Sun N Fun n2003
(Carol, Bill, Jeff and Sandy's Big Adventure)
Carol and I flew from our home airport in Northern Vermont to Carlisle, PA where we met Jeff and Sandy Small for our first long cross country to our first Sun N Fun. The two HDS's handled the trip with no problems. It was a great trip with headwinds and snow going down and tailwinds and a bit of rain coming back. It was a pleasant surprise that our HDS's were parked next to six other Zodiacs. I got to talk to the Heintz boys (Nick and Sebastian) as well as attend a seminar presented by Chris Heintz about the upcoming sport pilot rating and how Zenith fits into the mix. Stopped at some great airports along the way and met some interesting people.
Some statistics for the flight from Vermont to Lakeland and back in our Stratus Subaru powered HDS are as follows:
Total distance flown: 2762 sm Total Time (Hobbs) 29.3 hrs Total fuel used: 154 gal Average Speed (based on Hobbs time): 94 mph
Average Cruise Speed: ~ 105 mph Average Fuel Burn: 5.25 gph Fuel Economy: 17.93 mpg
NOTE: Ran Stratus a 4800 rpm for the entire flight, 5000 is max cruise rpm with my current prop pitch.
Click the following thumbnails for larger photos:
