Private vs. Commercial with Advanced Notice

In previous examples, I've detailed last minute trips which certainly favor general aviation - so what about advanced notice?

Well, with 21 days of advanced notice the one way fairs on Southwest for a flight between Dallas and Houston are: $151 for business select, $136 for anytime, or $49 for wanna get away. For my airplane, the cost is $66 each way for up to 4 people (including the pilot).

So, if you want to go cheap you can get to Houston from Dallas at a lower cost, but with a lot of restrictions. The anytime fair from SWA certainly eliminates that problem, but then the cost escalates dramatically. For two people on a business trip the price breaks down thusly -

Southwest anytime fair (round trip) x 2 = $544.00
Taxes on the tickets = $ 36.18

Total 580.18


Airplane Gas (33 gallons round trip) = $132.00

Total 132.00

Not to mention that you still end up saving 1 hour and 10 minutes of travel time, which under this scenario is multiplied by 2 and then further multiplied by the salary of these folks.

You can slice the stats many ways, but given the right plane for the mission a private individual can be faster and cheaper than public transit.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Professionalism and flying

There have been several stories recently concerning professional pilots who have acted with a deficit of professionalism in the course of their duties.

In Atlanta, there was a jet that landed on a taxiway instead of the runway, needlessly putting slow moving airplanes in harm's way and then there's the crew who overflew their destination by 150 miles because, they claim, they were busy using their laptops???

Now, as a member of the human race I am just as capable of making a mistake (my wife might say even more than average), but I can't seem to wrap my head around what these pilots were thinking at the time. Yes, flying can be both fun and relaxing, but when you are pilot in command (PIC) of a bread and butter flight (i.e. one made for money), a certain level of performance is expected. These mistakes by seasoned aircrews, with 2 people checking each other's performance ranks on the amateur side of things.

Regardless of whether you are flying a Cessna 172 on 100 mile business trip, a King Air on a 500 mile excursion, or a Gulfstream traveling between the coasts, exhibit professionalism in your demeanor and behavior. Your passengers will be confident in your abilities and mistakes that might be made will be caught much earlier.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Another example

Here's another scenario where a private plane makes sense.

An emergency arose with a customer about an hour west of Houston and we needed to have 2 people with replacement parts there on the same day. From Dallas we could drive for 7 hours or we could take Southwest Airlines. There are flights leaving all the time between these 2 cities, so scheduling is not difficult. However, the 40 minute flight ends up taking 4 hours:

• 1 hour drive to Love Field


• 1 hour early arrival for security and seating


• 40 minute flight


• 20 minutes to get a rental car


• 1 hour drive to the customer site

An to top it all off, it would be $130 per person each way - or a grand total of $520!

With a 4 seat airplane the flight time was longer, but the door to door time was much better:

• 15 minute drive to the airport


• 15 minutes to preflight the plane


• 105 minute flight


• 10 minutes to park


• 10 minutes for a rental


• 15 minute drive to the customer

Grand total: 2 hours and 50 minutes!

On top of that the total fuel burned was only 33 gallons, for a flight cost of $132.

Obviously this type of travel is not typical for many business, but if your company has a lot of last minute travel, or travel outside of the major cities the cost and time savings can be real.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

A Concrete Example for Why

How do I answer the question - why do think using a private plane is better than the airlines? Here's a situation that illustrates my answer:

A couple of weeks ago we had a piece of networking equipment fail in an office about 200 miles from the IT staff location. We were faced with three options -

1. Ship the part overnight, which would mean that payroll for that location would not be turned in on time. Not an acceptable solution.

2. Drive to the location with the part (since this site has no nearby airline service). This would cost 3 hours in round trip travel time and would mean that our technician would not arrive home until after 8pm. Doable, yes, but not he best work/life balance that could be achieved.

3. Fly a private plane to the site to replace the part. This would take a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes round trip, would get the site up and running nearly 2 hours earlier, and at no additional cost to the company over driving.

Obviously we chose option 3. It was both faster and cheaper than our alternatives as well as a perfect example of how a small plane can benefit your business. I'll have another scenario next week.

Until then, clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Earnings growth 434% greater than your competition!

