Now that I'm flying a bit, I've got a more practical perspective regarding real-world factors. I used to imagine myself using my little plane (to be built/bought) to travel about on short weekend trips, going on business trips, etc. This might very well still happen, but, if I have to be somewhere on a particular day, I think the practical limit for such a trip is 500 miles. Why?
When considering a trip, I've got 3 options: drive, fly my little GA plane, or go with the airlines.
Assumptions:
No GA aircraft I could afford will be suitable for flight through known icing. This is a big deal: icing happens a lot in the eastern US.
Flight in IMC: I want my plane and my skills to be up to IFR flight, but I doubt I'll fly frequently enough to stay proficient. So--no planned flight into IFR.
My plane can cruise at 150 knots
Airline fares being what they are, if I don't buy my ticket 7 days in advance (at least) they'll be unavailable or very expensive. The max distance I want to drive in a day is 500-600 miles. So, since I can't count on favorable GA flying weather on the day I need to travel, my only practical option is to buy an airline ticket in advance for any trips longer that approx 500 miles.
That leaves trips 500 miles and shorter. If the weather looks good that day, I can fly (3.5 hours). If it looks crummy, I can drive (8 hours). I've got the option to change plans right up to the day of the trip (which is, coincidentally, about as far as I trust the weather guesser when fronts are passing through). If I fly GA, I'll spend much less time enroute for a trip of this type than if I'd flown commercial (if, as is normal, I have to stop at a hub airport and wait for another flight). If the weather is crummy I can drive and at least I've saved some money and I'm really only a couple hours more enroute (and in greater comfort) than if I'd flown commercial.
The above "figurings" are probably just common sense to most folks, but I'd never noodled through them before. Even if I had a plane capable of 300 knot cruise and 1500 NM unrefueled flights, I wouldn't be able to plan to use it for "must get there" transportation beyond about 500-600 NM because that's as far as my "bad weather backup transportation"--my car--can take me in a day.
Maybe if I hit the lotto I can start buying refundable airline tickets so I'll have a backup option with longer legs--but those tickets are way pricey.
A 500 mile radius covers a lot of the traveling I do, or want to do. Most family and friends, many business interests, etc. That's probably true for many of us, though maybe in the wide-open spaces of the Western US things are bit more spread out. Automobile travel is often slightly faster there, so maybe the "practical range ring" is a bit bigger.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .
When considering a trip, I've got 3 options: drive, fly my little GA plane, or go with the airlines.
Assumptions:
No GA aircraft I could afford will be suitable for flight through known icing. This is a big deal: icing happens a lot in the eastern US.
Flight in IMC: I want my plane and my skills to be up to IFR flight, but I doubt I'll fly frequently enough to stay proficient. So--no planned flight into IFR.
My plane can cruise at 150 knots
Airline fares being what they are, if I don't buy my ticket 7 days in advance (at least) they'll be unavailable or very expensive. The max distance I want to drive in a day is 500-600 miles. So, since I can't count on favorable GA flying weather on the day I need to travel, my only practical option is to buy an airline ticket in advance for any trips longer that approx 500 miles.
That leaves trips 500 miles and shorter. If the weather looks good that day, I can fly (3.5 hours). If it looks crummy, I can drive (8 hours). I've got the option to change plans right up to the day of the trip (which is, coincidentally, about as far as I trust the weather guesser when fronts are passing through). If I fly GA, I'll spend much less time enroute for a trip of this type than if I'd flown commercial (if, as is normal, I have to stop at a hub airport and wait for another flight). If the weather is crummy I can drive and at least I've saved some money and I'm really only a couple hours more enroute (and in greater comfort) than if I'd flown commercial.
The above "figurings" are probably just common sense to most folks, but I'd never noodled through them before. Even if I had a plane capable of 300 knot cruise and 1500 NM unrefueled flights, I wouldn't be able to plan to use it for "must get there" transportation beyond about 500-600 NM because that's as far as my "bad weather backup transportation"--my car--can take me in a day.
Maybe if I hit the lotto I can start buying refundable airline tickets so I'll have a backup option with longer legs--but those tickets are way pricey.
A 500 mile radius covers a lot of the traveling I do, or want to do. Most family and friends, many business interests, etc. That's probably true for many of us, though maybe in the wide-open spaces of the Western US things are bit more spread out. Automobile travel is often slightly faster there, so maybe the "practical range ring" is a bit bigger.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .
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