Cost/Benefit analysis

I started flying 10 years ago because I was sick of business travel. My first plane was a Turbo SR22 then a Turbonormalized Bonanza and now I have a PC12NG and trying to figure out my next move.

It's all about your "mission". What distances will you fly most?

Do NOT buy an airplane that nobody else has like a TTX. Stick with common aircraft that lots of folks can work on and are familiar with. Service is a big part of airplane ownership. You don't want to have to fly places to get your plane worked on.

As for safety.... it's never 1 thing that kills you. It's a series of bad decisions. In my opinion, if you take night flying and bad weather flying out of the equation you have to try and kill yourself in an airplane.

Also, I would not own an airplane if I flew less than 150 hours a year. I don't believe you can stay current. Your insurance company will dictate recurrent training. It won't really be "up to you".

What you are considering taking on is the equivalent to learning Chinese and being really, really good at it. Once you're there you're good but you have to get there and keep practicing to stay current. It's not like riding a bike. I love, love love it. Flying changed my life. I believe you have to love it. I have pilot friends that quit because they don't really like it.

 

You need to go on an orientation flight. If you are pursuing flying because you love it (it is fun), you'll probably do well and be a safe and engaged pilot. If you don't really like flying, you just want to make travel easier, than you don't have to be a pilot. It would be safer (and probably cheaper once you take in to consideration the value of your time) for someone else to fly you around. Either way, your location and business interests make you a perfect candidate for general (private) aviation, whether that be as pilot or passenger.

 

Those don't really warrant buying your own plane... 'infrequently'?

I had those 3-4 hour drives weekly for a good while. Leave early (5-6am), get there by 9-10, work 4 hours and back for dinner. It's a long day, but nothing difficult. Especially if it's not frequent.

You'll spend almost 2-3 hours each way going to the airport, doing Wx, flying, and to/from the airport at destination and back again at home.

What happens if weather happens and keeps you there?

 

That's never been my experience. I do 250NM day trips several times a week. I never sleep in a hotel for business unless I just want too. The airport is 5 minutes from my house. I can be flying 15 minutes after walking out my door. Hell, I've flown over 1000NM in a day and been home for dinner. That's why I started flying. That's kind of the whole point.

 

How much of a hurry are you typically in to get to your destination?

Do you want to go night and most weather or are you flexible for time and can delay?

Are you mostly by yourself and just your baggage?

I'm only recently minted pilot and found my needs met by LSA category planes and daytime VFR..

Call it cheap n cheerful and no bragging rights at the bar but it gets me to where and what I want to do and with my intermittent flying hours the least complex the better until that changes to something more regular hopefully within the year.

 

That's great... and probably unusual

Neither of us know his situation except that he said it's 'infrequent'. Not a good reason unless he just 'wants' to fly.

 

In the Navy, pilots tend to be most prone to mishaps at around the 500 hr mark.
While civilian flying is a bit different, you do need to consider the prep time, including weather, flight planning, fueling, and pre-flight. It does add up. Same on the return.
And in my experience, glass cockpits don't do squat to reduce mishap rates. It's the space between your ears that makes the difference.

All that said, I'd recommend flying to anyone. It's been the greatest joy of my life.

 

There are a LOT more SR22's flying then TTx. SR22 is probably the 2nd most common GA aircraft out there. Everyone works on them. I never see a TTx anywhere.

I fly the PC12 350-400 hours a year. I do 250NM flights and I do 2000NM flights in it. I've flown commercial 3 times in 10 years. PC12 is everything. 4-6 flights a week.

Cirrus and Bonanza cockpits are upgradable because there are so many flying. If you're going piston I recommend SR22 or A36.... again, mostly because they are so common but they're also great airplanes.

For right now, I'd focus on getting my PPL in whatever hunk of junk you're renting. What plane to buy will work itself out in time as you become more knowledgable.

 

I was in the same situation when I started flying. By the time I had 100 hours I was checked out in 15 different aircraft, fly as many as you can, you'll learn a lot about their performance / abilities. I bought an Archer then a Saratoga then a Malibu Mirage. Now Im back to renting but if they had the SR22T back in the day I would of bought that plane over the Saratoga hands down, I have been looking at used SR22T G3/4 on Controller just not sure if I will fly it enough to justify the purchase.

