Why I don't fly "missions" anymore

EdFred said:
Yall are gonna hate me, but our total property taxes for three properties is around 3 AMUs for the year.
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I don't hate you, I hate this effing state. Our house by itself is 2x that.
 
schmookeeg said:
It's not. I have a lot of problems with what we define as charity which are out of scope of this conversation (and probably the ToS)

However if you are honestly comparing adopt-a-doggo-flying-express to meals on wheels (why not meals on airplanes? Maybe someone in Kansas really wants a Salisbury Steak at 200kts? Why can't society provide this??) in terms of value and public good, then I'm not sure we'll agree on any aspect of this topic. Respectfully. :)
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I do it because I enjoy it and I don't need any other reason and like edfred, I haven't gotten any tax benefit out of it, haven't tried in years. if I had a twin I'd be doing angel flights, but it wouldn't be for any tax benefit. I like dogs and flying them now and then is fun for me. I get to spend some time with dogs then hand them off so I never have to feed them or clean up poop, which is nice. I'm also working on inventing a dog parachute so I don't even have to land, I can literally just drop them off. oh please, they'll love it. while I most certainly would feel good about helping people in need, I enjoy helping something that doesn't even really know they're being helped. also chicks like dogs so it often is a good ice breaker and when you look like me, you need a good ice breaker.
 
Dog rescue people are nuts. We just adopted a rescue. From Greece. And the dog needed a $5K surgery to correct a birth defect. The rescue took care of about 99% of it. The balance of it was my wife's deal.

I can't say much because I own airplanes.

It's all insane.
 
eman1200 said:
I do it because I enjoy it and I don't need any other reason and like edfred, I haven't gotten any tax benefit out of it, haven't tried in years. if I had a twin I'd be doing angel flights, but it wouldn't be for any tax benefit. I like dogs and flying them now and then is fun for me. I get to spend some time with dogs then hand them off so I never have to feed them or clean up poop, which is nice. I'm also working on inventing a dog parachute so I don't even have to land, I can literally just drop them off. oh please, they'll love it. while I most certainly would feel good about helping people in need, I enjoy helping something that doesn't even really know they're being helped. also chicks like dogs so it often is a good ice breaker and when you look like me, you need a good ice breaker.
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I would have preferred that word salad delivered via Pilatus :D
 
wilkersk said:
If I were managing a YE event, I'd require experienced marshallers to direct AC into and out of ramp parking, defined "pull-through" AC parking spots and one-way taxi lanes. And I'd have prebriefed and assigned routes altitudes and areas based on AC performance.

I do not like taxiing in from a YE flight with a couple of kids onboard only to find six different aircraft parked 6 different ways with the only spots available accross the ramp requiring kids walk across an active flight line and no volunteers available to greet them at the aircraft.
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Thanks, we’ve got all those covered
 
murphey said:
We've been running YE for over 30 years, got it down to a science. Not unusual to run 24-36 kids.
1) A well-run, experienced ground crew responsible for safety, including escorting kids and parents to/from the airplane. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE is allowed on the ramp without an escort. Ground crew also handles marshalling aircraft in & out of ramp area. Usually have 10-14 ground crew along with 1 person to handle certificates and a second to take photos.
2) If towered airport, make friends with the tower crew. Day before a rally, I send the list of N numbers and aircraft type to the tower. We get special squawk codes. No special handling, but its another eye on watching over us.
3) If more than 2x the number of airplanes, schedule the kids so they and parents aren't sitting around. 6 airplanes? Assume 20-30 min per flight, meaning close the doors, runup, wheels up, route, then land, take photo. That's about an hour, so schedule the next group of 12 for an hour later.
4) Do not be afraid to cancel by dinner time the day before due to weather or lack of ground or pilots.
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Thanks. We're non-towered so that’s not an issue. Ground ops is a big deal so we’ve got that covered. Only ones I’ve had to have words with are some adults. We run continuously once we start and have other activities for the kids while they wait. Canceling is always a joy (/s) when weather is worse than desired.
 
mcdewey said:
Thanks. We're non-towered so that’s not an issue. Ground ops is a big deal so we’ve got that covered. Only ones I’ve had to have words with are some adults. We run continuously once we start and have other activities for the kids while they wait. Canceling is always a joy (/s) when weather is worse than desired.
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Oh yeah, the adults. One of the reasons we went to a scheduled arrival time when I took over in late 2021 (restarted after COVID)....Guess it was 2018 or so, a parent was upset that it was taking so long and stated his unhappiness very loudly. At the time, our ops manager was a slender, shortish man, who was explaining to the parent the kids are flown in order they arrive. Parent not happy. One of our ground team, a somewhat largish, retired Marine, just casually walked up and stood a few steps behind Rudy. Rudy also informed said parent that another word from him, and said child would go to the bottom of the list. Parent got real quiet, real fast.
 
Just because you're flying for a good cause doesn't mean the risks are any less. Everybody here knows that, but sometimes it doesn't seem to sink in.

www.nbcnews.com

Pilot known for animal rescue flights dies, along with one dog, in Catskills plane crash

A propeller-driven Mooney M20J went down early Sunday evening in a remote town in the Catskill Mountains, authorities said. Two other dogs survived.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

That was a flight that was supposed to be headed into Albany. From all accounts pilot was a good guy.

Back to OP, in addition to the guy acting like you worked for him, I kinda take issue with him putting either a friend or volunteer in your airplane without necessarily knowing much at all about you. I guess to some that's not a big deal, you have a plane and a license of course, but I'm not going to suggest someone I know ride with someone else unless I know a bit about them.
 
Got both my dogs from local shelters. Total cost for both of them was less than $75. Loved the first one. Second one is an idiot (wife picked him up without my input or knowledge...damn deployment). Both have been fine companions that did not require aerial transportation from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

First GA flight I ever took was a Shriner's Hospital transport from Oklahoma to Houston. I'll happily do those.

To the OP...your "mission commander" or whatever self-gratifying title he gave himself is tool bag and a half. Bless you for continuing the flight.

***Texas legal resident living in Massachusetts. What Texas doesn't take in income tax, Massachusetts takes in excise.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
I thought your bees brought it down. No??
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Would be a little above above 14 ish without the AG exemption. They knock off around 3k. Land value taxed at 1/6 instead of 1/3. Building value remains 1/3. I only have 5 acres. The bare minimum
 
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