This past weekend I made my first really long trip in my CTSW, which incidentally was the first such trip I made in any airplane. The trip was from KWDR (Winder, GA) to KSEF (Sebring, FL). The purpose of the trip was to drop my airplane at Lockwood Aviation for an annual condition inspection, and installation of a Trutrak autopilot. Routing was KWDR -> 15J -> X60 -> KSEF. The total flight was 436nm.
I started with full fuel (34 gallons), far more than needed for the flight. I planned a stop at X60 (Williston, FL) if needed for fuel, bathroom, and food (chosen because there is an on-airport restaurant), about 129nm short of Sebring. My plan was to cruise at 5200rpm burning 5.5gph at 110 knots. Planed flight time was 3:45.
I was going to leave early Friday morning, but while the skies were clear and winds light at my home airport, at Sebring the winds were forecast for 15G25, and those numbers materialized early in the day. That is outside my comfort zone, so I waited until Saturday when winds were forecast to be marginally better, especially early. I got up at 5:30am Saturday to check the weather, and it was calm at the departure end and 6kt at Sebring...off to the airport! The plan was to beat the wind and get off the ground by 6:45-7am. As a bonus, if I got there before noon Lockwood would still be open and the airplane would spend two nights in a nice hangar instead of tied on the ramp.
A comedy of errors and small delays added up, and I didn't end up getting off the ground util just after 8am. Grr. As a result, I decided since I had plenty of fuel I would cruise at 5400rpm instead of 5200rpm, accepting higher fuel burn up to about 6gph (being conservative) for a bit more speed.
Once established at my 5500ft cruise altitude, I decided to try something new: Flight Following. I called Atlanta Approach on 132.475 and got set up as follows:
ME: Atlanta Approach, Flight Design 509CT, request.
ATC: 509CT, go ahead.
ME: Atlanta Approach, Flight Design 509CT is 12 miles south of Monroe at 5500 feet, VFR to Sebring Florida, request flight following.
ATC: Say again type?
ME: Identifier is Foxtrot Delta Charlie Tango.
ATC: Thank you. Squawk 2061. Altimeter 30.21.
ME: 30.21, 509CT.
That was it, easy enough. I got two traffic call outs, one that would have been a very close call if i had not seen it and climbed to get over it, and one that I never saw and was later called as no factor. I got moved around between various frequencies as I went south, handed off from Atlanta to Jacksonville and finally to Orlando. Everybody was very nice and easy to deal with. I got dropped about 60nm from Sebring when they got busy, which was fine. here's the Flight Aware info:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N509CT
I was seeing great speed. At 5400rpm, I was showing 114 knots indicated and 130-135kt GPS ground speed! The air was really smooth at 5500ft and I miust have been getting a push from the wind even though the weather at nearby airports showed a side wind to my path. I made the trip in almost exactly 3:15, a half hour ahead of schedule. I didn't bother stopping in Williston since I was making such good time and was able to hold my bladder that long.
Landed with 15ish gallons in the tanks, BTW.Descending below 4000ft it got very bumpy, and I landed at Sebring on runway 1 to reported winds of 11G18. The landing was no problem, but once I parked I felt the plane rocking and on opening the door found out that the wind was really whipping! I was glad I didn't land an hour or two later after things really heated up and got blowing. The folks at Lockwood helped me get the plane in the hangar and find a hotel to park in for the night.
What a great trip!
look forward to your next trip
