Planning an Air Adventure: Alaska Summer 2005

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Planning an Air AdventureAlaska Summer 2005

• Ilan Reich
• COPA 3rd Annual Migration
• Duluth, MN June 3, 2005

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Factors to Consider in Planning a Long Distance
Trip

• The Big Picture
• Time of year weather, weather, weather
• Alone or with one or more buddy planes?
• Select activities enroute and at the destination
• How many flight hours in a given day?
• Allocate enough time to avoid get there-itis
• Develop contingency plans for weather or
  mechanical delays

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The Devil is in the Details

• As private pilots, were responsible for route
  planning, weather analysis, maintaining an
  airworthy plane, customs visas, as well as
  contingency planning
• We also need to arrange the lodging,
  transportation and activities for a trip, both
  enroute and at the destination

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Develop an EffectivePlanning Technique

• First, overcome the psychological impediments to
  a long-distance trip
• Its a sequence of many two to four hour cross
  country trips, spaced out over several days
• Visualize covering a comfortable distance each
  day
• Plan activities and stops along the way that will
  relieve stress and fatigue for both you and your
  passengers

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Develop an EffectivePlanning Technique
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Develop an EffectivePlanning Technique

• Second, scope out the broad outlines of the trip
  time commitment, locations to visit, activities
• Third, collect information and talk to others
  whove been there COPA website is a great
  resource

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Use a Planning Tool

• To keep track of the myriad of details
• Stress is directly correlated to the number of
  last-minute tasks (Confucius)
• The more you rush around just before a big trip,
  the more you forget (Chicken Little)
• To split up responsibilities in planning the trip
  and making all the arrangements
• To ensure a safe journey, need to keep track of
  
• Pilot proficiency
• Airplane readiness
• Trip-specific details
• Detailed daily itinerary, for both flying and
  non-flying days

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Case in Point The Alaska Adventure for Summer
2005

• Alaska Flying Guide for Cirrus Pilots posted
  online several months before the trip
• Contains information on how to get there, places
  to visit and things to do also accessible to
  non-COPA members
• Includes suggested routes, approach plates, lists
  of equipment and charts, links to lodging and
  activities
• Volunteers enlisted to lead the east and west
  coast segments travel with many buddy airplanes
  
• Regular email communications from the group
  leaders, as well as among participants, with
  ideas about activities, lodging info, etc.

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Screen shot of Alaska Flying Guide home
page (www.cirruspilots.org/public/alaska)
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Alaska Adventure Planning Tool

• Sent by email to each participant four months
  before the trip, so that they could block out
  their own itinerary and keep track of group
  activities
• Designed to serve as a checklist of issues that
  are common to every long-distance trip
• Pilot and airplane preparedness trip details
• Daily itinerary for both flying and non-flying
  days
• Timeline covers the months preceding the trip,
  with target dates to be filled in for completing
  each item
• Another timeline covers each day of the trip as
  an aid to plan routing, lodging and activities

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Screen shot of Planning Tool home page Click
here to open and save the full Excel spreadsheet
(Yes to open macros)
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Section One Pilot Factors

• Keep track of proficiency and set deadline dates
  to update any deficiencies (day, night, IFR)
• Update personal minimums for the trip
• Flight hours per day
• Frequency of stops
• Consider unfamiliar terrain and airspace
• Incorporates FAAs PAVE checklist and COPAs
  Critical Decision Making analysis

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Screen shot of Pilot Checklist page
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Section Two Airplane Factors

• Keep track of when updates are due (Garmin,
  Avidyne, Jepp, VOR checks) get them done before
  the trip
• Take care of maintenance issues before the trip
• Open squawks, SBs
• Oil change/50 hour/annual inspection
• Obtain extra consumables (oil, TKS, oxygen)
• Bring along current charts track expiration
  dates
• Dont expect to find charts at FBOs in Canada or
  Alaska
• Assemble all necessary survival equipment,
  clothing, travel documents
• Complete a projected Weight Balance

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Screen shot of Airplane Checklist page
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Section Three Trip Details

• Set deadlines for making reservations (e.g.,
  lodging and transportation enroute and in Alaska)
• Obtain legal documents (e.g., U.S. Customs
  sticker, passport, invitation letter visas for
  Russia)
• Who minds the house while youre away?
• Pets plants
• Suspend newspaper delivery
• Pay bills before the trip
• Compile a contact list of buddy airplanes, group
  leaders, emergency numbers

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Screen shot of Trip Checklist page
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Itinerary for Each Flying andNon-Flying Day

• Details for flying days
• Departure city/time, stops, alternates
• FBO at each stop, transportation to reach hotel
• Details for non-flying days
• Hotel and transportation details
• Activities planned (e.g., fishing, glacier
  watching, hiking)
• Group activities (Mt. McKinley/Talkeetna fly-in,
  farewell dinner)
• Dining arrangements join group activities or go
  out alone?

