Ironflight

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
Last weekend, I had to travel to Minnesota for some appearances. Since I absolutely, positively had to be there, and the sponsoring organization was picking up the tab, I let them book me on the big Red-tailed bird (NWA) for the trip up and back. Nice trip, got there on time...and of course, the weather was nice VFR both ways.... :mad:

Let's review the timing. I left my office at 1430 on Friday afternoon for a nice one-hour drive to Houston Intercontinental Airport. Parking lot, parking shuttle, luggage check (remembering to tuck my pocket knife, eye drops and chap-stick in my checked luggage so I didn't get stopped at security by the Gestapo!), and then an hour wait for the flight. A nice smooth flight in a comfy seat, and then a LONG walk north through the Minneapolis terminal (I think the southern end of the "G" terminal at KMSP must be in Iowa!) to wait for/pick up my bag, followed by a LONG walk south to the rental car counter to pick up wheels and drive to my parent's home. Arrival time 2100!

If, instead, I had driven from the office to my hangar, leaving at the same time, I would have been airborne by 1500 (with all of the contraband still in my pockets!). Assuming a quick fuel stop and short turnaround somewhere in Missouri, based on previous trips on the route in the Valkyrie, I'd have touched down at a local GA airport about 2030. A quick phone call to a sister living 5 minutes away would have gotten me a ride for an arrival at my parents home at....2100!!

Once again, proving that travel by RV on trips up to about a thousand miles can meet or beat the airlines on the same route. :D

I just thought I'd bring it up for those folks wondering (or still sitting on the fence) about how useful these machines can be....of course, if there had been icing in the clouds (if there had been any clouds) I'd have been REAL happy to be sitting in that seat on the Airbus....I'm not crazy! :rolleyes:

The Valkyrie will make the Christmas trip...after a (hopefully) trip to Florida and back in the next few days...

Paul
 
Another example

Paul,
Last summer I took my wife in our 182 to GA from OK. About 860 statute miles. We had to go around weather on leg out and back. I am VFR. My wife was kinda upset at the delays. I think I got there in about 7 hours or so and back in about the same time.
Later, she wanted to go and decided to fly airlines.
When she left, the airline was delayed because of weather at another airport. She could not leave because she would not meet her connection. She had to spend the night and leave the next day. The next day, another delay put her in Tulsa ok or Dallas tx and me having to drive to pick her up.
By the time she got home personal travel had a new meaning to her.
Doug
 
I just picked up my airplane from a painter in central Alabama. I'm in central Indiana. First off, I couldn't even get a commercial flight that would get me there in less than 4 hours and even then, I had to drive from Birmingham the final 50 miles. Price was about $450.

Instead, I drove down in a one-way car rental that cost me $150 but took me 11 hours through rush-hour traffic in Louisville and Nashville.

Flight back home in the newly painted airplane was a brisk 2 hours at a fuel cost of approximately $84.

Yep, there is no other way to go. (as long as the weather is good!)
 
Two examples

This somewhat skewed because I live at an airpark and always leave from GATE 1. P19 Chandler AZ

1) Called relative in Las Vegas and said I was pushing the airplane out and would be airborne within 15 minutes. One hour 50 later I'm walking into the terminal at North Las Vegas.

Same flight on Airlines. Drive from house to Phx Sky Harbor and park at remote lot. 45 minutes. Arrive at least one hour early. Fifty minute flight, get rental car, drive to relatives 45- an hour (near N LV.) So a minimum of 4 hours if everything goes right.

2) Flying from P19 to San Bernardino airport. Projected 1:40 flight. Call friend who lives in Long Beach and is my ride and tell him I'm lighting the fire. He says he is leaving his house at that minute. 1:35 flight, park, tie down, remove gear, look around, visit Wizator center, walk to more convenient pick up area and wait 30 more minutes.

Minimum 4-5 hour situation flying into Ontario airport. (Driving would be faster)

Okay, one more.

3) Departed for Osh. 9 hours in route, 2 stops for fuel, head winds. Just under 8 hours of actual stick time.

Doing that commercial would be just about a push.
 
Good stories fellas. Would someone PLEASE tell my wife to read this thread?

Her parents live in Nashville which is just a tad over 200 nm from KLZU. She insists we fly but it takes longer than it has to... Why? Because we fly commercially! So it's about a 4.25 hrs trip no matter if you take the Big D(elta) or drive.

