Conference vmszoo::flying

    My wife and I are planning a cross country from ASH to BLF (Bluefield,
    WV).  Its a five hour trip (with no headwinds!), and although I can
    easily make the trip in two hops (or one if I was feeling reckless) I
    prefer to break it up into three hops of 1-1.5 hours each.
    
    Right now I'm thinking about short stopovers at Reading, PA (Spaatz
    RDG) and Winchester, VA (OKV).
    
    I'm interested in clean restrooms, and perhaps a place to grab a bite
    on the field.
    
    Any comments on either place?  Any alternative recommendations?
    
    This is a tough call, because the available stopovers thin out a lot
    after you pass PA.
    
    jeb
    

    Winchester has a very nice terminal.  I recall very friendly
    folks, a weather terminal, and reasonable fuel price.  If you
    have to stay over due to weather, I recall the local hotel
    is a few miles away but will send a van for you.
    
    Never stopped at Reading.  I tend towards the smaller airports.
    But I also think that Reading is sort of west of the direct
    line.  But its been awhile since I looked.
    
    If the weather is iffy, my advice is to stay well east of
    the moubntains until you need to turn to Bluefield.  The
    weather gets stirred up just downwind of the mountains but
    is often much better 30-40 miles east.  So if you get to
    close to them too early, you might get stopped when a detour
    east will allow you to get much closer to your destination.
    I go to Tennessee in my VFR Swift by following a line that
    takes me by Frederick, MD, Winchester, VA, and to Roanoake
    before I head west down the interstate.  I can't count
    how many times I have had good weather until Roanoke and
    then had to head for the deck to tricky-track west under
    the mountain weather to Tennessee.  Not for novices, the
    faint of heart, and folks not familiar with the terrain.
    
    If you have really good weather, any route will do.  If there
    is a low around, or a good front, watch for how the bottom
    of the Catskills, the Appilachians, and the top of the Smokies
    churn up problems for you.
    
    Its a really pretty area to fly in though.
    
    Have fun!