To P or not to P, that is the question

[JimC]

Dave,

Thanks very much for the very thorough answer!

The weight on this particular grass strip shouldn't be a problem, as it's home to a Baron that flies out 2-3 days a week. Immediately after a soaking rain is an issue, of course, but under normal conditions it's solid - I've walked it.

I fly IFR on any trips through busy airspace and get screwed on the east coast anywhere from NYC to the DC area and everywhere in between. I can't remember the last time I flew the full north-south roundtrip without a "stand by to copy amended clearance" at least once.

North of the Massachusetts line, deviations are always given and "cleared direct" is common. On some legs I get handed off to center as low as 7K where there isn't any local approach radar. One other advantage that I just thought of for the P/T model is the MOAs - the local ones go to 17,999. 16K would get me above the bulk of the non-frontal weather as a lot of it is rising off the mountains and doesn't go much over 14K except on the warmest days. 18K gets me above that and all the local MOAs. I'd at least be able to go between some very large gaps in the buildups most days. At the 9-11K altitudes I fly today, I often have to punch through the weakest spot I can find in the late afternoon and fly the long way around the MOAs. I fly with both ADS & XM weather but have had them both fail simultaneously & would like to have onboard radar, although I consider it a luxury.

I will have to get used to the reduced seating & payload, but for most of my trips it won't be an issue. I expect I'd try to keep it fueled at about 100 gallons, which should leave about 700-750 lbs payload and a 450-500nm range - good for 90% of my trips.

Jim