The Time Machine

Do you use your RV for business?

I buy/sell light commercial trucks, many for long-time clients who call and place an informal order for a particular type or price range. It's my job to find it, vet it, buy it, repair and modify as necessary, and often deliver it.

The RV-8 is perfect for the common missions (two seats, fast, low fuel cost), working auctions in neighboring states and visiting clients. It roughly triples the geographic area I can cover in a day.

Today's mission started at 7AM in Montgomery when I picked up my buddy Stan and headed for 08A. We were airborne by 7:45, destination Hattiesburg MS (HBG), enjoying a bright morning while skipping over patches of sticky fog. By 9:30 we had jumped in a rental car, found the auction, and were checking the flatbed Isuzu NPR I had come to buy:



By 11 we were out the gate. After fuel, lunch, and a short cell phone discussion with the customer, Stan headed the truck down Hwy 98 and I went back to the airport, topped off, and headed for Fairhope Al, across the bay from Mobile. Stan picked up the customer in Daphne, and we hooked up at Continental's CQF FBO/Service center to do paperwork. It was less than a hour's ride back to 08A; I was in my office catching up with other stuff by 5:15. It would have been a 500 mile plus driving day in my trusty old pickup...difficult given the required auction and customer time.



BTW, this truck will get a new life as a lawn spray rig, carrying 500 gallons of mix from home to home for a landscape company. You might be amused to know that one part of my work is determining weight and balance for truck applications, fundamentally the same thing as preflight W&B.

Repo trip

A couple of years ago, Southeastern Aircraft called a friend of mine in Allendale, S.C. to go and repo an Air Tractor 502 that was located in Statesboro, (KTBR) Ga. (hidden), and fly it back to Ft. Pierce, to their private dealership/spray facility in the orange groves near Lake Okeechobee.

My role was to go and get him. It's roughly 400 statute from my place (2J3) to Southeastern aircraft's strip. An early morning departure got me down there by lunch and him back home to Allendale by late afternoon, with the dealer glad to get his airplane back...after a year of spraying and no lease payments! I pulled the -10 into the hangar as the sun was setting...1,000 miles in a day, in comfort, at 200 MPH+ TAS

Best,

Its great you are enjoying all the benefits.

Here's my schedule for the next two weeks:
Next week, in ATL for Tue/Wed, RDU for Thurs/Friday and then Home
Following week, RDU Mon-Wed, Nashville Thurs/Friday and then Home.

I read your post,Dan, and wonder why am I building. I'd like to be able to enjoy what you I'm building to fly, but I've never had a better excuse to fly than what I do now. I argue with myself all the time about whether I should sell the kit and buy a plane.

The argument continues. Meanwhile Delta and AA love me.

quick edit....I love building, btw. Thats why I haven't sold my kit.

DanH said:

Do you use your RV for business?

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I surely do Dan. I examine title for oil companies and go wherever they want. They say "FROG", I jump and don't ask how far. Of late, I'm staying in my own area. But, if I have to travel more than 200 miles, I try to load up the -4.

I spent a lot of time in Pecos County, Texas which is right at 400 miles from me. The choice was either a wonderful 2 to 2.5 hr flight, or, a 6.5 hour drive dodging animals and drunks.

Dallas is about 400 miles from me and I try to take the plane. Downtown Houston is 206 miles and I've found it is just about as time and hassle efficient to drive.

I'm anticipating a trip to Tulsa next week. I'm contemplating a stop in Sherman for fuel, then on to Tulsa for "bidness".

I love having the options.

Cheers,

"The Biz"

DanH said:

Do you use your RV for business?
.

Click to expand...

Short answer:YES
Long answer: YES

R2 Aviation provides aircraft buyer/seller client services and consulting. 50% of my work involves pre-purchase inspections. It's always nice to show up in front of someone's hangar in something you built.

V/R
Smokey

Now that my "Biz" involves flying around and visiting kit manufacturers, builders, and suppliers (along with fly-ins and shows), I guess my answer has to be "yes!" It's great to have such machines that can move us around the country so well, and get us there with our knives still in our pockets....

Use the plane to get to the plane

I too use my 6 for Biz travel. Our spray base is 4.5 hrs drive or 1.2 in the RV from my home.
Its a no brainer to have breakfast with the wife and kids at a respectable hour and head of for the Northern wheat belt for a days spraying in the 802 arriving fresh and ready to go rather than driving and losing half the day. I also get an early morning RV "hit" before having to fly the big girls all day that way Truth is I have never driven it in 8 years
LUV my RV. Ten years to get her flying but very handy now. A steam gauged VFR 0320 powered light FUN machine...the way Van designed it to be.

What we miss most over the last 2 years since no longer being able to fly is tha ability to get from point A to point B quickly, on our schedule, and without having to be groped and x rayed

Never used the plane much to travel for business but my wife and I used it almost exclusively to travel. Well over 1000 hrs logged getting to and from vacation spots.

Compared to flying driving and the train really suck and we absolutely refuse to go through the degrading experience you are subjected to before boarding an airliner.

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Sometimes able to commute to work when the SK-64 Heli-Tanker is based within range and will remain in the local area. Often however, we get sent to other states so it can be dicey about leaving the RV behind. I enjoy flying myself to "work" because I travel on MY timeline. Also, get to avoid The Herd and Poke system of modern air travel. GA really is a simple beauty to enjoy when planned and executed properly. Wx can be problematic so I choose to be IFR capable and maintain proficiency. Good fun & better handling by ATC too.

WOW

You're having way too much fun there Rob!!

Yep, I'm very fortunate. Many sacrifices made along the way to make it happen.

Apparently there are other folks who fly to work sometimes. I'd like to hear about their stories and how they make it work. In practical terms and financially. it's not easy.

The logistics of RV travel can be a challenge at times. Makes for interesting tales of adventure.

Tell you what, if I was ever an ATC person or worked at an airport I'd fly to work for sure-your already at an airport & it keeps you engaged in aviation. Getting to your office is a big part of the problem when traveling by air.

Any thoughts?

All the time

So far this year 84.1 hrs to get to the job and back home.

Sometime looks like this


Sometimes Like this



or this







A guy told me one time when asked if you save money by flying to work,
" NO! but it sure improves your attitude"

Works for me!

Yes, fortunately

I do use my RV for biz when I can. Weather permitting, I use it to
go to meetings (Southwest when I absolutely have to get there). But
my favorite task is to take inventory from the air of an ag commodity i
merchandise. It would take a full day by car and even then the view would
not be nearly as good. 2 hours at 1,000 agl does the trick. Twice each season
is usually enough. This is helpful to predict price trends. Below is an example.