wrote:

Has anyone here done a daily commute in a plane?

Not daily, but I am commuting Monday, back Thursday. I have been doing
this weekly since late February of this year and in the Northeast US, where
weather is a factor. One-way distance is about 160nm.

Door to door time comparisons between flying and driving demonstrate that
in my case, flying is about 1/2 hour faster when considering the drive to
the airport, aircraft pre-flight, taxiing and departing the airport
(especially if it is a larger airport), taxi/tie-down/securing the
aircraft, and ultimately driving from the destination airport to the
office/site. Of course, I prefer flying over driving not for any small
time savings, but instead for the experience and thrill of the commute.

I know that southern CA traffic is bad, but have no idea to what degree. I
would estimate that you would need an automobile commute of about 1 1/2 to
2 hours to make flying a faster option, if time savings is your goal. What
is the duration of your typical 70 mile commute by car?

This would be a commute of about 70 miles and it would be in Southern
alifornia so the weather is less of an issue.

Where in S. California are your originating and destination airports?
My father used to live in San Diego and I recall experiencing many days of
"June Gloom," or low overcast and fog. At least near the coast, it seemed
that there were many IFR and low IFR days in southern CA.

What aircraft would be best for this kind of cummute?

There used to be an occasional contributor to this group who commuted daily
in the southern CA area and, IIRC, he flew a Cardinal; that is, until he
had a catastrophic engine failure and landed in a school baseball field,
hitting the backstop. Fortunately, no one was killed, but last I read he
faced a lawsuit from one of his passengers.

Given the short distance, I would think a smaller Cessna or Piper would fit
that mission.

Trying to maximize speed and minimize costs...

Are you looking to make these factors comparable to driving, or just
comparable relative to any aircraft capable of such a mission?

For some numbers, a typical C172 or PA28 is about $55 to $75/hour to
operate and cruises between 110 and 125 knots. Thus, a 70 mile (statute?)
distance is around 38 minutes total flying time.

My Bonanza is approximately $150 or so to operate and cruises about 180
knots. It would make this commute in roughly 25 minutes or so, which goes
to show you that for such a short trip, there is not a great reduction in
time for the added cost when compared to the C172/PA28, especially over
many flights.

--
Peter
























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