Aviation Question, hoping there are some oversea-experienced pilots here...

Enquiring Mind | 11/30/2001 | MississippiMan

[MississippiMan]

This is a vanity post. I'm still working on my novel and once again my research needs have led me back here to FR, where I am most often able to get my questions answered. I've posted this question in aviation forums but have gotten no replies so I thought I'd give it a shot here. I'm a private pilot myself, but not active and even when I was active it was usually in a Cessna 172 flying within a few hundred miles of home. One of the characters in my novel, however, is fortunate enough to own a private Gulfstream GV-SP corporate jet. At the moment (literarily speaking), this guy has his corporate pilot whisking him from Omaha, Nebraska to Moscow, Russia. I do my best to maintain an air of authenticity in my writing and since I know nothing about the logistics of such a flight, I'm hoping to find a pilot or pilots here who can fill me in with some details. What would be the likely route a pilot would take from Omaha to Moscow? Time of year is August. The GV-SP has a range of 6750 nautical miles @ .80 mach. Is the above route within that distance; i.e. can the flight be safely made without a refueling stop? Could one pilot realistically make the whole flight or would a co-pilot be required? Are there any other little nuances, things to look for, peculiarites or odd requirements, for that flight that I should know about? Anything at all that comes to mind would be great. Thanks much for your help. I realize it would be simple enough to download a trial version of some decent flight planning software and get the vanilla answers to the hard-fact questions, but if there are pilots here who could help me out with the nuances for the sake of authenticity I sure would be grateful. Thanks... MM

[bootless]

Check your Freepmail, MM. I like the idea of the pushy owner pushing the pilot. (That *never* happens, right? :-) )

I'll be very happy to do what I can. That's a long trip. The pilot would have to be nuts to fly that without a copilot, if only to get relief from the pushy owner!

FRegards...

[Balata]

The convenient plot device pilot could even be an old ex-Soviet Air Force Colonel, or a smuggler recently out of prison.

This is very good. When we flew to USSR we had to have a Russian Pilot on board to work the radios. LOL! This was quite a picture with the Russian pilot on a USAF C-141 during the cold war.

[patton]

LOL.

[Squantos]

LMBO Man I hated practicing stalls.......That had to be one pucker factor ride :o)

Gotta like a pilot who can indeed "Pile it" anywhere anytime .......Stay Safe !

[Travis McGee]

Have the ex-Soviet Air Force Colonel co-pilot show up at the last minute with a "Super Natasha" in tow, and have them doing vodka shots as their mangled English radio work gets "better and better" crossing the pole.

[Travis McGee]

I thought it was a very funny story, but most pilots tell me it was insanely reckless. (What if you dropped the key?)

Anyway, it was before the T-birds pranged in in formation.

[Squantos]

47 FEET !?!?!?!? "Pilot" Patton ,Not...." PILE IT" !!!

My stall practice comments to Travis are above. I hated that and recovering from spins. I'm told these days they don't teach spins ??? Not required etc etc alledgedly.

Stay Safe !

[Balata]

LOL! I think we're on to something here. We could have this thing written by the time MM checks back. He could be smuggling some of that high priced caviare.

[Squantos]

After my initial solo. I was out alone as a student pilot coming in on a left hand base at McConnel AFB (Areo Club T-43 Mescelero) when the engine goes bang and at 1500 feet AGL I'm gonna learn what a real dead stick landing is. Best landing I ever made IMHO. Flaps , best glide and picked my landing spot on the runway and turned a short final and put that smoking pig down with no problems. I love to fly when I can afford it.....Guns or Gas , Guns or Gas ?!?!? Damn !

Stay Safe !

[Travis McGee]

Either caviar, or the girl is being rescued from some prosititution ring, strung out on heroin.

[patton]

Shoot. I used to take my buddies for $20 hamburgers - "You'all chuck in for the bird, and we'll go to lunch!"

Everyone of them got a left-wing-drop kick-right throttle-back hands-off yoke-back level-out digester.

And they loved it.

[Travis McGee]

Yeah, sailing is a lot cheaper, (180 gallons of diesel goes a LONG way at 5 knots!), not to mention the wind is free, and you are already on the surface if the motor craps out or the wind dies.

[patton]

Poo. The Patchwork has two gas-fueled chevy 350's, 1965-type, 350 hp each, and gets about 2 gallons/mile.

[Balata]

I guess we would have to throw in the Russian Mafia someplace here too, with some type of connection to a well known political figure.

[Squantos]

Hey Travis, Patton ever buy you a 20 dollar Burger ??......Me neither :o)

Stay Safe Ya'll........ Steaks & Cold Cervesa on me. Patton Knob Creek in Spring, Travis I'll meet ya half way as I've been to hell and back but Kali scares me.....AZ Kewl ?

[Travis McGee]

The Russian mafia angle has to connect some Soviet era "nomenklatura" elites to today's Russian oligarchs. We'll have the plot rewrite all set for MM by dawn.

[Travis McGee]

I can go over 1000 miles on a full tank, but it does take a week. (Who's in a hurry?)

It's just 1% as fast as a Learjet, but you have a place to stay when you get there.

[Travis McGee]

Kali scares me too. AZ is far and away superior in every respect except for the lack of an ocean coastline.

[patton]

This spring my boat. Date up to you guys. Chesapeak Bay, Crabs (I have to make my kids put them back...)

[Travis McGee]

You can't put too much Old Bay seasoning on em for me!