Airplane adventures

For those unfamiliar, Chris is a pilot (by hobby, not trade) and we have a very, very small aircraft that we cram everyone into on the weekends and use to shortcut traffic to go visit family. It is awesome.

We keep it hangared at a small airport a few miles away. When we want to go somewhere we drive up to our hangar, unlock it and load up the plane with our things. Chris performs a pre-flight inspection (10 minutes), we get in and buckle up, taxi to the runway and take off. The whole thing takes less than a half hour. There is no security to go through, I do not have to pay to park, I keep my shoes on and I take as much bottled water and as many nail clippers on board as I like. It is nice to leave when we want and come back when we want (weather permitting) and not waste so many hours of our lives with the total bullshit that is the entire commercial air travel experience. 

Chris has held a pilot's license since 2000 and he has an IFR rating and is about to earn a Commercial rating. (Ratings to non-professional pilots are kind of like Karate belts. You earn the next one up simply because you can and want to learn and get better, not necessarily because you want to fly people around for money.) Chris is, very exclusively, a private pilot that ferries his family around on the weekends. He flies by himself, sometimes, just because he loves it. It is kind of like golf or fishing or hunting. It's his hobby. I love it because it's something we can ALL enjoy and get utility from, versus golf or something similar (which can easily cost as much from a day-use standpoint).

Owning an airplane is kind of a weird thing. You say you have an airplane and people automatically, without thinking about it really, assume that you are swimming in gold coins every night like Scrooge McDuck. This is not true. I do not have a pool of gold coins. (And if I did? I would keep them in a safe deposit box like a responsible person and not like an elderly duck that wears clothes.)

But seriously, do not get any ideas about lumping me in with those Private Airplane Owners that politicians love to blame for our nation's problems. (Thanks, Barack! We appreciate the dig. We get it: you hate aircraft owners and they are an easy target to pick on as the evil money-grubbers of the nation, no matter the reality of our nation's actual general aviation population, which you seem to be DRAMATICALLY out of touch with.) (Which, what is it about people that own airplanes that is so AWFUL? Why do Americans continue to buy this line of horse crap about how if you don't fly Delta you don't pay enough income tax? What???? HOW DOES THAT IDEA EVEN COME ABOUT? What about people with Aston Martins? People with quarter-million-dollar Ferraris?  Why aren't we picking on them? Those cost more than a small plane, they are bound by the same speed limits as a 1981 Corolla and THEY DO NOT EVEN FLY. Those cars aren't even made in America. FOR SHAME, FERRARI OWNERS.)

Ahem. Anyway.

Our aircraft is very tiny. I am limited to about 35 pounds of luggage, including the weight of the bags themselves, FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY. I have become very good at packing light in the past two years. It has 4 seats, but the back seats are really only meant for children as they have almost no leg room. It is a tight squeeze, but our family of four fits and that's fine by us. I do not care to own (and pay for) more aircraft than we need.

This is our airplane. I do not mind at all telling you that it cost less than a Corvette (never mind a Ferrari). A 1960-1970 Mooney, depending on the avionics and how it has been maintained, will run you $35,000 – $75,000. 

We have taken it to Orlando and New Orleans, but we mostly stay in Texas because that is where our family is and we like to visit them. The fastest it's ever gone, while I was in it, is about 200 mph (with a rare 50 mph tailwind) but it normally goes about 160 mph with no tail or headwind. Fast, but not crazy-fast. (You need a jet to go crazy-fast.) With a strong headwind, I have seen our speed plummet to a pathetic 90 mph. We try not to fly at altitudes with big headwinds. (The wind blows different directions and speeds at different altitudes.)

Chris normally takes us up to 7,000 or 9,000 feet, depending on the length of our trip. It takes a lot of fuel to climb quickly and if we're not going very far it's not worth it. Then again, the higher you are, the more time a pilot has to recover if something goes wrong (EEP!) so I am always a fan of flying as high as we most efficiently can. Plus, it is colder up there than at lower altitudes.

