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Who uses airplane to commute to work?

So there's a possibility I may be spending 3-4 days per week in a different work location, starting next year for the next 3-5 years. Relocating family is not an option. Driving distance is 90 miles each way and I figured I would drive up early Monday morning, spend Monday and Tuesday night away from home and drive back Wednesday. Thursdays may involve occasional daily commutes. It is a 90 minute drive each way, regardless of traffic or time of day due to roads I would have to use.

Home airport to local airport at work location is 50 NM. My home to home airport is 15 mins, and it is 15 mins at the other end to work location. This makes it possibly marginally quicker to fly.

There are so many variables purely on the $$$ side to consider that its hard to know where to start when looking at economy: cost of overnight accommodation, food and car fuel as driver, versus cost of "parking" the plane and airplane fuel as an example. For those who commute by plane, what factors should I be considering to see if this is viable? Is my commute too short to make the airplane worthwhile (purely from commute standpoint)?

The biggest plus I can see, assuming costs are close to a wash, is that I could spend every night at home. The biggest negative is that I am VFR only so flying commute would not be all-year round (but I live in Northern CA so get good flying weather 9 months of the year minimum). Please help me with other things to consider.
 
I'd be interested to see what comes of this. At some point I may end up flying back and forth to San Jose for work.

Where to and from? so we can do the math.
What plane, how fast?

Is you scheduled a little flexible? Or must you be onsite at at a specific time?
What happens if you fly to work, but weather doesn't allow you to fly home?

Financial, I think driving would win by a large margin. but a commute to and from the bay area by car could take 2 to 6 hours depending on traffic. Commute times by plane should be more consistent.
 
I used my RV7 to commute to work.

By car, my commute each way, was 75 miles, and would take 1:40. I also had about $10 in tolls.
Flying was 15 mins and a 5 min bus ride to downtown Clearwater.
Much cheaper and way more fun commuting by RV.

Fortunately, KCLW had no ramp or daytime fees, only an overnight.

This worked great except in the summers, where in Florida you have to deal with daily thunderstorms. I opted to not fly in the summer.
 
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Louise used to commute from our airpark home on the south side of Houston to College Station, about 100 nm away. Flying was about 40 minutes block to block, driving was 2:30 through Houston downton. Flying was a huge "win"!

However, she had a flexible schedule, could work from home when needed, and had a crash-pad condo in College Station where she frequently overnighted. Weather frequently drove her schedule. I don't think I'd have been very comfortable if she HAD to be there every day with the dynamic weather and a simple IFR single. It was a great benefit, but you couldn't depend on it.

I'd say you could do it when it worked out - but expect to drive a lot!
 
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I have been commuting to work by plane for the last 10 years, but my commute is weekly not daily.
As Paul indicates, you will need a "plan B". Plan to have days which you can fly there but not back or vise versa. Don't put yourself in a position of get there itis.
What time do you have to be at work in the morning? Will you be flying at night? Will there be fog in the morning in Northern Cali? What happens if you get up in the morning and the weather is marginal? Will you still have enough time to drive in the morning if you decide the weather is poor?
Get your instrument rating. Equip your plane with some sort of onboard weather and an autopilot.
Ultimately, depending on the roads you would drive if driving, I think 90 miles is likely too short to make the hassles of flying on a schedule worthwhile.
 
Just to add a little more color:

I do not own a plane at present but am looking for excuses to get one ;)
Ideally I would daily commute during the spring/summer/fall months but spending occasional nights "on location" due to marginal weather would not be a deal breaker.
Would be considering buying a beater car to keep at work location which could be used to get home if essential and weather poor.
Flying from KCCR towards Sacramento so marine layer not really an issue.
Work schedule in terms of start and end of day is flexible but ideally would be 7.30am start (means leaving home by 6am if driving the whole way, with a buffer) and around a 5pm finish.
Assume plane would cruise at 125kts minimum.

