Do you fly your plane on weekend trips?

[ezoromski]

If you fly your plane regularly on day and weekend trips fantastic! Share some of your favorite destinations. If not, what are some of the things that prevent you from using your GA aircraft for day and weekend getaways?

[Barnstorm]

I fly to and stay over the weekend to several events each year.However, not in a PLANE.The aircraft I use is an autogyro.I always make sure there is a rental car available so that if the weather changes I have a way to get back home and then to work on Monday. .

[MickYoumans]

The largest percentage of my flying is weekend trips, mostly to visit family, in addition to a few fly-ins and airshows here and there. I'm flying over to visit my Mom tomorrow. My wife and I are empty nesters and the plane is great for going to see the kids.

There are also some neat places in my area to fly. Callaway Gardens, St Simons Island, Jekyll Island, Charleston SC, and Hilton Head Island are all great places to fly for day or weekend trips.

[EDGEFLY]

Unfortunate that there has not been much interest in this topic. I personally think it is an excellent one. An aspect which could lead to an even broader response is that it could include not only weekend but also extended trips which may even be VFR pilots going somewhere, waiting out the weather and carrying on to secondary destinations. Those with longer range aircraft and instrument capabilities surely can expound on some interesting spots as well. I watch a weekly free E-mail announcement designed for the Northeast which is called "Fun Places to Fly". It is, of course, mostly Fly-in Breakfasts etc., but what's wrong with a good pancake now and then.

One really interesting thing which I found on the internet last night was a video promoting visiting the Bahamas with nothing more than a Sport Pilot ticket and Airplane ! It covered the preparation, documentation and a few tid-bits on launching off on your first visit to the islands. It was put together by one of the flight schools located near Merritt Island Fla.

[cgaif]

If you fly your plane regularly on day and weekend trips fantastic! Share some of your favorite destinations. If not, what are some of the things that prevent you from using your GA aircraft for day and weekend getaways?

I have this video posted on the video section of the forums under hangar talk, but if you have nnot seen it, you may find this recounting of a very special trip I took with the Mustang ll some years ago. Quite a few that is!:)
Here's a link. http://vimeo.com/34317677

[n1acguy]

We go somewhere every chance we get. I try to take a lot of long weekend trips throughout the year, and since we've had the airplane, we can go somewhere on Holiday weekends without having to deal with the traffic. I'm like a 16 yr old with his first car when it comes to the airplane. Sometimes we pull out a chart, pick a spot and find out what there is to do there.
This area (S Ca) has a lot of fun places within a few hours flight. Over Christmas week we went up to the N coast and the giant redwoods.
We've been to Vegas a few times ( just over 2 hrs), Sacramento and the gold country area, San Francisco area.
Just bought a house on the Central coast, so we fly to Santa Maria a lot.

On another note, I like this site now. The old one was so slow, I gave up on it.

[R Lunde]

Here are images from one of my more memorable weekend trips (turned into a 4-day weekend due to having to wait for weather). Across the Rockies in a 100 horse Champ from Denver to Moab and back:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlunde/sets/72157627526250947/detail/

[Dana]

Back when I had my T-Craft I used to fly it fairly regularly from NJ to visit my parents in upstate NY... 1½ hours flying time vs. 2½ hours by car, more if there was traffic. I also made occasional business trips to Maryland and Pennsylvania. Weather is the biggest reason not to fly, of course, with ground transportation being the other biggie... my father and I had a routine, I'd buzz the house on the way over, about a half hour drive from the airport, and by the time I landed and tied down he'd be there to pick me up.

[FlyingRon]

We frequently use the plane for weekend trips. I have a vacation place on a private strip in NC on Lake Norman and we're back and forth there every other weekend practically.
Whether we go on longer trips depends on the distance and how badly we need to be there. We regularly head up to Boston and Nashville on weekend trips.

[Bill Greenwood]

Driving from Ase to Den is about 4 hours, 4 1/2 if going to Bouder. It's :50 min flying in my Bonanza.
I have flown to Texas, Santa Fe, and almost every year to Oshkosh.
I used to own a Porsche and liked to drive. I hate to drive long distances now. I really enjoy flying around and seeing our country, at least when the weather is good. I have also enjoyed flying in Canada.
For long cross country trips where time is important or cost is a big factor I usually use Southwest Airlines. A great safety record, good service and often cheaper than flying my plane. I do hate going through TSA though. You get a choice between their version of the Sandusky embrace or the x ray radiation .

As for instrument flying, it has been about less than 1% of all my flight time. I really don't think flying inside a cloud in the mountains where I live makes good sense, especially since while I stay IFR current, doesn't mean I am real good at it.

[cgaif]

As the old song goes "Memories are made of this" (I'm showing my age here.:P) A great set of photos you have of that trip and I can only imagine the memories that trip generated for you. Just about every time I fly, I am made aware of the amazing privelages we enjoy as flyers. It's a wonderful world looking down from on high. Happy flying to you and thanks for sharing.

John


Here are images from one of my more memorable weekend trips (turned into a 4-day weekend due to having to wait for weather). Across the Rockies in a 100 horse Champ from Denver to Moab and back:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlunde/sets/72157627526250947/detail/

[BillinDurham]

We just sold our beloved Maule after 15 years and 1500 hours of weekend flying. For 6 or 7 years it flew practically every weekend from Durham to Charlotte NC to see friends and boat around Lake Norman (14A in this case). Other destinations include Annapolis MD, the NC beaches, Saratoga Springs NY, Danville VA, Princeton NJ, Pittsburgh PA, and lots of places in FL.We don't often fly to tourist or sightseeing locations but rather fly to see friends, family, or an occasional resort vacation. Most often the trips are just for the (long) weekend. We find ourselves looking for reasons to travel (and rarely entertain). Living on an airport makes justification easier. Getting the instrument rating makes schedules easier to keep. The fact that we drive 18 and 10 Year old cars is not a coincidence.We've done a lot less flying the past 2 or 3 years while we completed an RV10. The challenge is finding new missions to fly now that we're back in traveling mode. NYC, PA, and Key West so far .... We'll see.Personal flight in your own aircraft is a fantastic thing to be able to do... Doing it in a plane you built just makes it sweeter.

[bwilson4web]

When I had my Cherokee 140, 1997-80, I flew at least every three weeks. At three weeks, I would not take anyone up until I flew the pattern and practiced radio work. I always wanted my flying skills to be as sharp as possible and each trip be a dull and predictable as possible . . . this made dealing with the unpredicatable so much easier. Now that I have a plane to rebuild, I fly when I close my eyes or I'm in the shed with tools in my hand or working out how I'm going to make this plane better. - Bob Wilson