but never went because I could not find 3 consecutive days at ENVA of non-icing flyable wx …
Yes indeed, I would say that is almost impossible. Flying in Norway requires huge amounts of flexibility in a non-FIKI SEP…
Thanks for the responses so far.
To give a little more background:
…or maybe in the end I’ll just go the long way ’round….
Boscomantico: in the end your SR22 doesn’t know if it is flying above water or not. I stopped worrying about this part and focus on recurrent training as most of the accidents happen due to pilot error. It is the same story as flying at night. Where do you land in case of an engine failure? In the Cirrus at least we still have a CAPS/chute system that will bring us down, which also might work over large bodies of water (see Bahamas ditch on COPA).
your SR22 doesn’t know if it is flying above water or not. I stopped worrying about this part and focus on recurrent training as most of the accidents happen due to pilot error.
Absolutely agree. In fact, I am not afraid of crossing waters. Otherwise, I guess I wouldn’t even consider this flight…
I did it plenty of times in a well maintained piston single. While I won’t pretend that doing it in the 20s flight levels didn’t help, you just have to get over the fear. Would I do it in a rental single at low altitude at night? No.
Looking at the RocketRoute screenshot in the OP:
If I was going to do this flight in my SR22 N/A (the same aircraft as the OP), I wouldn’t do it at the FL 50 shown in the plan. When I fly the channel I always fly as high as I can – usually FL160 or 170, always IFR, depending on direction unless there is a really bad head wind – as that gives me the best glide range and highest TAS
On the subject of TAS, the RR plan shows a TAS of 170 KTS, I don’t think I could get that at FL 50 flying LOP: does that mean you habitually fly ROP and what fuel flow would that be? At FL 160 I get about 170 KTAS burning 12.5 US GPH. If you haven’t already done so, you might want to read the “Red Fin” article on LOP ops that can be found in the Copapedia on the COPA site.
On the subject of emergency kit: in addition to items already listed: PLB, raft, life jackets (worn, not just carried), waterproof grab bag, I carry a streamer and a laser signalling device.
I also strongly recommend a dunker course for anyone flying regularly over water: it’s surprising how hard it is to right and then get into a life raft even in a swimming pool if you haven’t done it before.
Good luck with the flight!
We regularly cross the baltic sea on our trips south, mostly during the summer months. I wouldn’t do it in a t-shirt and shorts but I don’t wear survival suits and rafts either. I try to get as high as possible and would seriously consider a detour if it’s dark (a couple of years ago a DA40 went down during night, on it’s flight to the new owners).
I also fly for a non-profit organization, much like the CAP in the US. Some of the assignments include low level flight over the baltic (200ft), but during those flights we wear survival suits, PLB and rafts. We have also completed an UWE education. The rules prohibit these flights if the sea state is above 4 and also have a wind restriction.
Martin: FYI, I am noT sure what reg you fly and thus what ops rules you are under, but EASA ops (even NCO) will definitely require a raft if going more than 100 miles off shore.
This is why a fly a twin: Water, nights, mountains. For everything else, singles are fine.
boscomantico, quite right – but in this case we don’t have that far to shore, so it’s perfectly legal :)