Choice of plane for circumnavigation of world

I did a world tour in the JF Piper Arrow III. It has an AP and I had the (free) GTN750. A better choice would the turbo version, of course, but I didn’t have that. An advantage is that the Arrow has a good range, but the disadvantage is that it’s not fast for those long distances, which is why when I did the world tour again I used the Bonanza.

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The VL3 has a Rotax UL engine which doesn’t require any mixture handling. Throttle and prop only. That said, the default VL3 is really badly done both regarding perfomance and (system) handling. There is a mod for the VL3 with the 915is engine which even has a turbocharger and too much power for its weight :sunglasses: it doesn‘t add the 4 blaee prop afaik but it‘s pretty fun to fly and the numbers match pretty well now.

It also comes with a built in AP

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That’s great. Gonna look at the different mods.

Right now I’m considering:

  1. DA40 NGX mods,
  2. SR22, but I don’t own it. Just watched someone on YouTube world trip in SR22.
  3. VL3 Mod.

I built an SR-22 Turbonormalized Mod which lets me break 200 knots above FL180. You would have to plan as if you’re flying on O2, but it’s extremely great to have a really fast world cruiser with a good view, easy ergonomics and Garmin NXi.

Two good choices are

  1. Flying iorn p38

  2. Cessna citation Longitude enhanced mod

There is no better choice than A2A Comanche! Hands down!

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Been planning mine for the past month and was originally thinking V35, PA28 Turbo or maybe even the VisionJet but I’ve settled on the RV14A. As a test I flew from St John’s to Narsarsuaq and made it in 6.25 hours. Did a climb to 14000 over some weather north of SJ and then down to 5000. Utilizing windy I was able to ride some nice tailwinds. Landed with 3.7 gallons of fuel. Just had my weight of 215lbs and 75lbs of “emergency gear and provisions. She handled it beautifully and

I’ll be starting at KFLY and making my way east from there.

No de-icing can be problematic in some regions.

I’m currently doing a round the world tour in a Bonanza with the turbo mod. It’s not a proper circumnavigation as I’m exploring as I go along.

Bonanza is fast, easy to handfly although it has autopilot and the turbo lets it climb to +20,000ft, although in reality not possible as it isn’t pressurised.

Not flown the TBM but I’d guess it would be very suitable.

I’ve recently started my RTW trip in the Comanche using just the Narco stack. I’m staying low and going VFR using VORs for general location awareness. I’m planning each leg more or less as I go keeping the flights to around 60-90 minutes, which is what I can muster between work and family time. I’ve started in So Cal and am currently working my way up the west coast. I need to see if doing the Aleutians/Kurils are possible, or if I need to go all the way to the Bering Strait.

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Absolutely the best choice!

The SR22 you’re considering is far, FAR more expensive than a nice used Bonanza. :grin:. But really, in the sim, neither of them flies in a way that even compares to the A2A Commanche.

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You might consider the IndiaFoxTecho Long-EZ for something different. Simple, easy to fly, has amazing visibility. It’ll sip less than 4 gph if you go up high and lean it, and it has a 52 gallon stock capacity. The endurance/range opens up all kinds of routes not available to a lot of GA planes, like going across the tropics/equator.

Dick Rutan and Mike Melvill did it in their EZs for real back in 1997:

image

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There’s a very interesting book (Voyage of the Southern Sun : An amazing journey around the world) where a guy called Michael Smith circumnavigated the world in a SeaRey. He wasn’t qualified to fly by instruments and had no auto pilot.
True story, fascinating read (Kindle).

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Great question & great thing to do in flight sim. As the others have stated the TBM is a great choice for this. I did it in the TBM for the same reasons you stated. (Not a jet, can land at practically any airport, and is still quick.) The quickness of the TBM is critical for those legs over ocean etc are still necessary. The only thing I would add is to make sure it is a plane you really like flying. The trek can get a little boring after a bit especially if you are not in a plane you really enjoy flying.

As long as you have (portable) oxygen you’re good. You don’t need a pressurized cabin.

Thanks - I am aware of that and it’s how I justified taking the Bonanza over Mount Everest.

But in todays litigious world you always get the idiots so it’s safer to say don’t do it (in real life of course) to avoid any possible repercussion. Regretfully I’m pretty sure there are “flightsim gamers” who’d fall into this category!

I would love to circle the globe with these three aircraft once someone finally develops study level versions of them

  1. Boeing 737 200 split passenger cargo model
  2. Dash 8 300
  3. Douglas DC4