wrote in message
...
Ah comeone.... You should be able to fit the Phoenix event in there...
Heck
even Fontana or Vegas is within reach. :-)


Someday I hope to fly myself to some of the events I work but for now,
I'm stuck with going commercial.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

--
Mike Flyin'8
PP-ASEL
Temecula, CA
http://flying.4alexanders.com

Mike,

I'm fairly confident that I could get from Phoenix to Ontario, North Las
Vegas, or even just over to Goodyear, AZ for the Phoenix race.

Some salient points (bearing in mind I'm a low-time VFR pilot...)

1) The event I work are not dependant upon me as a participant. They're
going to happen whether I get there or not. This is a point about which I
sometimes even have to get "fussy" with the airlines. If I don't get there,
I don't work...if I don't work, I don't get paid. It isn't as simple as
rescheduling a sales call or moving to a teleconference instead of meeting
face to face with a client.

2) I can't see an FBO renting me a plane knowing I will put 5 or 6 hours on
the Hobbs meter, but it could be away for 96 hours or more. (And what
happens if Sunday's race gets rained out and they are going to run on
Monday?) "Hello, Joe's Flight School? Uh, yeah, I won't be coming back to
Phoenix until Monday evening...maybe Tuesday morning...sorry."

Which brings up another issue. After working 45+ hours in three days (we're
practically guarenteed a 14-16 hour day on Sunday), I'm NOT going to climb
into an airplane and try to get home in the dark. That's just not going to
happen.

3) I get very little time off each week. The possibility of getting
weathered in or having to divert for any length of time would just destroy
my schedule.

Once upon a time, the TV networks bought us nice, fat, full-fare, Y-class
tickets that came with lots of flexibility. You could combine them, use
only the front or back half or even pocket them and take the bus instead (if
you were a masochist...) but now the airfares we get are dirt-cheap,
non-refundable, front-loaded tickets so you can't even keep your reservation
for the return trip if you don't fly the front half. So that rules out even
being able to fly OUT with an instructor but take a commercial flight home.

4) While I usually am a "Travel Only" on Thursdays, the races in Fontana,
Vegas, Sonoma and Texas allow me to make a few extra bucks as a
"Travel/Work." This requires that I be on the ground by 9am so that I can
grab a rental car and head to the track instead of just going to the hotel.
Barring all the other reasons above, I don't think a C172SP will get me to
SFO or DFW by 9am from Phoenix.

So, as much as I'd like to fly myself, it isn't practical...yet. ;O)

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