Microlighters

Edit by RV4ker
I split this as it not really got to do with Ou Man's Post... (Hope it in order...)
I think it will make for some interesting reading. i know many ask me about this often. Anyone else out there using aerie for something other than fun flying....

RV4ker, what do you fly now, an RV? Are you saying you much more prefer to commute by flying? What route do you fly so often?

FO Gyro wrote:RV4ker, what do you fly now, an RV?

Instead of buying a fancy schmancy german gas guzzler I bought 2 old cars (One lives in Jhb other in FAVB), a goped and the RV.
This is my baby...

FO Gyro wrote:Are you saying you much more prefer to commute by flying?

100% - YESSIREEBOB.. What a question.... (So much so that we are moving to aviation estate so that I can walk to airfield )
I am a rural retail property developer, for lack of a better term. We have offices in Vryburg, but most of the work I do needs to be onsite (redevelopment, new development, maintenance etc.) I live in Jhb as there are no Eng schools out here in the sticks and boarding school is not what it was when I was at school.... Sooo, that means plensh travel.

When we are building a new building or revamping an existing 1 there are weekly site meetings at which attendance is not neg. (Currently I am in Schweizer Reneke every Tuesday till 1 Feb, then we are moving to Jan Kempdorp and hopefully Kuruman which will mean 2 site meetings a week) - Also 1ce a month I have to visit Wollies, Bloemhof, Christiana, Schweizer Reneke, Jan Kempdorp, Hatswater, Taung & Vryburg where we have developments for gen maintenance and site inspections. Postmasburg is also on the list, but it just too dam far from anywhere... We are preferred developers in this area for a couple of the blue chips and they tend to send me on wild goose chases every couple weeks as well. Couple weeks ago it was Itsoseng (sp?) (Lichtenberg), Ganeysa & Postmasburg for eg...

Our architects are based in Kby, 1 of our major tenant clients is based in Bfn and FAMM has the high court (where I am spending far to much time lately taking municipalities to court ) so these are often on the visit list at short notice. Schedules only work (cost effective) when I need to go to DBN or CT. FABL FAKM, FAMM scheduled routes are hugely expensive and infrequent flights usually mean sleep overs as well which adds huge cost.

I fly alone with the goped for transport where I don't have access to a car (or Avis). I remove the back seat and the goped slips in there. Laptop and sundries strap on my back and bob's your auntie. Mobile inspection office on the move. I have done 15km on ground roads with it often - Not comfortable, but beats walking by an hr or more. FAMM is the only airport where is too far and I hire Avis car. Even Tempe into town on the Ped is not a problem... Although vibration tends to cause pins and needles after 20mins

FO Gyro wrote:What route do you fly so often?

FYI.
Using an avg week in Dec as eg....
Monday Jhb Wollies, Schweizer, Vryburg (sleep over in Vryburg)
Tuesday - Schweizer for site meeting and back to Vryburg (Drive as there are no lights at either for the late return. meetings usually finish between 9 and 10pm to accomodate architect who has to drive from Kby we only start at 4 so he can get a full day in, in Kby)
Wed - Taung, Hartswater & Jan Kempdorp (Fly to ganspan and drive from there, then fly back to FAVB) - Attend to 2 lease renewals, water leeks and inspections before I pay subbies.
Thurs - Morning in FAVB then Fly FAVB - FAGM (Office to office under 2.5hrs, vs 4.5hrs in car if lucky) PM Meeting with bank for bond finance. Home by 4.30pm
Fri - Flew FAGM - FABS (to sign documents for the Madibeng council for new house plans to get approved), then to HMS FAKR to meet with contractor, then back to FAGM. Was back home before lunch. Had I driven I would have been back sometime around 4pm stressed as moer...

Total fly time was around 4.5hrs and 2hr drive time. Drive time with no flights would have been around 16-18hrs. Guestimate kms around 1500... for what was essentially a quiet week.... (No break inns, no minisubs blowing up, no blocked sewers or council crap... )

Would I do it any other way... No likely. I drove the above for many years and I now have time to spend on here which is priceless

Thanks for all the info. It's quite clear that commuting, using your RV makes a hugh amount of sense.

The danger with using an aerie to commute I suppose is to be very aware of wx., particularly if not IF rated, especially near coastal areas where the wx. changes so quickly. That will always be a problem when aircraft owners set off flying to an important meeting at destination.

There's not much to beat a RV for the bucks spent vs. speed achieved and running costs.

I know of one or two RV drivers that only fly for 20-30 minutes at a time doing mainly straight and level flying, and don't use their aeries on longer distance trips, which seems a shame. If one wants to just be airborne, and not go anywhere far, one can do that a lot cheaper with other NTCA fixed wings, or even a gyro.

I would love a really fast a/c, but the problem is I would only use it for that purpose once or twice a year. Most of my flying is just local flying, and a gyro suits my purpose 100% (although I do find it a bit slow at 75 kts).

I want a flying machine that can hover like a helicopter, can't run out of rotor RPM like a gyro, can't stall like a fixed wing, but cruises at 250 kts, and only burns 10l/hr. Mmmmm, dream on, maybe one day we'll have a nuclear powered a/c that can do all of the above.

I'm so jeaulous now

When ZU-CXO is in the air I use it to travel to Postmasburg from Kimberley... only 90nm!

What a pleasure as the Cheetah can handle really "shitty" weather and it does tend to get turbulent out that way. LamercyFly has experienced it first hand out at Postmasburg.

Trips vary between 1 hour tailwind and 2 hour headwind. On average 1h25 is the norm. You even get time to look around and enjoy the flight!

FO Gyro wrote:I want a flying machine that can hover like a helicopter, can't run out of rotor RPM like a gyro, can't stall like a fixed wing, but cruises at 250 kts, and only burns 10l/hr

Throw in a fold up Aston Marton in the back and hot hostie and I want one too

JetRanger wrote:

FO Gyro wrote:I want a flying machine that can hover like a helicopter, can't run out of rotor RPM like a gyro, can't stall like a fixed wing, but cruises at 250 kts, and only burns 10l/hr

Throw in a fold up Aston Marton in the back and hot hostie and I want one too

When you find it I will take 2...

PS
Agree 100% about WX. I have been toying with IF for 4 years, but I have only cancelled 4 flights in lsat 2 years for WX.WX in the area's I fly is few and far between. Mostly you can route around it. On 1 such occation I took off from Wollies with beeg WX to the west (direct Track). Tried to go round north and did not like it, so went back to FAKD to refuel and try south. Eventually routed via Bloemhoff,Taung, west to Reivilo and then IFR (I Fly Roads) to FAVB. Took almost 95mins for 20 min flight. Got home dry and happy. I always break down legs when WX around into 20min hops from airfield to airfield were possible. I have a small 2 man tent and water in RV just in case anyway...

RV4ker that sounds good. At least you sound like you always have options available, which is the secret.