Commuting by air to my flying job

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AirDoan
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Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by AirDoan »

Good morning aviators.

I had a thought this morning in the shower, where most great ideas flourish. I'm just about to start dropping skydivers on Vancouver Island. My home is 2.5 hours of driving away but only .5 by small plane. I'm going to rent an apartment for the season. My "I wonder if that would work" thought was this. The 800-1000 for a place with utilities I will be paying, could I run a C150 or something similar that has Day & Night VFR and commute that way? Benefits being time building, home every night and since I'll be working mid morning till sunset, I can leave at a leisure time and the trip home would be night X-country. That last bit would count towards my ATPL no? I'm not overly concerned about weather stopping me from getting to work cause if I can't fly this, chances we won't be flying that much higher for the parachutists. And in a pinch I have places I can crash there should I need to as well. Of course the whole thing would be predicated on the bank giving me a loan on a jump pilot salary. But still. From actual aircraft owners knowing the associated costs both real and hidden, is this an idea with some merit or am I out to lunch?
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digits_
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by digits_ »

Make sure your employer agrees to this. The hours you fly privately, could come out of the annual/monthly yours you are available for your employer.

Cool plan though!
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marlin
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by marlin »

https://cessna150152club.org/Costs - this is all on the US side of things, so convert the prices to CA$, and then probably add a bit more... plan your budget with the expectation of major maintenance items that could easily be a significant chunk of the aircraft value.

I've never owned privately but hopefully someone who has can give you some more specific information about the plan's feasibility/what to expect.
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AirDoan
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by AirDoan »

digits_ wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:44 am Make sure your employer agrees to this. The hours you fly privately, could come out of the annual/monthly yours you are available for your employer.

Cool plan though!
I've been looking at the CARs and even talked to my Group1 instructor. Apparently flight duty only applies for hire. Recreational or training times outside of commercial operations does not apply. But I'm perfectly okay being proven wrong here if someone can point out the regulations in question!
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confusedalot
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by confusedalot »

Sounds like a nice plan but I really don't mean to burst your bubble...........skydiving is horribly bad pay. Can you afford it?

I know a bit about it; I will be doing it as a retirement gig just to get out of the house. Beats golfing.
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AirDoan
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by AirDoan »

Like I said it's more of a shower thought than real plan. But I do have some extra income over the summer that will help out there. Figured it was at least worth asking if it could work. So the money I am spending goes into useful hours and experience instead of helping someone else's mortgage (not that I'm at all ungrateful to people making seasonal rentals available!)
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digits_
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by digits_ »

AirDoan wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 11:50 am
digits_ wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:44 am Make sure your employer agrees to this. The hours you fly privately, could come out of the annual/monthly yours you are available for your employer.

Cool plan though!
I've been looking at the CARs and even talked to my Group1 instructor. Apparently flight duty only applies for hire. Recreational or training times outside of commercial operations does not apply. But I'm perfectly okay being proven wrong here if someone can point out the regulations in question!
Ít's not about flight duty times, but the maximum amount of hours you can fly in 30/90 days. Private hours count for that as well unfortunately. You shouldn't come close with skydivers though, unless the company operates every days? Could be. Just something to consider.
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AirDoan
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by AirDoan »

6 days with one off as per the new regs. But only once we are in full swing. Anyway. Maybe I will KISS. Once i am an ATPL working with someone big enough and I’m making enough to buy a a plane, I’ll grt something actually fun!
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Heliian
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by Heliian »

I think you'll find that it's cost prohibitive. The insurance would be as much as renting a flat probably.

Weather might leave you stuck too.
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Bede
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by Bede »

Heliian wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:44 pm I think you'll find that it's cost prohibitive. The insurance would be as much as renting a flat probably.

Weather might leave you stuck too.
Insurance on a 150? I pay ~$800/yr on mine and that's with 2 student pilots on the policy.
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iflyforpie
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by iflyforpie »

I air commuted a few times. Maintenance job, not flying.

First thing that made it feasible was a free aircraft. On another company’s dime... free fuel too.

Next thing was it was something I could easily drive to. 1 hour 45 min from YCW to YVR vs 30 mins flying (plus all of the inevitable BS that comes with flying).

That being said it was still sketchy. Fog starts rolling in and now I could be stuck there. It was one of those work for four get paid for 8 jobs but if something was wrong with the plane I was working on I was expected to stay all night. I was kind of glad when that work dried up.

Buy whatever you do, don’t ever rationalize the operation of a light aircraft by saying it will save you money or it will save you time and you won’t be disappointed.

The old adage is “time to spare, go by air”.
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SkySailor
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by SkySailor »

Nothing wrong with great ideas sprouting up while having a shower! Effective use of ones time! Multi tasking?

But in this case, don't do it. The reasons are all wrong. Buy a small aircraft for the flexibility of private ownership, building hours, and a long term commitment. Use it to go places. Using it to "commute" to your job, VFR, especially on the Wet Coast, logistically ain't gonna happen. Believe it or not, the apartment next to your employer, in the short term, will be WAY cheaper. If you buy, say a 150 or Piper, and the engine packs it in, the a/c is virtually worthless, and the apartment, in painful hindsight, will be bottom dollar cheap!!

I'm all for private ownership. It's really sweet not having to get the green light from a flying school to let out the 25nm leash. However, buy the plane of your dreams, keep it for years, build time, fly all over the place, and in the end you MIGHT find justification it was the right thing to do.
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AirDoan
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by AirDoan »

it was an interesting thought exercise but I totally agree that it is a pipe dream. Besides. Flying someone else’s plane every day for the summer in the Qualicum Beach area with access to the entire coast by car or ferry. Hiking, fishing with access to tofino, gulf islands or Vancouver. Looking forward to the season. Anyone who is in the CAT4 area this summer pop by for a coffee at the Final Approach!
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goingnowherefast
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by goingnowherefast »

If its skydiving, the weather has to be pretty good to start with. You'll likely be able to fly to work before you can fly jumpers. The financial side, I don't have any further advice to offer.
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jakeandelwood
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by jakeandelwood »

Owning a plane is great fun but it's expensive, I imagine a c-150 is as about as cheap as you can get, even more so if you put it in the owner maintenance category. I own a 210 and it's mind boggling how much some things are for it. The insurance and fuel are peanuts compared to the other stuff. The annual inspections are easily 5 figures, for mine anyway. and parts costs are usually triple what you think they would be, even if from wrecking yards. The plane will surely save you time but it definitely won't save you money. I really enjoy my plane and I work hard for it and make sacrifices in other things to make it work. If you can afford it buy it for fun, you'll have a blast, nothing is more fun than jumping in your own plane and going up whenever you want.
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Heliian
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by Heliian »

Bede wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:56 pm
Heliian wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:44 pm I think you'll find that it's cost prohibitive. The insurance would be as much as renting a flat probably.

Weather might leave you stuck too.
Insurance on a 150? I pay ~$800/yr on mine and that's with 2 student pilots on the policy.
Ok, so what if it was just the young pilot who owned/flew it? How much does your 800/yr cover?
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lownslow
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by lownslow »

Can you fly the work plane home at the end of the day for some agreed-on amount?
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confusedalot
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by confusedalot »

lownslow wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:55 am Can you fly the work plane home at the end of the day for some agreed-on amount?
That makes waaaay......to much sense.

So therefore, in this world, it would be verboten. :lol:
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by CpnCrunch »

$800/yr is typical cost for insurance for a 150, and an annual isn't much more. They are dirt cheap to run and maintain...as long as you don't have any expensive items breaking.

I think you can fly from YYJ to up CAT4 VFR pretty much any day from now, certainly any day you're likely to be skydiving.
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sheephunter
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Re: Commuting by air to my flying job

Post by sheephunter »

I flew my float plane to an Island where I was working for a buddy doing masonry work. After the first week he asked me not to fly... took me .5 from my house or almost 1.5 by truck with a 20 minute boat ride in there. Asked why? Said the owner we were working for accused him of over charging if his employees could afford to fly to work?????
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