The one recurring thing I hear from people who drive 1.5hrs+ each way a couple of times a week is how it wears on your mood, especially when you get home and have to walk in to "insta-family" mode (have 3 young kids). The ability to break this monotonous routine up by flying regularly instead of driving, and spend more evenings at home is what brought this to my attention as an option. Not the most $$$ cost effective option but time effective option.
 
I have been commuting 4 days a week for almost tens years now in my RV-9A. JAQ to PAO to JAQ. I have a 90 mile (35 minute) flight or a 125 mile drive (3-4 hours). Here are a few tidbits to think about.

-IFR is a must for into the bay area summer mornings. Concord may be a little more forgiving. I had 28 approaches in a row in the mornings July August time frame a few years ago.
-A flexible schedule is also a must. Be prepared to stay at one end when you want to be at the other.
-A place to stay
-Autopilot for single pilot IFR is a must
-Tie down fees are $140 a month at PAO, hopefully less at your destination
-Oil change every 6-8 weeks, 4 days a week, 35 minute flight time each way
-Spare mags to swap when 500 hour inspection is required (I am changing to P model E-mags)
-Car at the other end, bicycle for good weather if it is close enough
-Spare tire and tools to change a tire at the other end ($343 at an FBO)
-Be able to deal with stress of not being where you planned, goes with the flexible schedule
-Make go/nogo decisions timely and effectively
-Good weather subscription(s) for making an informed decision
-300-400 hours per year on the airplane for me (includes a few non-work cross countries)
-Spare parts are needed on hand (tires, tubes, talc, plugs, oil, filters, etc.)
-A place to work on the airplane out of the elements (hangar)
-Discipline to check TFR's and NOTAMS (there is usually a way around them if you are prepared)
-Plan an at least one weekend between oil changes working on the airplane
-Have your airplane completely ready when you start the commuting, not much time for changes when it has to be ready by monday AM.
 
I live in Salem, OR and commute to SFO weekly. Quite a few times I have made the 3.2 hour flight back and forth. If it were not for the the high ramp fees at SQL (San Carlos) I'd do it more. An equal amount of times I fly from Salem to Eugene and leave the plane on the ramp there. I walk out the GA gate down the sidewalk about 100 yards through TSA and non-rev to SFO. That works very well. Now that the weather in the PNW has turned to muck, I am stuck driving back and forth to EUG or PDX.

Comparing commute times for me:
1hr drive in no traffic to PDX,
1hr wait for departure
1.5 hr flight to SFO
.5 hr bus to my pad in SFO
Total 4 hours door to door. That's if I don't get bumped off my flight!
Costs me around $50 each way

Commuting by plane
15 minutes to my hangar
3.2 hour flight
1 hour CalTrain to San Bruno from San Carlos.
15 minute walk
Total about 5 hours door to door.
Costs me around $75 each way plus $10/day ramp at SQL.
 
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Posts #5 & 7 hit all the alarm bells. I'd drive with perhaps spending one night a week in the hotel to take the edge off the commute. Plus don't discount the San Joaquin Valley fog.
 
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I work at an airport about an hour dive from my house. The airport charges a landing fee. The other day, I did ask the manager repsponsivle for employee parking, where the employee airplane parking was. I got a deer in the headlights look in return.

I have a door to the ramp right outside my office, but I can just hear TSA complaining about taxing up to the terminal.

I can always dream about commuting to work in my RV-10.
 
I commute regularly from my home in the mountains east of Bakersfield to LA often. When I compound driving to the airport, pre-flight checks, tying down at the destination, and then getting to work, the "flight" still generally takes me around 1.5 hours. The drive is generally around 2.5-3. I'd be surprised if you would be able to get a net time savings on a 1.5hr by-car commute and still do your due-diligence in pre-flighting.

That being said, the sanity boost I get from flying OVER the traffic rather than sitting in it is priceless.
 
I do it...

