Discussing the title, not the YouTube, my decisions were based on transportation at the other end.
The plane is a Cessna 172, so slow.
Someone meeting me at the airport? 100 or more miles, I fly.
Short haul by taxi? 200 or more, I fly.
Rent a car? Along the interstate, 250 or 300 miles, across the Appalachians, 200 miles, and I will fly.
Door to door times are the key, and if the destination is at the airport, shrink the miles a lot. I count the pre flight and post flight times in my decision, plus any uncertainty in the weather. The plus of enjoying the flight can bias the decision considerably in fine weather.
I live inside the beltway, on the east side of Washington, and fully understand the hate for the traffic here, but with a lifetime of going everywhere in the city and its suburbs, I am used to it.
An exception where the pleasure of flying was the deciding factor, I flew from College Park to old, defunct Aqualand airport, 70 miles, to work in the power plant across 301.
15 minutes drive to CGS, 15 minute preflight, and 40 minutes of tachometer time, then unfold the bike,10 more minutes, and at work. Total, 80 minutes.
Drive time is 90 minutes.
Cost of flying, @ $100 per hour, $133 for the round trip. Compensation for driving, $30. Net cost to fly, $103 per day. The pleasure of flying cost me $515, and saved me 50 minutes that week. Obviously, I felt that it was worth it, as each day I had a choice, and flew.
Side issue, the airport was in the very slow motion process of closing, and had X's on the runway, but the only obstruction was weeds growing through the cracks, personally confirmed by driving the entire length of the runway. I parked the plane behind the gas station, so it was not visible from the hiway.
