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Questions People Ask When I Tell Them I Own an Airplane

fivezeromike.com

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

#161

Post by logfromblammo »

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…

If it were my ass up in the air, I think I would prefer that the electric power to the drive motor(s) be provided by a very reliable Diesel-cycle or external combustion generator and not just a battery pack, at least with our current generation of battery technologies. #2 fuel oil is far more energy-dense than any battery that I can afford.

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

#162

Post by tcas »

lutorm wrote: post #155
rsync wrote: post #96

Here'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…

Think about it this way: have you ever had your car engine die on the road? For the vast majority of people, this just doesn't happen, even though people spend much, much more time driving than they would flying. Modern engines are remarkably reliable. And if it does quit, you can glide the plane to a forced landing. Long flights over water, mountains, or in poor visibility is a different matter.

In addition, part of a private pilot license training is stall recovery, and engine loss scenarios.

I remember sitting in on a lesson while my brother was getting his private pilot's license. The instructor would randomly idle the engine in flight and have my brother practice the procedures for a engine loss in flight (put the plane into the ideal glide position, identify all possible landing spots, runway or field, etc...)

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

#164

Post by jedmeyers »

Retric wrote: post #141
Tossrock wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Those are not the same "motorcycles" each year, so you cannot multiply by 30.

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

#165

Post by pessimizer »

sokoloff wrote: post #65
MattBearman wrote: post #46

Earlier 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…

1) Riding motorcycles is very dangerous:)

2) What's the average mileage of a motorcyclist compared to a pilot?

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

#166

Post by jokoon »

lutorm wrote: post #153
jokoon wrote: post #103

still wondering if today you can build a cheap airplane that just burns less fuel...

Building your own airplane is possible and actually quite common. There are kits for anything from one-seaters with open cockpit to pressurized turboprops. http://eaa.org/homebuilders/

No I meant like newer generation planes with more efficient engines, lighter, more aerodynamic, etc.

I'm not sure if current airplane designs are as good as they can...

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

#167

Post by baddox »

lutorm wrote: post #155
rsync wrote: post #96

Here'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…

Think about it this way: have you ever had your car engine die on the road? For the vast majority of people, this just doesn't happen, even though people spend much, much more time driving than they would flying. Modern engines are remarkably reliable. And if it does quit, you can glide the plane to a forced landing. Long flights over water, mountains, or in poor visibility is a different matter.

> have you ever had your car engine die on the road?

Yes, several times in the ten years I've been driving automobiles. Is that not common?

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

#168

Post by vilhelm_s »

jedmeyers wrote: post #164
Retric wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Those are not the same "motorcycles" each year, so you cannot multiply by 30.

How do you mean? The suggested calculation is: In any given year, a motorcycle owner has a 72/100000 chance of dying. So if you own a motorcycle for 30 years, the chance of dying is approximately 30*72/100000.

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

#170

Post by malandrew »

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…

Whoa! really? I never imagined that deaths were that frequent. What were most of the causes of the accidents? Operator error? Poor conditions? Equipment failure?

Has the rate of people dying off fallen as the equipment (planes and instruments) has improved?

I had always assumed the decline has more to do with the economics of the sport and the amount of upfront investment necessary to get to the point where you can fly on your own.

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