Generally the FAA defines a cross country flight as greater than 50 nautical miles. As a student flying my C-152 over central Tennessee, this seemed like a long way to go and find my way home. These were the days before GPS, we were using paper charts, the trainers had questionable avionics and the visibility was often less than 10 miles. Somehow we found our way.
My first solo cross country was 57 miles from Smyrna, TN to Bowling Green, KY. I did a touch and go at Nashville International on the way home bringing the total distance to 120 miles and it took me 2.1 hours. Thats 57.1 kmph which is a bit worse than a car. The Baron could do that in 40 minutes air time plus say 10 minutes for manuevering.
Our basic training teaches us to fly "Cross Country" but it is clear that a my first solo trip was nothing like the trips I fly now. So what does it take to go truly long distances and how do you plan for weather weeks away when the technology to forecast simply does not exist? What I have learned over the years is that there are cross country flights and there are cross country flights.
The simple ones are like my first solo or other flights I took during my FAA training. These are shorter routes typically less than 250 nautical miles and are completed the same day. With modern flight planning tools, onboard data link weather and the current forecasting, these are all about not taking off when the conditions exceeed the skills of the pilot and/or the capabilities of the airplane. Gone are the days of unforecast significant widespread weather.
The next level of cross country are trips in the 200-300 mile range where you stay a few days. These were my most frequent types of trips for many years, basically flying down to see the grandparents or having a quick getaway. These are not as simple as the day trips but the two and three day forecasts are pretty good and if you build in a few hours flexibility you can pick your weather.
Picking your weather is a pilots greatest tool. Most reservations can be cancelled 24-48 hours out without penalty, some with even less notice. I am not ashamed of the many trips I didn't take. A few I probably could have made as the weather was not as bad as forecast but many that were cancelled were just not going to happen.
The next level of cross country flying is stretching out to 500+ miles. The further you go the more different weather systems and possibly terrain you may encounter. Add to this longer durations where you are less certain of the weather coming home and you hit your next set of challenges. I find that "Weatherstreet" and "Windy" do a pretty good idea on long range forecasting out to 10 days. You just have to realize that the farther you go, you are really looking at more of a trend than a forecast. If it is showing building high pressure and clear skies, it's unlikely you will have a deep low but it's not giving you a lot of detail.
On these trips it becomes more about skills, training, proficiency and equipment. You also need flexibility. It is amazing how a little flexibility goes a long way. For example I have come home and found a thunderstorm on my home airport but landing nearby and tanking up was enough of a delay to allow me to return home in clear skies. I have stopped for ice cream when there was a line of storms ahead. An hour later I was on my way in sunny skies.
Equipment and proficiency also come into play. We have diverted more than 150 miles out of the way on many occasions to pick the weather we wanted to face, having a fast plane makes this less than an hour detour. Having onboard radar is also a huge advantage when flying in areas of convection without great visibility. Sometimes a little flexibility is not enough. We were in Niagara Falls and planned 3 days but a strong front was coming. We chose to leave a day early to avaoid the weather and made it to our next stop in nice weather. We often flex for weather. In the Niagara falls case the rain came in soon after we left, we would have been hiking in the rain which I don't like so leaving early had several advantages.
The final type of trip is when you head out for a few weeks and really go across the country. You will cross multiple weather systems, you will have no idea what the weather will be later in the trip at the beginning. At this point it really is about equipment, proficiency and flexibility. The more you have of the first two the less you need to rely on the third. Luck is also a factor, for example in 16 arrivals we only shot one relatively easy instrument approach, one visual approach in 6 miles visibility and the rest were good VFR. That said, I was prepared to alter our route as needed, change our reservations or just wait out any truly adverse weather.
The segment that casued me the most concern on the trip was Billings, MT to Idaho Falls, ID. The combinations of fires producing low visibility, possible mountain obscuration, possible low clouds and some really tall rocks meant I needed some pretty good weather to fly my preferred route. It all worked out for us but I had in my back pocket 3 back up routes. The worst case route added well over an hour of flight time to a flight that was only 1:15 long. We also had time to burn and could have waited hours for the right weather.
The real takeaway after flying to all 48 states has been, train, train, train, like your life depends on it, it does. Expect to have to alter plans. Make sure your travel companion(s) also know this and are on board, it makes it so much easier. Be ready to cancel some trips. Our first attempt to go to Arizona We cancelled a few days out becasue the weather just wasn't what we needed. Same with one trip we planned to Utah and California. This was the year we had atmospheric rivers that never ended. I was very happy we cancelled as some of the places we wanted to visit closed due to the weather.
No matter where you are in you pilotimg journey, Cross Country flying can be quite rewarding. Whether you choose to make a quick run for BBQ or stretch your wings and see our amazing nation, there is a sense of accomplishment reaching your destination and returning safely.