Trying to convince her that the RV, now that it's flying, is the onlllly way to go. Perfect for these kind of trips.

Can't wait to take it to see my parents - a 5 min ride to the local airport vs. 1+ hr to any of the 3 closest major airports with scheduled service. That alone saves an hour.
 
Simple. Drop her off at the airline terminal, fly over in your plane, and pick her up again at the destination. She'll get the message. You might get a divorce (I probably would! :D ) but she'll get the message!
 
imponderables

the foregoing examples are good for the empiricism involved. but a more difficult measure is that of personal satisfaction. at this point (in america, anyway) there is no compelling reason to set foot on an airliner. the aforementioned gestapo are reason enough to walk/hitch-hike/crawl/rv-ate, etc. after one's chapstick and drinking water are confiscated, we are treated to abysmal service by employees, many of whom are uncertain about the future of their airline. after that, we are shoe-horned into impossibly tight quarters next to an individual with marginal hygeine (at least that's who they stick me next to). and there we sit. . .wondering if our name will appear on the top secret no-fly list that is complied down in the basement of area 51, between our departure and return trip.

what unit of measure do you use for the satisfaction, flexibility, comfort and downright fun (you can't have the NWA dude up front do the odd aileron roll on the way now, can you?) that comes from flying yourself, in your own plane?
 
Thanksgiving story.

We live just north of Dallas, TX. A couple of years back I needed to be back at work after the holiday (a Friday), but my wife wanted to stay down in Waco for a few days to spend time with the Moms, so she drove with the kids a couple of days before the 25th and I flew the RV-6 down to Waco on the 24th. 36 minute flight watching SOLID brake lights down the entire length of I-35. I purposely didn't fly direct, but instead flew directly over the Interstate. Susie picked me up at KACT, about ten minutes from Mom's.

It was an it-was-worth-every-penny moment and I remember it well. The road between Dallas and Waco isn't exactly fast the day before Christmas <g>.

I hope to do something similar again this year.

I love my airplane.

b,
d

PS: Funny that I typed 'Thanksgiving' in the subject and then talked about Christmas. I'm getting old...
 
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I'm seriously looking forward to using RV Airlines for my regional aviation needs. From SMO to OAK or SJC, the choice is pretty clear. From LAX to TPA or DTW would definitely be one for the airlines. Right now, the advantages are the satisfaction of doing it (big one, and first among many), and the profound lack of the Typical American Air Travel Experience. It depends how much stuff you have to do on the ground compared to the amount of time you're in the air. From the Los Angeles Basin to the bay area, flight time is about 50 minutes. Cab to the airport, check in, security (which is quick, but still annoying), clearance, pushback, taxi takes about 50-75 minutes. No car rental, but taking the train to San Francisco or having the wife's parents pick us up and take us back to their house is another 20 min to 1/2 hr depending on traffic. That run takes a little less than 2.5 hours in a Cardinal RG, but the drive to SMO takes a minute and a half if the lights are right. Preflight to takeoff is about 15 minutes. But you don't have to stand in a line smelling the feet of strangers and holding your trousers up before you can get aboard. If there was such a thing as a 550mph RV, the airlines would have no advantage at all.
 
yet another example

I had flown my RV8 to Sun n Fun from SW Colorado. I met up with a friend there from my town. He is a retired airline pilot who had chosen to use his pass to get there and back.

He left Sun n Fun (Lakeland Fl) at 6:30am for his flight. I left Sun n Fun at 8am.

I arrived home (Pagosa Springs, CO 2V1) at 4pm. He got home at 10pm after a flight to ABQ, then a 4 hour drive home. It REALLY pays from small town to small town.

P.S. Lakeland to Pagosa...1400 nm.
 
Over the 20+ years that I operated my BD4 (180hp, 180mph), I developed the view that I would try to fly the BD on trips if my destination was within my magic "donut". This donut started at about 50 miles and extended out to about 1200 miles.

I found that I could reach anywhere in the donut faster and more conveniently than flying on the airlines or driving. Of course, reasonable weather for the trip was a requirement (VFR or light IFR).

For close destinations, obviously, driving was best and quite often the only way to reach the destination. Beyond the 1200 miles, the time (usually including an overnite) and the cost were excessive for the BD flight.

