Logistics of Ground Transportation

455 Bravo Uniform

455 Bravo Uniform

Final Approach
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455 Bravo Uniform
This is a rant.

Maybe I’m not creative enough to figure out how to get where I need after landing. There never seem to be airfields close to where I want to be.

Case: 8 family and friends, 4 hour drive to Kalahari water park in Sandusky, OH. Our minivan holds 7. 1:15 flight. Me, daughter, and boyfriend were gonna fly.

Norwalk 5A1. Sandusky S24. Looked at Uber, no cars. Both about 20 minutes from water park. Called both airports. No car services. Could have rented a car to be delivered to the field. Just a logistical pain. Or maybe I’m just being lazy, or spoiled. Also, adds another $100-150 to an already “privileged” arrival.

Decided to load up a second car. At least I’m a passenger in the back playing on POA.
 
Setting up an enterprise rental to be delivered to the airport isn’t any more of a pain than any other rental IME
 
midlifeflyer said:
Seems we have two choices.
  1. Check on availability of transportation before making a trip.
  2. Just go. Rant you don't and they don't
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#1 - Check. No good options, for this snowflake.
#2 - True. I need to suck it up.

But that’s what a rant is. Online equivalent of sniveling and whining.
 
There's usually taxi service even in the smallest of towns where Uber and Lyft don't exist.
 
Flying_Car-hero2.jpg
 
Salty said:
Setting up an enterprise rental to be delivered to the airport isn’t any more of a pain than any other rental IME
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True. But since I travel for business and have to arrange all on my own (airfare, car, hotel), it’s too much like work, lol! It’s actually easier for me than most, since I have “frequent traveler” cards and deals with all major travel providers.

Gee, now I feel more like a weeny whiner...probably had a free rental day or two to use up.
 
I hear you! This has always been my complaint. Sadly, there are still plenty of places where Uber/Lyft isn't going to work.

One consideration is Turo (formerly relayrides). It's basically renting someone else's car. A few years back I actually had a spare car that I parked at an airport without rental car service at the FBO and listed it on the site. I had the FBO handle the keys.

Another thing that is getting better are electric scooters. There are now electric scooters with 15 mph speeds and 20 mile ranges on a charge, and fold up nicely to fit in your storage compartment. The good ones are still a little pricy but it would be nice if they could easily be rented for the day.
 
You do have to get creative on ground transport at times, but there is usually a range of solutions and then you need to decide between flying yourself, flying commercial, or driving based on all the factors including convenience and expense. Because one of my flying missions is to get to other towns for work, I have to choose between those three travel options regularly and I end up choosing each of them at least some of the time.

Traveling for fun depends mostly on who is going with. I am presently dreading this week's 12-hour drive to a family wedding, which would be a 4-hour flight if one member of the family were not afraid of small airplanes.

Mtns2Skies said:
There's usually taxi service even in the smallest of towns where Uber and Lyft don't exist.
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This is, unfortunately, not universally true. It's worth checking before making a trip, but I would not fly to a small town assuming that there will be a taxi service when I get there. Another thing to check is if the hotel you're staying at will pick you up at the airport. Or if the airport has a courtesy car that you can use for more than the usual 2-3 hours.

Brad Z said:
Another thing that is getting better are electric scooters. There are now electric scooters with 15 mph speeds and 20 mile ranges on a charge, and fold up nicely to fit in your storage compartment. The good ones are still a little pricy but it would be nice if they could easily be rented for the day.
Click to expand...
Do you have one that you would recommend? I'm always thinking about getting an electric scooter or similar to keep in the plane, but the cost of entry would be a real shame to lose if the scooter ends up being a piece of junk so I always scare myself out of buying one.
 
If only KSKY didn't close down.

Was super convenient for Cedar Point.

What's wrong with 88D? It's right there, and Sandusky has a taxi company.
 
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13CADCB0-14B9-4988-A3E7-B7A88FCAF62C.jpeg 3AADF750-A91C-453B-B345-14F49DE352E9.jpeg I built this a few months ago and it rocks! If I were solo and had 5 miles or so to go and some hard surfaces, I’d take it. 14 mph top speed.

A close childhood friend of mine (we’re like cousins) owns a liquid vitamin company called Buiced (pronounced like “juiced”) and I call this my Buiced board (tongue-in-cheek Boosted Board knock off).
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
View attachment 75569 View attachment 75568 I built this a few months ago and it rocks! If I were solo and had 5 miles or so to go and some hard surfaces, I’d take it. 14 mph top speed.

A close childhood friend of mine (we’re like cousins) owns a liquid vitamin company called Buiced (pronounced like “juiced”) and I call this my Buiced board (tongue-in-cheek Boosted Board knock off).
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People worry that flying is too dangerous, because they don't know what we do when we're not flying.
 
I'd like to try out a one wheel, but damn, they're a bit pricey.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
There's usually taxi service even in the smallest of towns where Uber and Lyft don't exist.
Click to expand...

Not in Santa Rosa, NM (KSXU), just FYI. Just a data point. I learned this after arriving, not having planned well enough to check in advance...
 
Bigger airplane, cargo ramp, minivan, tiedowns. Where's the challenge here?
 
