I've been toying with the idea of getting my pilot's license (eventually) partially for the sake of avoiding the TSA when I actually have to travel. What I'm curious about is how difficult/expensive it is to rent a plane that can fly further than stated in the article? (say, TX to CA, for instance) I imagine it wouldn't make much sense to buy a huge cross-country jet for the occasional long trips, although I am kind of surprised it's only ~$30k for a smaller one!
Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
111–120 of 251 posts
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It helped a ton with the systems and comms but pretty much nothing for my landing and takeoff ability. Yes, a common experience. Landing and taking off involve some subtle things that most simulators don't capture, like the fact that in a small propeller-drive plane, at slow speed, the propeller torque twists the body of the airplane, so you have to apply some counter-rudder to straighten out the fuselage and maxim…
There's also the ground effect. It's impossible to get a feel for it on a simulator.
Do you think a 3-D image could enhance the 'feel'? Could a flight sim feel significantly more real w/ Oculus Rift?
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#113Here's a question: Tell me about single engine (what you appear to have) vs. multi engine (twin, I guess) ? Should I be thinking about redundancy in plane engines the same way I think about redundancy in ... say ... kidneys ? It seems to me that I would really, really want a twin engined plane... edit: I found this [1] but I'm not sure I buy it. I am all about simplicity in systems, but redundancy in a critical compo…
I think in the past, aircraft engines were relatively unreliable and would often quit midair for reasons other than fuel starvation so there'd be some chance of the other engine saving you. Now, however, almost all engine failures are the result of fuel starvation and two engines will die just as quick sans fuel as one so the added complexity isn't quite worth it, from a safety perspective for piston powered aircraft. The only real advantage now is that you get to go a faster (though not 2x) in a twin usually and get to earn lots of miles on your credit card since you'll be doubling your fuel bill.
The situation on turbine powered engines is completely different. The above only applies to piston engines.
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#114Hey, I own your plane's sister (N8550W).
I'm surprised you didn't mention "Can you fly at night?" That's one I always get.
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#115Don't get me wrong but I do not get what's so exciting about flying yourself or owning a plane. Flying is for getting from point A to B. Flying just for fun missing any purpose might be fun the first couple of times but then it's like driving a bus from A to A.
I love flying, but I can understand that perspective. It's the same perspective that non-gamers tend to have about games. It's just fiddling around with a controller in front of a screen, what's fun about that? The same could be said of plenty of other hobbies (what's fun about fishing, for example?).
But for the people that do enjoy it, it's obviously much more than that. It's about the challenge, the scenery along the way, and the places that you can easily reach with an aircraft that aren't necessarily so easy with just driving.
Of course, people are wired differently. Maybe none of those things appeal to you personally. I think that is true for a lot of people, actually, and that is one of the reasons that flying is such a small niche hobby (obviously there are a lot of other reasons as well).
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#116It's important to say that the general aviation population has gotten much smaller over the last few decades. It was a lot more popular 25 years ago when I flew much more than I do now. A number of aircraft manufacturers have stopped building small general-aviation planes for a number of reasons including liability and a reduction in public interest. I started flying about 1980. By 1992, 12 years later, about half th…
You must be fantastically unlucky, by my research (I'm afraid I've lost the citation) the number of pilots who die in flying accidents is about 1/50. How many pilots did you know?
2% of pilots _dying_ is still pretty high -- higher than I expected. Someone mentioned it being akin to motorcycling riding, but I can't imagine that 2% of motorcyclists die from it.
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps 3-5x as fast in terms of time because you don't have to stop at red lights and you can take the "as the crow flies" path instead of zig-zagging. Pretty sweet deal for $30k!
True, but it takes around 45 minutes to prepare a plane for flight and about 20 minutes to put it away. Also, you have to drive to and from the airport. Planes are incredible, but you have to fly pretty far before they're a timesaver.
and usually 30 min to drive to the airport.
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, I knew flying light aircrafts was dangerous, but this really surprised me. And people tell me I'm taking risks riding a motorcycle.
If you factor in all risks (the "as experienced" rate), GA flight is about as dangerous per mile as riding motorcycles. I firmly believe that 2/3rds of the fatality risk in GA is pilot-controlled and readily avoidable: weather, fuel exhaustion and "ostentatious display" (buzzing, etc) are relatively easy to avoid with nothing more than basic knowledge and firm discipline. On a motorcycle, many risks are rider-control…
IFR rated pilot here that's been flying for ~ 10 years. I agree with you 100% on the risks being largely under the pilots control.
However I also believe that there's something about aviation that attracts the type of people who are uniquely unsuited for it. Daredevils, non-detail minded, and just plain incompetent.
When you read the NTSB reports and such it's just not pretty.
Pilot after pilot runs out of fuel or manages to run a perfectly good airplane into the ground / side of a mountain because they weren't observant.
I'm not sure what the solution is though. We've had 30 years of the FAA and all the associations preaching safety to no effect. More regulation won't help either since all the main accident factors are already against some regulation or another.
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#119Here's a question: Tell me about single engine (what you appear to have) vs. multi engine (twin, I guess) ? Should I be thinking about redundancy in plane engines the same way I think about redundancy in ... say ... kidneys ? It seems to me that I would really, really want a twin engined plane... edit: I found this [1] but I'm not sure I buy it. I am all about simplicity in systems, but redundancy in a critical compo…
This comes down to 2 things.
1) How disciplined are you as a pilot, Are you going to insure your plane is ready to fly every single time to mitigate risk. Most fatalities in GA could of been avoided. You will have to make hard calls like. "I have a meeting tomorrow but the weather looks terrible, should I fly through it anyway to get there?" or "My oil pressure is low but I need to get home". You will get stranded and have to get a hotel room or car if you plan on using your aircraft for travel, I guarantee it.
2) Where are you flying? are you flying over water, mountains, cities? Are there roads where you could easily put down or nearby airports? One of the first things you learn as a pilot is what to do in an emergency. Step 1 when you lose engine power - Get the best glide speed and find a place to put down.
As an aside there are aircraft that have parachutes. Cirrus is the best known right now with the CAPS system. But, if you have a parachute are you going to try to fly through the storm to make it to that meeting above?
Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fuel is also a lot more expensive now. And that makes up quite a significant chunk of the flying costs. On a quick look, the price of an hour of flying has gone up nearly 50% in the last ten years in the aviation club I used to belong to.
That's what 4.1% annual inflation compounded over 10 years will do. In real dollar terms, that price is very close to what it was 10 years ago.
Where do you get 4.1% inflation from? CPI for the USD hasn't gone up by that much in a single year for the last decade, annualized inflation is closer to 2.5% over that period.