A study of companies who are using business aviation is out and some of the more interesting statistics are:

• Average annual revenue growth on a market cap-weighted basis was 116 percent higher for users of business aircraft than for non-users.


• Average annual earnings growth was 434 percent higher for users of business aviation.


• Market capitalization growth as measured by market value growth was 496 percent higher for business aircraft users than for non-users.

You can get the story here.

The study itself is located here.

Visit Horizons Aloft today to learn how your company can benefit from a robust business aviation commitment.


Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Nice article from the Economist

Over at the Economist they've posted a nice, balanced article on general aviation. I think they overplay the costs in comparison to airline travel - but that's based on my experience of mostly last minute needs. If your flying can be scheduled with 2 weeks advanced notice, you will have a different cost profile.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Back to the Beginning

I realized that in my zeal to begin talking about business aviation for the pilot who's also the business owner, I forgot to start at the beginning of the story.

Why would a small business invest in flight training and a light airplane?

Traditionally, all the sole proprietor and small company owner/pilots were pilots first as a hobby. They realized, at some point, that these vehicles are useful for doing business.

What I'm trying to do is "spread the gospel", so to speak, about about business aviation. There's no need to relegate business flying until your company can afford the latest and greatest jet. You can get a demonstrable payback on your investment with a used aircraft. Then, once you get some experience and see exactly what the aircraft can do for you and your company, your business can decide if it wants to invest more.

Next time around - a couple of specific scenarios to help illustrate my point.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Missed one!

When I posted my list of available portable aviation GPS's I forgot to mention the newest entry on the scene.

After a long hiatus from offering new and innovative products for light general aviation aircraft, Bendix-King is now offering the AV8TOR and AV8TOR ACE units. I have not had an opportunity to try these units out for myself, but the word on the street is that they are easy to use and reliable.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Available Portable GPS's

So here's a quick rundown of available portable aviation GPS units:

  Dedicated Devices

    Garmin

    GPS496 - The standard by which all others are measured. Definitely the most popular unit. It is very capable and interfaces with XM Weather and passive traffic advisory devices. All of this comes at a cost, only the large screen unit from Garmin costs more.

    GPS696 - Basically, a larger version of the 496. The extra screen size really enhances the usability of the split screen modes.

    Lowrance

    600C - Very high quality GPS unit. The screen size is similar to the 496, but the unit fits much better on the yoke than the Garmin. The big drawback to the Lowrance models is that they do not interface with XM weather or taffic systems.

    2000C - One of the earliest large screen GPS's. Again, very high quality and yoke mountable, but no outside interfaces.

    AvMap

    EKP-IV - A large screen GPS with interfaces to traffic and weather systems. An innovative feature here is the ability to upload photos of airports that are viewable in-flight (you can see an overhead of the actual airport before you get there).

  PC Based Devices

     ControlVision - The makers of AnywhereMap, which is the leader in this market segment. The software is fairly easy to use and quite reliable. They produce versions for PDA's and laptops which interface with traffic and weather. These units were also the first to have approach plates and taxi diagrams.

    PCAvionics - This company produces the MountainScope software package for PDA's and laptops. The big advantage to this package is that terrain features are very detailed - no blockiness on the display. MountainScope does interface to both traffic and weather.

  Hybrid Devices

    ControlVision ATC - This unit is from the same folks who offer the AnywhereMap product. It runs on a modified PDA platform so that the unit functions much more like a dedicated unit, while offering the abliity to upgrade the software.



Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

I'm back!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - I had a new addition to my family. Adelaide Amelia was born on June 17th and we've been really busy taking care of the new baby and adjusting our family life. I'll pick up where I left off in February.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

More Portable GPS’s

Last time around I spoke about the differences between portable and permanently installed units. There are also 2 main types of portable units – purpose built and general.

The purpose built units are those from Garmin, Lowrance, Bendix-King and AvMap. They consist of a “sealed” unit that cannot be upgraded like a computer – although mapping data is field upgradeable. The main advantage of a unit like this is that since they cannot be fiddled with a whole lot, they tend to work all the time. The disadvantages of these models is that they cannot be upgraded – every few years a new model comes out with new features and you will need to throw away the old unit and buy everything new (trade-ins are sometimes available to reduce this cost).

