Jaypratt

Jaypratt

Well Known Member
Mentor
How can I get more of you to FLY???.

My first airplane was a paper one. It probably was a paper fold over. I can't remember not flying,........... something.

I have helped a lot of you get your RVs in the air in the time I have been flying and building RV airplanes.

It concerns me that more of you do not fly......I know..,,, hanger talk is fun but,,,,,,,,,it is really about flying for me...........

What is is it with so many of you that don't have something to fly while you are building? Why do so many of you not fly for 10+ years while dreaming?, Building. Typing, Talking????????? about flying???


I see our lakes full of boats, from the air.,, a past time that is more expensive than ours. So it is not $$$ The golf links are full too?

I here about TV here in my shop? what is that? I get off work and go fly, if the WX is nice. Where are you? WX on TV? Duaaa,,,I look out side.

Bob Bashiere built a RV for under $20 k. I built a RV8 for under 30k in 1999.
Flying is not expensive , so,,, what is IT? with so many,,, that,,, talk,,,, type,,,, hang out on the Internet,,,, and around our airports,, and DO NOT FLY???

There are a lot of planes that need attention, your attention, come on and find something to fly. Lets go!!!

I am 61 years old, I dreamed and planed and put it off until I was 35yrs, to get my licence. DO NOT WAIT!!! It was my big mistake!!!
 
Last edited:
For me it is $$$. but I haven't quit flying just reduced. Is twice in the last 4 days enough? Went with a friend in his Rans S-6 sunday afternoon. Then I took my club's Citabria out for 1.2 on tuesday, for a low and slow antelope spotting run along the lake. I figure polishing my taildragger skills will pay dividends when I get my -7 flying.
 
Although I agree that I would like to and should fly more I am going to give the answer that one already has and I think most will...money. To say that aviation is not expensive is not entirely true because it's all relative. I am very happy that you can go flying everyday after work but I can't...I can't afford to own a boat, go golfing or fly once a week. When I do fly it's mostly local because at $88.00 an hour for a Piper Archer I can't afford to go anywhere far. In fact I feel until I start and finish my RV my ticket goes to waste because it is SO cost prohibitive. It's so frustrating that at times I find myself not motivated to go up because I don't want to just tool around town anymore I want to get out of Dodge and do what I got my ticket for in the first place!!

Now that this thread has been started ya got me all fired up!!! I WANT TO FLY but at my crappy air ambulance salary it won?t be happening for a while.

So in short...the answer to your question is...fork over some dough and I'll go up all you want ;) . Just kidding.
 
make this crappy weather go away, and Im gone.
Today--4.4 hr drive to Fargo to get Grandson,:( just over an hr fly
 
I echo the comments about $$$. I'm well along in my build project and continuing to make good progress. At the same time, I'm in a flying club to continue to build hours. But even the club planes (newer 172's) I pay $88 to $92 /hr. My flying goal has been 8 hrs/mo and I've stayed pretty close to that, but WOW, just watch the cash flow out the door! Between $500 to $800/mo for club flying added to what I spend on the Nine, it's kinduv a cash hemorrage (sp?). I'm just dang lucky to have a spousal unit who tolerates my feverish love of all things aviation. With all due respect to great guys like Jay, aviation IS an expensive hobby. IMHO, f-a-r more expensive than boating or motorcycles or cars, or about any other typically "manly" activity. ;)

Terry
 
Well Jay, I currently fly around 400 hours a year at my job, but the reason I haven't started building is just as you predicted...money money money!! :) That, plus I'm waiting for the -12 to come out so I can build an airplane in around 1 year, not 4-5. Although I do have to say it would be really tempting to think about a -7 or -9 if I really could get one in the air for $30-$35K or so...:eek:
 
I average about 2 hours a week in the air. That would be much more if it weren't for that pesky little thing called WORK. Oh, and family too.
 
$$$$$$$$

well in the order of importance
1 time
2 money
and i bought a used mastercraft boat (because i speny most of my money on the rv) 60K by now. as for boating being ,more i have to dissagree with that. it cost 500 a month to park a plane. i can park the boat for around 25 a month. what little spare time i have, i spend building. its either fly or build. i do manage 2-3 hrs a month rental @90$ per hr. :eek: to fly a spam can. and now im renting an empty hangar for 200$
 
I have all the time in the world, but limited funds. I build as my finances permit. I try to get in the air some though, bumming rides off fellow RV'ers in exchange for help working on their planes. Or sometimes I get to ride in my boss's J3 after work, but with these short days, it looks like no more Cub rides except for weekends.
 
Not local flying

Jay has some valid points......that a lot of licensed pilots just don't fly. I see it here as well, with my partner. Local flying is so boring since I do it daily, crop-dusting. The best way to get back into the enjoyment is to GO SOMEPLACE! I take the wife to the ocean at Beaufort, S.C, a beautiful place 45 minutes by RV or to Jekyll Island, Ga. for a grouper sandwich and walk the beach. Going places is what RV's do best. Heck, Rosie and company flew from California to Sun 'n Fun and then on to the Bahamas scuba diving! Not just one year, but several years running. Let's get going to someplace.

Just do it,
 
The work thing kills me. When we're delivering the FX on a film, we sometimes work 12 hour days and weekends. When it gets like that, I've got maybe an hour of conscious time in the evening that's my own. I like to use that hour to build. I'm ten minutes from SMO, and when I can, I sneak off to fly Pipers around the pattern for an hour or so. But being able to take a 2 hour lunch (to do an hour of flying), isn't always possible either.
 
Lucky, Lucky Lucky

I know I'm lucky but that's what getting older is all about. I live 6 minutes from my hangar, uncontrolled field (Dahlonega, GA.), relatively inexpensive fuel, an understanding wife and always the urge to turn upside down. (me not Her) I was just thinking last night on the way home from the hangar how lucky I was. I usually take 4 or 5 short flights a week just to keep the smile on my face. And then there's always the formation stuff:)
 
One Word: Seattle

After the 60 hour week, the odds of getting a good flying day on a Saturday here in the great Pacific NW at this time of year is close to nill!
 
Jay...

Put down the coffee! My blood pressure went up 10 points just reading your post! Relax. Go fly. :D

Joe
 
Cost will get worse

Look at the response to my post on the ADS-B NPRM. Seems to me that people are just ignoring it yet it will cost them TBD thousands (7, 8, 15?) for a piece of equipment that offers very little.
 
For me it's the $$$ and the time. I started to build an RV on 2 different occasions. I found myself wondering where the money and time were going to come from to finish it. A lot of us have families and time spent building is time spent away from them (they just aren't interested in planes). Seems a little selfish on my part to invest so much time and money on something only I am interested in. I got plenty of support but felt guilty anyhow. Maybe in the future I can spend the money on flying.....after my son's college. I am saving a little when I can to make my dream come true.

I respectfully disagree about the cost of flying. In my world it is expensive.

I agree with others who have posted that renting gets old after a while. You can't really go anywhere without breaking the bank. I would rather save to build or buy. I hope to do a great deal of flying in the future. I hope to see many of you at flyins sometime in the future. It may be those ten years of dreaming, but I am hopeful.
 
Money?

Ok, so money is a problem keeping some of you out of the air.

Like a lot of business owners I have a problem getting quality help. But I got here by working extra hours. Here is how it worked for me.

I worked in Aspen, in the 70's and did ANY extra job I could find. Most people worked enough to ski..... I got a job in the ice rink and got payed to clean the floors and locker rooms, sharpen skates, lock up every night, 7 nights.
O', I got to play ice hockey and skate a lot.
I saved some $$ working day and night, I cooked 6 days in a restaurant at the same time. 4.5 years.

Next, I worked a charter boat in the eastern Caribbean, and still managed to start an air charter business on the side, still working two jobs..............,,,,, ,,,,,any one see a trend here?

Now If someone wanted to get ahead?? These days????? In our RV world???

It is real simple to me. Work a regular job. AND Get some extra work. Save the money. Buy an airplane. or Build ,,,just get started, stay focused.

Case in point, in my shop and around the DFW Metro Mess,, a lot of people are willing to hire the glass work out. A fiberglass person could work 20 hours a week, charge a fair wage, save all the $$ and have an extra 30k to 40 k in a year of Extra Effort. Just a little sacrifice, and self discipline.

THE Math...
20 hours x $40 hour {you gotta be good} = $800 a week
$800 per wk x 50 weeks = $ 40,000

Can't do this work? Sack groceries, flip burgers. someone working ,,, rarely spends more than they make. Work a bunch of extra a year or 2 and you will be ahead one RV6 or C-172 or some small airplane....

Want a plane?,,,,,, sacrifice,
 
Last edited:
Jaypratt said:
Want a plane?,,,,,, sacrifice,
Click to expand...

Blunt and to the point, Jay.

Well said! I'm beating my brains on the wall looking for side work allready. Every spare nickle I scrounge goes into savings. I currently work 50 to 58 hours a week at my full time job, plus whatever else I can find.

I'm gettin so tight with $, soon I'm gonna start squeeking when I walk. COMPLETELY different than the person I used to be. I hate to even spend the money on flight lessons that I MUST HAVE before I can even fly an RV. How silly is that???:rolleyes:

Josh
 
Jaypratt said:
Can't do this work? Sack groceries, flip burgers. someone working ,,, rarely spends more than they make. Work a bunch of extra a year or 2 and you will be ahead one RV6 or C-172 or some small airplane....

Want a plane?,,,,,, sacrifice,
Click to expand...

I think you've got a good point, but this won't work for everyone. I'm in a Ph.D. and pathology residency program, and my contract specifically prohibits working "on the side". If I'm working, they expect me to be working on my degree.

Between that and my wife doing a residency in California (I'm in Washington), our spare time and "spare" money are spent visiting each other.

The only reason this is bearable is that it's temporary - we know our programs are going to be done in a year, we'll be in jobs that will pay MUCH better, and we'll be together instead of spending lots of money visiting each other. Getting back in the air is near the top of my priority list, and building an airplane is up there as well.

It's sort of the same situation for me as when I was in vet school - I wanted to take flight lessons, but your senior year leaves no time and less than no money. So, I grabbed study materials so that I could take the written test as soon as I graduated and started taking lessons. Now I'm reading up on building airplanes, so I'm ready to hit the ground running (limping?) as soon as I can.
 
Priorities

Jaypratt said:
Want a plane?,,,,,, sacrifice,
Click to expand...

A couple of weeks ago I was was out taking Sunshine for a walk and stopped by a nearby airport for some fuel and a burger. A fellow walked up and was asking some of the usual questions about my RV8. The discussion then morphed into the "my dad had an airplane and I loved flying so much, but I will never be able to afford one" routine. He walked through the gate and got in his brand new 7 series BMW and drove off. Someone is kidding someone here. Perhaps he was kidding me, but I really think he is kidding himself. If he really wants to fly, lose the BMW. My 7 year old pickup makes it to the airport just fine. It is all about priorities.

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
The nail on the head...

John Clark said:
He walked through the gate and got in his brand new 7 series BMW and drove off. ........... It is all about priorities.

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
Click to expand...

True words indeed. Even now, my old '89 pickup does just fine and since I never buy new vehicles, the insurance is cheaper. Now I have an almost paid for -6A which I use for transition training to help it pay for itself. More deductibles now...

Regards,
 
Jaypratt said:
Want a plane?,,,,,, sacrifice,
Click to expand...

Well spoken. that is exactly why I have an RV today. It may have taken 8.5 years to build it but it has flown over 2,000 hours in 10-years.

Would fly more if I had more time. I do not know where I would find the money if I had more time but I know I would SACRIFICE to fly. I want to fly so I will find the money.

I second Jay's comment: What's a TV? I gave up watching TV to build my RV. I wasted enough time watching TV that by giving it up, I found time to build. By not watching TV, I now have some time to fly.
 
flying

Jay,

I just read your thread after getting home from...you guessed it....flying.

Although having a job does get in the way, and the RV8A project in my garage takes up some of my free time, I manage to get a little air time in my 1942 Taylorcraft L2. I bought the L2 for under 20K a few years ago. Its hangar and a great little grass strip that it shares with other vintage aircraft about 30 minutes from my home in downtown Orlando, cost less that $300 a month. I burn about 4.5 gallons an hour.

The L2 is a low and slow taildragger but it costs less than an SUV and provides as much fun as you can have with your clothes on (sorry Doug for the inference).

This afternoon I was about 1,500 ft over a lake in central Florida where I saw an eagle soaring. I joined him for a few minutes before heading back to my little grass strip for a 3 point landing on freshly mowed grass.

Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, I will do my Sunday morning favorite thing, a sunrise flight. I will look for my new eagle friend.

I do appreciate the golfers. Although they are missing out on what we aviators enjoy, they provide great emergency landing strips.
 
Jaypratt said:
It is real simple to me. Work a regular job. AND Get some extra work. Save the money. Buy an airplane. or Build ,,,just get started, stay focused.
Click to expand...

That is a truly excellent idea, but unfortunately for some us, it's a real problem. I'm currently working 6 days a week, 55-60 hours per week, and the rest of my time is spent doing things around the house that need done, working on the other homebuilt, visiting family or sometimes if I'm threatened I actually spend a little time with my wife! :eek: :D

You're right though...it's all about what your priorities are. Unfortunately, sometimes life and family priorities are deemed more important than an extra job for homebuilding airplanes.

My solution is to go to 30 hour days. That way I can also get a part time job somewhere for extra $$. Let me make some calls... ;)
 
YOU LUCKY DOG!

Jay, you lucky dog. I planned on retiring and fly off into the sunset. But....... I'm back at work. I have a 25% partnership in a '58 172, a 10% partnership in a J3 cub, I haven't been up in either for the past year. I manage time off for Oshkosh, try and make our EAA chapter meetings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.