Ah, yes, here is the part where you become screamingly jealous about my airplane and how hoity-toity it is because the damn thing is NOT AIR CONDITIONED. (What do you say about my so-called fancy-ass airplane now, Mr. President?) Air conditioners are heavy and they take up valuable cargo space where my 35 pounds of bags are supposed to go. If we had A/C, we would not be able to fill up with gas all the way and I would have to half my luggage. Most older and cheaper single engine aircraft don't have A/C. It's a serious luxury, particularly since you don't really need it once you get in the air.

You should also know that since our airplane is small, it has small wings and wings are where aircraft store their fuel. We can take on 50 gallons of Avgas ($4.50/gallon these days at our airport, can go up to $6 at fancier airports which HA HA NO we do not buy gas there). That 50 gallons gives us a range of about 4 hours (650 miles-ish) before we have to land and fill up again. Because Chris is an intelligent person, we never go that far without filling up because you don't really want to be close to E when flying an airplane as runways are not exactly everywhere (like the shoulder of a highway is) and it takes time (and fuel) to descend and land safely. Plus, the gauges on an aircraft are only required to read correctly when it's on E. (I know, I was also shocked when Chris told me that.) If it says it's half full? That's just sort of a guess. It's up to the pilot to monitor speed and time and keep close tabs on fuel consumption. Because there are two wings, and two tanks, Chris also has to rotate the tanks every half hour via a manual dial on the floor. Otherwise, if we emptied the right wing first the aircraft would be all lopsided and the weight/balance ratio would be off and...bad things would happen.

Flying is hard work, dudes. Someone has to pay attention while I take pictures. (There is only enough room to take the same self-portrait, over and over again. I told you it was a small airplane.)

It takes us 5.5 hours, door-to-door, to drive to see my parents. It takes us about 2 hours, door-to-door, to fly. It costs about the same in gas (and snacks and milkshakes and fancy coffee, which I require when we drive but not when we fly). The flight itself ranges from 55 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on the headwind/tailwind situation and how busy things are in the sky that day. Taking our plane is a HUGE timesaver. Three hours each way? Six hours total? That's half a freaking day! We arrive not-beat-down, not tired, not cranky. It's nice.

We've done lots of math about how owning our aircraft nets out versus flying commercial and, most of the time, we come out ahead flying ourselves. If we're going to any destination within range of one tank of fuel, we DEFINITELY come out ahead based on time and it's often cheaper. But if we're going from Texas to, say, California? We should probably fly commercial. The distance is quite far, our plane is quite slow (compared to a jet) and the number of fuel stops required really lengthens the total trip.

Then again, there's something to be said for controlling your own destiny. If we fly commercial, we're subject to weather, capacity, schedule changes, airline rules, TSA, unexpected fees, etc. It could easily take longer to fly commercial to California if there were a couple of delays with an airline. When we fly ourselves, we can see bad weather coming and change our plans to accommodate. We can stay an extra day or go home early or just go somewhere entirely different where the weather isn't an issue. If our plane has a mechanical issue we're kind of screwed versus an airline (no replacement aircraft for us!) but that's why we pay a lot of attention to the scheduled maintenance. 

It allows us to be flexible. Do we want to stay later than we were planning to and hit that brunch spot someone told us about? We can do that. We don't have a set departure time. There has been a lot more spontaneity with our travel. We don't have to plan months and months ahead and get tickets and shop around for the best fares.

We just go.

Last summer, we decided to go to Orlando on a Monday and we left on Thursday. We saw Space Shuttle Atlantis take off and went to Disney World. It was AWESOME and it was something we absolutely could not have pulled off without our trusty, tiny plane.

I am so, so, so glad that Chris has this hobby and skill we can all enjoy. Flying, and being a part of the American general aviation community, has been such an interesting and enriching and totally unexpected part of being married to him.

Comments

[Maggie]

You guys are so cute in your little airplane! This was very interesting. I know nothing about this stuff, seeing as how I'm the sort of person who takes one look at a little airplane and says "NO WAY IN HELL WOULD I EVER GET IN THAT THING." But I'm glad you have one! Does it fly to Seattle?

