A reason not to fly I'd never thought of before.

[kevmusic]

I thought I'd had them all. Weather conditions (obviously), aircraft gone tech, waterlogged runway (dear old Headcorn), instructor non-availability (no longer an issue - yay!) and even break-down on the way to the airfield.

So, here I am with a share in a well-maintained classic transport of delight, conditions were perfect and I turned up, let myself onto the field (I was the only one there) and unlocked the hangar. And there, in front of our Luscombe, is the resident Fairchild Argus. To be fair, he doesn't fly it much, and it is usually some way down the hangar. And I did single-handedly move an Auster out once, before getting our aircraft out. But an Argus? Hmmm. Game over for me. The opening is only just wide enough for the Argus and I didn't want to damage it, the hangar or me.

I later made a call and found out that there is a technique - to chock one wheel, pull the other forward, chock that one, pull the other forward, and so on. Or, I could have phoned someone who lives fairly close who would have given me a hand. So perhaps I could have gone after all. Just not today. :{

[S-Works]

Give Harry a slap next time he is there for being an antipodean ignoramus?

[onetrack]

Anyone owning, or operating on vintage aircraft, should most certainly be in possession of the appropriate age, aircraft handling equipment - an Ern-Lake aircraft jacking skate.
Always remember that full details will be sent upon request, to interested purchasers.

Ern-Lake Aircraft Servicing | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisamargreet/11930554/)

[kevmusic]

Thanks Silvaire, I'll broach the subject with the others.

Bose, the thought had crossed my mind.............

[IO540]

This is not an uncommon issue when your plane lives in a hangar in which, shall we say, not everybody is pulling in the same direction.

I was in one of those for ~3 years, and would occassionally find some big twin parked in front of mine, and being the weekend the owner could not be contacted. This was despite having put a "aircraft will be required on Sunday" etc notice on the propeller.

There is no perfect solution to this kind of thing. If you want cheap hangarage then a "hangar co-op" type of arrangement will be the cheapest way but you need to make sure it runs smoothly.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Airshow on at home base one weekend last year, and I wanted to fly to Ireland. So, I'd spoken to the ground crew some days before, and arranged that they'd get my aircraft out of the hangar at the start and put it right out on the visiting aircraft park.

Like hell they did, it was out of the hangar, but at the back of all the display stands. Had to ask half a dozen spotters before I found out where it was, then 90 minutes of cajoling, moving, persuading and occasionally shouting to manoeuvre it through the crowds and display stands to somewhere I could start it up next to a taxiway.

G

[fernytickles]

Genghis,

Not quite the same but your story took me straight back to the one & only time I've been to the NBAA gathering. We arrived in the owner's XLS, did as instructed by the FBO & put the sheet of coloured paper notifying which day we were leaving in the window etc. We were only staying for 36hrs. Due to depart at 1pm, fortunately we decided to head to the airport by 9am just to make sure everything was ok. Couldn't find the plane & after much searching, eventually found it buried behind more than 35 much larger corporate jets. It took quite some negotiating to get it out of there, and we eventually left about 2hrs later than planned.

Kev - how about making use of one of these :E

http://www.machinery-machine.com/images/stories/tracteur/jcb-Fastrac-3190.jpg

[ExSp33db1rd]

........and we eventually left about 2hrs later than planned.

Everything in "aviation" takes longer than you think.

[kevmusic]

Time to spare? - go by air!

[thing]

Time to spare? - go by air!

Has anyone ever done a time study of that? I did one for me (obviously everyone's is different) and the fastest I could reasonably be airborne after leaving my house would be around one and a half hours, that's no traffic hold ups on the way to the airfield and no hold ups with prepping the a/c or with ATC.

Assuming I could do 70 road miles in that time I would then have to fly for another twenty minutes or so to catch up with my car, plus say half an hour at the other end for landing, getting to where the car was etc.

I worked out that anywhere less than two and a half hours drive away was quicker by car.

[Lukesdad]

As Headcorn has had a mention in this thread, perhaps I could I put a positive spin on hangar problems by mentioning Jamie's new facility at EGKH.

The new extension to the old hangar is now run by Jonathon. You send him a text the afternoon before you need your plane and the following morning it's outside ready to go.

That's the way to do it!

[Ultra long hauler]

Has anyone ever done a time study of that?

