Cost of flying down 17% in one year -- so where is everyone?

[Jay Honeck]

I promised myself I'd fly 10 hours a month after getting a plane. As it turns out, my annual average is only about 30 hours total.

So many things go into flying besides money.

Near or far? Your proximity to the airport is critical. More than 20 minutes away from your airport? You probably won't go for a "spur-of-the-moment" flight so easily.

Own or rent? If you own the danged thing, flying it is almost a duty (albeit a fun one!), while renting is just an expense. It's much easier to fly when you've already paid a huge part of the cost up front.

Gas guzzler or fuel sipper? When gas was high, flying our Ercoupe (4.5 gph) felt like cheating. We used to giggle like school girls when we topped it off after a flight. Now that gas is low(er), flying the Pathfinder (12 gph -- 25 gph at take-off power) doesn't hurt quite so much.

Fly alone or with others? If your spouse is a pilot, too, you'll fly a LOT more. If, like so many guys I know, you're forced to fly alone, there will always be pressure to do something else.

Flying is always a difficult (but incredibly rewarding) path to follow. I wish we could make it easier (or, at least, mark the path more clearly) -- but I'm afraid things are moving the other way right now.

 

[bartscher]

True dat! Amazingly, it took making Iowa City/Coralville the laughing-stock of America in the national media before THAT pile of pork slithered off the table. Even THEN it almost happened! Imagine -- an artificial rain forest, in IOWA! How lame is that?

Of course, now they're proposing (and have received funding) to build a "literary theme park" -- I kid you not. Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm as much for literature as the next guy -- but do they REALLY think that kids will be attracted to a literary theme park?

...

Jay,

I'm surprised you haven't jumped on the opportunity to steer this in an aviation direction :smile:. I can see lots of possible aviation-literature themed rides, and with an aviation themed hotel in town, its almost a destination resort!

Any recommended theme rides based on aviation literature?

Eric

 

[Jay Honeck]

Jay,

I'm surprised you haven't jumped on the opportunity to steer this in an aviation direction :smile:. I can see lots of possible aviation-literature themed rides, and with an aviation themed hotel in town, its almost a destination resort!

Any recommended theme rides based on aviation literature?

Eric

Nope, instead I've been supporting the development and construction of a new aviation exhibit at the Iowa Childrens Museum, located at the Coral Ridge Mall. It's slated to open this summer, and (in my opinion) represents our best bet at building support for aviation amongst the youth of Iowa.

 

[Dr. O]

Hey, Grandma Char's Airline is doing it's part...
Since summer is officially here we moved children and grand children across 4 states over the holiday weekend - and it would have been 5 states but one grandchild opted out...
Picture one fat boy Apache chugging down 18 gallons of BP's finest per hour - and one grandfather cringing as the gas pump kept running and running (actually ran one fuel truck dry and had to leave Ohio with with the Right main 8 gallons short)...

denny-o

 

[Jay Honeck]

Hey, Grandma Char's Airline is doing it's part...
Since summer is officially here we moved children and grand children across 4 states over the holiday weekend - and it would have been 5 states but one grandchild opted out...
Picture one fat boy Apache chugging down 18 gallons of BP's finest per hour - and one grandfather cringing as the gas pump kept running and running (actually ran one fuel truck dry and had to leave Ohio with with the Right main 8 gallons short)...

denny-o

Good on ya, Denny. Nice to know there is someone out there (other than Mary and me) keeping the faith.

"Bankruptcy before grounding!" is my new motto...



We'll be buzzing over to Lansing, MI for my niece's college graduation in a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to doff my pate' to you as we fly over...

