Route Planning

Planning the Route from Lancaster Pennsylvania USA to Seletar Singapore

There were a number of sometimes conflicting requirements that went into deciding the final route, and it changed many times over the two years of planning. For the benefit of people planning similar trips in the future I will outline a number of thought processes that were considered, and try to put them into a logical order – That is not how it was planned of course – the thoughts did not come in a logical order, and the result was many updates and revisions to the plan.

Comparison of the Itinerary Section with the Daily Diary section will reveal to the reader whether the resulting plan was effective!

Quick or Slow

Early in the planning of this flight I met Andrew Meidecke when he landed at Seletar in Singapore at the end of his own SR22 delivery trip from Duluth. Andrew had chosen the "Quick" option. Maximising flying endurance and range with a big delivery tank and having few break days. He and his co-pilot Brett Mahlo both commented on how tired they were and that although they were only a day from home (they flew nonstop 1600 miles / 10 Hours Seletar, Singapore to Broome, Australia!) it was starting to be hard work rather than fun.

I took this message onboard and resolved if possible to do the whole flight within the standard endurance capability of the SR22 aircraft, to do plenty of break days to stop and see the sights, and make the whole trip a family experience including my children as far as possible, commensurate with safety.

The endurance issue meant limiting my maximum flying distance in the planning stages to less than 800 miles / ~5 Hours on each leg. I managed to make the plan fit this criteria, with most legs at least 30% less than this maximum – however the announcement by Cirrus of the SR22 G3 only a few weeks before I take delivery has extended the range and endurance of the SR22 considerably. I do not intend to change the plan, but will keep this additional reserve as a further margin of safety.

East or West Bound to Singapore?

No question really, It had to be Eastbound in order to be compatible with the the aims outlined above. West means long endurances over the Pacific with no option other than to fit a delivery tank. East is in line with my aims to have fun, see lots of places and involve my family in the journey.

Weather Patterns

Given that I am going East, two major factors were considered:

Crossing the Atlantic had to be between June and September to meet my own safety criteria.
Crossing the Indian Ocean into India had to avoid the South West monsoon, and therefore not start before Early October.

At this point I decided to complete the journey in a number of distinct separate "Legs" in order to ensure I was at each location on the trip in the optimum weather period. It also helped fit in with work commitments and family vacation time.

Delivery Pilot

For the Trans-Atlantic section of the flight I will take a experienced professional delivery pilot with me

Because this is my first really long distance flight over such remote areas.
The Trans-Atlantic flight has some particular challenges that call for more experience than I have currently.
Obtaining insurance (including the special insurance needed for Greenland) was much easier if I have a delivery pilot with me.

Clearance & Diplomatic Issues

Decided a routing that you want to fly is one thing – but are you allowed to fly there? How difficult is it to process visas and clearances for the aircraft, and how much does that cost?

I entered into discussion with Paul Portnoi at Overflight (www.overflight.co.uk). They were extremely helpful with planning advice (Free of Charge). It became clear that clearances across Europe are straightforward and I decided that it was not necessary to use professional assistance with clearances until until I get to Cyprus. East of Cyprus it is another story though, and planning clearances and diplomatic issues become the biggest challenge of the flight as we progress through the Middle East, India and into SE Asia.

As a result of Overflight's advice I made a number of modifications to my plan:

Included a stop at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to reduce the leg distances between Luxor and Muscat. I had previously assumed Saudi Arabia was too difficult to stop, but was advised it is a proven stopover.
Cancelled Delhi stopover due to advice about clearance difficulty and cost. Included Nagpur instead as the outward clearance point from India.
Cancelled Yangon, Myanmar stopover (with regret!) due to advice about Avgas 100LL availability and quality issues.
Included Chittagong, Bangladesh stopover which apparently has a reasonable reputation as a stopover and refuelling point.

Fuel Availability

Some surprising places either have no fuel, or run out fairly frequently and you need to check in advance! Some of these places include Frobisher Bay in Canada and Narsassauq in Greenland.

In the Middle East and India it is not just fuel availability, but fuel quality that need to be confirmed. Myanmar was cancelled as a result of this and it was a consideration in planning the final route across India.

The "Final" Route Plan

Nothing is ever final! We may well vary the route as we progress to take account of up to date information, and to enjoy the trip. Also, there will be a number of "side trips" from destinations along the route which are not in the basic plan.

Overall though, I feel we have a good plan for an interesting route that meets the original objectives I set out to achieve. Let's see if it can be done!