Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

120 reasons for flying GA

That’s equal to the number of minutes of my life totally wasted in the “passenger management” cattle market called “London Gatwick” , a few days ago.

Admittedly Easyjet aren’t normally as bad as Thomas Cook which we flew with, for the sheer size of the queues.

But you just cannot beat

  • waking up at 7am instead of 3am
  • arriving at the airport just 30-45 mins before EOBT
  • chucking your stuff into the back of the plane, with deadly implements like nail files and screwdrivers
  • not breathing the bacteria and viruses from 150 other people (post-flight illnesses are pretty common)
  • not hearing a load of screaming kids

And unless the distance is more than a single TB20 leg, you will probably be landing before the airliner does. My most memorable instance was Shoreham to Granada (Spain) where Justine took an airline and I was there and had the trip writeup finished (up to that point) before she landed. And that was a long flight – 6:30 or so.

I just wish that GA didn’t involve so many other hassles!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

There’s another reason for flying GA – and that was brought home to me on my recent flight back from Manchester to Düsseldorf – the guy next to me obviously had been eating baked beans, onions or Brussels Sprouts for breakfast (possibly all three) so the whole journey consisted of green clouds being silently emitted from his fouling body….. And, as we all know, a fart is like success….. only your own smells good……

EDL*, Germany

But you just cannot beat

Canceling IFR and go low VFR to reach your destination and not be stuck in a neighboring country like the rest of the thousands airline pax..

Last Edited by Vref at 01 Jun 15:11
EBST

delaying your EOBT so long it is necessary

EDAZ

My family came back from holiday by public transport so I could do Project Propeller. I get to keep the plane a couple years more every time I make them do that.

EGTF, LFTF

You just cannot beat:
• going to places in 45 min that otherwise require you 4 hours of driving and 1 hour on ferry and can’t be reached with airliner
• hearing yourself in headphones saying “rotate”
• being welcomed with “good morning, captain”
• meeting like minded people
• talking to knowledgeable pilots
• sharing funny stories and experiences

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Couldn’t agree more. My whole aviation progression has been toward the total elimination of airline travel. I’m getting there. And it is worth every penny I spend on it. The stress, the humiliation, the time, the comfort, the godforsaken hubs etc makes this an easy choice for me. Even if it costs more, it’s so worth it. And if time and health is money, then it’s actually cheaper.

I’ve concluded that up 1000nm my Aerostar will beat the airlines door to door every time. If you add a hub and a layover to that, then it’s closer to 2000nm. I could literarily fly from LA to NY in the same time as someone who has to change planes somewhere. Sometimes you beat the airlines so much that it’s almost ridiculous. Like the other year when they wanted me to to go to a small city in Oregon that didn’t have airline connection. My options were fly to Portland and then drive 5 hrs for 10hrs in total. Instead I hopped in the Aerostar and was there in 3hrs! Another good one is the perennial Las Vegas trip from LA. By the time you’ve gone to LAX, been groped by grumpy TSA agents, chavved to death by party people (who decided that a Vegas vacation starts on the plane already) etc, you’ve been in hell for 4-5hrs door to door. Aerostar gets me there in 55mins. Maybe 2hrs door to door – tops.

Now, if I could just find a way of making my international travel viable in my old plane, I could eliminate airlines completely….

Last Edited by AdamFrisch at 01 Jun 17:42
  • Making your own schedule
  • beating the airlines both in price and time on short haul flights.
  • being able to fly a route which would take 5-6 hours in the car in 1-20.
  • being able to circle interesting landmarks and take pictures at leasure.
  • not being harassed about my 7 kg carry on baggage like I was on the airlines repeatedly.
  • finally being able to live the dream and fly a great airplane with nice equipment.
  • going places the airlines don’t go to or if so with 3 intermediate stops and almost wasting a full day getting there.
  • “just” feeling the transition between flight and ground when everything is just “right” on landing.

Now if we could get rid of all the hassle and obstacles like slots and unforecastable weather, I could think of a few more :)

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

One can address the despatch rate pretty well with a FL250-300 aircraft, pressurised, deiced , with radar. So a PA46T (Jetprop or Meridian) is the starting point. TBM would be next, arguably.

There is a guy who used to own a Cessna 421C and over the course of a year, doing 1 business trip a week (mostly, IIRC, UK to Italy) he flew 49 out of the 50 flights. On the 1 he had to turn back due to a solid wall of CBs on the radar. So that’s another way, but he did spend an awful lot of money on refurbishing what today would be a very old airframe, and then on the avgas.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Another reason – you know what tape and why you have it on the airplane.

LKKU, LKTB
36 Posts
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top