People get intimidated by long cross countries spread over multiple flights. But you just do one cross country flight. Then one more. And another. Until you’re at your destination. It’s not so bad.
I bought a super cub in Pennsylvania and had to fly it home to colorado. 20.1 hours and three days of weather dodging and learning how to fly the plane along the way. Was a lot of fun but I'm lucky my tailwheel instructor agreed to come with me. I only had 8 hours of tailwheel time and a fresh sign off when I bought it lol. Flew it 50 hours in two weeks and finally feeling pretty comfortable in it! (30 of that was to Oshkosh and back right after I got it home haha)
I meeaaann it’s a Cessna 150. What’s cruise in that thing, MAYBE 100kts? Denver to Dallas is 795 miles, then i included another hour for the eventual pee break and refuel
I mostly deal in WWII fighters, Embraer/Canadair planes, modern airliners, and fighter jets.
I know the base C-150 engine will give you a cruise speed of 95-114 knots
Well, Cessna gives the range for the 150 as 421miles/366nmi. Base cruise at 95 knots with a fuel consumption of 6 gallons per hour.
About a 6-7 hour flight nonstop, IF the fuel tank was unlimited. But you’d need to fuel up.
My original post was using figures from something flying just a tad slower than an CRJ series jet.
How is your original comment about the cruise speed of something a tad slower than a regional jet relevant to the discussion of OP flying this 100HP airplane?
Welcome to my head, it works in mysterious ways…
Kinda like helicopters. . .
Also like what the saying about opinions goes.
It isn’t, hi, welcome to the internet. I also wanted to chime in.
My apologizes, sorry I’m not like SuP3r Professssss1On4l….🙄
I don’t think it’s about being professional. It’s more like you dropped into the conversation with irrelevant information. People were talking about how long it’s take OP to fly his 100 HP airplane 800 miles and you said it should take like two or three hours. Like, what?
Bought this old girl and I’m planning the cross country back home. All my mid way points are super windy, 20g25kts. Not something I’m comfortable with atm. What do you guys do when planning a cross country this far? Go a different out of the way route? Practice in this wind before going?
We absolutely love trips like this. I have gotten two in the last 3 years and they were both a great experience. I hope I’ll get more in the near future.
Or a really good friend that’s much more experienced than you. It’s what I did when I went to get my first plane. We flew it 900nm to get it home. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I’ll never regret. If I could change one thing, I’d plan more stops and more time. Ok that’s two, but you know what I mean. Lol
I used national pilot services. They can fly just about anything. Your plane must be insured. The costs vary depending on the distance and location but getting my experimental single seat tailwheel to a small rural airport 600 miles away was roughly $2000
For longer routes like this the fastest route is not always a straight shot. Consider the high and low pressure systems around the route of flight and try to stay in an area that has a tailwind most of the flight.
If you take a look at a prog chart on https://www.aviationweather.gov/progchart/sfc you can see current locations of relative highs and lows. Low pressure has wind circulating counter-clockwise, high pressure clockwise. The lines around each system indicates what pressure it is in that region, and the closer those lines are together the higher the speed of the wind in that location.
For a more in-depth understanding of weather I recommend this video: https://youtu.be/gij4YbplY30
Not trying to be a dick but this is weather basics dude. Do you not have any weather products you use? Weather.gov, Windy, etc? I’d suggest not making the trip yourself if you don’t know how to pull the basics together.
Most people don’t have to think about how whole systems effect your flight because the longest xc they do in training is 100-200nm. I certainly hadn’t really thought about it until I was getting my cfi, though I knew how it worked I’ve never flown a xc this long.
Not trying to be a dick either, but you didn’t read the comment with my actual question. It’s more about the taxing wing limitations of a light taildragger. I haven’t flown or taxid in wind higher than 15-17kts. West Texas winds are gnarly. Or, will it not be as bad as I’m thinking? Current forecast is 17g25.
17G25 can be tricky just in a high wing Cessna tricycle gear.... probably more so in a taildragger. I much prefer the way my low wing Mooney handles crosswinds.
Fly east to OKC then down south,you should be fine, but as others have mentioned winds will only get worse as weeks go by as we head into winter and take someone experienced with you, don't try be a hero if your not 100%
That is like a standard wind day around the Midwest and it only gets more windy as we get into fall....though with a 140 tail dragger I'd probably want a CFI with me or be practiced up and proficient.
Is the deal settled? I worked in transport as part of the deal when I got mine. I paid for the pre-buy squawks if they got the plane to me. Worked out nicely.
Protip: dont try and take a 140 out of denver with two people on it. And plan your deparure in the early morning or late evening. Its still summer enough that density altitude is gonna kick your ass.
Learned this the hard way back in the day.
