S-LSA Coast-to-Coast 4

I departed Sulphur Springs for Philadelphia (MPE), MS, the next morning flying between 500 and 1,000 feet above ground level but at a density altitude near sea level due to the temperature. I crossed the Mississippi River under a cloudless sky watching the tugs working heavily laden barges around the curves of our country’s mightiest waterway. On this leg the fuel burn was 6.1 gph on a flight over four hundred miles long. I landed with more than 30 minutes of fuel remaining (4 gallons indicated) after 3.8 hours. This confirmed the range and fuel-burn figures that I had accumulated enroute.

The final leg to Eastman (EZM), GA, slightly over 350 miles in 2.8 hours, was flown at low to medium altitudes, and terminated shortly before 3 p.m EST. The Continental had burned one quart of oil in 20 hours, and all systems performed flawlessly. Had I gone up to altitude on all legs and taken advantage of the tailwinds there I could have completed a coast-to-coast flight in just slightly over 20 hours flying time in an LSA. For new pilots, and for those who no longer care to face the medical examiner, the LSA and Sport Pilot privileges recently available offer new horizons for exploration with relatively few limitations. All I can say is, “Have at it!”

Arriving in Sulphur Springs by 2 p.m. CST, I called it a day. Had I not stopped by early afternoon each day I could have delivered the aircraft from northern California to eastern Georgia in two days, and done it quite comfortably...an interesting capability for a Light Sport Aircraft. Another comment I might make that would be of interest to some pilots...my sole radio contacts on the trip were my arrival clearance from the Farmington tower, and the earlier contact with Flight Watch to ascertain the weather at Tonopah. No other radio contact was required or made throughout the trip. I departed Santa Rosa and Farmington before the towers opened for business, and could well have crossed the country quite safely and legally without radio contact. For those pilots who do not care to use a radio...have at it. It’s a big country out there! Although the aircraft had an excellent GPS installed, I flew much of the flight with a sixty-dollar, hand-held GPS in which I had entered the route before leaving home. Navigation need not require “big bucks” either.