General Aviation

dbahn · 01-06-2011, 01:06 PM

Hi. I'm one of the guys that flies into the ice airport for the past years, so far just in my Piper J3. I also have a Cessna 206 that my wife and I flew from Vermont to Alaska with a motorcycle in the back and I just this past year got my CFI (flight instructor rating) and SES (seaplane rating) and shortly after that bought a share of a Piper Super Cruiser on floats that we are leasing to an operation in Florida in the winter and to one in Vermont in the summer. A group of us looks forward to your Winter Carnival every year, and we usually manage another trip or two around the Carnival where we just fly in for breakfast. Last year one of our internet buddies flew in from Kansas for it, and she's planning to come again this year.

I'd say that Ironfish has an excellent synopsis of flying as a hobby, posted earlier. I would add that "getting there faster" is often wishful thinking and a little bit of rationalization that all pilots, including me, gladly do to justify the cost of pursuing the hobby. When you really calculate the time from door-to-door, including the time spent getting the airplane ready and putting it away, plus time ground transportation (which can be a big factor) you'll often find that it's more practical to drive, even though it's a lot less fun.

I often tell people that the "practical service area" for a typical airplane is shaped like a donut around your house. The area close to your house is faster to drive, the donut itself might be practical to fly yourself, then outside the donut it's considerably more practical to fly commercially.

P.S. Here's a link to our Alaska Trip and one to our new seaplane endeavor. And if you're still interested, a little video we made last year of flying over to Isle au Haut, Maine, and landing on the ice. (The video is at the bottom of the page.)

So I'm rambling a bit, because I actually dropped in to see if anyone knew for sure when the Winter Carnival will be. Paul thinks it will be February 20th, but some of the crew doesn't want to make hotel reservations until the date is more definite. Anyone know?

01-06-2011, 01:06 PM	#30
dbahn Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Mendon, Vermont Posts: 39 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Hi. I'm one of the guys that flies into the ice airport for the past years, so far just in my Piper J3. I also have a Cessna 206 that my wife and I flew from Vermont to Alaska with a motorcycle in the back and I just this past year got my CFI (flight instructor rating) and SES (seaplane rating) and shortly after that bought a share of a Piper Super Cruiser on floats that we are leasing to an operation in Florida in the winter and to one in Vermont in the summer. A group of us looks forward to your Winter Carnival every year, and we usually manage another trip or two around the Carnival where we just fly in for breakfast. Last year one of our internet buddies flew in from Kansas for it, and she's planning to come again this year. I'd say that Ironfish has an excellent synopsis of flying as a hobby, posted earlier. I would add that "getting there faster" is often wishful thinking and a little bit of rationalization that all pilots, including me, gladly do to justify the cost of pursuing the hobby. When you really calculate the time from door-to-door, including the time spent getting the airplane ready and putting it away, plus time ground transportation (which can be a big factor) you'll often find that it's more practical to drive, even though it's a lot less fun. I often tell people that the "practical service area" for a typical airplane is shaped like a donut around your house. The area close to your house is faster to drive, the donut itself might be practical to fly yourself, then outside the donut it's considerably more practical to fly commercially. P.S. Here's a link to our Alaska Trip and one to our new seaplane endeavor. And if you're still interested, a little video we made last year of flying over to Isle au Haut, Maine, and landing on the ice. (The video is at the bottom of the page.) So I'm rambling a bit, because I actually dropped in to see if anyone knew for sure when the Winter Carnival will be. Paul thinks it will be February 20th, but some of the crew doesn't want to make hotel reservations until the date is more definite. Anyone know? __________________ Dave Rutland, VT