The Final Pack
Posted Sunday, June 26, 2022
If you're anything like me, you make lists before a big trip. Stuff to bring, where to put things, activities which need to take place, that kind of thing. That trait has been in full effect for this trip, which is almost the biggest I've ever taken (the biggest was my 6-week trip to Europe in 2013, to ride around on a motorcycle I bought in Ireland, but that's a different story).
Packing in particular is difficult, because I have to pack for all these situations:
- Clothing for cold weather, as cold as about 40° F
- Clothing for hot weather, as hot as 100° F and 95% humidity
- Flying an open-cockpit plane at 100 MPH for many hours a day, in all those temperatures
- Sleeping with no facilities
- Sleeping with limited facilities
- Sleeping in a hotel
- Easy access to food/water
- No access to food/water
- Visiting friends
- Taking friends up as passengers in the plane
- Being stuck at airports waiting out weather
- Minor mechanical problems
- Electrical system failure
- Being stranded for several days away from civilization
Of course, I won't actually hit all these situations (particularly the being stranded and mechanical/electrical failure situations aren't expected), but it would be foolish not to have made some preparation for them.
So, I have to pack clothes like normal for a weeks-long trip. But I also have to pack a bare minimum of tools, water and food (or at least the capability to store them), and camping supplies. I can't actually predict with any reliability where I'll end my travel on any given day, though I'll have some choice in terms of aiming for those places that have some civilization around them.
And I have to pack all that into a baggage compartment that can carry 60 pounds, and a passenger seat with a control stick and rudder pedals that can't be impeded. Oh, and the baggage compartment has an opening that's a bit less than a foot square.
That's a lot of requirements.
Fortunately, I think I've done it. That picture up top shows my two big bags, whcih will be checked. The drybag will be strapped into the front seat oriented like a person's torso, and should be small enough not to interfere with the stick. The bigger duffel will be separated into its component parts (tent, sleeping bag, tool bag, etc.) and packed into the baggage compartment.
And then, as I was writing this, I looked at the weight and balance information for the plane. sigh It's always something.
Because the baggage compartment is as far back as you can get on the plane, it has an outsize effect on balance: its lever arm is the longest. The plane has a range of balance points it's allowed to fly with, called the center of gravity range. Because the fuel tanks are forward of the balance point, as you fly along and burn fuel, the balance point shifts backwards.
With just me, and empty tanks, we're within the balance limits. Add a passenger up front, even a fairly hefty one, and we stay well-balanced. But that baggage compartment... With myself and the load I'm currently planning, as shown above, we can fly two hours, and we'll be at the aft balance limit. Any longer (assuming 8 gallons per hour, which is just a guess), and we're into dangerous territory. There will be plenty of fuel left, but as it burns down, the balance shifts back into dangerous territory. If I could pack it all into the front seat (which I don't think I can do), we'd be good for over three hours of flying.
So, here on my last free day, I have some thinking to do. 2 hours is not a very good endurance, particularly for some of the legs I'm planning to fly. I was planning on only flying 2 hours per leg, but things don't always go according to plan. I would hate to fly myself into accidental danger. I think I'll be reducing the amount of stuff I'm planning to carry by at least 20 lbs, and figure out ways to store more in the passenger compartment, if at all possible. Hmm.
Later...
I pulled out a bunch of stuff that's not necessary, though it would be nice to have, notably the tent, but also a bunch of little stuff. Weights changed nicely:
| Item | Old Weight (lbs) | New Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Backpack | 15 | 10 |
| Cooler Bag | 5 | 3 |
| Dry Bag | 22 | 16 |
| Black Duffel | 33 | 20 |
Notable was removing the nomex flight suit, which will probably be too warm for most of the trip anyway, swapping out a few warm items for equivalent but shockingly lighter options (fleece for the win), and taking out a lot of little things that cover the more extreme ends of what I expect to run into. Will I miss them? I sure hope not, but it's hard to know for sure. Check back at the end of this little adventure log when I'm done, I guess.
Copyright © 2022 by Ian Johnston.