I hope that my RV8 will expand the donut even further...

Deene Ogden
RV8QB, IO-390, Hartzell BA, James cowl/plenum, Clark FB
EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
 
This is such a painful, yet motivational thread for those of us who haven't finished our RVs yet! Being a Chicagoan in St. Louis, I frequently make the 270 mile drive to my parents (or friends) house, and I'm almost always looking at the weather thinking @%&#$& I could have flown if the airplane was finished!

Tonight for example, I'm headed up to take my dad to the Illini game in Chicago for his birthday. Weather? Mostly sunny tonight; partly cloudy for Sunday's return, ugh its perfect!
 
Forget trying to justify what cannot be justified.

Yeah, this question is a riot. If I had a nickel for every hour spent on building, servicing, repairing and paying for my airplanes I could hire a private jet and never go thru an x-ray again.

Forget the justification of claiming to save an hour of travel time here or there. Just enjoy yourself and fly your own. If the better half won't come along, oh well, you'll just get there sooner and use less fuel.
 
I was reading this post yesterday and I got a wild notion.

I called a retired friend who just moved to Prescott,AZ and said, "Hi Boyd, I was thinking about flying over and picking you up so you can go to the Commemorative Air Force Christmas Party tomorrow night, I'll fly you back whenever you want to return."

Surprisingly, He jumped at it! So he is back here in CA with family.

I'll fly him back Tuesday and the club will be thrilled to see him. He was extremely active for many years as Hangar boss.

A nice, clear day to fly somewhere I've never been. 278 naut. miles each way. just over 3 hrs. of flying.

thanks for the idea of using the RV because there is no way he would drive 6 hrs. each way for a party
 
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What about extra luggage?

Paul - -

You said...travel by RV on trips up to about a thousand miles can meet or beat the airlines on the same route and that makes good sense to me.

I'm wondering if you (or any poster here) might have successful strategies for sending extra luggage via some other conveyance.

What I'm getting at is, what if you wanted to travel with golf clubs? Or, say pilot and passenger had some hefty luggage. Do you have any preferred luggage carrier? Greyhound? Air Freight?

Thanks much!

Tom in Sacramento
 
grover said:
(you can't have the NWA dude up front do the odd aileron roll on the way now, can you?)
Click to expand...


It's not that we wouldn't LIKE to...... :D


Doug Seward
Seattle area
Rv-4 wings
 
seaplaner said:
I'm wondering if you (or any poster here) might have successful strategies for sending extra luggage via some other conveyance.
Click to expand...

My wife and I took a vacation in the San Juan Islands (7 hrs by car & ferry vs 3.5 with fuel stop) in a rental C152. Because of the W&B issues, we shipped about 35 lbs of stuff via Fed Ex overnight for $60. We shipped the same box back via US Postal for $13. Planning ahead to avoid the overnight charge would have made less than a few gallons of avgas.

Can't wait to be able to do the same trip for lunch in the RV!

bill
Portland OR
 
....plus a Garmin 396

Absolutely!
My wife and I flew the Sojourner down to Kissimmee last Monday, a 328 mile trip, for a few days at the National Ag Aviation convention, in around 1 hour 40 minutes. We had a little tailwind and were showing well over 200 most of the way.

I have to echo Paul Dye's posting earlier this year, raving about the utility of the 396 with weather!! On the way back up to Jekyll island (north of Jacksonville), the weather was moving in from west to east, closing in on our flight path. As we continued, a small 5 degree right couse correction allowed us to just skirt by the "yellow" part of the weather as it met our couse. Within a couple of minutes we broke out into beautiful weather and looking over our left wing the heavy rain could be seen. I just gotta have a 396!! We spoke to a Delta airlines captain at Jekyll and he said that they don't even have that good equipment aboard! They have radar but they can't see beyond it which we can. You guys building your panels just have to have a system that includes inflight weather. Absolutely the best add-on since GPS was invented!
Regards,
 
Master Card Commercial?

Build an RV8 $90,000
Fuel to and from OSH $650
Hotels enroute $200

Flying acorss the US of A with a pretty lady
to spend a week experiencing "the magic" at
Whittman Field
PRICELESS!



John Clark
RV8 N18U 200 hrs
 
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