What do you use your plane for?

optionizerSS said:
I'm just north of Pittsburgh PA. Probably look at destinations near water like Charleston, SC, Chesapeake Bay, Put in Bay, Mackinac Island. Places like that. Neither of us drink other than an occasional glass of wine and we aren't partiers so bar/party environments wouldn't be likely. Although wife wants to go to New Orleans sometime...lol.

I searched for a few clubs near me and the one closest to me seems their website is down but it did list a contact name and email. There was one near Cleveland that listed rates. Too far from here but at least I got a ballpark number and the club thing might not be a bad idea. If that all pans out with the airport closest to me then I may start taking the next step and actually get up in one for a discovery ride.

One issue we need to consider is me and my wife are about 500lbs combined so a 152/2 seater might be an issue. Looks like we would be cutting it close in a 152. 172 looks like roughly 100lbs more payload? Fine for renting/club use but at some point we will want to take one of our kids and their spouses so looking at closer to 900lbs minimum. Even so, I wouldn't want to be right at max with just us 2. Hopefully we can knock about 100lbs off of that by then but I have been saying that for awhile...lol. Step-son bought me an XL shirt for X-Mas. I wear 2X so my goal now is to fit in that shirt comfortably by next summer. Gonna hang that right in the front of my closet so I see it every day...lol
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The WWII museum in New Orleans is fantastic. We spent a day there. Mardi Gras World is great stop as well. They make the floats there. There are many great restaurants there too; although I don't know what damage COVID has done to them. There are plenty of things to do in New Orleans without spending a dollar on Bourbon Street.

One of the big benefits of flying is expanding the range of "where can we go for the weekend?" Traveling in a straight line at 115 to 180 knots makes a much bigger circle than driving at 70 mph and having to get through Friday after-work traffic.

Getting your weight down is good for a lot more than flying. That's a good goal to have.

When you are ready, start with the discovery flight. If that's good, start with lessons. Enjoy flying and see where it takes you.
 
I started flying when I was 20 years old and a sophomore in college. I got my instrument rating a few years later while in law school. I started a business in 1994 and had my first aircraft partnership around the same time. Over the years, I have had five airplanes, about to be six, and my use of it has changed over time.

At first, the airplane was used primarily to support my business and to go back and forth between my office and my largest client. I also used it to attend industry association meetings and for lobbying activities in Tallahassee and throughout Florida. I did fly a lot of Angel Flights and still love using the airplane for volunteer flying.

Since then, I still use the airplane primarily for business and volunteer flying, but as my capabilities and the airplanes capabilities have expanded I have used it more for other types of uses. My wife does not like flying in small planes, but when we got our first plane that was designed for longer legs, it became a convenient way for the family to get around to destinations that were within about 1000 miles or so. Anything longer than that and we still went airlines. We also use it to commute between North Carolina and Florida several times a year.

Neither my wife nor my kids are particularly passionate about the airplane or flying, but they have completely bought into the belief that the airplane is a critical part of our life.

I still love to use the plane for my own trips and it makes it really easy for me and my Team Members to go visit clients anywhere in the Southeast USA and even a bit further. I still love doing volunteer flights, and I will even do the quick up and down flight to turn circles in the sky if I don’t have any reason to go anywhere for a couple of weeks. After all, these airplanes are built to be used and my experience has been that when they aren’t used, that is when the maintenance gremlins appear.

My experience is that I cannot financially justify the use of the airplane, but it is a huge part of my lifestyle and I love aviation!

Abram Finkelstein
N48KY
 
Yep. Weight loss is by far the cheapest way to amend a plane’s takeoff weight. It ain’t easy though. I’m down 35 but need to go another 35 at least. Good luck with that.
 
optionizerSS said:
So sounds like a 152 is pretty much out of the question even for just us 2 unless I don't top off the tanks. That would be fine for renting or club as our trips would probably be shorter. I'm not stuck on Cessna, just the one I'm most familiar with as far as models/seating, etc. Might turn out that Piper or another brand might suit our needs better but I haven't made it that far into this journey but thanks for the info. That's the type of info I need.
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If you do weight and balance calculations for light singles you will generally find you need two more seats than people you want to carry on a trip with 4-5 hours of fuel. So a C152 is good for two people and a toothbrush at best. (That also described my AA-1A.) A C172 is OK for 2 and baggage. (My AA-5 has 690 useful load with full fuel, comfy margins for 2.) You may need a 6-place to carry 4 and luggage any distance. You can look at W&B numbers for various models to see what is possible. Real planes usually weigh more than the published factory numbers you will find in the web. As a future owner you may have to carefully evaluate what your typical mission looks like so you don't buy and maintain more plane than you typically need. You will learn more about the realities as you train.
 
chemgeek said:
You will learn more about the realities as you train.
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That could be whole other thread in itself!