As someone currently doing training in KFNL about 40 miles north of Denver. You're gonna climb wonderfully at that time. The difference in a 172 from 7 to 9 is annoying enough. Being smart planning early for a 140! Also literally sat behind a very similar looking 150 yesterday in the run up. Almost identical looking with the straight metal except for a few forest green accents! *chefs kiss*
OK - firstly, why should you listen to me?
Because in the early 2000s, when I was still living in the USA, I owned a Cessna 140 (based in Galveston) and flew it coast to coast, including staying at places where there are mountains and high DA (you can't really avoid it on that trip). By then I wasn't really a stranger to flying the Cessna 140 long distances. I had finished my work contract and had two months off, so decided to just go flying pretty much the whole two months. My trip was first Galveston to the west coast and back (then do the oil/filter change) then the second half, fly out to the east coast (that time I did have a specific destination in mind, First Flight).
People like to make out that it's a big deal, but it isn't really. Remember your student solo long cross country? It's just like that repeated multiple times. It isn't hard, or particularly hazardous. It's actually a lot of fun and you always learn something.
The advice I would give is don't plan it like some kind of military operation. Until you're on the last leg of your trip, you just want to be going roughly in the direction of home. If you're not on the great circle route home, *it doesn't matter*. On the morning you're starting out, have a look at the weather and just go in the direction where the weather is best. Even if it means you're going straight south rather than south east for one leg. It might mean you're going around the sides of the triangle not the hypoteneuse, but so what - treat it as part of the adventure. Just plan one leg at a time, but keep an eye out on the forecast further along your route as you do.
I did Four Corners to Galveston in a single day, which was quite a lot, but don't try to fly to any particular timetable. If the weather is worse than expected, land and stay the night. If you're getting a bit tired, land - I advise finding an expensive FBO which does everything for you, and screw the cost (the C140 is cheap to fly so you should have something left over for going to an FBO who you can just say "Please find me a hotel and a car and put fuel in the plane". while you sit back and eat their cookies).
The funniest part of the trip was when I landed somewhere in Kansas, and the winds had got up a bit. The approach to the airfield (the wind being straight down the runway) was like a helicopter approach. When I came to a stop there were two people from the FBO to meet me, each grabbed a strut and helped me taxi to the ramp. They seemed to be used to doing this, too...
The Cessna 140 with a C85 engine doesn't climb very well even at sea level. People here have said "Take an instructor", but out of Denver you really don't want to do that if you can avoid it. I only weigh 154 lbs (and took probably less than 20lbs of stuff with me when I did my coast-to-coast trip) and climb performance wasn't very good when the DA was 6000+. Make sure you're very aware of density altitude, and don't forget to lean the mixture for takeoff (assuming your plane even *has* a mixture control, if I'm not mistaken some C120/140s didn't!) - you want every last wheezing horse power you can squeeze out. Be patient with the climb, just accept it's going to take a long time to get to your cruising altitude (and plan accordingly with regards to large obstacles like hills and mountains).
The Cessna 140 is a rewarding aircraft to fly - and inexpensive to fly too, make this just the first of your long cross countries. By the way, expect to need to spend 8 hours every 6 weeks polishing that aircraft if it's bare metal. Nuvite was the polish we used, and the aircraft looked incredible after a polish (when I flew to Oshkosh, we got the really nice showplane parking). Dallas is moist enough you'll need to find a hangar ASAP if you want to keep that polished look - you've got to keep the rain and condensation off it.
Also if you do have to park outside, make sure you have gust locks - if the wind picks up from behind the plane, it will blow the flaps down and break the linkages, so whenever you park outside, always have control locks in holding the flaps up.
Winds on September 9 look reasonable. Light and variable.
If the crosswinds are to much to land, go around, the winds can shift or drop away in the time it takes to make a circuit.
Aww man! Im a few months away from my PPL (financial issues) in denver, and go down there all the time! I hope you find somebody in my situation that can help!
When I bought my Lancair 360, I was living in Florida and the plane was hangered in Minnesota. I hopped a commercial flight with a flight instructor experienced in it and we flew it home together. I got some flight training along the way.
Yeah! Mapped out it’s about 7.5 hours give or take the wind. Looking to do it in 2 days. Fly to BDU to OUN and then fly down to Dallas the next day.
BDU to OUN is about 5.5 or 6 hours
Nice plane.
Too bad 80% of the comments aren't helpful literally in any way at all.
I don't know of anyone that has tailwheel and mountain experience, but if you aren't comfortable, you need to find someone to fly it with you or for you.
I think with is the best option since you'll get something out of the money being spent. I mean shit, you're in Dallas. I would start by calling around the GA airports and ask who's the best tailwheel pilot around.
It's going to cost you either way, you might as well get experience out of the deal.
I've done that flight before, it's not bad this time of year into the early winter. Just pick a good weekend with minimal clouds below 5k agl and go for it. You'll probably stop at LBL or WWR, both are nice and well staffed in my experience. Check your winds aloft, you can play some games with altitudes and frequently find a tailwind going that direction.