The non-purpose built units are typically based on PDA’s, Tablet PC’s or UMPC’s and come from Control Vision and PCAvionics. The vendors of these models combine a computer from a third party with their own software package that provides mapping and weather services. These units provide great upgradeability and the ability to add different pieces to tailor it to exactly what you need. Of course, the disadvantage to all of this flexibility is less stability. Are they unstable? Most of the time no and manufacturers take great pains to test their configurations thoroughly before they offer it for sale. But in some configurations, with different PC’s, GPS units or some odd ball software package – they certainly can be.

Which one do I use? I use a PDA with the AnywhereMAP WX software package from Control Vision. I purchased the PDA and software from different sources and put the system together myself. I was able to save money on the purchase and then add weather later small incremental cost. If I had used a purpose built unit I would've spent more money upfront and then had to buy a whole new unit when I added weather. As for reliability, I did have a problem with a GPS module that I had to replace and one version of software that had problems with weather (Control Vision fixed the problem within a couple of days). Overall I have been very pleased with the performance and reliability of the unit.

Next week will be a list available models.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Continental Express flight 3407

Our prayers and thoughts are with those who died in the crash of the Q400 along with their families. Airplane crashes often cause a large number of casualties and are true tragedies because most of them are avoidable.

Please, do not pass judgement too soon - it will take the NTSB awhile to determine the final cause.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Portable GPS’s

Why Portable
One of the problems of owning an airplane is that everything you install in it permanently must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On the surface this sounds like a good idea, and for many applications it is the “right” thing to do. However, because the costs of certification are high (think $50,000 for a certified incandescent light bulb) and the number of customers is relatively small, the cost of this requirement is quite obvious. Another problem is that the government moves glacially, while the electronics industry moves at Mach 3. So, the equipment that is installed in older planes cannot be upgraded cheaply to the “latest and greatest”. But, the FAA does allow for non-approved devices to be used for “situational awareness” as long as they are not permanently affixed to your aircraft – aha a useful loophole!

Difference between Portable and Installed
The major difference between the two is that a portable GPS cannot be certified for IFR use. You can get an older, cheaper certified GPS installed few a few thousand dollars to navigate in the system, fly approaches and generally satisfy the government. Then, you can add a portable GPS that has all the bells and whistles – such as weather, approach plates, etc. for less than a third of the cost of a certified system. Portable GPS’s can have their power hard wired to the plane and they can have mounts that are permanently attached to the plane without changing their “portable” status, making them just as useful and available as their certified counterparts.

The next installment will cover the different types and models.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

The Day the Music Died

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), along with their pilot died when the Beech Bonanza they were flying in crashed in bad weather. There's an excellent write up on the AOPA Website.

Reviewing accidents is not some morose exercise, but a good way to learn from the mistakes of others.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Busy Week

It’s been a busy week around here as I prepare for my company’s first trade show. We’ll be at the Dallas Market Hall on February 27 & 28 for the Small Business Expo. I hope to meet lots of business people and get them excited about what private aviation can do for their businesses!

Of course, because of all the prep I have not had time to write a review this week. However, I have thought about what to cover on future installments. So you can look forward to:

• New versus Used Airplanes


• Personal ownership versus Company ownership


• Portable GPS comparisons


• Aviation Gadgets


• Giving back to the community

See you next week – clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Headset hair and ice in Dallas

We’ve been covered in a (thin) sheet of ice here in North Texas – so not only am I not trying to fly anywhere, I’m sitting at home and avoiding the roads as well.

Okay, I guess headset hair is not the hottest topic around the flight schools nor at the work water cooler, but for those of us who fly in light planes for business it’s something to consider. For those who aren’t aware the noise level in a single engine plane at cruise is about 89 decibels, which is painful but not permanently damaging unless you are exposed to a lot – of course, if you’re a pilot you’re going to get a bunch of exposure! Which is why we're always wearing a headset. So, "which headset is the best" is one of those perennial questions – probably because there’s not good single answer that will cover everyone in all situations. The most popular style is one with big ear cups and a pressure strap that fits over your head like so -



These headsets work wonderfully, you won’t notice the noise of the plane, you’ll be able communicate with your passengers and air traffic control effortlessly. However, just like wearing a ball cap, you will show up at your destination with “headset hair.” I lived with this for awhile, but when meeting clients I want to present the best image I can – nice clothes, clean cut, etc. and messed up hair just doesn’t work for me. I decided to try a new style called “in the ear” or ITR, specifically the Clarity Aloft unit.



