Jim Meade Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 I'm very strongly considering flying a CTSW from eastern Iowa to Seattle, WA about the middle of June, 2011. I'm an experienced flight planner, but have never had to worry about 10,000 MSL or 2,000 AGL before. I see that I could probably roughly do it in one day, as the day is quite long and I gain two hours going out. I may in fact try to do it in one day. But, I'm thinking I'll plan for two days. If I do that, time and thus distance do not have such an adverse effect. So, figure I'll take 2 days. I'm especially looking for info and tips on which passes might be the best to use. I've flown into Boeing Field twice before - once in a Citation 1 and once in a T210M. This will be different. I may even look for other airports, but I'll be staying very near the Space Needle and don't yet know of other better airports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 From what I've seen when the same question was asked in other forums: Helena; Missoula; Mullan Pass; Coeur d'Alene; Spokane; Moses Lake; Ellensburg; Seattle (via I90 corridor). 'Don't see any probs with altitude. Only problem I see is weax, especially west of Ellensburg. Don't sweat the Mtns unless there's weax, you'll love the view. 'Flew our CT from Phoenix to Ellensburg and back. WONDERFUL trip. But we went a bit South of your route (Boise). Still, most of the way was 10-12K, with lotsa mtns across Nevada (up) & Utah (back). Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngpilot Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 That will be a great trip. Your biggest challenge I think will be the wind since you have to stay close to the terrain if it is strong you could get downdrafts that are troublesome. Should plan on early morning crossing of the main spine of rockies. First day you should plan on getting to Bozeman then cross following the interstate if winds are less than 20/30 Knots. I have made that trip many times in C172/C182/C182T/C185/BE35/SR22 and I just flew a CTLS 1356 miles in one day I believe that this will be super trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 'Ditto on the morning flying... Spokane to Ellensburg is pretty much a desert and could get mighty bumpy with thermal activity if it warms up (very little mountains, though). But June is still pretty early up that way, as the heat doesn't really kick in until July/Aug. You can almost bank on a pretty strong headwind. Flying home should be a hoot, we did about 155-170 mph ground speed all the way though Eastern WA and Idaho. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
207WF Posted May 5, 2011 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 My advice is to wait until September. The only VFR month in Seattle. I lived there for 9 years. Got as good at IFR as I have ever been. Clouds, ice, ... WF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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