[Sarah in Ottawa]

I am SO GLAD that you've posted on this subject, because I have always been curious about your adventures. I think it's nutty that owning/operating a small aircraft is considered to be the realm of multi-millionaires when it sounds like you guys spend less than most boat, cottage or RV owners I know. And the flexibility afforded you is amazing. I WISH I had a hobby that was so useful.

If ever you want to hop on up to Ottawa, we've a local airport right around the corner. You can check out the National Aviation Museum AND the stables where the Mounties keep there horses, too. We'd love to have you visit.

[Elsha]

My mom and I are flying from Colorado to California at the end of the month with both my kids. Pretty much makes me wish we had a plane!

[Susan]

How interesting was this! You told me about the lack of air conditioning, but I was very interested about the gas, time and cost of the plane. Woo Hoo to you for marrying such a talented guy!

[Chris]

We have a bunch of fun stories about flying in just 2 brief years of aircraft ownership. My Grandfather was an owner for something like 20 or 30 years and really instilled this passion for aviation. I'd love if we can keep this up for that long!

Just this morning, I was in Oklahoma at 7am and back at the office by 9:30am. There is some really amazing utility for many regional missions (business or leisure).

Like A'Dell said, the west coast is better left to the airlines for us unless we want to spend a day or two in New Mexico or visit our friends scattered throughout California.

A couple of other datapoints:
* Our plane was in Ohio with the same owner since 1979. He was retiring from flying. He told me that he cried like a baby when we flew it out of his airport.

* Automation is really cool! I typically only hand-fly about 10-15 minutes of our regular flights. Our autopilot and GPS handle the climb, enroute cruise, descent and approach procedures until within about 2 minutes of landing. The autopilot is normally more precise and frees me up to monitor our progress and keep up with 3 radios.

* Weather is scary. Data is king. Our GPS displays near real-time Nexrad radar downlink from the XM satellite network. Lightning strikes out to 200 miles are available on another display and indicate strong storms. We use these and work with Air Traffic Control to stay as far away from the action as possible or we stay home.

* Air conditioning. At our airport, it takes only about 10 minutes from startup to lift-off and maybe another 8-10 to get to 5000 where ambient air temperature is in the 70s and dropping. The girls get to hide out in the car at 60 degrees while I do the hot work.

* Beverage Service. I always ask, but never seem to get very good service. I'll have to talk to management about that.

[ANNIE]

Ooh! This was such a fun post, A'Dell. Thanks for sharing it. What a blessing to have this wonderful part of your lives.

[Jessica]

This was FASCINATING. I'm so glad you wrote about it! I also have always wanted to know more when you mention you're flying to visit your parents. I like that Chris added more info in the comments, too!

[Shelly]

This was very interesting indeed! I know nothing about small craft aviation. Fascinating! I'm also a wee bit jealous.

[beth]

So cool and so interesting!
What do you do when Claire has to potty?

[Becky]

Such an interesting post! Thanks for sharing. :)

[Chris]

The potty issue is going to be very interesting as the kids get out of diapers. Our flights within Texas are normally only about 1.5 hours and she does great with those. For longer trips, we ask her about 5 times before we leave and then plan stops every 2+ hours.

[BigP's Heather]

My husband has said several times over the years that this is something he is interested in. We do not live close to family and it would be so much easier if we could fly ourselves. Thanks for this post!

[Erica]

Very cool!

[HereWeGoAJen]

I would like a little airplane. Except that I suspect that Matt would not fit. He barely fits in commercial size airplanes.

My dad wants an airplane too, only my mom won't let him get one.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

This is AWESOME! My husband would love to learn to fly and, well, you make it sound a lot less scary (and more economical!) than I envisioned.

This part made me giggle: "And if I did? I would keep them in a safe deposit box like a responsible person and not like an elderly duck that wears clothes."

[Jen]

This is like, the COOLEST BLOG POST EVER. Seriously! What a neat way to travel. It was fascinating to read about. I also love your explanations about the costs and everything. Makes total sense!