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From: jlg@lanl.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: Re: Fly vs. Drive
Message-ID: <20830@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 1-Feb-85 12:32:08 EST
Article-I.D.: lanl.20830
Posted: Fri Feb  1 12:32:08 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 6-Feb-85 03:20:53 EST
References: <20095@lanl.ARPA> <319@terak.UUCP>
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Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 28

> This whole discussion started with the Primary Aircraft proposal.
> Some people feel that it can bring about a miracle cure by single-
> handedly conquering "point #3".  If I believed that, I would have kept
> quiet.  But I feel that it will not have revolutionary impact on the
> costs.  And what impact it does have will *not* be on "transportation"
> type planes, but rather on "fun" type planes.  And the hullaballoo
> about it keeps us from recognizing the real problem.


As far as I can tell from the responses to this newsgroup, the only person
who makes a distinction between 'fun' aircraft and 'transprotation'
aircraft is Doug Pardee.  I still challenge him to find a real airplane (no
ultra-lights please) which I wouldn't find satisfactory for short hop
transportation.  A C-150 with one radio and no other electronic Avionics
would suit me just fine for weekend trips to ABQ (60 miles by air, 110
miles by car).  I don't own such a plane, nor do I intend to buy one -
mainly because I think that some of the 'fun only' experimentals would be
cheaper in the long run and more fun to fly anyway!  (Come on PA!)

All of the comparisons of 'fly vs. drive' have so far ignored the fact that
planes go straight and roads never do!  In New Mexico the highway is
usually a factor of 1.5 to 2 farther that line-of-flight.  Even if I admit
that planes are intrinsically more expensive to operate over a given
distance than cars this extra distance by car more than compensates.  Add
that to the differences in speed between a car and a plane and plane travel
becomes MUCH faster and more comfortable.

J. Giles