Airfield and Route Recommendations

[Bryce]

My daughter and her friend are planning a flying vacation based in Kissimmee Florida with the aim of touring the East coast heading for New York in a rented 172.
Recommendations for airfields and specific routes for them would be appreciated.
We are based in United Kingdom and my only flying experience in USA is local trips in Florida and Minnesota.
Many Thanks
Bryce

[Harold Holiman]

If they are going to generally follow the coast, one of the prettiest flights we have ever made was; flying along the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the Wilmington Convention. They can land and tour Kitty Hawk where it all began.

Harold

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Bryce,

What ever they do make sure they understand the ADIZ restricted airspace around Washington DC. It is a real pain to navigate around it going north and south on the east coast in a small airplane. She will have to go way west around it which might not be fun depending on winds because she will be over or on the lee side of the Appalachian Mountains. These mountains are not high by many standards but the turbulence is still there. Going to the east of the restricted area means she will have to fly over the Chesapeake Bay which can be wide depending where you cross. Naturally the narrowest areas are under or very near the restricted areas or require going through busier controlled airspace at the south end near Norfolk Virginia.

Tell us what your daughter hopes to see on the trip and maybe we can give better suggestions. One thing she will want to do once in New York is fly low level up (or down) the Hudson river passed the Statue of Liberty and New York City. Yes you can still do that and it is a sight to see.

[blueldr]

Tell 'em to keep water on the right and sand on the left!

[Bryce]

Bruce and blueldr and Harold
Thankyou for the information I have shared the water and sand advice already to make her planning easier .
The idea for this epic trip has come from a UK pilot magazine story where they routed Savannah-Wilmington-tried for First Flight but weather let them down- Norfolk-Atlantic City -New York Teterboro airfield.
The article didn't say this route was chosen for any particular reason but following the info from Bruce it is possibly to avoid the large restricted area he mentioned.
They have seen the Hudson river possibility and that is a big attraction.
I have been looking at computer route planning for them and have found your AOPA has an online subscription service and also Aeroplanner do similar.Have you any experience of these ?
Any assistance most appreciated.
Many Thanks
Bryce

[hilltop170]

Bryce-
Don't forget www.airnav.com to check for best fuel prices along the way.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Bryce,

As an AOPA member I have access and have used there planning software which is free to members. I've also used Aeroplanner which is free to all.

Both programs do a good job IFR and you can also use them for VFR planning. I'm not sure I'd join AOPA just to use the software but since I'm going to be a member anyway I take advantage of the software.

If you are thinking about joining AOPA just for the software and no other reason you might want to consider just buying a subscription to Jeppesen's flight planning software. Jeppesen is the company who created the AOPA software and their version has more options than the AOPA version.

Bryce I've done the Pennsylvania to Florida and back again trip about 10 times. It is not that difficult. Besides the ADIZ at Washington your daughter might want to consider that a lot of the land mass from the beach to about 10 miles inland down in South Carolina and Georgia is actually swampy wet area and not someplace you would want to have to sit down if there is trouble. I found this out on my PA to FL trip in my Cub with 2 hours of fuel on board travelling about 60 mph over the ground (when I was lucky) and at about 500 ft AGL. But the desolate beach area of much of these two states is something to see at, least from a Cub at 60 mph and 200ft AGL.

[Bryce]

I have just tried the Aeroplanner and although a bit slow updating ,over here,I have got it to produce a basic plan that will assist until the paper charts arrive.
There appears to be plenty of airfields to choose from and I suppose that gets me back to my initial request about airfield recommendations.
In the UK we would avoid large commercial airfields on the grounds of high handling charges and select the smaller more GA friendly fields.

[3958v]

You might try flying on the west side of the Washington ADZ if you have a little extra time as it is nice to fly down the Appalachian Mountains. If you go that way a nice place to stop is Lurray Caverns. There is a nice airport owned by the caverns and also a nice carriage and car museum. Transportation is free from the airport to the cavern entrance. Bill K

[SteveF]

Here is my two cents worth,

I agree that flying along the Appalachian Mountains is very pretty; but, for someone not familiar with the area it can be a bit nerve wracking. The problem I have found is that you have to fly close tot he eastern edge of the mountains to stay outside the Washington ADIZ. The wind is always out of the west pushing you toward the Washington ADIZ and you are on the downwind side of the mountains so down drafts and turbulence are common.

If this is a round trip flight than in one of the directions, if the winds are light or out of the northeast through southeast, then I would try the Appalachians otherwise stick to the coast both ways.

SteveF

[flyguy]

Tell 'em to keep water on the right and sand on the left!

SHINY SIDE UP - -POINTY END FORARD - AN PLENNY OF LIKWID FRESHMENS FER WHEN U LAN :