Since starting in 1984, I’ve logged over 1800 hours in more than 45 aircraft types. As much of this has been in the past four years under the employ of a major avionics shop, the recent experience factor provides a bit of confidence, especially since I’m quite familiar with most avionics offered today. A trip from Sarasota, Florida (KSRQ) to Newport, Rhode Island (KUUU) in one day is quite a haul, especially when the final leg will likely require an instrument approach without an operative autopilot. Hey, let the adventure begin!
A Long Trip
The mission was to deliver a Cessna T210 to its owner, who was over 1000 miles away—in one day. I picked a day that had the most favorable weather in early October. The main avionics consisted of a GTN 750 GPS nav/comm, Aspen EFD 1500, G5 standby attitude indicator, and GTX 345, providing both ADS-B In and Out. The remaining equipment was factory installed and included accompanying round dials— but no operative autopilot.