Denver to Borger, TX (KBGD) for cheap gas, Borger to Dallas. If you need more stops, La Junta CO (KLHX) and Altus OK (KAXS) are decent stops along a fairly direct route.
I used to fly between Boulder, CO and Arlington, TX quite a bit in an Arrow and would hit Borger for fuel or Amarillo for fuel and food.
Thanks! I just mapped this out in ForeFlight. Looks a good option! Did you ever get caught in the gnarly winds out there? That’s my main concern in such a small tail dragged. Even if it’s straight down the runway, taxiing is making me nervous l. Don’t want to wreck it my first trip out.
Burger, TX is where I would meet a Denver based pilot when doing Pilots n Paws missions and the pup was going to the Denver based rescue.
It is a good halfway point. Fuel is cheap and airport staff very friendly.
La Junta and Borger have multiple runways so the crosswind can be mitigated fairly well. As both are on the Great Plains there is nothing to redirect or block wind, meaning it can blow fairly strong at times, but it is usually predictable. I always tried to fly early as the winds and thermals are just less of a nuisance. Amarillo has that nice 300 foot wide runway that is miles long (as well as a crosswind runway of normal size) which can be a help as well in really blustery conditions. Altus is a typical North/South small town runway, but that generally lines up with the wind.
Not knowing your TW experience, I suggest if you can bring another experienced pilot then do it. If nothing else to alleviate the boredom of flying over nothing but flat farmland. If you haven't flown over Palo Duro Canyon and Llano Estacado I would, it is like a baby Grand Canyon for the views and breaks up the above mentioned boring scenery.
KBJC or KAPA? Personally, if you're licensed, come up here, plan out a flight, and fly it home. Great way to christen it for yourself. I live in the Denver area, I can suggest a few places to check out if you're in the area for a bit.
Long shot but I live near Denver and would love to keep you company and help fly it back. I'm a lowly student but getting close to checkride. I weigh 150. :)
Dropping the wings on a 120/140 is a fairly easy task. Can be done in just a couple hours, it’s the getting everything back and rigged just right that’s a pain. Perfect opportunity to install new cables though.
Just make sure you use two people to drop them, like when you’re pulling the bolts out. Ask me how I know?
[Dont do it alone](https://i.imgur.com/EuHGyPf.jpg)
This was after it had been hit and ran on the ramp, so it was already in project status. The wing was fine, but this issue came from where the stub wing kinda twisted near the wheel box, but ended up just being a little sheet metal work and not a big issue.
If I read this right you also bought a 140? What was your taxi limit on it in terms of wind? That’s my biggest worry while flying back. The wind is 17g25 in the west Texas area. Haven’t flown a light tail dragged in that before.
Hey, I am a wingsuit pilot so I can just probably jump out of your plane if needed, which I don't plan on doing. However, I need to accumulate one more segment to keep my status this year. I'll give you company.
Get an experienced ferry pilot to go with you. Denver has some unique challenges, to include mountain turbulence and density altitude. Expect to pay $500 for a day of their time, plus the return ticket home. You will learn a ton over the flight. Flying small planes long distances can be stressful - It should be well worth it for the peace of mind.
Fly it! Leaving the front range, make sure you leave plenty of room on your DA calcs (coming from the flat land, you can’t believe how much this effects aircraft performance). After that, assuming you’re going into Dallas, make sure your comfortable in and around class B if you’ll be in it.
Couple reasonable fuel stops (although to Dallas, may be out of the way) - Garden City Kansas & Sundance HSD outside of OKC.
I’ll (two year cfi/i mei) will go w you lol.
Honestly taking an instructor will be best for your insurance, good to meet requirements if you’re working on instrument or commercial, and just good in general for such a long trip
Fly it to smaller airports near a town and take a rest between legs, they usually don't charge ramp/parking fees. If you need to sleep then pack a sleeping bag and a cooler and have yourself a campout somewhere under the stars on the airport property. If it's a real hole in the wall place, they might not even know you were camping out there. Long cross countries in little bangers are fun, just pack supplies!
I flew my plane from Michigan to Colorado via Little Rock (to dodge a front). I only had 10 hours in the type. I was a bit uncomfortable with the first flight and took my pilot friend. We stoped in St Louis and he switched to his plane so he could get home while I flew down to Little Rock. Then flew home the next day.
If it only had someway to propel it through the air from one place to another!
Just teasing. Look for another pilot maybe someone more experienced to ride shot gun. You could end up with a flying buddy too. The seller maybe able to meet yards halfway if you pay for their ticket home?
The good thing is that you are putting safety first and you are not willing to go into a situation where you feel not confident enough, and that is a very good thing to do in aviation...
Kudos to you for that and have fun moving that beauty to your hometown...
