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Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

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Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#141

Post by Retric »

Tossrock wrote: post #131
lutusp wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Someone mentioned it being akin to motorcycling riding, but I can't imagine that 2% of motorcyclists die from it. The rates for motorcycle accidents and deaths is really very high: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety#Accident_rate... Quote: "According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2006, 13.10 cars out of 100,000 ended up in fatal crashes. The rate for motorcycles…

And still much less than 2%.

72.34 per year per 100,000 registered motorcycles * 30 years is 2.17%.

Worse plenty of people own more than one motorcycle so the rate is probably higher than that.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#142

Post by hayksaakian »

pingswept wrote: post #88
lpolovets wrote: post #24

Earlier 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.

Alaska is one state with many pilots. Distant towns and the road conditions make it quite normal to fly.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#145

Post by mahyarm »

sokoloff wrote: post #79
leoedin wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not taking into account the vastly simpler design of an electric aircraft. An electrically propelled aircraft will have maintenance requirements similar to a glider. Fewer engine overhauls and much simpler procedures means significantly reduced cost.

I don't think you're taking into account the vastly increased battery maintenance, inspection and capacity testing that will be required. Yes, you'll save a lot on not maintaining a piston IC engine. You'll give some of that back in inspection processes to ensure that you don't have 95% of the range that you think you have. If you run of out power in a Leaf or a Tesla, it's overwhelmingly likely that the car will com…

I would think inspecting & maintaining the actual capacity of the battery would be part of the automated charging system. It would be recorded to a fine a amount of detail. Most airplanes have a more predictable energy consumption model than a typical consumer car also, and since the typical pilot is more sophisticated, can afford to show a more complicated energy display for more accurate energy consumption and range assumptions.

Electric aircraft currently would be very useful for people who live on an island or island cluster or want to do frequent short hop flights. For example Hawaii, the Caribbean, Indonesia, the Philippines, Seattle and the near by gulf islands, etc. I can take a ferry boat for 3 hours at scheduled times or I can hop on my plane for 30 minutes at any practical time at the same cost really changes things for island dwellers. I could live on an island and theoretically commute to work every day for 45minutes of total travel time. Going to Tahoe every weekend wont be a big deal, etc.

It would be also useful for future automated air taxis, since the energy costs would soon dwarf the cost of everything else in those situations.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#146

Post by smackfu »

jcoby wrote: post #139
lutusp wrote: post #2

It'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…

The private pilot is a dying breed. Skyrocketing costs make it all but impossible for most people to get into. Even getting your private pilot's license often costs $8k-$10k. And then you are looking at $150/hr to fly a 20-30 year old C172. These skyrocketing costs make it so the fleet ages and becomes less reliable. So people get out. Or they die because they can't fly enough to get experience or the aircraft has a…

Most people I know who've done it are older and need a hobby and have spare money when their kids are gone and mortgage is paid off.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#147

Post by scott_karana »

bergie wrote: post #89
sokoloff wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Euro area inflation has been way lower than that, it seems. Including negative % on some years

Have fuel costs and taxes also done the same, though? Fuel will make the majority of operating costs if you fly with any frequency, I suspect.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#148

Post by mcguire »

mcv wrote: post #130
pingswept wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I believe there's a town in California where everybody has their own hangar, instead of garage.

Breakaway Park Airport Community, near Austin, TX. (http://www.breakawayairport.net/).

I understand they get very cranky if you try to take off or land too close to sunrise or sunset.

Re: Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

#149

Post by wiredfool »

benburleson wrote: post #110
krschultz wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A friend of mine owns an airplane, and his brother is a pilot in the USAF. I asked him this once and his opinion was that 2 engines makes the plane more complicated and increases the chance of pilot error. He had suffered 2 or 3 engine out incidents in his single engine plane, and landed all 3 with no issue. Obviously if your plane doesn't glide very well then the redundancy of a second engine is necessary (i.e a jet…

I always assumed "gliding well" is a fundamental principle of an airplane.

I read somewhere (pre internet, so it must be true!!!1!) that the wing loading of a fighter is roughly equivalent of using a manhole cover as a frisbee.

In other words, anything can fly if you give it enough afterburner.

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