RV X-C vs. commercial air

[tmillican]

Seeking comments and input on a X-C planning issue.

I am going to Washington DC for a Tuesday, 29 June hearing.

The decision: to accept the reimbursed commercial air travel, or to fly the RV-8A.

Specifics:
departure 66R. destination ?? who knows. somewhere outside the iron curtain of the ADIZ, SFRA whatever they are calling it these days.
Distance: 2200 n.m. round trip. (13.3 hours at 165 knots)
Appointment: morning meeting Tuesday 29 June. Give testimony to some committee of the "Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology" (which I had never heard of until about 10 days ago). Should be done by noon.
Schedule: Already blocked for Monday and Tuesday.

Please add/comment to my list of RV travel pros and cons:

Pro:
--FUN
--good experience (1st long XC in the RV)
--prep for OSH (next long XC in the RV)
--no airport lines, hassles, screening
--no drive to the airport (on the home end at least)
--could take second person for free (but can't take my wife AND daughter, so probably a theoretical benefit).

Con:
--more expensive
--longer travel time (but not by THAT much)
--perhaps MUCH longer travel time (Wx)
--DC airspace BS
--may have to do the ADIZ online training (or go last leg IFR)
--may need extra day off work for return flight Wednesday (days off in my profession equals days without pay i.e. even more expensive)

Thanks for any input or comments.

Obviously, I am looking for any excuse to fly my RV, whether it makes sense or not.

Troy Millican, MD

[GAHco]

Do what you want to do!

Hopefully they will reimburse you what the commercial arrangement would have cost.
Best wishes.

[Ironflight]

My Experience?

I can generally beat (or tie) the airlines door to door for trips of 1,000 miles or less, primarily because I don't have to go to the airport early, wait for luggage and rental car, etc.

But.....that's assuming that I don't have a line of significant weather to contend with that I am not going to penetrate (thunderstorms or ice). RV's are VERY capable, and you can use them to go a long ways around - but there are days that you simply are not going to go.

Our rule is that if we HAVE to be somewhere, we buy a ticket on Southwest (they go most of the places we do), and come the day of travel, we have a sure-fire way to get there if the weather doesn't look good. (Louise and I travel together, two instrument-rated pilots, and our rule is "whomever is the most scared, wins!) If the weather is good for RV'ing, we bank the ticket, and use it for the next time we need a contingency. If we haven't used that banked money by ski season, we use it for a trip with more luggage than we can carry in the RV.

I personally would have a hard time planning on making it from Texas to DC this time of year in an RV on a set schedule. I would have a contingency plan for sure - and maybe plan to go a day early to give yourself pad and a chance to visit the Udvar-Hazey....

When Louise was living in DC, I would fly in to Shannon, about an hour south, where she kept her plane, and outside of the ADIZ. Added an hour of ground driving, but made life very simple.

Having flown the trip several times, I'd recomend blocking a full day for each direction - heck, it'll take an hour just to get back outside the loop!

If you can plan flexibly, it is a great trip - but be realistic.

Paul

[Flybuddy2]

Airlines stink!!...Take your plane at any and every opportunity. I used to have to travel a lot for work and I originally figured 500 nm or less was almost always better in GA than airlines. Well, mucho experience I raised that to 1000 and even more due to the ****-poor record of airlines in both delays and communication.
Two weeks back I ferried an RV9 from San Diego to Brookhaven NY. Due to the standard afternoon T-storms, the airline was late going to CA and I missed my connection. (no communication from airline--thank god for my netbook) Trip took 23 hours. Despite similar weather on return I was able to make scheduled stop in St.Louis the first night and finish flight the next day with 17 hrs on hobbs. Basically I kept schedule when airlines couldn't. GA is not restricted to one airport. If there's weather over your destination, you can land elsewhere. Also, after dropoff, I had to return home to Ft.Myers FL from NY on another airline. Multi hour delay for lack of a crew with almost no communication.

[terrykohler]

On one of our trips last year to visit our daughter, we decided to go via the airlines to "save money". Round trip Detroit to Denver was about $250 per ticket. Oh yeah, they had just introduced the baggage fee - add $50. Daughter met us at DEN and drove us to her home at Ft. Carson (Colorado Springs). Our return was mid-week and she was working. Cab to Col Springs - $35 inc. tip. Shuttle to DEN -$100 inc tip. Another $50 bag fee. Get the car our of airport parking - $125. Total cost just under $900 (the RV would have been closer to $600). More importantly, the RV departure schedule is always better, and I've got a plane at my disposal during the week. Flexibility - priceless.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP

[jcaplins]

Originally Posted by tmillican

--may have to do the ADIZ online training (or go last leg IFR)

It's my understanding that even if you never plan on entering the adiz, you need to do the online course if you are going to be within 60 miles of it (60 miles from the center).

It's an easy and short course. When finished, print out the certificate and keep it with you.

[Alan Carroll]

Sounds like a fun trip. I flew into Leesburg VA last year and rented a car; the drive into downtown DC was much more hair-raising than the flight from Wisconsin. The SFRA stuff is not that hard if you're properly prepared.

I'd be a little concerned about meeting such a tight schedule, if its a "must be there" situation. Weather around the mountains just west of DC can get surprisingly nasty, and I'd guess that everyone who has flown a lot of cross country has had an unexpected mechanical problem at some point (I know I have). Having an extra day to work with on either side makes for a much more relaxed trip.

[David-aviator]

This past week end I had to travel to Denver from St. Louis and return. I was all set to fly the RV but ended up driving it. Here's why.

The RV trip would have cost about $425 in fuel and parking. Time factor about 5 hours with a fuel stop. Forecast indicated a head wind in both directions.

The airline would have cost $400 plus fees. Time factor at least 7 hours door to door if non stop, 10-12 if through Dallas or Chicago.

Driving cost $279. Time factor 13 hours.

The deciding factor was weather. The trip out was doable on Thursday but the return on Sunday was not. Denver was solid IFR and it extended east nearly to Kansas City. There was significant hail in the Denver area Friday and Saturday with TRW's to 50,000' and that was not a good plan for an airplane parked outside.

Were it not for the weather, the trip to DC would be fun and interesting. But the weather patterns right now are most unstable. If you have to be there, airline travel is your best bet. I hate even thinking about all the security BS one has to endure these days but sometimes it is the only way.

[N282S]

Everyone has hit the nailS on the headS. So many variables. If you have the time flexibility in business trips, take your plane. Otherwise, there's just a lot to consider. Before I retired, I had to take business trips from Topeka to Knoxville or Montgomery, Al several times a year. I did have the flexibilty in schedule which allowed me to fly my VariEze on these trips. A couple of times I did have to stay an extra day due to weather, but, since my fulltime job was also a flying job, my boss understood and was actually supportive. It was fun, but since I now have a 7, well, sometimes life just keeps getting better.

[Crossbow]

Well, since you ask for opinions, then here is mine:

If you have an IFR rating and the weather looks acceptable, then fly yourself using IFR (just make sure that you get all of your clearances and such).

While you may not save much time, however you will actually enjoy the flight which is hard to do these days when you fly commercial.