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Screen shot of Daily Itinerary page
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Enjoy the Trip

• Planning Tool is available online for download
  and included in the package of materials on
  CD-ROM distributed to M3 participants
• Your comments and suggestions are welcome
  contact Ilan Reich (COPA username ireich, or at
  ilanreich_at_nyc.rr.com)
• Bring your camera and take lots of pictures!

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Homeward bound Scenes of glaciers enroute to
Yakutat, Alaska
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Planning an Air Adventure Case Study

• Summer 2004
• Boston Europe San Francisco
• Curt Sanford, SR22

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Used the SRM Framework for Planning

• Plan
• Plane
• Pilot
• Passengers/Payload
• ProgrammingIt is a beautiful trip. But if
  things go wrong,they go very wrong.

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Pretrip Planning

• Weather July / August for best conditions
• Route
• Publications Jepp E. Canada, Transatlantic,
  European tripkits, Flightstar Worldwide update
  (1500)
• ATC Communications Satphone in lieu of HF
• Fuel 674nm on longest leg (but 250nm to nearest
  alternate)

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Pretrip Plane

• Annual Feb04
• Full 100 hour June04
• Garmin European updates (cards)
• Avidyne Terrain update (flash card)
• Avidyne Airports update (zip disk)
• Jepp update delivery to Euro address
• Critical spares, consumables

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Pretrip Pilot

• Coursework
• Flying the North Atlantic Ed Carlson
• Primary Aviation Survival School Anchorage,AK
• Weather or Not Scott Dennstaedt
• Currency
• IPC, BFR
• Flight Simulator key approaches

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Pretrip Passengers/Payload

• Outbound w/Torben Kiese, experienced Cirrus
  ferry pilot
• In Europe Touring with the family
• Return Solo
• Full Maritime Arctic survival kit
• Winslow 4-man Island Flyer Raft
• 10,000kcal preserved food/person

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Outbound Canada to Greenland

• Planned Goose Bay to Narsarsuaq
• Departure As planned, with live COPA
  coverage!
• With two way internet

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Outbound Greenland Arrival

• 300nm out Narsarsuaq goes below minimums (per
  cellphone conversation with tower) 1500
  ceiling, 1800 mins
• Diversion to Nuuk (800 ceiling, 375 mins) adds
  100nm
• Approach to Nuuk as fog rolls in, 400 ceiling

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Outbound Crossing the Icepack

• Issues
• Low ceilings at departure airport
• Multiple layers aloft
• Freezing level 6000
• Possible ceilings at destination
• Strategies
• Alternate at Sondrestrom
• Pireps enroute on clear altitudes
• Air Greenland pilots on same routes
• Fuel Mgmt to keep options

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Outbound Kulusuk Greenland

• Climbed enroute staying on top
• Descent to warm air over water
• Off-field NDB approach to gravel runway
• Fuel by the barrel
• Up-hill soft-field takeoff

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Outbound Greenland-Iceland-Scotland-London

• Uneventful by comparison
• 60kt headwinds on departure Reykjavik
• Reentering controlled airspace in UK

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Travel in Europe

• IFR
• Straightforward to fly
• Difficult to file
• Questionable equipment requirements
• VFR
• Varies dramatically by country eg
• France like US (cardinal 500 altitude)
• UK No VFR in controlled airspace. Period.
• Costs
• If you have to ask.

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Return

• Get the family on the way home
• Prop repair, Oil change
• Reorganize charts, survival gear
• Take a deep breath
• Pick some routes

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Return

• Holland-Scotland -Iceland
• First leg a struggle with the system
• Getting the clearance
• Avoiding London
• Getting back into controlled airspace
• Diverting when Wick below mins

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Return Iceland-Greenland

• Fuel in Kulusuk or Sonderstrom Direct

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Return visiting Ilulissat (68N)
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Return Greenland Canada

• Iqualuit options
• ILS/DME35 w/200 mins
• BC/LOC17 w/600
• METAR 35035 4OVC

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Return Hudson Bay

• Rankins Inlet
• Rwy 13T/31T 5000x150
• Metar 040T25G30
• After landing forecast 90km/h gusts
• No tie-downs or hangars available
• Interesting fuel

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Return The Road not Taken

• Rankin Inlet Cut Bank, MO
• Flightstar suggestion
• Lynn Lake(CYYL)
• Has AvGas
• Confirmed by phone
• Rankin feedback
• NOT SAFE!
• La Ronge (CYVC)
• Fine choice

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Return Cut Bank, MO

• Civilization at last!

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Lessons / Reflections

• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.
• No substitute for local knowledge
• Interview everyone you meet!
• The return is as challenging as the outbound
• Avgas is a scarce perishable resource