Flying, driving or commercial

I had planned a day off for an activity that fell through so we all of a sudden had a long weekend. We discussed some options and in the end settled on a quick visit to Rachel in Virginia. 

Now the big question, how to travel. Yes you know the answer, this is an airplane blog.  We flew.  I do get asked is that practical?  I'll lay it out and let you decide.  First off, the equipment we have is very capable and can do a lot but it has its limits.  Thus even if you plan to fly, you might end up driving if you have to get there on a certain schedule.

Serious rain, thunderstorms and ice are a no go. Also, I am risk averse so while I can fly in the clouds when they are very low, this creates a higher risk in the event of a failure so my personal minimums are much higher than what is legal. This can mean waiting for weather to clear out or diverting around weather enroute. 

That said my last 2 airline trips had 9 hours total delay due to weather so it's not just our equipment. 

So the real factors are cost and time.  Driving is the cheapest by far. Round trip would be about 1200 miles.  Most car costs are sunk such as insurance but wear and tear on the car and tires is pretty direct as is gas.   Figure 20 cents a mile plus 48 gallons. It works out to $384. It also takes 22 hours time for door to door and is a bit exhausting. Note with the recent flooding it might be an hour or two more.  The car lets you carry a lot and weight is not a factor so pack it in.

Commercial airline service is pretty to Virginia.  Door to door it is about 7.5 hours so 15 total. Prices range from $350-$950. I am guessing we could have gotten 2 tickets for about $600 each.  Add in $50 for a bag 2 ways as we hauled some stuff up here.  You also need a rental car which Avis provided for $80 with all fees and taxes. Weight and bulk are an issue on the airlines so pack wisely.  Total cost $1330. 

So now to the Airplane.  Travel time door to door 5 hours with fuel/rest stop included. Can be done in a bit less, we clocked 4.5 on the way home but did not dally as we were watching building weather.  See all that rain we skirted around above.  Round trip works out to 10 hours total.  The plane is a sunk cost and much like a car I will pay for hangar and insurance regardless.  Fuel and engine reserve are the bulk of the expenses.  We will burn 90 gallons round trip. That and $25 per hour will cover the eventual engine and prop overhaul as well as wear and tear.  This works out to $510.  Throw in the rental car and aircraft parking at $80 and $50 and the total price is $640.   As for hauling stuff, We can carry close to 400 pounds in addition to ourselves and full fuel.  We need to be a bit strategic as to how we distribute the weight but I have a program for that.

In the end driving will always be the cheapest option but for a weekend visit, not so practical to spend  over a third of your time driving. Also you won't make it home till late Sunday. Commercial is reliable but with 2 people gets expensive fast.  Also you can't change your schedule without a big penalty and throw in a third person and it gets out of hand fast.  

Now this assumes you have a plane just sitting around but if you do, then the choice is easy.   Ohhhh and the purpose of the trip.  We had a great visit.   CC and I went off for a nice hike at a nature area while Rachel did her work and we did a bunch of other fun stuff.  You may have noticed some pictures above.

We used signature again, they are the only choice and while they are a bit pricey, the service is excellent. On arrival, before I could get the plane cleaned up, they had our car by the plane and the luggage loaded for us.  This morning they had the plane literally at the front door.