Flying a ridiculously short hop to work...

I’ve done it a few times. Terrible traffic and saved a lot of time.

I’m in Silicon Valley with tons of people driving crazy cool and expensive cars to works. It’s fun being the guy in the office who “Commutes by Cessna”. ;7)
 
Looks like a pretty long flight to me, I'd do it for sure. Then again, I'm thinking about flying from my backyard strip to my work, and that's exactly a mile. I figure wheels up to wheels down could be under a minute, with a max altitude of about 100' AGL. Of course, would only work when the field behind work is smooth and not full of corn or beans.
 
Nice video, enjoyed it! Those views out there sure are pretty!
 
Lol I fly a 19nm hop for fuel on a regular basis and it’s worth every penny.
 
Maybe your best video because the message is so simple yet so close to the hearts of GA pilots
 
Met a guy years ago (really like ≈20 years ago). Worked a few blocks from Van Nuys Airport. Said he found it was cheaper (both living and commuting) and faster to live in Victorville, CA and commute flying an IFR rated Cessna 150 to Van Nuys. His previous house was "only" 10 miles from his job.

Got to love LA traffic.

One of the very few private pilots I ever met that really didn't care about flying for enjoyment, it was purely a cost of living and quality of life decision for him.
 
jrollf said:
Met a guy years ago (really like ≈20 years ago). Worked a few blocks from Van Nuys Airport. Said he found it was cheaper (both living and commuting) and faster to live in Victorville, CA and commute flying an IFR rated Cessna 150 to Van Nuys. His previous house was "only" 10 miles from his job.

Got to love LA traffic.

One of the very few private pilots I ever met that really didn't care about flying for enjoyment, it was purely a cost of living and quality of life decision for him.
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Wonder why he became a pilot then. Was that the reason he actually got his certificate and rating?
 
If you work at an airport or close to it, it may be worth it. Otherwise you need a car/motorcycle on the other end to commute from there. I know Silicon Valley guys commuting from Socal in Jets, one guy flies his own Jet Ranger to his job.
 
Geosync said:
If you work at an airport or close to it, it may be worth it. Otherwise you need a car/motorcycle on the other end to commute from there. I know Silicon Valley guys commuting from Socal in Jets, one guy flies his own Jet Ranger to his job.
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Or you can ride a scooter like I do in the video....

Aviator305 said:
Maybe your best video because the message is so simple yet so close to the hearts of GA pilots
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Thank you!
 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...ge-park/b28092a6-e592-473b-9970-369d2c922e0d/
Joe Gauvreau commutes each day from Kent Island to College Park in his green-and-white antique Cessna 170. A resident of Kentmorr, a community clustered around its own airstrip on Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay, Gauvreau parks his plane in his back yard.

About four mornings out of five, depending on the weather, he and his wife fly to College Park, pick up their car and drive to the New Carrollton Metro station where his wife boards a train for her job in Rosslyn.

Gauvreau then turns around and heads for his job with the Defense Nuclear Agency in Bethesda. They reverse the trip each evening.

Flying is all of six minutes shorter than driving the 55 miles one way, he said, but it's "a hell of a lot more fun -- and after all, how many people fly to work?" He flashed a grin from behind his aviator sunglasses and lit a cigarette -- the Marlboro Man of the skies.
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FlyingMonkey said:
I love flying to work, even if it just a ridiculously short hop. Here’s a fun quick story about it!

Is FLYING 23 miles to WORK worth it??
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Its definitely more fun than driving, but probably not quick or cheap. My drive to work (17 miles) take me 20 minutes even during rush hour. Opening the hangar and preflighting the airplane alone will take me that long. Assuming there is an airport within walking distance of my office, I think it would take about 1 hour for the trip. If I have to fly an instrument approach, that will become even longer.
 
I regularly drive 15 miles north to the airport so I can fly 30 miles south to the local airport restaurant. Itd be cheaper and faster to drive there, but then I couldn't stare out the window at my airplane. My airspace is just a bit less congested than yours, though. I was amazed by the complexity of even such a short flight.
 
BrianNC said:
Wonder why he became a pilot then. Was that the reason he actually got his certificate and rating?
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Yes, he got his license just for traveling to work, at least that is what he told me.
 
Commuting by plane is perfect when you work AT an airport. My first chief pilot flew from his own grass strip to his base airport, about a 10 minute flight vs 30 minute drive. Park in the corporate hangar. I’m sure that still happens in many places.

Pilots based in CA or the SW have a big advantage with all that VFR weather!
 
Great video!

It's an hour drive for me from home to work. It's an hour door to door in my airplane. Guess which method is more fun?
 
TrueCourse said:
Commuting by plane is perfect when you work AT an airport. My first chief pilot flew from his own grass strip to his base airport, about a 10 minute flight vs 30 minute drive. Park in the corporate hangar. I’m sure that still happens in many places.

Pilots based in CA or the SW have a big advantage with all that VFR weather!
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Dreamed of doing this... was really bummed when I found out there used to be a small airport right next to my work... it was buldozed to build apartments.
 
I used to drive around LA a lot. Never had any trouble, and I bet I was faster than @FlyingMonkey in his Piper. Of course, I did have a motorcycle, and boy did I know how to use it. I don't know if the bike was more fun than the airplane, but it was definitely more exciting.
 
I used to know a guy that had a Lake amphibian parked in his yard. He would taxi down his ramp into the the water and off he would go on a 20 minute flight to work.
 
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