It's true that on most planes when you fill the seats and the tanks it's gonna be close or over gross. I can carry a couple of less than 200 pounders, a couple hours of fuel with reserve, and an overnight bag. But my little plane is more for sport than travel although I've made some trips with it.
 
My kids and their spouses are all under about 175, just me and my wife that need to lose a little...lol. We used to be about 200 and 130 respectively but raising 4 kids and the quick fast food, etc has taken it's toll...lol. Not to mention I work from home for the last 5 years and sit in my chair for 8 hours in front of a slew of monitors and am now up to 275.

Yeah funny how boats and airplanes parallel each other so closely. We bought our current boat in summer 2018 and were looking to go bigger then we did or needed to but ended up making the rational decision to get what we needed and no bigger. That hasn't stopped me from replacing and upgrading a bunch of stuff though...lol. But as far as care and maintenance I try to be proactive and plan ahead. Getting stuck in the middle of the river with a broken engine isn't fun so can't imagine being 5000' in the air with a broken engine...lol. But as mentioned earlier, a boat is definitely not a purchase made based on sound financial decision making but it's what we enjoy. I would expect the same from an airplane purchase. I mean we spent about $125 in fuel to go 52 miles round trip just to see different water than we normally do.
 
Probably the most important comment I can make is on weight loss the importance of which goes way beyond staying under gross airplane weight. From personal experience I can say there is one diet that really does work and it goes under some minor variations with different catchy names. It is the Atkins diet and the reason it works is that does not ask you to go hungry just avoid carbohydrates but especially the simple ones simple ones like grains and sugar. Eat all hamburgers you want but throw away the bun.

I can't help you much on where to fly to since I live in the Mountain West which is at the other end of the spectrum.
 
Step-son and his wife started the keto diet about 4 or 5 weeks ago and have lost quite a bit. They weren't overly heavy but are now pretty thin. I think he lost about 25lbs. He was about 180 when he started but he is only 5'7". His wife was probably 160 or so and is now probably about 140. Similar to Adkins. No carbs or sugar
 
My doc says "The first 5 lbs you lose are the healthiest 5 lbs...". And I need to lose about 30 of them. :sigh:

As for what do I use my planes for, Antoine de Saint-Exupery probably described it best:
"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."

There's not a flight I come back from where I don't have a smile on my face from the pure enjoyment of it all. Mrs. GRG55, who really doesn't like to fly at all, says I am a different person after I go flying.
 
I feel the same on the boat. My mind is always racing with so much going on. When I'm on the boat that is about the only time my brain relaxes
 
optionizerSS said:
Wow. lots of responses. Let's see. No I have 0 experience with small planes but would plan to go up in one before I get too involved in this. And I meant we currently might take 1 'commercial' vacation a year but if we had our own plane would go much more, maybe once or twice a month. We currently have a 25' cabin cruiser boat so I know there are other cost involved in ownership besides payment. We use about 8-10 GPH of fuel in it and spend about $6000-7000/year in maintenance, upkeep, upgrades, etc. We would probably keep the boat and spend a couple weekends on it and maybe one a month in the plane every month (weather permitting).

But yeah, I wouldn't say the cart is before the horse here. The only steps I have taken is signing up here to ask questions, watching some youtube videos, and buying Flight Simulator 2020 and a Honeycomb yoke. Been learning a little on that but understand the real thing might be night and day difference but I'm at least understanding what the glidescope is and what it does, the pattern, base, final, flaps, etc. Had no idea what any of that was a month ago.
My step-sons friend has a Piper (no idea what model) but he is supposed to be setting up a 'visit' with him so I can talk to him and see one up close. I have flown commercial and don't mind it. Always thought there was no way you'd ever get me up in a small plane but after researching and watching videos I'm feeling much better about it. Still no idea if I will go through with this but that was kind of the point of this post, to see what others do with theirs and if a once a month 'vacation' is a pipe dream that never happens, understanding everyones circumstances are different. But that is why I'm researching first. I don't want to put all the time and money into it to find it wasn't what I thought it might be. If I was 32 that might be different but figuring on roughly a 3 year timeline to get my PPL and my own aircraft. I 'hope' to 'retire' at about 55 or 56 (in about 4 years) so that would leave more free time. By retire I mean no more 9-5. I day trade stocks and hope to be doing that full time by then so I would still 'work' and have income but wouldn't be tied to a schedule.

