Hi folks,
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
I agree that in theory, this type of trip is well within the capabilities of a PPL pilot, but with other commitments (ATPL ground studies) I am not as current as I'd like to be and my solo XC was a long time ago. I also strongly feel that fresh while fresh PPL pilots have the theoretical knowledge, there is still an awful lot to learn. Attempting to do this a trip alone with my limited experience would be foolhardy.
To put some meat on the bones, this is a trip that will run over two days, outbound early Saturday morning, returning the following day. There is a reason for this specific trip, that being a mate’s stag weekend. Thankfully I will have an excuse for not getting totally hammered (those days are behind me) although it does mean I am required to fund my instructor’s weekend away!
We’ll be taking a GPS along but I want to do this in the traditional way as much as possible. In particular I want to get more experience of using navaids for tracking and position fixes. I don’t think there is enough of this is on the current PPL syllabus.
Full tanks on our PA28 would be enough fuel to get us there non-stop but I am planning a single stop half way. A good friend of mine has told me Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green has good facilities and at just £10 landing fee it might be a good option.
In terms of a route, I’m thinking we might stay to the east of the Pennines, avoiding busy airspace around Manchester; no point in going near there if it’s not necessary. Use Sheffield as a waypoint, then on to Wolverhampton. From there, down to Bristol, then on to Newquay. Johnm: I’d also thought of Perranporth as being possibly more suitable (i.e. cheaper) so may go for there rather than Newquay. If I read their website correctly, the total cost at Newquay would be £24 (£22 landing, £2 parking). Does anybody happen to know charges at Perranporth? My Pooley’s guide just says ‘reasonable’.
VMC: thanks, I’ve picked up your PM. I’ll be in touch.
Any further comments welcomed.
Tim