I commute from Phoenix, AZ to Camarillo, CA weekly. I've done the drive more times than I'd like to admit and flying sure is the way to go. The comments made earlier about back up plans, weather considerations and alternative travel modes are spot on. I typically depart from Phoenix on Sunday and the flight time is ~2.5 hours vice the 7.5-8.0 drive time. After the work week I can typically get home early Thursday evening or late Friday afternoon depending on my day job. When doing the math I average 21mpg flying and a round trip with todays 100LL cost is $200, so a month of commuting costs me $800 at the pump. I pay $80 per month for a tie down at Camarillo and $205 for my hangar in Phoenix, which I don't factor in to the commute because I'd have my hangar (man-cave) anyway. For maintenance and planning purposes I figure 25 hours per month to stay conservative.

I personally would own this airplane regardless of the commute but the airplane has made "live where you want, work where you have to" a reality for me. I love Arizona, our home, the school my kids go to, Cabella's, Bass Pro Shops and Shooters World which allows me to enjoy the other perks of living in AZ! All of that along with a significant portion of our family that live here makes this the place for us. I know these are several indirect details but my RV-6A has made the rest of the US more accessible for me and it has given me options that I would have never had if I were stuck commuting on the concrete beasts. By flying I save a full day every week that I get to spend with my family so that makes it a no-brainer for me!

Hope that helps!
 
Yep!

I did it for a number of years form our home on the South side of Atlanta (fly in community) to the North side of Atlanta. It's so wonderful to start and end the day with a 15 minute flight, sometimes seeing the same moon at both ends of the day. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and avoiding the hassle of mixing with the the drivers/accidents on the roads. I especially tried to make it work on Fridays because the Friday commute in Atlanta could approach 3 hours. :(

As for the ramp fees, go try to negotiate. I agreed to buy 5 gallons of fuel everyday (earned the nickname Mr. 5 gallons!), and I avoided the ramp fee. It must have cost them more to pump my fuel, but everyone was happy.
As mentioned by others, either be sharp on instruments unless committed to VFR only, and be prepared to be disappointed on some days. But REALLY enjoy the days it works! :)

Vic
 
5 hours, or 1.5?

A few times a month I take either the RV-4 or the Mooney (whichever one needs exercised) from south of Charlotte to my Guard squadron in WV.
Caveats:
Only in good weather - too much like real work otherwise
Only for stays there of one week or less
I have an airport car there to get home in a pinch

The tax benefit is significant, though not all commuters in the civilian world get to take advantage of that. I don't do alot of joyride flying - two employers pay for my flight hours, and pay me to boot - so this qualifies as my "fun flying".
Patrick
 
I've used my RV6 to ease my business travel quite a bit over 15 years. My primary advice is get an instrument ticket, a good auto pilot, XM weather, and always file. My long range tanks have also made this type of travel much easier. I think this is very difficult and much more dangerous with out an Instrument ticket.
These rules have provided many years of safe XC on a schedule.
 
I fly to work on the average about 3 times a week. Sometimes its everyday, sometimes it will be a whole week without flying.

You need to have a plan B.

Sometimes its beautiful and makes your day

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On the other hand some days is not so easy

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Some days its a challenge

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Occasionally it doesn't work at all. Weather forecasted to be good enough for the approach. Never got above less than 1/4 mile viz and 100ft. didn't even fly the approach. Got in the holding pattern for about 20 min it didn't look like it was going to improve so I went home.

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Luckily I can schedule the work to some extent and part of my front yard is some of the runway.

Does it save time? I doubt it. I usually have to move a work vehicle into the work area with tools and then move it somewhere else for the next job.

Does it save money? no way.

I would not have it any other way.

If you can make it work GO FOR IT !!!! its not always convenient.

Hopefully some of this can help you make the correct decision.
 
Some say I fly past them.....on the Ducati! But if I could fly, I would, So jealous. will these things depart a 1000 ft runway at 7K ele?
 
