The view of flying versus driving

n9144p

n9144p

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N9144P
For the last year I've often made a short 30 minute flight to visit my daughter and her family. Pretty easy flight from near Philly to Easton, Maryland. The view from the air is good with lots of variety of city, farmland, water, bridges, marinas. Coming back at night last week you could even pick out Christmas lights along the way.

I had to drive the same route this Friday. Flat land so not much view other than the road ahead and traffic snarls. Lots of red lights and only a couple of bridges to break up a 2+ hour drive. Makes me realize again how lucky we are to see the world from the air
 
I drove to N57 this weekend to go look at a plane, flying would have been a lot more fun.
 
N57 is right next to Longwood Gardens - they have a huge Christmas display that really shows up from the air. My airport (KOQN) is just a few miles farther north.
 
Flying is great. The view is unparalleled, but that is just one of the benefits. I hope, in the United States, GA is available and affordable for my grandkids like it has been for my wife and me.
 
n9144p said:
Makes me realize again how lucky we are to see the world from the air
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I totally agree with you. Sometimes, like this afternoon, I go flying just for the sake of sight seeing with no particular destination. The best part is you are able to have this neat perspective without the hassle of fighting traffic.

I have two older brothers. One lives a four hour plus drive away and the other has a mountain cabin that is almost fours away. Without the plane I would have to drive up and spend the night and come back the next day. With the airplane I can make the flight in less than half the time and fly up and back in the same day.

somorris said:
I hope, in the United States, GA is available and affordable for my grandkids like it has been for my wife and me.
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I also hope our grandchildren will be able to enjoy general aviation too. I just took my three your old granddaughter up for her first flight on Wright Brothers Day, 12/17/16.
 
I have to travel from San Diego to Port Hueneme occasionally on business. 3 hours through LA traffic, 4 if it's really bad. 1 hour by air to Oxnard. Company won't let me fly. :mad2:
 
Everyone's company is different, but couldn't you just claim the mileage as usual and clam up about the mode of transport? I'd eat some of the expense just for the reclaimed freedom.
 
I've read just now that driving is more dangerous, with more accidents compared to 20 accidents in flying.
 
iflyvfr said:
Everyone's company is different, but couldn't you just claim the mileage as usual and clam up about the mode of transport? I'd eat some of the expense just for the reclaimed freedom.
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That falls under the "don't ask, don't tell" methodology....but sounds like his company has a policy explicitly against that which could result in termination if they found out.

I would just never ask in the first place and make them tell me "no" if it was not explicitly stated somewhere without asking.

Standard IRS milage rate just about covers the actual flight cost if you already own...don't ask me how I know that.
 
Does the company supply the car? Company time?

Back on topic, I flew to another airport to look at a plane Sunday. Prolly took me twice as long to fly factoring in the drive to the airport and such, but Sunday was so nice I couldn't NOT fly!
 
My company explicitly states that use of private aircraft is prohibited. I understand that it's less concern about the employee, and more around liability to the company if an accident were to occur in support of a work related activity.

I flew to Corona and then down to French Valley just prior to Christmas. I was SUPER glad to be in the air. The 91 and 15 freeways were parking lots (more so than usual.) I feel genuinely fortunate to be able to take flight and see the world from the skies.
 
iflyvfr said:
Everyone's company is different, but couldn't you just claim the mileage as usual and clam up about the mode of transport? I'd eat some of the expense just for the reclaimed freedom.
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That's exactly what I used to do.
 
I hate that stretch of 301, second only to I-10 in the Florida panhandle, because it is shorter.
 
We flew to the beach on weekends, KILG to KOXB, Ocean City MD. The drive was two hours no traffic, forty-five flying. We even bought an "airport" car to park for our transportation to/from our motorhome. Sold the motorhome and eventually retired here at the beach. We now fly back to Wilmington to visit family, the drive is a pita.

To the OP, I agree, it's a great view. I never get tired of flying over the Bays or the NJ,DE and MD coastline.
 
I hear you are in the know when it comes to sundowners. I want to get one. Randall 2055851002
 
When we go to Orlando it never takes less than 13 hours by car.

It can be done in 5 hours by a not all that fast plane.
 
As a sundowner c23 fan I did training in a c23 an we were 10 out for landing a Seneca was closer the tower cleared them first but than said we were cleared ahead of them as we were cruising faster. Any single engine that can go as fast as a twin is good. I also remember the instructor said with a Cessna you have to add flaps in increments but the sundowners you could put in all flaps at the same time
 
Sundownerpilot12 said:
I also remember the instructor said with a Cessna you have to add flaps in increments but the sundowners you could put in all flaps at the same time
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On a Cessna you can put the flaps down all at once IF you wanted to. I don't see the need for that however unless it's an emergency landing and you want to ensure you make your landing (crash?) site. I teach increments as well as all at once in Cessnas or really, any plane.
 