I worked out that anywhere less than two and a half hours drive away was quicker by car.

Yes Thing; interesting subject.
I´ve had this argument with the missus before, whenever I proudly talk about the amazing speeds developed by my Rotax powered 2 seater!
She´s always quick to point out that you need to get to the club, fuel the plane, perform a serious pre-flight inspection, and upon arrival you need to park it, lock it down and find transport to the final location.
(normally a hotel).

Now, with a million variables it is different for every PPRuNe user.

I, for instance; will have my plane all fueled up before a "longer" flight; please don´t include the time of going to the club the day before etc etc.

I can be at the club within half an hour, and only 1 plane can possibly block my plane….small hangar; so I could be in the air within the hour.
But my economic Diesel car will have been speeding for 1 hour towards my destination, and since the distances are not that large…………it will have to be on the other side of the country to really beat my car by plane.

The reason my new plane has extra long range tanks, is the fact that buying and carrying fuel to fill up my tiny 13 gallon tank at every destination did not help my missus´s experience of a day flying!

With regards to the hangar issue……..I´m at a small club where our mechanic prepares all that. Just let ´m know a few hours in advance, and if you don´t go early………you´ll probably find your plane waiting out on the ramp!


###Ultra Long Hauler###

[ChrisVJ]

I have to drive 50 mins to the airfield but it is down valley on pretty well every rounte I can take. Only thing is it will take me three hours flying to catch up with what I could do by car . . . . . . . . .going through town!

[funfly]

...and you need transport at the other end:ugh:

I would suggest that most GA fliers go flying just for the fun of it and very few use it as a justified means of transport. But I'm probably wrong, I generally am:rolleyes:

[Dave Gittins]

I recall a story of somebody who was in Carlisle and had to go to London. They flew to someplace just north of the M25 (Leavesden I think it was) got a taxi to Watford and got on the train from Glasgow to London that they could have caught in Carlisle after having had an extra hour in bed.

[FlyingKiwi_73]

In NZ we have a legit reason for the aeroplane! its the nasty stretch of water that seperates the two islands.you can fly commercial... 45 min drive..be there 30 mins before flight, flight is 30 mins.Ferry 3.5 hours plus the hour checkin my local NZPP to NZOM or NZWB on the southern island 45 mins.... so club paper work, fuel/preflight (because you did you WX and flight plan the day before) call it 75 mins.Apart from IFR conditions it works alot better, and one of the resons i got my license. Cost well thats another thing.....

[ExSp33db1rd]

Flying Kiwi_73

Agree, 'cept the 1 hour flight from Bay of Islands to Pikes Point in the middle of Auckland, and the local bus into Auckland has been scuppered by the Port of AKL Auth. bastards reclaiming the airstrip to park Jap. car imports ( and then not actually doing it ) Used to beat the 4 hour drive hands down, but flying to Ardmore or North Shore is a no-no for subsequent surface travel.

Often wondered if one could still get the Corgi miniature motor-cycle that was designed for the Parachute Brigade to carry with them, it would certainly break down to fit in the back of a 172, but a bit difficult in the Turbulent !

Flying is the only sensible way to visit Gt. Barrier Island tho'.

[Ultra long hauler]

In NZ we have a legit reason for the aeroplane!

Ooh yes, there are exceptions!
A club member used to run a shrimp farm on an island in the river, 40nM away from the club. Since he lives close to the club, needless to say his plane was the primary way of transport. 20 minutes flying or 3 hours in a canoe……..hhhmmm, difficult. Especially if you want to bring in a few people (biologists) a day…….and you love flying!

Not even taking in account the dangers of transporting money etc over the river………apparently there are some home grown pirates in the area.

Cost well thats another thing.....
In the above example it even works out cheaper………but yes, these are very uncommon exceptions.

###Ultra Long Hauler###

[FlyingKiwi_73]

Just did quick of a fag packet costing:

Flights return across the straight on the low cost carrier $180 (for 2 pax thats $360)
Weekend carpark $40

So $400.00

2X50 min trips across the Strait = $360/380
Landing fee NZPP (don't need to pay the NZOM fee i'm a member) = $8 (i think... it gets added to the bill i never like to look closely)

so a little less than $400 hmmmmmmmm :ok:

What happens if the weather packs in and you need to be at work on monday..... well.