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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) |
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