I commute from The Landings Airpark (second Airpark in Pecan Plantation subdivision, Granbury TX) to my business in Midland TX each week. Tomorrow I will be driving the trip, second time I've had to drive this year, due to anticipated weather later this week plus scheduled Thanksgiving dinner. I make the flight in my RV10 in 1.5 hours typical or 4.5 hours driving.

I have a flexible schedule which allows me to plan around weather or unexpected issues. I also file IFR for 98% of time. I keep a truck in Midland and rent a hangar. I have tools etc on each end and carry spare tubes, plugs and any thing else I can stuff in the 10. Cost me about $60 round trip over a diesel truck fuel cost. Fuel is quite a bit more expensive in West Texas. I fly some single day trips but most times I stay over, I have a home there also.

Been doing this now for three years. Enjoy every minute of the commute, when flying.

Tom Woodruff
66TE - Landings Airpark
Pecan Plantation, Granbury TX
 
I spent more than a year commuting from Marina, KOAR to Palo Alto, KPAO. ~22 minute flight time and an hour door to door. I was able to fly three or more days a week (when I wasn't traveling farther afield). Some weeks, I couldn't fly at all. Having a backup plan was essential (be it a friend's place to spend the night, work bus, train, extra airport car). I did find myself caught out with the marina layer and used Salinas, KSNS as a backup. I agree that completing my IFR rating would have helped, but often the marine layer was too low for the GPS approach into KOAR (if I had been rated - I kept track every day of go / no go decision vs forecast and actual). The ILS for KSNS was often cross as the approach is aligned for terrain, not the prevailing wind (as you would expect).

I had the flexibility to work remote and take a meeting from wherever I might be (on the ground). For critical - have to be there - meetings, I would always drive.

Bottom line, it's possible to do, but there's an increased cost and personal rules that need to be followed. However, your time has worth. I have wonderful memories of sunsets and night flights from that time. I was told that I was *much* happier when I had flown than when I had to drive.
 
Louise used to commute from our airpark home on the south side of Houston to College Station, about 100 nm away. Flying was about 40 minutes block to block, driving was 2:30 through Houston downton. Flying was a huge "win"!

However, she had a flexible schedule, could work from home when needed, and had a crash-pad condo in College Station where she frequently overnighted. Weather frequently drove her schedule. I don't think I'd have been very comfortable if she HAD to be there every day with the dynamic weather and a simple IFR single. It was a great benefit, but you couldn't depend on it.

I'd say you could do it when it worked out - but expect to drive a lot!

Ironflight,
slight variation on this theme;
I've been occasionally commuting for work this year. Since I'm VFR only, IFR is not an option (although I'm working on it/me). Also no autopilot increases my cockpit workload. Been using Flight following on every flight.
I use my RV-4 to fly when the time is >3.5 hours by car.
Yes, it is a huge win to fly.
I flight plan carefully, and mentally prepare to sleep in a hotel.
I have have not tried the class B airports yet, an instead look for a small field outside or under the B ring.
There are more frequent oil changes.
I'm not sure that I'm accounting the cost correctly for the IRS either.
For years I dreamed of flying in MY PLANE (instead of commercial) and now it can happen.
 
I live on am airpark just west of Greenville, SC and last Jan2took a job in Houston, TX. Great job and great people!

I would fly home twice a month, VFR, or try to. I would depart late Friday afternoon for SC and return Sunday evening. It was an easy one stop flight. I found that it wouldn't have been possible without XM weather and later ADS-B weather.

There were times when the FAA weather brief was ominous and the weather was clear and visa versa. Only once did I have to stop short and spend a night in a hotel.

It helped that my boss had an RV-8 as did one of my coworkers.
 
Thanks for all the feedback and things to consider. It would appear that commuting by air would be a good option for me to use but not to be considered my primary method of travel. However, the ability to mix in some flying days with some driving days should help abate the tedium of the car and give me some more quality family time.
 
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