Rgbeard said:
-10 points for worst presentation of whiny first-world problems. :D
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It's hard to take these complaints seriously when the OP doesn't even say "like a peasant" once. "The magical service where I just tap my phone and a car appears to take me to my final destination from the airport where I landed my own airplane doesn't work in that third-world backwater, so I had to drive, like a peasant."
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
This is a rant.

Maybe I’m not creative enough to figure out how to get where I need after landing. There never seem to be airfields close to where I want to be.

Case: 8 family and friends, 4 hour drive to Kalahari water park in Sandusky, OH. Our minivan holds 7. 1:15 flight. Me, daughter, and boyfriend were gonna fly.

Norwalk 5A1. Sandusky S24. Looked at Uber, no cars. Both about 20 minutes from water park. Called both airports. No car services. Could have rented a car to be delivered to the field. Just a logistical pain. Or maybe I’m just being lazy, or spoiled. Also, adds another $100-150 to an already “privileged” arrival.

Decided to load up a second car. At least I’m a passenger in the back playing on POA.
Click to expand...

S24 airport website lists car rentals as an available option. https://www.sanduskycountyairport.com/services/
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
View attachment 75569 View attachment 75568 I built this a few months ago and it rocks! If I were solo and had 5 miles or so to go and some hard surfaces, I’d take it. 14 mph top speed.

A close childhood friend of mine (we’re like cousins) owns a liquid vitamin company called Buiced (pronounced like “juiced”) and I call this my Buiced board (tongue-in-cheek Boosted Board knock off).
Click to expand...
This is how my buddies and I get around. Flew down to Gulf Shores for a day and busted out the boards. The rampies asked if we had an Uber or Car standing by. Nope, just longboards.The look on their faces were epic! Zipping around Gulfstreams and Falcons on these make it a fun trip. I finally bought a helmet for the new electric board since it hits 26mph!
 
iamtheari said:
Do you have one that you would recommend? I'm always thinking about getting an electric scooter or similar to keep in the plane, but the cost of entry would be a real shame to lose if the scooter ends up being a piece of junk so I always scare myself out of buying one.
Click to expand...

I don't. It seems the scooter share companies here in DC use xiaomi or segway scooters, but I'm sure there are even better options. Right before electric scooters became a thing I bought a heavy duty kick scooter for throwing in the back of the plane. If I had waited a few years I could have gotten a decent electric one for a couple hundred more.
 
Gmonnig said:
This is how my buddies and I get around. Flew down to Gulf Shores for a day and busted out the boards. The rampies asked if we had an Uber or Car standing by. Nope, just longboards.The look on their faces were epic! Zipping around Gulfstreams and Falcons on these make it a fun trip. I finally bought a helmet for the new electric board since it hits 26mph!
Click to expand...

I used to ride long boards back in the day, Santa Monica Airlines long board, independent trucks, peralta wheels. It was a blast skating down mountain roads. Any of you care to send me some links to the goods for building an electric long board?
 
sandusky has alwas been a pain. you would think that with the worlds best theme park there they would have transportation from the local airport. it was better when the airport just southeast of the park was open, now its a softball complex.
 
Here's what I have done in the past:

Buy a cheap van at an online auction. I got mine for $975.00 plus auction fees. I spent about $350 in parts and four or five days of wrenching to get it running well.

Pre-position it at the airport.

Fly in, park and load everybody into the van. Pack 'em in, kids on top if necessary.

Sell the van when it is no longer needed. It has paid for itself by then!
 
^Same..... mostly. My $3,000 GMC Envoy is sitting in the AZ shadeport at this moment waiting for us to return to it tomorrow.

In SD when we leave tomorrow morning, our Chev Avalanche will be patiently awaiting our return.
 
One thing I learned from flying in the Gulf o' Mexico is that most of the pilots who live far away have "stash cars" that they keep parked in hotel parking lots to avoid parking fees at the New Orleans airport. They can bum a ride from the hotel shuttle and pick the car up upon arrival, then drive to the base.

I, on the other hand drove the 500-700 miles back and forth to Texas twice per month and wore my car right out...
 
Gmonnig said:
This is how my buddies and I get around. Flew down to Gulf Shores for a day and busted out the boards. The rampies asked if we had an Uber or Car standing by. Nope, just longboards.The look on their faces were epic! Zipping around Gulfstreams and Falcons on these make it a fun trip. I finally bought a helmet for the new electric board since it hits 26mph!
Click to expand...

I purposely picked the motor, gearing, and voltage to keep me below 15mph. My livelihood depends on me not being hospitalized for more than a couple weeks, lol!
 
I love my Onewheel...yes pricey, but still loads of fun. The onewheel is actually kind of large and heavy. It takes up the back seat in my Cherokee.
 
When are you planning on flying in? I'm in the area right now. I'm available to pick you up except on the 3rd, 4th, 5th.

You could always leave after van driving people get there, unload at kalahari, then pick you up.
 
JB1842 said:
When are you planning on flying in? I'm in the area right now. I'm available to pick you up except on the 3rd, 4th, 5th.

You could always leave after van driving people get there, unload at kalahari, then pick you up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind offer. We are actually here now.
 
So what was wrong with flying into 88D?
 
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