I Learned About Flying From That: The Longest Journey

Howard Paul

Monday, April 14, 2014 at 09:33 PM ET

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** To see more of Barry Ross' aviation art, go
to barryrossart.com.**

Key Takeaways:

The author undertook a challenging 18.7-hour cross-country flight to deliver a Cessna 150M, encountering persistent severe weather, strong winds, and turbulence, particularly across Texas and Florida.
Throughout the multi-day journey, the pilot experienced increasing fatigue, which led to impaired judgment, critical errors (like forgetting chocks), moments of fear, and needing ATC vectors for an urgent landing during severe turbulence.
The key takeaways from the experience highlight the dangers of flying beyond one's comfort level, setting unrealistic daily flight hour expectations, and underestimating the profound impact of fatigue on pilot vigilance and decision-making.

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I purchased 3723V, a 1976 Cessna 150M, to help defray the cost of acquiring my instrument rating and to build time. After earning the rating, business took me to Phoenix, and due to the desert heat and the thermals, it soon became apparent that I needed a turbocharged airplane. So I sold 23V to a gentleman in southern Florida under the agreement that I would deliver the airplane to him.

Flight planning put the trip around 18 hours. I would depart Deer Valley heading southeast toward Tucson to remain west of the mountains and then fly almost due east to cross them while following Interstate 10 all the way to Florida before heading south to my final destination, Airport Manatee (48X) in Palmetto.