Crossing Half The Country In One Flight

In 1984, I sold the 1975 Cessna 172 I had operated for nine years and acquired a 1978 Mooney 201. I immediately put the airplane to work on a multi-stop trip around the country, quickly discovering how efficient it was. On the last leg of that trip, from St. Petersburg, Fla. (KSPG) to Mansfield, Mass. (1B9), I flew the 1029 nm nonstop in 6.7 hours using 52.4 gallons of fuel. That’s an average of 154…

Editorial Staff

Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The author acquired a Mooney 201 in 1984, quickly recognizing its efficiency for long-distance, nonstop flights, including a 1029 nm trip in 6.7 hours.
Initially, the author successfully completed several 6+ hour flights at 10,000-11,500 feet without supplemental oxygen, experiencing no immediate adverse effects.
However, after a 6.8-hour flight at 12,000-12,500 feet without oxygen resulted in a severe headache, the author recognized physiological limits and subsequently restricted long flights or high altitudes without oxygen, eventually acquiring a portable oxygen system.

See a mistake? Contact us.

As I recall (I wish my short-term memory was as good), I flew that trip IFR at 11,000 feet, even though the weather was good VMC, and my logbook says “slight tailwind.” I didn’t have any supplemental oxygen, and I don’t remember any adverse effects from that first-ever flight I made that was over six hours long.