Gas Prices Coming Down

Tom wrote:
We are still over $3 a gallon in Phoenix and I bet it doesn't come down
soon.



Four and a half at Deer Valley today.

-R

Jay Honeck wrote:
Personally, I've never understood the need for stall horns. I've never
needed one to know when a stall was imminent, and it's just another
distraction, as far as I'm concerned.

Stall lights are even dumber, but at least they have the advantage of
subtlety.


They are that. As for the Arrow, its stall characteristics were completely
honest and I had absolutely no doubt when it was going to break. Frankly, I
don't need no steenking stall horn either... at least not in this aircraft.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Jack Allison wrote:
Gliding? Cherokees do that? I thought it was more falling out of the
sky like a streamlined manhole cover :-) Does make it easy to get back
on the glideslope when you're white over white on the VASI :-)


That they do. Energy management is a piece of cake with the Arrow... there's
never any left.


Rental rates for an Arrow around here (Sacramento, CA) run $140+/hr.
wet. Sounds like the $101 was a good deal. That's pretty close to the
going rate for a Skyhawk around here.


Since I wrote my original posting, things have apparently happened at my FBO.
My checkout pilot and I had had a conversation suggesting that the price for the
Arrow be dropped from $120/hour (the usual rate) since nobody was flying it. I
just checked rental rates after reading your comments and saw where it's been
dropped to $105/hour ! That $101/price was supposed to be for the month of
September only. Naturally, I am delighted. Here's what the rest of the fleet
goes for in upstate South Carolina:

1976 C-172 M $90 (a real POS)
1981 C-172 P $90 (twice the AC for the same price)
1977 C-172 N $100 (nice; Garmin 430)
2001 C-172 SP $120 (nice; Garmin 430)
2003 Alarus $100 (Garmin 430; have two of these AC)

Have fun with the Arrow. We sure like ours.

Now that the price has dropped , it'll be hard for me to climb back into one of
the C-172s again... unless scheduling becomes a problem. I'm hoping the
insurance / experience requirement will keep the hoi polloi from renting it
*too* much. Of course, the FBO is hoping the exact opposite. G



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Rental rates for an Arrow around here (Sacramento, CA) run $140+/hr.
wet. Sounds like the $101 was a good deal. That's pretty close to the
going rate for a Skyhawk around here.

I only pay $115/hour for a Turbo Arrow IV.

Jay Honeck wrote:
As expected, gas prices are dropping like a stone around here. As of this
afternoon they are down to $2.89 per gallon, after peaking at $3.28 a gallon
just after Katrina. (This for the cheapest grade, of course.)

That's "only" 60 cents per gallon more than pre-Katrina prices, so I guess
there is hope that these ridiculous prices will soon be a bad memory...?

Dropped between 5 to 10 cents around here lately (central TX) for no
apparent reason. Perhaps some of the refineries are finally getting back
on line, but I suspect a small drop in demand is helping with that......

Trust me, though, the oil companies are sweating bullets right now. And
they ain't out of the woods yet.....

They'll do their damndest to get it back down to pre-Katrina prices at
least. Depending on the damage already done, prices may tumble quite a
bit.....

LS
N646F

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
newsY6Ue.318654$_o.19913@attbi_s71...

When it gets to $2.85/gallon, I'm gonna fill "The Mighty Grape" --

Hey, I need one of those. I wonder how far I would get past the gate onto
our field... :-)

The sinister thing about fuel prices is that it may not be affecting current
flyers much, but it might be driving out newcomers in droves. Last
September, I needed at least a week notice to book a 172 and two or more if
I wanted my Instructor, also. I would book my reservations forward about a
month ahead. Today, I can phone up in the morning and have a plane for
solo that day. Most week days, I can walk in *off the street*, and get a
plane right away. If I need a plane and an instructor, I rarely have to
wait more than a couple of days. Prices for a 172 have gone up $20CAD to
the equivalent of about $105-110 USD.


Now, I am not privy to the financial books of my operator, so maybe things
are quite rosy.

But from the outside looking in and given the discussions this group has had
about the utility of recreational GA flying.... potential flyers might be
either conserving their recreational dollars or putting them elsewhere. If
it gets back to the point of month-in-advance reservations, it may be
because there will be 7 planes instead of 22, and 9 instructors instead of
27.