North Americans will enjoy a total eclipse on August 21 (will my Facebook friends blame this one on Trump?).
Supposedly hotels along the route are fully booked already.
What’s wrong with this idea…
- reserve an air-conditioned Cirrus SR22 from East Coast Aero Club (the plane is fast enough to get anywhere in the Continental U.S. within one long day of flying; A/C will help with the fact that the eclipse arrives during a summer afternoon)
- watch the weather forecast a few days in advance and plan to fly to a location that is forecast to be free of clouds, thunderstorms, etc.
- land the night before at an airport about 100 miles away from the centerline (should be easy to find a hotel; 100 statute miles takes about 40 minutes to cover in an SR22)
- fly at about 6000′ into the eclipse centerline with autopilot engaged
- watch eclipse from the reasonably panoramic windows
- twist autopilot knob to return to Bedford, Massachusetts
?
Nashville seems to be about the closest point along the route of the eclipse. It is 800 nm from our home airport. That’s about 5 hours of flight time in an SR22, depending on the winds. So if Nashville were clear the above could all be done in one moderately brutal day (maybe stop in scenic Pittsburgh on the way back?).
[Of course nothing beats flying commercial. JetBlue departs Boston at 7:40 am to land at BNA at 9:23 and then returns at 6:30 pm for $533 per-person round-trip. On the third hand, a reservation to Nashville won’t be of much use if the weather turns out to be cloudy on August 21.]
Related:
- video from Alaska Airlines eclipse flight (FL350 and therefore a different perspective)
- compilation of aircraft-intercepting-eclipse efforts (links to photos and videos)
- AOPA’s compilation of some airport-related ideas for eclipse-viewing (but not while in flight)
Great idea Phil. I plan to do this myself.