Oh, and I asked my wife about flying with me and she said she would go up with a real pilot....lol. I told her I would be one at that point. She said after she got comfortable she would. Hey, she was scared of the boat at first too but got over that and loves it now.

And speaking of commercial issues, my son just came from northwest Minnesota yesterday. Was supposed to fly out of Fargo to Minneapolis then to Pittsburgh. Started making the 2 hour drive to Fargo and his flight was cancelled. No more flights that day so turned for a 5 hour drive to Minneapolis thought a blizzard and his wife scheduled another flight. It was cancelled too. Then the third one was cancelled. He stayed in a hotel for a flight at 9:00 yesterday from Minneapolis to Cleveland. Plane comes in and has mechanical issues. They cancel that one. They find another plane but have to clean it first so have to wait for that. Finally get everyone boarded and they have no crew to load the luggage. My son can see it outside the plane but nobody around. After about 30 minutes a crew shows up to load it. I drive to Cleveland to pick him up. Granted me having my own plane wouldn't have helped the weather situation but yeah, sometimes commercial can be a pain. He is flying back out Sunday morning and supposed to be more storms then.
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Great clarification of your situation.

Firstly, there is an old saying in General Aviation: “ time to spare, go by air.” The delays you sometimes deal with in GA are every bit as frustrating as what you on went through. They easily can be more so. It’s not like jumping in your SUV and heading to Disney world. There is a lot to learning to fly and a lot involved with aircraft ownership and operation. At this point, you are doing the right thing, researching the subject. The most important next step for you is a discovery flight. Most instructors with an airplane to fly will give you a half hour or hour flight for a very inexpensive rate. Find somewhere to do that and enjoy the experience. That’s step one.

As for your wife enjoying it, there’s just no way to tell until you get to that step.

Best of luck.
 
I guess everything you’d use one for. A 182 beats hell out of airlines for time and convenience for us east of the Mississippi. I use it for occasional out of state work, I fly for a charitable organization, we use it to see family in IL, SC and FL. Weekend trips, and once or twice a year a “big trip” out west. Last Yr CO, both years before that UT, this year CO again. One year we used it (wife and 2 kids still at home, older 2 kids grown), and spent over 3 weeks traveling to IL, NM, AZ, ID, MT and WY. Wife and I and 2 younger ones will take it, the older kids and their spouses will fly commercial, then we’ll use the 182 for flight seeing wherever we are. I prefer it over airlines because it will get me closer to where I’m going. As far as cost, my time has a value, convenience has a value. The experience in a 182 is just different than car or airline - flying over the Smokies, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon or the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone are bucket list experiences for most people. I sometimes just got out to play, or practice, but usually taking it somewhere.
 
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Me? Youngest child is finishing college. Empty nesting allows us these bucket list items. Always wanted my ppl.

What have I done with it this year? Flew wife to the beach - 2 hours by air - for a 3 day mini vacation a few times. Flew us 2 hours to see our daughter for a weekend. Flew wife to fun places for a $200 pancake / hamburger.

Buy a plane? Maybe in 5 years if I start flying mort than 100 hours a year. Short of that it doesn’t make sense.
 
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Always have just flown locally for pleasure giving rides, going to airshows, breakfasts, fly ins and just flying for fun. It is my therapy. Never more than an hour or so from home. I volunteer at a local warplane museum and fly some of their single engine planes.

Rentals just don't work well for going places. Now that I have my own airplane (have one other partner) I am hoping to finally be able to go places although this year for that was a bust.
 
Found my local airports clubs Facebook page. Looks like they have a Cirrus SR20 and they show a 172 but ownership says it belongs to a local guy but looks like it is available as a club plane? Got that from the pics but didn't see a list.
 
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