solo x/c for commercial

Oregon boder and back. Never been up there before.

Finally, I should get a dog.

...to help a steak at Harris Ranch.

meh, I disagree. If you're going for a commercial certificate, you are
going to have to learn how to do stuff alone. All the guys I know who
went off to work for cargo carriers do most of their flying alone. Even
a non-pilot can help a lot. Anyways, its just one flight.

When I did my long cross country for the commercial, I went to
Baltimore. This of course was just over a week or two ago. It was
actually the sunday before the ADIZ incident. most of the flight was
over the emptyness of West Virginia, and let me tell you it was very
boring, but I must get used to it if I plan on doing this
professionally.

Dave wrote:

Okay, I've decided to start on my commercial, and after looking at
61.129 I have painfully accepted the fact that the 300nm cross country
really needs to be vfr, solo. That means long trips I've done on
instrument flight plans (imc or vmc) won't cut it, and more painfully,
long trips I've done with my girlfriend and climbing buddies (non pilot
passengers) are also not acceptable.

IFR/VFR, IMC/VFC - makes no difference.


I really have to fly somewhere 250nm away and back again, being sure to
stop somewhere on the way home.

Nope, you gotta fly 250nm, 300nm total, 3 stops, solo - then you're done.
Then fly an Angel Flight passenger from SMO or ACV back to PAO for
treatment.

http://www.angelflight.org


Hilton

Hilton,

The shortest way you can fly the "250nm leg, 300nm, 3 stops," and
return the aircraft where you got it, is to go straight out 250nm,
land, and return, stopping once on the way out or back. In other words,
the shortest way you can meet this requirement is to fly 500nm *if*
you're not leaving the airplane somewhere.

I'm going to back to school full time in the fall, so feel kinda cash
poor, so I have turned kinda cheap.

I already noted I was wrong about the long x/c, it does not need to be
vfr. The night time in the next section of the reg, however, does.

-- dave j

Dave,

The shortest way you can fly the "250nm leg, 300nm, 3 stops," and
return the aircraft where you got it, is to go straight out 250nm,
land, and return, stopping once on the way out or back. In other words,
the shortest way you can meet this requirement is to fly 500nm *if*
you're not leaving the airplane somewhere.

I'm going to back to school full time in the fall, so feel kinda cash
poor, so I have turned kinda cheap.

Right, but you're equating distance with money. That's not how it works.
Let me explain.

For this thread, let's assume you average 100 knots (ignore taxi etc to
simplify things). Let's assume you're flying a $100/hr plane (again to
simplify things - use whatever figure you want). Also, OPD == Original
Point of Departure (PAO for you I assume).

Quickie round trip of 250nm x 2 = 500nm = $500


My suggested way = 300nm (to an airport 250nm away from OPD), pick up a 2
year-old girl with wearing a cute hat with bunny ears, and a backpack to aid
her liver/kidney transplant. Fly her and her Mom to Palo Alto (250nm).

Round trip = 300nm + 250nm = $550. That's just $50 extra, but wait, there's
more, have your VISA card ready for the tax man to *credit*. It is all tax
deductable. Let's assume a 35% tax brakcet (use your own number (just a
complete guess)). Your longer flight now only cost you $360 - that's almost
a $200 SAVING!!!

And what's more, it is possible to write something like what I did for my
Angel Flight with Katherine: "The head-winds and the small delay in finding
one another at Lincoln meant we arrived in Palo Alto slightly behind
schedule. We unpacked the aircraft and I helped load up the van. Despite
their running late, Kelli must have thanked me several times. Once was
plenty; her appreciation was obvious. I began waving at Katherine hoping to
catch her attention for a good-bye wave. For her, this simply did not
suffice - she wanted to give me a hug. I obligingly knelt down and was
embraced by the most adorable little 2 year-old girl one could imagine. She
followed up the bear hug with a kiss on my cheek.

I've always wanted to help people by contributing in the form of charity,
but unfortunately not being one with limitless patience, I have never quite
found the appropriate vehicle for this desire. Aviation and Angel Flight
have allowed me to achieve this goal. Each of my two Angel Flights to date
has rewarded me in ways I had never expected. It will be a long time before
I can climb in the Cutlass without remembering the shining person sitting in
the back. Katherine is a girl who is full of life."

