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Commuting via GA??

Old 07-24-2016, 10:09 AM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by Hacker15e View Post
Poor decisionmaking has nothing to do with the airplane, unfortunately.

You won't find me ever flying into weather in any Piston Cessna.

They have spars which are not good for such stuff.


Beechcraft have much stronger spars. I think every one up to and including a King Air is based on a real solid carry-through design.


I used to fly into real bad stuff for a cargo place which was too cheap to spend the extra bucks to have us go around. We flew DC-3s, Beech 18s, and Barons.... The owner had a whole lot of time inside storms most of us have never seen the likes of. The man was adamant about Cessnas.

Personally, I do my very best to avoid any of that crap now.... There are some who don't care. For those people, there is Beech.
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Old 07-24-2016, 10:15 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by toolowterrain View Post
Most importantly, I am sure you would be causing some type of part 117/duty issue.

I mean, I am not an expert at it, but I'm certain that you can't fly an hour in your warrior and then go on and fly your possibly already at the duty limit day.
Joy riding in your Cessna doesn't effect 117 limits. So long as your carrier isn't assigning you the Part 91 flying, it doesn't count.
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Old 07-24-2016, 10:51 AM
  #13  
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Thanks to all for the replies.

From a financial point of view, unless you can work out a deal with an FBO it sounds like it might not really be a viable option. It might be a option every now and then, but certainly not as the primary means of commuting.

I'm also not too keen on putting myself into a situation where I am forced to fly my single engine piston into weather because I planned poorly and didn't have any backup options to get to work.
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Old 07-24-2016, 11:16 AM
  #14  
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I feel like between fuel, and landing fees, tie down, hanger. You'll be spending ten fold as opposed to just flying in commercial a day early and having a $230 a month crashpad or doing the $50 a night days inn. It's a peace of mind on a nice summer day but when it's winter time and moderate ice reporting. I'd cut my loses and be in line at the ticket id in hand for the jumpseat.
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Old 07-24-2016, 01:08 PM
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I still love my job but as a commuter for the more than 10 years I've been in the 121 business, the last thing I want to do is pilot an airplane before or after work. I say suck it up and let someone else fly you to/from work.
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by WhiskeyDelta View Post
I still love my job but as a commuter for the more than 10 years I've been in the 121 business, the last thing I want to do is pilot an airplane before or after work. I say suck it up and let someone else fly you to/from work.
What a terribly despondent view of flying. Proof positive commuting makes this job diametrically different than driving to work. If my flying job ever elicited aversion to flying recreationally, I'd quit and do something else.

Break break

As an aircraft owner I have commuted to work via GA. The main takeaway for me was that it had to be done within driving distance to be on the safe side, as weather affects dispatch. The other issue as others have highlighted is the parking costs. Having a jalopy and parking in a satellite airport ideally without a tower but with self serve fuel would be ideal to avoid tiedown fees. Otherwise you'd have to negotiate with an FBo. It's a nice alternative to driving, but if you can't do the commute via car within 6 hours drive, I wouldn't rely on GA as a primary.

If and when I get on with my carrier of preference I intend to occasionally commute via GA. but that would be a 4.5 hour drive so it's doable as a backup. Aircraft ownership is not cheap but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Again if my pro flying ever tired me from flying recreationally, id quit the airline gig. Good luck to ya.
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:57 PM
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At a previous job I occasionally used my little plane to fly into the hub when I had ground school/training.

If I drove, it typically took me about an hour to get to the training center, but instead if I drove out to the local G/A airport, pulled the plane out of the hangar, preflighted, taxied out and flew to the hub, secured the plane at the FBO and then bummed a ride from them over to the training center it only took 1:10. ; ) But it was fun when the weather was nice. That's about the extent to which I would use a personal plane for work.
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:59 PM
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Originally Posted by hindsight2020 View Post
What a terribly despondent view of flying. Proof positive commuting makes this job diametrically different than driving to work. If my flying job ever elicited aversion to flying recreationally, I'd quit and do something else.
I'm not despondent at all. You came up with that idea. You will one day reach that same point. It has happened to everyone I've ever flown with. There's nothing wrong with saying you don't want to fly on your days off because some of us don't have the means or the time to do so. So...kudos to you for making that happen.

Finally, don't subtly or directly question my love for flying. My commute is as easy as it gets. Less than 45 minutes on my mainline equipment with over 10 flights a day each direction. It's basically a guaranteed commute. My position on this has nothing to do with my commute.

Everyone needs to relax and unwind before and after duty. I strongly disagree that this would involve flying myself to/from my base. Talk about the extra danger of "get home-itis." In the end it's a free world, but I see the risks being far more than the reward.
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by hindsight2020 View Post
If my flying job ever elicited aversion to flying recreationally, I'd quit and do something else.
This. I wish more folks would take this advice.

I always wonder if one could "plane-pool" a C182 from the AUS/SAT area to DFW or IAH. I know a lot of guys that drive from central TX to DFW and especially IAH/HOU. Like stated before, the FBO costs would be excessive. Even on widebody CA pay, the costs would unacceptable to most. Fun to think about having your Bonanza meet you at your gate and suddenly you're off to your ranch airstrip though....

One can dream, right?!
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Old 07-24-2016, 05:08 PM
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At my last job (regional) the Jr Domicile when I was a new hire was at a MX/outstation base at a class C airport. It was a 3.5 hour drive, 2 hour reserve callout, and 45 minute flight in my "vintage" Mooney. In training one of the instructors introduced me to the maintenance manager who graciously agreed to let me park next to the MX hangar as needed: Free parking. I based a beater car there to drive around the field, though the MX guys were nice enough, they probably would have driven me around to the terminal. I didn't want to push it as a new hire.

I only had to do that commute for a month before getting based driving distance from work, but I think it would have continued to work out just fine, at least through the summer months (California). It worked great! No crashpad, no hotels, only did the drive to position the car.

I would not shy away from a GA airplane commute... but I think we are all aware of their weather limitations and would need to plan accordingly. In addition if you are new to GA aircraft ownership that takes some time to work out. I was only able to keep my airplane during my days of regional FO pay due to the great relationship I have with a wonderful IA who inspects my plane and will inspect/supervise/sign for quite a bit of work I do on it. The costs have been very reasonable. If I were to fly to a shop and hand them the keys... forget about it. I have also owned the airplane long enough to know it very well.
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