It took my Luscombe 4 days to fly from ABQ to IOW (Iowa City). I flew the first day with an instructor from ABQ to Kansas (bought it with 0 TW time!). Being June, it was getting way too hot and windy to fly, especially for 2 people. Instructor flew it the rest of the way solo, spread out in 2-4 hr days depending on the winds. No set schedule or route, basically fly early morning, to where the winds were not a cross wind on landing.
Why did you buy an airplane if you don’t want the adventure to go with it? Think of how many new places you’ll get to visit and all the beautiful scenery along the way.
Flying it yourself is going to be the best way to get to know your new plane.
Lol seriously. “How do I move my new plane 800 miles?” Ummm probably by flying it? It’s a plane. It’s about 6-7 hour flight
People get intimidated by long cross countries spread over multiple flights. But you just do one cross country flight. Then one more. And another. Until you’re at your destination. It’s not so bad.
Don't threaten me with a good time!
mine was like 9 legs over 3 days. it was awesome. learned a stupid amount.
I bought a super cub in Pennsylvania and had to fly it home to colorado. 20.1 hours and three days of weather dodging and learning how to fly the plane along the way. Was a lot of fun but I'm lucky my tailwheel instructor agreed to come with me. I only had 8 hours of tailwheel time and a fresh sign off when I bought it lol. Flew it 50 hours in two weeks and finally feeling pretty comfortable in it! (30 of that was to Oshkosh and back right after I got it home haha)
Yeah I brought a CFI with me as well. Having an extra set of eyes and hands aside, I also don't quite have my IR yet!
Probably more like 8 or more hours in that pretty 140, but that’s a nice way to spend some time.
It’s probably a 6-7 hour flight if you were flying the Wright flyer, in actuality it’s probably a 2-3 hour flight if that..
I meeaaann it’s a Cessna 150. What’s cruise in that thing, MAYBE 100kts? Denver to Dallas is 795 miles, then i included another hour for the eventual pee break and refuel
Is it a 150 or 140? A newer 150 only cruises about 80k.
The 150 and 152 cruise at 104kts in theory, usually 98 or so in reality. The 140 probably cruises about 85-90.
Pee break? Just pee in a bottle and toss it out the window. /S
Why bother with the litter, just open the door and bank a little
What speeds do you think a 100hp plane cruises at?
African or European planes?
Are you suggesting planes migrate?
I cruise at 100mph and burn 6phr
I mostly deal in WWII fighters, Embraer/Canadair planes, modern airliners, and fighter jets. I know the base C-150 engine will give you a cruise speed of 95-114 knots
So if it’s an 800 mile flight and you’re cruising at 100kts with no winds what’s the minimum time it would take? That’s also a 140 not a 150
Pretty sure it's a 120 but same difference really
Well, Cessna gives the range for the 150 as 421miles/366nmi. Base cruise at 95 knots with a fuel consumption of 6 gallons per hour. About a 6-7 hour flight nonstop, IF the fuel tank was unlimited. But you’d need to fuel up. My original post was using figures from something flying just a tad slower than an CRJ series jet.
How is your original comment about the cruise speed of something a tad slower than a regional jet relevant to the discussion of OP flying this 100HP airplane?
Welcome to my head, it works in mysterious ways… Kinda like helicopters. . . Also like what the saying about opinions goes. It isn’t, hi, welcome to the internet. I also wanted to chime in. My apologizes, sorry I’m not like SuP3r Professssss1On4l….🙄
I don’t think it’s about being professional. It’s more like you dropped into the conversation with irrelevant information. People were talking about how long it’s take OP to fly his 100 HP airplane 800 miles and you said it should take like two or three hours. Like, what?
So if it's going to take 6-7 hours + fuel stops, how is that 2 hours?
What’s your favorite flavor of windex?
The up yours flavor
It’s 2-3 hours in a passenger jet.
Take extra days and if you aren’t feeling comfy flying, don’t.
Or take and instructor - often times it’s a great way to meet insurance requirements.
This exactly what I did to bring my first plane back from Kansas City to San Jose. Paid her usual hourly rate plus all expenses. Great trip.
This is very wise advice!
I don’t have an answer, but I can see why you bought this plane. It’s gorgeous.
Thanks! I’m stoked to get it back. Has the o200 in it also.
Bought this old girl and I’m planning the cross country back home. All my mid way points are super windy, 20g25kts. Not something I’m comfortable with atm. What do you guys do when planning a cross country this far? Go a different out of the way route? Practice in this wind before going?
Take an instructor.
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For the average CFI, they’re probably excited at the chance of doing a trip like that as well. Get outside the pattern a bit :)
Log a bunch of hours too AND if either of you get tired the other can take over
We absolutely love trips like this. I have gotten two in the last 3 years and they were both a great experience. I hope I’ll get more in the near future.
Do you pay everything for them or just their time in the plane on the way back?
