GOO to OSH on gasahol

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is that Gail and I are going to go from Grass Valley to
Oshkosh (via Iowa City) next month burning nothing but ethanol-laced
gasahol.

The bad news is that we are going to do it in a Subaru wagon.

Simple math. With the advent of gasahol the only place I can get real
gasoline for the 182 with any degree of confidence is from the Mighty Grape
in IOW. Even then, on-airport "real gasoline" on our route (if AirNav is to
be believed) hovers somewhere between $3.50 and $4 a gallon IF they still
have it. The O-470 was designed back in the days when gasoline was a dime a
gallon and the least costly parameter to worry about. The bottom line is
that fuel costs alone (again using AirNav as a source) for the round trip
GOO-OSH would be $1500.

www.gasbuddy.com shows autogas at $2.98 a gallon (and coming down a few
pennies a week) average on our route and round trip gasoline will run around
$500. Extra time? One day going and one day coming home. I dunno about
y'all, but spending a thousand extra dollars for the privilege of being
thoroughly thrashed by afternoon turbulence isn't clever in my mind.

Yes, I still love the joy and beauty of flight. That sputtering cough as
the engine fires up early on a cool clear morning is one that I'll never get
tired of. But cross country (literally) at 100 knots burning 10 gallons an
hour isn't my cup of tea any more.

Jim


--
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, with chocolate in one hand and wine in
the other, loudly proclaiming 'WOO HOO What a Ride!'"
--Unknown

...the only place I can get real
gasoline for the 182...

...But cross country (literally) at 100 knots...

100 knots in a 182? Are you flying or taxiing?

If OSH isn't worth the flying, a hundred dollar hamburger isn't either.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

100 knots in a 182? Are you flying or taxiing?

In a 1958 boxcar 182, to get fuel burn down to 10 gph if you flight plan for
anything more than 100 knots (from engine start to shutdown) INCLUDING
taxiing, climbing, descending, pattern, taxiing, you are deluding yourself.

Jim



If OSH isn't worth the flying, a hundred dollar hamburger isn't either.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

So get a more efficient plane. It would take me 9 hours and 121
gallons, including the stop at IOW. So at $4 a gallon that's about $960
for gas. And that's at 75%. If you're goal is to save money you could
easily shave 20-30 gallons off that total.




RST Engineering wrote:
100 knots in a 182? Are you flying or taxiing?


In a 1958 boxcar 182, to get fuel burn down to 10 gph if you flight plan for
anything more than 100 knots (from engine start to shutdown) INCLUDING
taxiing, climbing, descending, pattern, taxiing, you are deluding yourself.

Jim



If OSH isn't worth the flying, a hundred dollar hamburger isn't either.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

It must be nice to be rich enough to flippantly say, "So get a more
efficient plane." For 95% of the flying I do for the company, the flying
boxcar that will carry lead bricks is exactly the platform I need. Buying a
pocket rocket for one trip a year is not in my budget.

Jim

--
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, with chocolate in one hand and wine in
the other, loudly proclaiming 'WOO HOO What a Ride!'"
--Unknown


"Newps" wrote in message
. ..
So get a more efficient plane. It would take me 9 hours and 121 gallons,
including the stop at IOW. So at $4 a gallon that's about $960 for gas.
And that's at 75%. If you're goal is to save money you could easily shave
20-30 gallons off that total.

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
It must be nice to be rich enough to flippantly say, "So get a more
efficient plane." For 95% of the flying I do for the company, the flying
boxcar that will carry lead bricks is exactly the platform I need. Buying
a pocket rocket for one trip a year is not in my budget.

LOL! 'If your goal is to save money, buy a newer plane...'

What do I have to do to live on that planet? ;

-c

RST Engineering wrote:
It must be nice to be rich enough to flippantly say, "So get a more
efficient plane." For 95% of the flying I do for the company, the flying
boxcar that will carry lead bricks is exactly the platform I need. Buying a
pocket rocket for one trip a year is not in my budget.


Our planes are priced similarly and have similar useful loads. Mine has
250 pounds more useful than the 182 I got rid of. Insurance would be
more. They fly the same.

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
It must be nice to be rich enough to flippantly say, "So get a more
efficient plane." For 95% of the flying I do for the company, the flying
boxcar that will carry lead bricks is exactly the platform I need. Buying
a pocket rocket for one trip a year is not in my budget.

Jim, I'm curious what kind of things you do with the plane for buisness,
that requires the load carrying capability? I'm fine with the fact that the
182 is what you need, and buying a effiecient plane to fly to OSH is a
ridiculous notion.

Can you give a hint at the typical mission you fly that utilizes that
special quality, without giving away all of your secrets?

I know; You could say, " I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!"

Just curious. I would have thought that carring around little avionics and
such and air testing them would have been the typical mission.
--
Jim in NC

"Jose" wrote in message
. net...
..., a hundred dollar hamburger isn't either.

$100.00 hamburger? Where do you get THAT deal these days? I flightplan
about $ .25 AMU for your average aviation burger.

Some of them are the best I ever had.

Vaughn

"RST Engineering" wrote:

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is that Gail and I are going to go from Grass Valley to
Oshkosh (via Iowa City) next month burning nothing but ethanol-laced
gasahol.

The bad news is that we are going to do it in a Subaru wagon.

My dad pretty much said the same thing earlier this month. I'm holding out
that the prices slide enough to be efficient in the plane. Still a month to
geaux... Flying to San Marcos,TX next week if the weathers good...