Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Marty Shapiro writes:

In the SF Bay area here are the web sites of two FBO's at PAO where
you can rent wet (fuel included):

http:\\www.shorelineflyingclub.com
http:\\www.wvfc.org

At Shoreline, the lowest rates are a hundred times higher than those
for a car (which you can rent by the day, not by the hour, for about
the same prices). Plus you have to factor in (or amortize) the $9000
cost of your license and all the overhead expenses.

It looks like an extremely costly hobby, and an even more costly form
of transportation. I'm not happy about that, but there's no denying
it.


Your calculations are defective.

The IRS allows 47.5 cents/mile as the cost to operate a car if its use is
tax deductible. That number factors in gas, oil, tires, insurance, etc.
and is pretty close to the number Hertz calculates for its fleet average
cost per mile. If you are going to compare the costs of flying with the
costs of driving, you have to include ALL the costs of driving.

The rates at Shoreline are all inclusive. It includes gas, oil, tires,
insurance, etc. The hourly rate is for engine hours, not clock time. You
only pay for the time the engine is running, not while the airplane sits on
the ground at your destination. Yes, you do have minimums to consider, but
I've only had one time in almost 20 years where that came into play, and
that was only for 15 minutes.

Take a 3 day weekend trip from PAO (where Shoreline is located) to Las
Vegas. According to Microsoft's MapPoint, the fastest route is 543 miles
and will take 8 1/2 hours by car. (I used speeds slightly above the posted
speed limits to get this time, and excluded any possible traffic delays.)
The IRS says this will cost $257.93 to drive. Using the AOPA flight
planning software, this is now a trip of only 392 miles (flying in a
straight line) and will take 3 hours. At $100/hour, this costs $300. For
the extra $42.07, I save at least 5 1/2 hours enroute (more likely 7 hours
figuring the car stops at least once and 8 to 9 hours if there are any
traffic delays).

At 8 1/2 hours one way, most people will probably stop somewhere enroute to
buy gas, use the rest room, and probably grab a bite to eat, so the trip
will be more like 9 1/2 to 10 hours. By small plane, this is a non-stop
flight. So, the time difference is even larger. And by flying, I didn't
risk a speeding ticket.

For a 3 day holiday weekend, I'm flying 6 hours round trip, which meets the
2 hour daily minimum on aircraft rental. I only pay for 6 hours, even
though I had the airplane for 3 days. And I have at least 1/2 day more
time at my destination. Given the time needed to go through commercial
airports and the security screening, the little plane beats the airlines on
this trip as far as time goes, but the costs are lower by airline.
Southwest quotes a fully refundable fare of $139.30 ($129 + taxes and fees)
from San Jose to Las Vegas and 1 hour 20 minutes flying time. If you have
2 people going on this trip, the airline costs about the same as the little
plane.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)