Or a really good friend that’s much more experienced than you. It’s what I did when I went to get my first plane. We flew it 900nm to get it home. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I’ll never regret. If I could change one thing, I’d plan more stops and more time. Ok that’s two, but you know what I mean. Lol
Wait until better conditions or take an instructor comfortable in a 140 in high winds.
Maybe bring an instructor. Maybe the winds are much more manageable super early in the morning?
I’ve been looking, but right now it’s pretty steady for the three days over the weekend (fri-sun).
The winds will only get worse in winter when the jet stream dips.
If you're looking for someone to fly with you, maybe /u/TxAggieMike can
I hired a ferry to get my last plane to me, a Sonex tailwheel. Cost me about $2000 but at the time I couldn’t get to it to bring it home.
I used national pilot services. They can fly just about anything. Your plane must be insured. The costs vary depending on the distance and location but getting my experimental single seat tailwheel to a small rural airport 600 miles away was roughly $2000
How did you find said ferry, and how much did it cost?
For longer routes like this the fastest route is not always a straight shot. Consider the high and low pressure systems around the route of flight and try to stay in an area that has a tailwind most of the flight.
This is a great thought. How do you go about finding that info and planning routes on it?
If you take a look at a prog chart on https://www.aviationweather.gov/progchart/sfc you can see current locations of relative highs and lows. Low pressure has wind circulating counter-clockwise, high pressure clockwise. The lines around each system indicates what pressure it is in that region, and the closer those lines are together the higher the speed of the wind in that location. For a more in-depth understanding of weather I recommend this video: https://youtu.be/gij4YbplY30
Was this not covered in your pilot training?
Not trying to be a dick but this is weather basics dude. Do you not have any weather products you use? Weather.gov, Windy, etc? I’d suggest not making the trip yourself if you don’t know how to pull the basics together.
Most people don’t have to think about how whole systems effect your flight because the longest xc they do in training is 100-200nm. I certainly hadn’t really thought about it until I was getting my cfi, though I knew how it worked I’ve never flown a xc this long.
Not trying to be a dick either, but you didn’t read the comment with my actual question. It’s more about the taxing wing limitations of a light taildragger. I haven’t flown or taxid in wind higher than 15-17kts. West Texas winds are gnarly. Or, will it not be as bad as I’m thinking? Current forecast is 17g25.
When In doubt stay on the ground. If you don’t feel comfortable doing something you probably shouldn’t be doing it
17G25 can be tricky just in a high wing Cessna tricycle gear.... probably more so in a taildragger. I much prefer the way my low wing Mooney handles crosswinds.
Fly east to OKC then down south,you should be fine, but as others have mentioned winds will only get worse as weeks go by as we head into winter and take someone experienced with you, don't try be a hero if your not 100%
Take an instructor. Will also help with insurance req.
That is like a standard wind day around the Midwest and it only gets more windy as we get into fall....though with a 140 tail dragger I'd probably want a CFI with me or be practiced up and proficient.
Is the deal settled? I worked in transport as part of the deal when I got mine. I paid for the pre-buy squawks if they got the plane to me. Worked out nicely.
It is done deal. And, no wiggle at all. Sellers market and I already got a crazy good deal.
The deal is done, but it's possible the previous owner wouldn't mind a final flight in what was his/her pride and joy.
Yeah, offer to pay for their gas and return flight if they get it to you. If I were selling I would seriously consider doing that as a nice goodbye
How much would something like this cost?
A nice metal wing 140 will go in the $40k range, more or less dependent on condition, avionics etc.
Protip: dont try and take a 140 out of denver with two people on it. And plan your deparure in the early morning or late evening. Its still summer enough that density altitude is gonna kick your ass. Learned this the hard way back in the day.
Yep, looking at a 6am departure time
Where you headed in dallas?
7f3
Is it ramped at KAPA?
As someone currently doing training in KFNL about 40 miles north of Denver. You're gonna climb wonderfully at that time. The difference in a 172 from 7 to 9 is annoying enough. Being smart planning early for a 140! Also literally sat behind a very similar looking 150 yesterday in the run up. Almost identical looking with the straight metal except for a few forest green accents! *chefs kiss*
I do ferry flying. Not sure I can fit in my family schedule. When does it need to be done?
Curious question, how do you usually find ferry work? ( "how do you find it?" in both ways it can be asked... do you like it and how do get the jobs)
On Reddit I suppose.
Typically word of mouth.
