It’s not every day you get asked to fly a beautifully restored 1958 Cessna 182A across the country…so when it happened to me, the answer was a resounding “yes”. The mission was to transport the AOPA Sweepstakes Cessna 182 from AOPA HQ in Frederick, MD to be showcased at the Buckeye Airfare in Buckeye, AZ—a short hop of just 1,700nm.
In this edition of News from HQ, I will discuss what went right with the flight, what went wrong, and the lessons I learned along the way.
Up until this point, my longest cross-country had been flying a much newer Cessna 182 from Frederick to Oshkosh, so I had decent experience on longer flights. However, flying a few states over is a far cry from flying more than three quarters of the way across the country. I knew this would require significantly more planning than any flight I had done before and would likely involve more deviations to the plan.
Reflecting on the flight, these are my key takeaways:
Day 1 was going to take us from Frederick, down the west side of the Appalachians to northern Alabama, through Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, ending with our first overnight in Tyler, TX, home of Stanleys Famous Pit BBQ. Days 2 and 3 would then have us continuing across Texas to New Mexico, then south along the US/Mexico border until we turn north to finish our journey at Buckeye. Easy peasy, the plan was set…until it wasn’t.
For the three weeks leading to the flight, the weather looked like it was going to be perfect, and I had it in my mind that we were heading south for Texas. Then, during one of my obsessive checks of the prog charts, it looked like a low-pressure system was pushing further south than originally forecasted, bringing areas of LIFR and patchy showers. It still seemed doable, but iffy. I immediately recognized what I was experiencing as ‘continuation bias’—the desire to persist with an established plan despite adversely changing conditions. I confirmed with my co-pilot, and we agreed that changing the route at the last minute was the best option. No Texas BBQ for us. The newly agreed-upon route would take us across the Midwest to Topeka, KS, for an overnight stop, then down through the Texas Panhandle to Roswell, NM, on Day 2. Days 3 and 4 would be the scenic route south of Santa Fe to Sedona, then finish up at Buckeye. It went off without a hitch…for the most part.
Thankfully, the winds shifted enough as we continued west through the Midwest. While we still had a painful headwind all the way to Buckeye, at least we were going faster than the cars. The 14 hours planned ended up being 20.2 on the Hobbs and four days to Buckeye, albeit with a non-essential overnight stop in Sedona. Those of you who have been to Sedona understand.
Flying a single-engine piston across the country was one of my favorite aviation experiences so far. While my backside was killing me four hours in and my teeth may still be vibrating, I would not have traded the experience for anything, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I learned lessons that every pilot should be familiar with; namely, just because you planned it one way doesn’t mean that’s how it should or will go. Deviation from an established plan is sometimes the best course of action, and it’s crucial to build extra time into a trip, even if it doesn’t look like you’ll need it on paper. Looking down and seeing a Prius pass you is a disheartening sight, but it’s a reminder that speed isn't always the most important thing — sometimes, it's the journey, the detours, and the moments of unexpected freedom that make the trip worthwhile.