Everytime I read this, well, it's pretty emotional, even more so now that I
have two beautiful healthy little girls.

Dave, it's just as idea. As always, do what makes you and those around you
most comfortable. But just in case: http://www.angelflight.org

Hilton

"Hilton" wrote in message
k.net...
[...]
Round trip = 300nm + 250nm = $550. That's just $50 extra, but wait,
there's
more, have your VISA card ready for the tax man to *credit*. It is all
tax
deductable. Let's assume a 35% tax brakcet (use your own number (just a
complete guess)). Your longer flight now only cost you $360 - that's
almost
a $200 SAVING!!!

A full-time student, strapped for cash, paying 35% in income tax?

Right.

More likely he doesn't have to pay income tax at all, assuming there's any
significant income, after deducting educational costs. But even if he does,
he's probably looking at a 15% savings, tops.

Your information certainly is a good way to sell Angel Flight or similar,
but it hardly seems applicable here.

Pete

Peter Duniho wrote:
Hilton wrote:
[...]
Round trip = 300nm + 250nm = $550. That's just $50 extra, but wait,
there's
more, have your VISA card ready for the tax man to *credit*. It is all
tax
deductable. Let's assume a 35% tax brakcet (use your own number (just a
complete guess)). Your longer flight now only cost you $360 - that's
almost
a $200 SAVING!!!

A full-time student, strapped for cash, paying 35% in income tax?

Right.

10% tax bracket breaks even, plus he logs a little more time, plus he does
an Angel Flight etc.


More likely he doesn't have to pay income tax at all, assuming there's any
significant income, after deducting educational costs. But even if he
does,
he's probably looking at a 15% savings, tops.

Pete, whatever the numbers (we obviously don't know Dave's situation), it
was $50 more (worst case), but probably less, and he gets to do an Angel
Flight which, IMHO, is a pretty darn cool thing to do - I can remember each
and every one of mine. It's not all fun and games though - I've flown too
many people that have passed away, as young as just a few months old. It's
tough trying to sit at your desk working after receiving a "Sad News" email
from Cheri. But I still think it is something special, and seriously worth
considering. And getting back to your money issue, the worst case is $50
more (zero refund) - just 10% tax bracket is break even.


Your information certainly is a good way to sell Angel Flight or similar,
but it hardly seems applicable here.

Since neither of us know Dave's tax bracket, we really don't know. FYI: I
have no idea how much tax I pay - I just guessed at the 35% number (he did
mention PAO ) - and as you say, it could be 0% too.

Dave, it was just a thought and perhaps something you hadn't considered.

Hilton

Hilton, I understand now. See, r.a.p is really about learning!

As you know, but others on the group don't, I currently make decent
money in Silicon Valley -- your estimate of my tax bracket is
plausible. However, that will all come to a stop soon, when I go back
school. (Now, why would someone leave good money for school? -- that's
a story for a different newsgroup. But I will say that of all the perks
of a salary I'll miss the most, it's easy access to aviation.)

Now, I will think about joining Angel Flight. It looks like I've got
the hours they're looking for. What are their restrictions w.r.t using
rental A/C? Also, I don't have my own insurance, I rely on my club's
policy. (Of which members are named insured, so I can't be subrogated.)
How does that fly, so to speak?

I think doing Angel flight really would be cool, though.

-- dave j

kontiki wrote:

Pick a place you've never been before and just enjoy the ride.
Every flight can be a learning experience if you want it to be.

That's what I planned. I planned to visit Maine; a place I've never been.

However, I went a little further. The *flight* has to be solo, but not the
visit. I found a couple of pilots that were interested in making the same
trip. So at least there'd be friends with which to eat.

Unfortunately, my wife's pregnancy shifted gears a bit so I'm staying in the
neighborhood. But I'm going to try the same plan when I can finally fly
again.

- Andrew

P.S. How did you decide that it needed to be VFR?

wrote:

I had one
instructor that was fond of saying night flying is instrument flying,
regardless of the rules you fly under. I usually think of it that way.

Sometimes, but not always.

My night XC for the commercial was under a high overcast. There was enough
light that it was definitely *not* instrument-like.

It was a spectacular flight in one respect: The moon was hidden by the
overcast, but for a while I could see it reflected in the Hudson. A moon
below, and none above...nice.

- Andrew