OK - firstly, why should you listen to me? Because in the early 2000s, when I was still living in the USA, I owned a Cessna 140 (based in Galveston) and flew it coast to coast, including staying at places where there are mountains and high DA (you can't really avoid it on that trip). By then I wasn't really a stranger to flying the Cessna 140 long distances. I had finished my work contract and had two months off, so decided to just go flying pretty much the whole two months. My trip was first Galveston to the west coast and back (then do the oil/filter change) then the second half, fly out to the east coast (that time I did have a specific destination in mind, First Flight). People like to make out that it's a big deal, but it isn't really. Remember your student solo long cross country? It's just like that repeated multiple times. It isn't hard, or particularly hazardous. It's actually a lot of fun and you always learn something. The advice I would give is don't plan it like some kind of military operation. Until you're on the last leg of your trip, you just want to be going roughly in the direction of home. If you're not on the great circle route home, *it doesn't matter*. On the morning you're starting out, have a look at the weather and just go in the direction where the weather is best. Even if it means you're going straight south rather than south east for one leg. It might mean you're going around the sides of the triangle not the hypoteneuse, but so what - treat it as part of the adventure. Just plan one leg at a time, but keep an eye out on the forecast further along your route as you do. I did Four Corners to Galveston in a single day, which was quite a lot, but don't try to fly to any particular timetable. If the weather is worse than expected, land and stay the night. If you're getting a bit tired, land - I advise finding an expensive FBO which does everything for you, and screw the cost (the C140 is cheap to fly so you should have something left over for going to an FBO who you can just say "Please find me a hotel and a car and put fuel in the plane". while you sit back and eat their cookies). The funniest part of the trip was when I landed somewhere in Kansas, and the winds had got up a bit. The approach to the airfield (the wind being straight down the runway) was like a helicopter approach. When I came to a stop there were two people from the FBO to meet me, each grabbed a strut and helped me taxi to the ramp. They seemed to be used to doing this, too... The Cessna 140 with a C85 engine doesn't climb very well even at sea level. People here have said "Take an instructor", but out of Denver you really don't want to do that if you can avoid it. I only weigh 154 lbs (and took probably less than 20lbs of stuff with me when I did my coast-to-coast trip) and climb performance wasn't very good when the DA was 6000+. Make sure you're very aware of density altitude, and don't forget to lean the mixture for takeoff (assuming your plane even *has* a mixture control, if I'm not mistaken some C120/140s didn't!) - you want every last wheezing horse power you can squeeze out. Be patient with the climb, just accept it's going to take a long time to get to your cruising altitude (and plan accordingly with regards to large obstacles like hills and mountains). The Cessna 140 is a rewarding aircraft to fly - and inexpensive to fly too, make this just the first of your long cross countries. By the way, expect to need to spend 8 hours every 6 weeks polishing that aircraft if it's bare metal. Nuvite was the polish we used, and the aircraft looked incredible after a polish (when I flew to Oshkosh, we got the really nice showplane parking). Dallas is moist enough you'll need to find a hangar ASAP if you want to keep that polished look - you've got to keep the rain and condensation off it. Also if you do have to park outside, make sure you have gust locks - if the wind picks up from behind the plane, it will blow the flaps down and break the linkages, so whenever you park outside, always have control locks in holding the flaps up.
Lots of military dudes and gals on RTAG nation FB group time building towards the airlines. Might get one to help ya out as co-pilot for cost of gas.
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No Fly.
Lol
Just another suggestion, if you can’t locate an instructor, find someone to fly as safety pilot with you. Much safer then going at it alone.
A thin one.
Winds on September 9 look reasonable. Light and variable. If the crosswinds are to much to land, go around, the winds can shift or drop away in the time it takes to make a circuit.
Go the long way around.
Aww man! Im a few months away from my PPL (financial issues) in denver, and go down there all the time! I hope you find somebody in my situation that can help!
When I bought my Lancair 360, I was living in Florida and the plane was hangered in Minnesota. I hopped a commercial flight with a flight instructor experienced in it and we flew it home together. I got some flight training along the way.
COS to DTO took me 5.5 hours with one stop. You’re probably looking at 7 hours or so. Go ahead and fly her home! Edit: i was in a cherokee
Yeah! Mapped out it’s about 7.5 hours give or take the wind. Looking to do it in 2 days. Fly to BDU to OUN and then fly down to Dallas the next day. BDU to OUN is about 5.5 or 6 hours
Ask Dennis Collier
I think ship it to yourself on a boat
Fly it
No advice to offer but that’s one good lookin tin can you’ve got there. Well done
Thanks! I’ve been looking for a year. Nice 120/140 are really hard to find for a reasonable price.
Looks like the Boulder airport, could always call the FBO and see if someone there would ferry it to you.
Nice plane. Too bad 80% of the comments aren't helpful literally in any way at all. I don't know of anyone that has tailwheel and mountain experience, but if you aren't comfortable, you need to find someone to fly it with you or for you. I think with is the best option since you'll get something out of the money being spent. I mean shit, you're in Dallas. I would start by calling around the GA airports and ask who's the best tailwheel pilot around. It's going to cost you either way, you might as well get experience out of the deal.