The noise level is slightly higher, but the microphone works great, there’s no clamping pressure on my head (and after 8 hours of flying this is most appreciated), and best of all, my hair looks nice when I get to my client meetings.

Vain? Perhaps. But I’ve found that in sales, looking professional can help make a prospective client’s first impression of you a good one.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Beating the weather (Part 3)

Okay, here is the final installment on dealing with the weather from a VFR pilot’s perspective. In the future, I’ll have some more posts about specific weather conditions around the country and how best to deal with them.

Now for the “executive summary” of ways to cope with (or beat) the weather when you’re flying on a VFR ticket for business (or pleasure) –

• Learn all you can about the weather in your geographic area – and do it by season
  
  • What’s safe in the winter in Texas is not necessarily safe in the summer and what’s safe in the summer in Michigan may not be so safe in the winter.
  
  
• Create some flexibility in your schedule
  
  
• Have an alternate plan
  
  • Book a refundable airline ticket just in case
    
  • Be ready to drive
  
  
• Always be ready to land if conditions deteriorate
  
  • In 2007 there were 51 crashes due to VFR pilots flying into bad weather, with 32 of them being fatal.
    
  • Put your pride away and land

Okay, with the weather discussion finished for now, stay tuned for happier topics!

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Beating the weather (Part 2)

Coping with bad weather is like any other risk management technique – you can accept, mitigate, or avoid.

To accept a weather related risk you need to make sure that you ask yourself 2 important questions –

     1. Will this action violate any aviation regulations?
     2. Will this action compromise my safety?

If the answer to both of these questions is no, then go ahead and accept the risk. Remember, just because it’s legal to do something does not mean that it’s safe. Also, good training is necessary to develop the understanding to properly answer question 2. The weather that you can fly in as a visual only pilot is very limiting, so most of the time this is not a practical option. However, weather differs around the country by season and it is possible to accept a certain level of risk safely depending on your exact situation.

If you choose to avoid the risk, you can select an alternate method of transportation for this trip – driving or airlines. One could also choose to delay or reschedule the trip. As a VFR pilot, I have chosen this path many times. There is an old saying in aviation- “It is much better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground”.

The final option is to mitigate your risk. To do this you can elect to leave earlier in order to land before the weather situation worsens. This does not always work out as planned – so if you choose this option, be prepared to land or turn around. Another method is to fly part of the way, land and wait out the weather, and then continue. This usually works best if you have a narrow area of bad weather associated with a frontal passage.

Stay tuned for the last installment…

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Beating the weather (Part 1)

As promised, here’s my first installment on weather… It’s easy to fly when the weather is perfect – but how often does that occur? Unless you’re based in Palm Springs, probably not very often. So what can you do to get where you need to go, when you need go, and do it safely?

A little background first – I have a pilots certificate (government speak for “license”) that authorizes flight under Visual Flight Rules, or VFR. Basically, this means that I can fly day or night as long as I do NOT fly into a cloud or go above 17,999 feet. So, when there are low clouds, fog, mist, or precipitation I cannot launch. This has definitely been a challenge and most people admit that while you can do business VFR, it will dramatically improve your reliability if you can operate under Instrument Flight Rules, or IFR. The IFR pilot has much more flexibility and dispatch reliability is over 90% (depending on the season and where you live) as opposed to my personal record of 61%. As much as I desire the IFR certificate, I haven’t had the time to pursue one yet.

So, how do I cope…that’s part 2!


Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike

Happy New Year!

I know I'm a couple of days late, however we had family in town and I've been busy. Better late than never though!

My travel plans for Christmas got changed due to weather, which will now be the first topic I'll be covering. You can expect the first installment early next week.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike