Thanks all so far! I copied a lot of the (lighter 
) items from here to my “what-to-pack” list. I did leave out the oxygen, toolkit, and the spare aircraft.
I’m not convinced about the oxygen on such a VFR trip in a Cessna. I’m not planning on flying at altitudes where oxygen is a must and for the legs where it might be a nice add-on as a fatigue blocker – I guess I’ll just have to plan shorter legs and save the weight and hassle of oxygen. Also, I have no experience with oxygen supplies.
What next is right, this will be a chartered or club aircraft. Besides, me messing around with a broken plane and a toolkit? Will probably make things worse.
It’s funny so many have mentioned the spare credit card, ID/passport etc. My wallet was stolen a few days ago in my home town and I’m hoping to get all cards back in place before the trip. Having said that, we are two people, so there’s always a second person with a second set of credit cards, cash supply, driver’s license etc.
Cheers!
As far as I understand Rhino, his flight is going to be undertaken with a D- registered club or chartered aeroplane. One is generally not supposed to perform any maintenance other than topping-up the oil on those oneself. So hauling along starter motors, alternators, battery relays and the associated tools is not really necessary…
In my about 15 years of flying the only equipment that broke and had to be fixed off-base was an alternator (in a TB20…) and a turn coordinator (in a PA28). Of course both times on multi-leg flights abroad. Fortunately, in both cases I was on an airport with a maintenance facility that could replace the parts overnight.
Call me lucky, … but in more than 15 years of flying throughout Europe (sometimes well outside the “comfort zone”), I never carried around anything worth mentioning in terms of tools and spares, and the only issues I ever had were one flat tire, one dead battery, plus a couple of other very minor problems. Knock on wood…
Since I am often travelling with three or four rather heavy persons (me included), with a bit of luggage, often using short strips in summertime, I just can’t afford to carry around any other “stuff”. It’s also a matter of space, by the way.
Rhino (two up in a 152) will be even more restricted and won’t be able afford to carry anything substantial.
Even if I carried all that stuff, I wouldn’t really be able to use it. The point is however if you do have the tools and spares, you can ask someone knowledgable to help you.
I was once very glad I was carrying a spare starter motor. Had I not, the aircraft would have had to be scrapped.
Can you supply some details, Timothy? Why would your aircraft be worth less than a starter motor plus the cost of fitting one? What aircraft was it?
A starter motor is really heavy (a few kg) so that’s a tricky decision. Same for an alternator.
I do however carry a spare ground power relay (a notorious Socata design error to use a 50A rated contact to switch ~200A) and a starter relay.
I carry a lot in tools and parts when I leave the Western European comfort zone but certainly not a starter motor. Hand propping is simple and gets me home. Also there are several failure modes where a starter motor will not help you (starter adapter, belt, solenoid, wiring).
Spare starter is realy good idea. I was lucky to get my starter broken on airfield with good maintenance company.
I was once very glad I was carrying a spare starter motor. Had I not, the aircraft would have had to be scrapped.
I carry a toolbox and enough stuff to build a second aircraft, and that’s good enough for me
I’ve learnt the hard way that not carrying everything required to remove spark plugs and such is not a good idea and one day will bite you. So I carry everything needed for the 50hr service. The toolbox is maybe 15kg.
It’s a mystery to me you don’t take a second aircraft with you on your trips
Works for Airforce One :)
