Darn I love my own airplane . . .

[comanchepilot]

Even with $6 avgas, expensive parts, TFrs, slam dunks, hangars that cost more than hotels per square foot. . . The ability to go visit my relatives, leave when we want, the lack of travel hassles, the view of the desert from 9000 feet is incomparable. Even if we had a light headwind both ways . . .

The utility for work. The utility to save time and effort.

Had lunch with family in Phoenix. Drove to the airport, got in the plane and 1 hour, 48 min later land at POC, with my sons work knives he used to make dinner, 3 guns, bottles of water, ah.

Flying out Wednesday afternoon late, all the freeways in gridlock, seeing I10 doing maybe 45mph from Palm Springs to the Arizona border, seeing the buildings in Las Vegas from 100 miles on a clear clear day. While we're doing 155 knots over the ground.

After parking in the hangar tonight, it awaits the next adventure.

 

[frfly172]

After flying in the silver tube,I appreciate my airplane even more.

 

[Ted]

Same here. Wednesday I took a half day from work and after lunch we went to the airport and hopped in the 310. My wife packed it more full than I've ever managed to (would've been about $7,000 in baggage fees) and 3 hours 10 minutes later we were in Omaha - an otherwise 12 hour drive. Then yesterday flew down 30 minutes each way for Thanksgiving in the small town where my wife and her brother grew up (a 2.5 hour drive each way).

People don't know what they're missing.

 

[hindsight2020]

Indeed. 5 minute drive to the airport. Got in the Arrow and took off on Wednesday at sunset and 3 hours later we were at OKC. The baby boy is 6 month old and already has logged 50 hours of flight time. Not having to drive 9.5 hours with an infant on Thanksgiving eve was priceless. Hell, not driving 9.5 hours outright was priceless. Watching the interstates from 7500ft lighting up the darkness like arteries of light with bumper to bumper traffic put things truly in perspective for us.

The flight back was just as uneventful. It truly is a magic carpet ride. Having sole access to it for scheduling and utilization is an amazing value for us.

 

[Pilawt]

Tell me about it.

I'm typing this at the gate at KONT waiting to board a delayed Alaska Airlines Regional Jet for Portland.

We spent the weekend with family in Fallbrook CA, about halfway between KONT and KSAN. It's an hour-plus drive from Fallbrook to KONT in lovely California traffic . Then there was the process of turning in the rental car and riding the shuttle bus to the terminal, the TSA do-si-do, etc.

Oh, did I mention that Fallbrook has a very nice airport with a 2100'-long runway?

Bottom line, we could have made this trip in less time in our own C-172. We would have flown ourselves but for the unreliable weather in the Northwest this time of year.

 

[SoloEqs]

Had lunch with family in Phoenix. Drove to the airport, got in the plane and 1 hour, 48 min later land at POC

Wow, this brings back memories.

Dunno how long you've been there, but when I was a kid I used to play in the wheat fields that were where the tower and north side hangars are now. I remember watching them build the tower. And there used to be a big hangar on the north side, that would burn down every year or so.

Every once in a while, the Goodyear blimp would moor there, when the wind was too strong to go back to Carson.

And my first two real jobs were at FBOs there -- which don't exist any more.