Flying an RV for a business trip

n700jl · #1 11-14-2006, 06:46 PM

Does anyone out there fly there RV on business trips? If so how did you explain this to your boss? Please help I am stuck in my car looking @ the sky trying to figure this out. Thanks!

Tony Partain · #2 11-14-2006, 07:34 PM

Easy I put in a request to myself and okay it immediately. Head for the airport and fly to Vans. Business trip. 35 minutes later, pull up to Vans ramp with a RV grin! Hang out with the crew do a little business. Get back in the plane and climb like the home sick angel to get over the Cascade mountains and do the mandatory aileron roll, descend to the airport and land. Put the plane away and wipe it down. Turn around for a last look as I turn off the light and lock the door. Business trip, man work is fun!

svanarts · #3 11-14-2006, 07:36 PM

This will vary wildly from company to company. My boss doesn't care. He allows me to expense it as if I'm driving. Our company is a very liberal company however. At first I just dropped hints that I would "get there somehow." Later on word leaked out and the boss thought it was fine. As long as I get where I'm supposed to be when I'm supposed to be there, he doesn't really care how I get there.

Paul Eastham · #4 11-14-2006, 07:41 PM

Some companies explicitly forbid travel on private aircraft for business purposes due to liability concerns. Whether or not you tell them about it, though, is up to you...

Paul

airguy · #5 11-14-2006, 08:03 PM

I followed that tactic (using a rented 172) with my last job, on the theory that begging forgiveness was a lot easier than asking permission. As it turns out, I didn't even have to beg forgiveness, they never figured it out. With my current job I travel extensively, and my boss was pretty cool about it - he said he would reimburse me whatever the cheapest airline fare would be to the nearest airport to where I was flying into - the rest was out of my pocket. For a rental 172 it's a toss-up or a slight loss, considering Southwest serves most of the places I go - but I'm willing to pay that for the airtime. With a RV9, the economy is high enough I might actually make money on the trip.

Ironflight · #6 11-14-2006, 08:32 PM

You might think that as a government employee, I'd have a mountain of paperwork and tone of permissions to go through to do something as risky as flying a personal airplane for business purposes...and an experimental personal airplane at that!

But then again, I work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.....we send people up in experimental flying machines all the time!

So I just have my orders written to allow "transportation by private air" (I think it is actually "contract air"). I get reimbursed $0.94 per mile - up to what an airline ticket would cost on the route. And since Southwest flies most places we go, I generally just get the value of a SWA ticket, which is about what it costs me for gas to fly the Valkyrie. And for that, I get the pleasure and flexibility of dong it myself.

Paul

JoeG · #7 11-14-2006, 10:41 PM

While an employee of Lockheed Martin AERONAUTICS Comapany, I looked into this. Sadly, even though the government Joint Travel regulations (JTR) allow and reimburse the use of personal aircraft, Lockheed expressly prohibited it in the company travel policy.

I'm sure this is due to lawyers and bean-counters (A vile bunch) and I'm quite sure that is part of the reason I left Lockheed. Now I work as a consultant and there is no issue... except that my plane isn't flying yet!

It's always something....

Pirkka · #8 11-15-2006, 01:39 AM

For me it's actaully forbidden in travel rules (can't be a PIC in a plane or wessel) and this comes to travel rules due insurance policy. However, I would take that "risk" anyway so I really don't care not to do it because of missing insurance from a company... Never actually done any trips with flying but I've been flying while being on business trip (=travel rules apply at that time). I quess my boss doesn't care and would pay expenses by car if needed.

Deuskid · #9 11-15-2006, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironflight

<snip>

So I just have my orders written to allow "transportation by private air" (I think it is actually "contract air"). I get reimbursed $0.94 per mile - up to what an airline ticket would cost on the route. And since Southwest flies most places we go, I generally just get the value of a SWA ticket, which is about what it costs me for gas to fly the Valkyrie. And for that, I get the pleasure and flexibility of dong it myself.
Paul

Paul -

How was the $0.94/mile amount derived?

thanks,

John

Ironflight · #10 11-15-2006, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuskid

Paul -

How was the $0.94/mile amount derived?

thanks,

John

John,

It's in the current travel rules somewhere.....I am afraid I could never point you to the specifics - my secretary told me, and I believed her (always believe your secretary...)

Joe - Dang, that's what happens when the airplane people turn the running of airplane companies over to non-airplane people....very unfortunate! Right now, NASA has an administrator who is a CFI and owns a share of a Tiger...who has been known to fly himself to the Cape!

Paul