 

there is no such thing as flying VFR for business... once the appointment is set, the mission becomes a full on go... over the years the pilots that have bought the farm
have been seasoned VFR pilots that get themselves into situations without a way out...
weather changes quickly, almost like turning off the lights... getting one's ratings is only the beginning to becoming a pilot... becoming experienced and competent takes a lot of time... it takes a serious commitment to learn to fly...

 

Very wise words....

 

I am just a VFR pilot and I have been there done that. Very lucky a couple of times. Planned everything...had everything under control except the weather.

 

That's what I figured and hence my question to OP on being in a hurry.. seems to me need a huge commitment to be competent and current in all the things needed to do have things like deadlines factored in.

That's why with my intermittent availability I'm staying modest VFR to build up time and not try anything more complex until I have the need and resources to support it.. and while VFR I'm definitely never going to have a deadline apply to me so I stay well out of trouble.. I go when it's good to go and nothing less.

 

Hoodlum:

Your plan to go PPL followed immediately by an instrument rating is very wise. Made my ex go that way and she has turned out to be a very fine pilot. My son is a new PPL-HEL and working on his instrument rating already as well. There are definitely times to fear weather, but those times really are few and far between and are not too difficult to discern if they happen to be frequent where you live. Most weather that PPLs fear and can definitely get into trouble around is nothing special when you have your instrument rating and stay current at doing a variety of approaches. For now, just work on your ratings and studying...forget glass cockpits and different airplanes to buy as that stuff will come later.

 

It sounds like you are off to a good start. I do want to focus on the cost/benefit part of your initial post. In my opinion, for it to make sense, a substantial part of the "benefit" in that equation needs to be enjoyment of flying. Otherwise, it's very difficult to make it work in comparison to the alternatives.

As for looking for a Warrior, they are great airplanes-- that's what I learned in! Be prepared for it to take time, especially if you are picky. A friend of mine has been looking for a 182 for about the last year, and hasn't been able to find one that meets his, or his mechanic's, standards. I think that's a little bit over the top, myself, but it does show you that it's harder than it seems.

 

My dad was a Naval Aviator, who learned how to fly as a kid in Colorado (He flew PBYs in the Pacific). Before he retired, he did accident investigations in Pensacola and saw all the ways things can do terribly wrong. When it came to civilian aircraft, he always said people shouldn't fly at night or in bad weather. When in doubt, park it. Nothing is that important.

 

brings to mind the John Kennedy incident...where he was flying into Martha's Vineyard... a VFR flight plan whose departure was delayed, eventually putting the flight arrival after sunset... flying at night ( over water to complicate the receptors )... over water one loses perception of where the surface is... although VFR, there are no references over water or unpopulated areas... IFR rating is not about flying in demanding weather, but the training allows one to get comfortable flying without any references to the ground, not about flying in demanding weather... situations and conditions change, while the intent is to fly in VFR, a modest change in conditions can place an inexperienced pilot in trouble... something as innocuous as fog can close the departing airport as one is taking off making return potentially impossible, even on a local flight... IFR rating is about safety and one shouldn't leave without one...

 

Quick story: My dad had to fly his PBY from Coronado to Honolulu in dead radio silence. His plan was so loaded it took forever to gain attitude. Once up, they had to navigate by dead reckoning through a lot of fog. He said one of the happiest times of his life was when they saw the first island. Not bad for a 22-year old who learned how to fly in the front range of Colorado.

 

As Mark also said....good advise. If you're piloting an aircraft for business purposes, you can't be thinking about business in the cockpit. It's very hard to separate the two...

 

Things like your dad did became routine during the war. Not to diminish what your dad did but I know a lot of incidents where our young people saved our butts during the war because of their resolve to do what had to be done in the face of self doubt and fear. I talked to some P-40 pilots in training in Sarasota in 1942. One was 19 years old, had 300 hours total , was finishing OTU, and was headed overseas. The attrition rate in the training bases in the U.S. was very high with a lot of people flying fighters that shouldn't have. One day I recall that there were four P-40 crashes , all fatal. One of the training squadrons was almost obliterated in one month and had to shut down until they could get replacement aircraft.