Fly?.. Why?

[check6]

I am in a fortunate position to fly to anywhere in the world for free but don't unless my wife is pointing a gun to my head.

 

[check6]

That I love doing and helped a friend build a Pitts Special a couple of years after retiring. The airport is the one I used to fly out of in the 70's and yes, that's me sitting in the fuselage making engine noises.

Nice Walt. Here is something that I threw together years ago. A guy flew this same model around the world twice.

 

[jon-nyc]

I have flown over 4,000,000 miles with one airline alone. Several years ago I was their best customer. I assume because of this, they treat me better than the average flyer. No complaints from here.

Wow. I have over 2MM on American, for which they gave me lifetime platinum status.

Comparatively speaking, I don't fly much in retirement. Maybe 3-4 times a year.

I don't mind it that much, the platinum status lets me use the first class lines, which helps a lot. Being on the plane sucks more now though, when traveling for business I rarely flew coach. Now it's all I fly.

 

[Walt34]

Nice Walt. Here is something that I threw together years ago. A guy flew this same model around the world twice.

Sweet! I think I remember reading about the guy flying his around the world. He'd modified it to hold extra tanks that gave him ~1,500 mile range. Could be all wrong on that, it's been a while.

 

[Midpack]

Not sure what the flightrader24 was supposed to illustrate? Find a train or car tracker and let us know how they compare...this is a country with a population of 314 million.

I have no reservations re: flying. I fly when it makes sense in terms of time and cost - that simple. If you book in advance, 3 weeks or so, flying can be an incredible bargain (actually less than combined cost of gas-wear&tear plus hotels for a long trip). While flying isn't a comfortable experience, neither is sitting in a car for 10-15 hours.

And flying is safer by a long shot (here we go...).

 

[seraphim]

We would fly if there time constraints and somewhere we really wanted to see. Now we drive the truck camper everywhere. Put 10k miles in two months going to Alaska.

Come to think of it, we parked th TC and flew to Juneau for a few days, then ferried back to the camper. It was fun an expedient.

 

[Nodak]

I have never liked flying and only did it if required by my job. Now I am never in a hurry and can enjoy a leisurely trip. If the trip is long enough that I don't want to drive I prefer Amtrack.

 

[LoneAspen]

It is a ball, but bring your checkbook. I assume you already know that.

Yepper - I've read planes are worse than boats, and I have a BIL who has a small boat, and have heard him talk about the $$$ involved.

I just have to tell myself that I will never attempt to financially justify owning my own plane. There's a price to pay for that kind of fun and freedom I guess, so I'll just have to ante up

 

[Midpack]

Yepper - I've read planes are worse than boats, and I have a BIL who has a small boat, and have heard him talk about the $$$ involved.

I just have to tell myself that I will never attempt to financially justify owning my own plane. There's a price to pay for that kind of fun and freedom I guess, so I'll just have to ante up

Two of the boatowners I sail with regularly used to fly/own planes. They both adored flying but gave it up many years ago because of the expense. Their boats are 36 and 44 feet respectively, so flying must be really expensive...

 

[Walt34]

Two of the boatowners I sail with regularly used to fly/own planes. They both adored flying but gave it up many years ago because of the expense. Their boats are 36 and 44 feet respectively, so flying must be really expensive...

It can be. I had a 1955 Piper TriPacer that I bought in late 1974 for $3,900, or about $15k today. It had a 150hp engine, would seat 4 skinny people (150 lbs each, max) had one radio for communications and navigation and a basic set of panel instruments. I think it was legal for instrument flying but only a fool would do that with the nav and comm gear it had. It did have navigation lights so it was legal for night flying but I didn't do much of that unless the skies were crystal clear for 500 miles around. So if the weather was foggy, rainy, etc. it stayed on the ground.

It burned 9 gallons of fuel per hour and today's fuel prices are about $4.50/gallon. 38 gallons of fuel gave it a practical range (with a 1-hour reserve) of about 400 miles.

Spend more money - a lot more - gets you navigation and comm gear for instrument flying and longer range. It isn't uncommon to spend the price of the airplane on navigation/comm radios, autopilot and the like and that's getting to light airplanes with price tags of $200-$300k. But that also buys pressurization, range and foul-weather capability including flight into known icing conditions if equipped for it.

Two engines almost double the operational expenses (engines are the main maintenance expense) and of course fuel consumption goes to well north of $100/hour.

At the other end a basic sport airplane holds two people, has about a 65 hp engine and burns ~4 gallons/hour. It may or may not have even a radio or electrical system. This is for daylight clear weather flying only and has a range of a few hundred miles but can be found for less than five figures.

 

[MRG]

Thanks for that. BIL has had 3. First was a single engine(Piper), not sure of the model. His DW was afraid of the singe engine, so he bought a twin. She still didn't want to fly. He hated the cost of the twin, had told me he felt much safer in the single. So eventually he ended up with a '47 Cub. He loves it, after looking at some photos I have to find out if his is the 'Lock Haven' yellow.

MRG

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Fly frequently to Europe. Rather not take a boat.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I fly for business about 2-3 times per year and so does my wife for her j*b. We also fly for most of our annual vacations including two kids because its fast and time is money and we can't afford to waste 3-4 extra days driving. While there are inconveniences with flying as other posters have pointed out, I have managed how to minimize them for me and have " got a system down". Plus I hate to drive even worse. Too many idiots on the road. I'll take my shoes off for TSA any day over worrying about distracted drivers who are texting while speeding.

I usually fly SOuthwest and am near the first to board and I definitely use my drink tickets. Redbull and vodka will make you forget about the people around you, especially paired with your iPhone and some earbuds.

Now if I had a much larger NW I would just become a NetJets member!

 

[Al in Ohio]

Fly frequently to Europe. Rather not take a boat.

One of my bucket list items for my ER vacations is to travel to Europe via a transatlantic ship crossing as was once common for the likes of the Vanderbilt's in the Gilded Age.

 

[Katsmeow]

I dislike flying intensely. I am afraid of every bump and jostle. I do it nonetheless when I need to, but I really try to avoid it.

The last time I flew anywhere was when we went on vacation to England 2 years ago. As we were flying back and I was nervous about every little bump, I told DH I didn't want to ever do it again unless I really had to.

During most of the last 20 years, DH and I have gone on driving vacations. When I was still working full-time I sometimes had to travel a lot. I still remember the year that I had to Salt Lake City 7 times.

During the last 15 years or so I was working I made it clear I didn't want to travel unless absolutely necessary. Any trip that was within a couple of hundred miles I would drive to.

 

[H2ODude]

One of my bucket list items for my ER vacations is to travel to Europe via a transatlantic ship crossing as was once common for the likes of the Vanderbilt's in the Gilded Age.

Definitely on our bucket list. We have some time limitations right now so will have to wait, but I did check it out. Little pricey but what got me was the one way ticket on the plane for the other leg was same as a round trip! That'd be hard to stomach!

As for disliking flying re. the bumps and so forth...xanax is your friend!

 

[NW-Bound]

Fly? Why not when it beats swimming across the ponds?

Fly Me To The Moon - YouTube