about it too much the  

night before, didn't sleep well. It turned out to be one great  

adventure made up of a few 2 & 3 hr trips. The airports I landed at  

were all very friendly and accommodating.  None of the airports I  

landed at were very busy at all, and even if they were it's no  

different than at home. If you've got the time and the $, you can go a  

long way, just takes a while, but it sure is fun. Do it while you can!



Jimmy Y



FS II, Houston TX

_________________
Jimmy Young
Missouri City, TX
Kolb FS II/HKS 700

cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: Re: Cross Country Dreams

[quote="John Hauck"]Here is John Williamson's flight planning/aviation info page.  Everything 

you need is located right here.  Would be a good idea to bookmark John's 

urls.  [\quote]



John,

I don't see the link to John's page.  Can you post it again?

Thanks,

Cristal

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: Cross Country Dreams

I do not have an ultralight, but I do have an experimental.

What I meant by ultralight friendly airport is:

1. either easy access (24 hr self serve) or courtesy car to drive to the nearest gas station

2. friendly attitudes toward experimental aircraft

3. not a lot of heavy traffic (I don't exactly want to be trying to take off with a bunch of jets)

4. easy access to a place to lounge and check the weather



Thought maybe some of you extensive travelers would have a list of good places in GA, TN, AL, KY on a webpage somewhere or know of one.



Maybe I should have said experimental friendly airports.

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

jlsk1(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Friendly Airports in central Tn: Cleveland, Athens, Collgedale,Winchester, 

Tullahoma, Shelbyville, Fayetteville, Lawrenceburg, Sparta-Upper-Cumberland, 

Livingston, Crossville, McMinnville,Gallatin, Dickson, Portland, 

Springfield, Hohenwald,Maury Co-Columbia, Rockwood, Scott Co-Onieda, Dayton, 

Lebanon.



Jim Kmet

MK-3C



---

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:46 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

http://home.tx.rr.com/kolbrapilot/Links.htm

 



 	  Quote: 	
		   John,

 I don't see the link to John's page.  Can you post it again?

 Thanks,

 Cristal

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject: Re: Cross Country Dreams

 	  jlsk1(at)frontiernet.net wrote: 	
		  Friendly Airports in central Tn: Cleveland, Athens, Collgedale,Winchester, 

Tullahoma, Shelbyville, Fayetteville, Lawrenceburg, Sparta-Upper-Cumberland, 

Livingston, Crossville, McMinnville,Gallatin, Dickson, Portland, 

Springfield, Hohenwald,Maury Co-Columbia, Rockwood, Scott Co-Onieda, Dayton, 

Lebanon.



Jim Kmet

MK-3C



--- 	




Perfect!  Thank you Jim!



And thanks for the link John!

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

>> Springfield, Hohenwald,Maury Co-Columbia, Rockwood, Scott Co-Onieda, 

Dayton,

 	  Quote: 	
		  > Lebanon.

>

> Jim Kmet

> MK-3C


	




Jim K:



Last March I got weathered in at Rockwood, TN, where me and my flying 

buddies have bought fuel many, many times over the years of flying to London 

and back.  It was a Saturday afternoon.  The FBO closed at 1700.  They told 

me I could not camp on the airfield with my airplane.  I said ok.  I would 

wait a little longer for weather and depart around 1800 for a friendlier 

airport.  Soon as they kicked my out of the FBO and departed the area, I got 

out my tent, set it up under the patio cover, and settled in for the longggg 

night.



I am more comfortable sleeping in my birthday suit, at home and when I am 

camping.  Of course I had to get up several times during the 12 hour night. 

Used the same corner of the patio each time.  Of course, since I was the 

only one on the field, I did not have to get dressed to get out of my tent. 

Next morning I got up headed for my little corner of the patio, it was now 

daylight, looked up, and there was a security camera aimed right at me. 

;-(  Oh well.......life is full of little surprises.



The friendly folks at Rockwood didn't just exactly kick me off the field. 

They told me there was a motel down the road and they would rent me the 

courtesy car for $50.00.  Told them that rental cars and motels were not in 

my budget.



By comparison, Laramie, WY; Goodland, KS; Neosho, MO; opened up the FBO for 

me to spend the night inside, gave me a courtesy car all night at no charge. 

This was last May on my way home from The Rock House, Burns Junction, OR.  I 

have spent the night in the FBO at Neosho for 3 years in a row now.



2007, Steven Green and I spent the night in the FBO at Russellville, AR 

(with courtesy car), and Tucumcari, NM.  John Williamson and I spent three 

days and nights at Ontario, OR, with courtesy car and the FBO.



There are a lot of good airport folks out there in the lower 48, Canada, and 

Alaska.  And........there are also some that I wouldn't give you two cents 

for.  I remember all the good ones and the bad ones when I am flying.



Take care,



john h

mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

slyck(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:12 pm Post subject: Cross Country Dreams

Airnav is good for coordinates to enter into your little eTrex.  I have the cheap little yellow model andit works just fine.  Used it for three whole legs this summer.  Punch GOTO and away you go.

(still wouldn't go anywhere serious without a sectional... even a slightly worn one)

BB

On 26, Aug 2008, at 4:21 PM, Robert Laird wrote:

[quote]Cristal --



To do the long cross-countries, I usually did all my planning with:



  *  aeroplanner.com (EAA membership gets you the level you need; or you can pay for a higher level)

   *  airnav.com

  *  whatever sectionals I needed

  *  GPS



The combination of airnav.com (showing best routes, and descriptions of services available at the smaller airports -- the ones I prefer) and aeroplanner, is unbeatable.

 

I always would figure out 3 different routes, in case of weather.



And, last, after the planning was done, I'd mark up the sectionals so that I wasn't relying on my GPS.  And I always had my sectional out and folded to the appropriate leg, and would keep track of landmarks as I traversed each leg.

 

Oh, and I used to put my legs into my GPS, too, but I found that wasn't all that necessary since things -always- happen on a cross-country and it'd too difficult to change all the legs to accomodate that change.  At each airport, just before leaving, I'd put in the destination airport, and that was all I did.  Most of my cross-countries were done using an AirMap 100... you can get an AirMap 300 off of eBay for about $80, so, not much of an excuse to not have an aviation GPS on board.

 

Never let a GPS replace the sectionals, though...  the sectionals are best.

  -- Robert

On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 2:55 PM, cristalclear13 <cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com (cristalclearwaters(at)juno.com)> wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		   href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/contribution  [/b] 	
[b]

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