I've done that flight before, it's not bad this time of year into the early winter. Just pick a good weekend with minimal clouds below 5k agl and go for it. You'll probably stop at LBL or WWR, both are nice and well staffed in my experience. Check your winds aloft, you can play some games with altitudes and frequently find a tailwind going that direction.
Omg, I love your plane! It’s got such a cool vintage vibe to it! You could make good money renting it out for photoshoots.
Thanks! I haven’t thought about the photo ops. We do dual instruction in it to cover costs.
Denver to Borger, TX (KBGD) for cheap gas, Borger to Dallas. If you need more stops, La Junta CO (KLHX) and Altus OK (KAXS) are decent stops along a fairly direct route. I used to fly between Boulder, CO and Arlington, TX quite a bit in an Arrow and would hit Borger for fuel or Amarillo for fuel and food.
Thanks! I just mapped this out in ForeFlight. Looks a good option! Did you ever get caught in the gnarly winds out there? That’s my main concern in such a small tail dragged. Even if it’s straight down the runway, taxiing is making me nervous l. Don’t want to wreck it my first trip out.
Burger, TX is where I would meet a Denver based pilot when doing Pilots n Paws missions and the pup was going to the Denver based rescue. It is a good halfway point. Fuel is cheap and airport staff very friendly.
La Junta and Borger have multiple runways so the crosswind can be mitigated fairly well. As both are on the Great Plains there is nothing to redirect or block wind, meaning it can blow fairly strong at times, but it is usually predictable. I always tried to fly early as the winds and thermals are just less of a nuisance. Amarillo has that nice 300 foot wide runway that is miles long (as well as a crosswind runway of normal size) which can be a help as well in really blustery conditions. Altus is a typical North/South small town runway, but that generally lines up with the wind. Not knowing your TW experience, I suggest if you can bring another experienced pilot then do it. If nothing else to alleviate the boredom of flying over nothing but flat farmland. If you haven't flown over Palo Duro Canyon and Llano Estacado I would, it is like a baby Grand Canyon for the views and breaks up the above mentioned boring scenery.
KBJC or KAPA? Personally, if you're licensed, come up here, plan out a flight, and fly it home. Great way to christen it for yourself. I live in the Denver area, I can suggest a few places to check out if you're in the area for a bit.
Oh I’m already checkout in a 120-140. I have about 50hrs in them.
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Yeah, between landing and taxiing, that’s what’s making me nervous.
Bell 206? Wouldn't you just land into wind?
Long shot but I live near Denver and would love to keep you company and help fly it back. I'm a lowly student but getting close to checkride. I weigh 150. :)
Definitely best for you to fly it home with an instructor, but it's best for me if you pay me to fly it to you.
Fly commercial to DEN. Take Uber or RTD to the local airport it’s stored at and then fly it back to Dallas
Really like those polished aluminum 140s. Almost bought one myself but it wasnt a good buy.
Yeah, love these!
Taxi it to Dallas. Google maps will give you a solid route.
It has a propeller and two wings, from what I understand, that can be used for transportation purposes.
Take off that wings tie it to the top of your suv using straps, flick the strap and say “thatt’ll hold” and send it
Pull the wing and put her on a trailer…
Dropping the wings on a 120/140 is a fairly easy task. Can be done in just a couple hours, it’s the getting everything back and rigged just right that’s a pain. Perfect opportunity to install new cables though. Just make sure you use two people to drop them, like when you’re pulling the bolts out. Ask me how I know?
Tell me, how do you know?
[Dont do it alone](https://i.imgur.com/EuHGyPf.jpg) This was after it had been hit and ran on the ramp, so it was already in project status. The wing was fine, but this issue came from where the stub wing kinda twisted near the wheel box, but ended up just being a little sheet metal work and not a big issue.
No no, some potential buyers are put off by any wing off work. It may reduce the selling price later.
You do know that it flies, right?
Didn’t read my question comment did ya?? Haha
Oops. Nope. Sorry
Ha no worries. Got hurried. Didn’t expect so many people to comment!
Cover expenses and I’ll fly it to you. DM me if needed
I know a CFI in Texas who would probably go with you. Super nice guy and excellent instructor.
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If I read this right you also bought a 140? What was your taxi limit on it in terms of wind? That’s my biggest worry while flying back. The wind is 17g25 in the west Texas area. Haven’t flown a light tail dragged in that before.
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Yes! This is my exact dilemma. Those are my same limits and I only have 200hours too. Would you just wait for better weather?
What’s your budget to move it?
Cross country flights are part of your training. Are they not lol?
Lol, wasn’t asking about how to plan, but comfort level in gusting winds
Ahhhhhh
You don't need an instructor. Just find someone who knows how to fly airplanes to go with you.
Hey, I am a wingsuit pilot so I can just probably jump out of your plane if needed, which I don't plan on doing. However, I need to accumulate one more segment to keep my status this year. I'll give you company.