If it's over a 1hr drive, I'll start looking for airports.
 
My daughter, who never much was in to flying for flying sake, loved making low passes along side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to snicker at people stuck in traffic backups.
 
It's always fun too turn the radio too crew and pull negative g drops with passengers. I had a friend in the back beside my flight bag we pulled the drop unfortunately for him in the positive g the back landed on him heavier. But we flew to Arizona from Chicago an with fuel costs it was cheaper than a airliner other than the longer time
 
mscard88 said:
On a Cessna you can put the flaps down all at once IF you wanted to. I don't see the need for that however unless it's an emergency landing and you want to ensure you make your landing (crash?) site. I teach increments as well as all at once in Cessnas or really, any plane.
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It's appropriate when you break out of the clouds on an ILS at 200 AGL at 90 knots. Most people will put in 10 deg flaps prior to the final approach fix, but it's not truly necessary in a 172. Just make sure you slow below 85 before you dump the flaps.
 
Wife loves flying over our congested interstate, laughing at the schmucks below. We'll be at the beach on Friday by 7pm. They will be checking into their beach motel exhausted maybe by midnight.
Airplanes definitely are time machines. :)
 
BigBadLou said:
Wife loves flying over our congested interstate, laughing at the schmucks below. We'll be at the beach on Friday by 7pm. They will be checking into their beach motel exhausted maybe by midnight.
Airplanes definitely are time machines. :)
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Except when your departure and/or destination is socked in and your trip is delayed for a day or two, right? ;) :D
 
mscard88 said:
Except when your departure and/or destination is socked in and your trip is delayed for a day or two, right? ;) :D
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If the beach is OVC or socked in, people don't drive to it either. We normally go to the beach when we have a big high pressure system sitting over TX, giving us plentiful sunshine.
But I do get your point.
 
My son is in Austin and I'm in El Paso. About a 9 hour drive if solo, more if the wife is along due to stops. Tiger is about 3.5 hours (4 if big headwinds). I always find myself at near the mid way point driving thinking,"I'd already be there if I'd flown the Tiger.":( My wife will fly, but will not fly if the trip is more than an hour (I still am trying to figure this one out).:confused:
 
jkaduk said:
I have to travel from San Diego to Port Hueneme occasionally on business. 3 hours through LA traffic, 4 if it's really bad. 1 hour by air to Oxnard. Company won't let me fly. :mad2:
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If you do it on your own dime is it's ok? Or do they prohibit it right out?
 
catmandu said:
I hate that stretch of 301, second only to I-10 in the Florida panhandle, because it is shorter.
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Been on I-10 many times in FL. Not so bad until you hit LA...the worst roads of any state.:(
 
Velocity173 said:
Been on I-10 many times in FL. Not so bad until you hit LA...the worst roads of any state.:(
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The road itself is not my issue. It's the boring straight line of nothing that got me. But I was making the Mayport - Eglin run to see my sweet sweet love, so I was, you know, anxious. ;)

Thankfully, a 5.0 Mustang and a CB cut the time by <ahem> a bit.
 
catmandu said:
The road itself is not my issue. It's the boring straight line of nothing that got me. But I was making the Mayport - Eglin run to see my sweet sweet love, so I was, you know, anxious. ;)

Thankfully, a 5.0 Mustang and a CB cut the time by <ahem> a bit.
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Not exactly a scenic route either. Been to Mayport a bunch in the 80s. Place is a ghost town now. So is Cecil for that matter.
 
I agree with the sentiments above about how once you've flown it actually makes long drives that much more painful and boring. I've figured out a good average math factor for my Saratoga is 3 and that's with most of the driving trips on straight interstates. Beach - 8 hours driving / 2.5 hours flying. Orlando - 15 hours driving / 5 hours flying. etc...

It has definitely spoiled me! I didn't grow up in an aviation family and have only known this amazing "hobby" for a couple years now.
 
To be honest, when I sometimes need to drive two hours (30 mi) south across town (heavily congested with Californian refugees and thus impassable), I prefer to drive an hour (15 mi) north to get to my airplane and fly 20 minutes south. It sure beats trying to drive south for 2 hours. Especially for the fun factor! :)
 
Here in the Nor'East flying beats everything else when going to Block Island, Nantucket or the Vineyard, all of which involve a big ordeal. Drive to ferry, park car, pay for parking, 1-2 hr ferry ride, etc, etc.
 
How do you folks decide between flying commercial, driving and flying GA?
 
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