 

[Dr. O]

Well, when I get the credit card statement for the month, it may be the 'grounding'...
Since the last time we chatted I have put new cylinders on the right engine, new hockey pucks on the left engine mounts, had the props checked and new mounting studs installed, replaced the squat valve, and sundry other items... Fat Albert keeps trucking along... We will be going to Chesapeake Bay the next weekend after this - looking at a retirement boat...

see ya,

denny-o

 

[Jay Honeck]

Well, when I get the credit card statement for the month, it may be the 'grounding'...
Since the last time we chatted I have put new cylinders on the right engine, new hockey pucks on the left engine mounts, had the props checked and new mounting studs installed, replaced the squat valve, and sundry other items... Fat Albert keeps trucking along... We will be going to Chesapeake Bay the next weekend after this - looking at a retirement boat...

Ouch. I understand and feel your pain. (Although, thankfully, both planes have been subject only to routine maintenance for the last year. Nothing outrageous or injurious...yet.)

A retirement BOAT? Dang, Denny, that just sounds...sedate. We've been looking at property down on Mustang Island, a barrier island near Corpus Christi. I figure tornadoes, floods, ice storms and blizzards ain't exciting enough -- we need some HURRICANES!

:smile:

 

[SteveinIndy]

When will it come back? Possibly when people feel their job isn't in jeopardy.

Many people are saving in case their job is lost- they can pay for things like car payments, mortgages, utilities, ect with the saving.

Another possibility is when the credit card is paid down. Lots of people bought too much on credit.

Just my opinion and I have no facts to back it up.

I note that my wet rental prices are the same as last year- no 17% decline there!

+1

 

[TangoWhiskey]

AOPA is reporting that -- with fuel half of last year's cost -- the overall cost of flying has dropped 17% in the last 12 months. Yet, despite this, GA flying remains at historic low levels.

This is unprecedented, methinks. I know when we fly now, the burden on our budget is much lower than it was last year -- yet we're still not seeing very many others in the pattern. Where did everybody go?

Combined with the big drop in aircraft values (you can buy a great plane for a song nowadays, comparatively speaking), this reduction in costs SHOULD be kicking GA back into high gear -- yet it's not happening, at least not yet.

Why? Anyone got any theories on when it will come back?

Interesting that the AOPA Pilotage article in this current issue (June 2009) asks this very question as it's opening question, then contains an interesting discussion about the disparity in fuel prices at various airports / outlets:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2009/june/mrt0906.html

Here's a snippet, you'll have to grab your copy or login as a member to read the rest:

Last month I wondered why general aviation isn’t flying more now that the price of fuel has dropped back down from its recent highs. I heard from many pilots with their answer to the question. They are flying less because the price of avgas in their area has not declined commensurately with the price of a barrel of crude, as it has where I live and fly.

Most said they still are paying well in excess of $4 a gallon for avgas. Some are into the $5 and $6 range. At the time I wrote the column, full-service avgas at my home field, Page Field (FMY) in Fort Myers, Florida, was $3.13 a gallon. We also have a self-serve avgas facility, where I can pump my own fuel at 50 cents less per gallon. Of course, transients can save 50 cents a gallon by using the self-serve, too. You’ll find it on the southeast ramp off the approach end of Runway 31.

Last month I paid $2.63 a gallon at the self-serve pump. As I write, self-serve is now up 27 cents a gallon to $2.90, and full-serve is $3.40 a gallon.

Typically, you find cheaper fuel at small, rural airports, where the markup is small-town friendly. Page Field is not rural, nor small. Until 1983 it was the area’s airline airport, with regular Boeing 727 arrivals and departures. Today it is a designated reliever airport with some 300 based aircraft, a lot of transient business jet traffic, and around 78,000 operations annually.

Why is avgas comparatively less at Page Field? The answer is a simple addition exercise involving the wholesale price of the fuel, plus markup, plus taxes.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Interesting that the AOPA Pilotage article in this current issue (June 2009) asks this very question as it's opening question, then contains an interesting discussion about the disparity in fuel prices at various airports / outlets:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2009/june/mrt0906.html

Here's a snippet, you'll have to grab your copy or login as a member to read the rest:

Thanks for sharing that. The article makes several very good points that I had not considered (or even been aware of), since 90% of my flying is done with car-gas. The only time I buy avgas (for either plane) is when we're on long cross-country flights, and I can't find mogas...