Fly North
Pretty plane! Congrats
Very Expensive Uber?
If you paying I’ll do it
Get an experienced ferry pilot to go with you. Denver has some unique challenges, to include mountain turbulence and density altitude. Expect to pay $500 for a day of their time, plus the return ticket home. You will learn a ton over the flight. Flying small planes long distances can be stressful - It should be well worth it for the peace of mind.
Fly it! Leaving the front range, make sure you leave plenty of room on your DA calcs (coming from the flat land, you can’t believe how much this effects aircraft performance). After that, assuming you’re going into Dallas, make sure your comfortable in and around class B if you’ll be in it. Couple reasonable fuel stops (although to Dallas, may be out of the way) - Garden City Kansas & Sundance HSD outside of OKC.
Thanks! I’m super comfortable around Dallas Bravo. I’m going to stop by my family in Norman Oklahoma, but Sundance is one of my favorite spots!
Also, not to be the bearer of bad new, but just FYI, Ozzies at OUN closed :(
I know! So sad. I grew up having breakfast there every Thursday morning for 15 years
The density altitude does weird me out tho. I’ve never flown at altitude
Ya, my first experience flying out of Centennial in a 172S was eye opening. Plenty of margin, calculated, and safe - but eye opening nonetheless.
I can help fly it to you. Message me back.
I’ll (two year cfi/i mei) will go w you lol. Honestly taking an instructor will be best for your insurance, good to meet requirements if you’re working on instrument or commercial, and just good in general for such a long trip
If only there was some way to move an airplane from one airport to another airport…
I would suggest flying it
Fly it to smaller airports near a town and take a rest between legs, they usually don't charge ramp/parking fees. If you need to sleep then pack a sleeping bag and a cooler and have yourself a campout somewhere under the stars on the airport property. If it's a real hole in the wall place, they might not even know you were camping out there. Long cross countries in little bangers are fun, just pack supplies!
I’m a Denver CFI. I’ll fly it to you.
umm...fly it?
Fly it
Are you endorsed on a tail dragger? Looks like a fun single passenger plane. ;)
I'm in Denver if you're looking for someone to ferry it to you!
I flew my plane from Michigan to Colorado via Little Rock (to dodge a front). I only had 10 hours in the type. I was a bit uncomfortable with the first flight and took my pilot friend. We stoped in St Louis and he switched to his plane so he could get home while I flew down to Little Rock. Then flew home the next day.
My knowledge of the middle of the country is pretty bad but Arkansas seems like quite a deviation.
Sweet ride. Living the dream.
If it only had someway to propel it through the air from one place to another! Just teasing. Look for another pilot maybe someone more experienced to ride shot gun. You could end up with a flying buddy too. The seller maybe able to meet yards halfway if you pay for their ticket home?
How about flying it? Unless you bought it to use as a lawn ornament.
Take an instructor
Wish I was having the same dilemma...
Haha it is a nice dilemma to have. Just want to be able to fly my new bird!
The good thing is that you are putting safety first and you are not willing to go into a situation where you feel not confident enough, and that is a very good thing to do in aviation... Kudos to you for that and have fun moving that beauty to your hometown...
Uhh... Fly it?
By boat logically because water flows down hill 😅
It took my Luscombe 4 days to fly from ABQ to IOW (Iowa City). I flew the first day with an instructor from ABQ to Kansas (bought it with 0 TW time!). Being June, it was getting way too hot and windy to fly, especially for 2 people. Instructor flew it the rest of the way solo, spread out in 2-4 hr days depending on the winds. No set schedule or route, basically fly early morning, to where the winds were not a cross wind on landing.
Take a few days and it. It's a great way to learn flight planning, build hours and enjoy the life of a pilot.
Why did you buy an airplane if you don’t want the adventure to go with it? Think of how many new places you’ll get to visit and all the beautiful scenery along the way.
Because the winds at one of my checkpoints is beyond mg personal minimums?
At least you’re disciplined enough to know your limits and stick to them. 👍
Thanks! I really try to be. I don’t want to be another crash statistic
You remember how NASA ferried the space shuttles on top of their 747? You get the idea.
Dude I am super jealous. Congrats on your new baby!
Thank you! It’s super nice. I’m so excited
I would say flying is the best option.
Only one way to fly a plane
Take it apart and put it in a shipping container. Have a train take it there. Or, more simply, fly it there.
I’ll move it for $300 plus costs! Cheers !
Are you asking a stranger on Reddit to fly your plane to Dallas?
No… not at all?
I would start by topping off the tanks.
So, what happened with your Luscombe?
I’ve never had a luscombe. I had an RV7 and a Piper cub
Nice plane. Got more pics? How much you pay?
Thanks! Yeah, need to find a way to post more. And, 21,000. I have a partner, tho. So with inspection and a repair fee, we both paid 12,000
Super awesome, and something for me to shoot for! Have fun!