Good weather -- flying more?

We fly year-round, but many pilots around here seem to shut the hangar
door after Thanksgiving, and not open it again until Easter.

This year, with such unseasonably warm weather, I'm wondering if anyone
is seeing more GA traffic? We're not any more than a normal January
here in Iowa City -- which I find rather surprising, given the really
nice weather.

I suppose it's a habit thing: It's January, dammit, and folks just
don't expect to be flying -- so they're just NOT? Dunno -- but it's
sure been wonderful, flying in shirtsleeves in January...

What are you guys and gals seeing in your neck of the woods? Are you
taking advantage of it, and doing any (perhaps abnormal for mid-winter)
cross country flights?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Although the weather up here in our neck of the woods has been mild, it as
also been mostly overcast... low overcast. There hasn't been an increase in
the VFR traffic over our normal December/January, in fact, I'd say there has
been less traffic.

The IFR guys are still active with most people waiting until noon and warmer
temps to climb up into the clag. I watched our Aztec divert westward
towards Rochester MN yesterday to get around a line of showers and precip
that extended across southern WI before turning south towards Boone, IA
(Ames area). I was happy to see him make that decision. Even with ground
temps in the 40's there's been plenty of ice above the inversion layers
we've been getting here.

Jim

On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 06:57:13 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote
(in article . com):

We fly year-round, but many pilots around here seem to shut the hangar
door after Thanksgiving, and not open it again until Easter.

This year, with such unseasonably warm weather, I'm wondering if anyone
is seeing more GA traffic? We're not any more than a normal January
here in Iowa City -- which I find rather surprising, given the really
nice weather.

What unseasonably warm weather? We have had so many storms and power outages
I haven't even had a chance to make an appointment to renew my medical.

On 6 Jan 2007 06:57:13 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

This year, with such unseasonably warm weather, I'm wondering if anyone
is seeing more GA traffic?

Snort. Here in the Seattle area over the last month, we've had record rainfall
(and when it's a record in Seattle, it's a LOT of rain), flooded streets,
flooded houses (one woman drowned in her own basement), flood airports, rain
followed by freezes, rain followed by several inches of snow (not significant in
the Midwest, but significant in an area that rarely sees it and is very hilly)
storms featuring 100 MPH winds (significant in an area with a zillion trees in
very, VERY soggy soil) and power failures affecting over a million people (I
live in an urban area ~10 miles from Sea-Tac airport, my power was out for four
days, friends in more remote areas were out for a week). And with all the
moisture, even when it ISN'T raining, fog forms at the drop of a hat.

Daddy, tell me that fairy story again, the one about good weather... :-)

I flew exactly twice during the entire month of December...on the second, and on
the 31st. On the 2nd, the air was so milky with haze and fog I didn't even
leave the airport area; it was like flying inside a cow.

Ron Wanttaja

Jay Honeck writes:

I suppose it's a habit thing: It's January, dammit, and folks just
don't expect to be flying -- so they're just NOT? Dunno -- but it's
sure been wonderful, flying in shirtsleeves in January...

You'll pay for it when it's 115 degrees in July. The world is getting
warmer.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
We fly year-round, but many pilots around here seem to shut the hangar
door after Thanksgiving, and not open it again until Easter.

This year, with such unseasonably warm weather, I'm wondering if anyone
is seeing more GA traffic? We're not any more than a normal January
here in Iowa City -- which I find rather surprising, given the really
nice weather.

I suppose it's a habit thing: It's January, dammit, and folks just
don't expect to be flying -- so they're just NOT? Dunno -- but it's
sure been wonderful, flying in shirtsleeves in January...

What are you guys and gals seeing in your neck of the woods? Are you
taking advantage of it, and doing any (perhaps abnormal for mid-winter)
cross country flights?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay

For me flying less is not related to weather but cost and inconvenience. I
guess I'm no longer a true believer but at $50/hr just for fuel in my 182
( approximate $.80/mile total cost) I mostly drive if it is under 400 miles
( approximate $.20/mile total cost) and fly commercial over 500
miles.($.10/mile/person or less). I know cost and inconvience are part of
the whole light GA experience but for me personally some threashold has been
passed. As an example I can drive from Santa Cruz to Sacramento door to door
faster than fly WVI to SAC. And when I get there I have my car not a rental.

Using the WVI - SAC example. If I am really fast and efficient and
conditions VFR that flight would be door to takeoff 1 hour, flight 1.2
hours, tie down, rental car drive to destination 1 hour. I have been flying
31 years now and the early mantra still is true. "If you have time to spare,
go by air".

So I find I am flying less and enjoying it less. More cost and inconvenience
than a weather issue. As I fly less fixed costs are approaching 3X variable
costs. Mogas is not a viable solution at WVI.

When AVGAS went from $2 to $4/gal. It only raised my total operating cost
perhaps 20% but it did something to my thinking about flying. I started
considering costs. Something I hadn't done before. Now I think about the
cost and convenience of a trip and GA almost never does well in that
analysis. My flying now consists mostly of local flights for IFR currency
and and occasional long xcountry (1000-1500 miles) just for the sheer beauty
of flying in the West.

Howard

Mxsmanic wrote:

Jay Honeck writes:

I suppose it's a habit thing: It's January, dammit, and folks just
don't expect to be flying -- so they're just NOT? Dunno -- but it's
sure been wonderful, flying in shirtsleeves in January...

You'll pay for it when it's 115 degrees in July. The world is getting
warmer.

That is just a simulated weather forecast. In Colorado we have had
blizzards, unusual snow amounts and lots of cold. Global warming
fanatics should look at global temperatures over the last million
years or so (certainly hundreds of thousands of years) then shut up.

Ron Lee

on 1 Jan I flew with another RV-6A from 00V (Colorado) to the Tulsa OK
area and back. Six hours of cross-country, a sore derrier and
beautiful flying all the way.

Ron Lee

In article . com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

This year, with such unseasonably warm weather, I'm wondering if anyone
is seeing more GA traffic? We're not any more than a normal January
here in Iowa City -- which I find rather surprising, given the really
nice weather.

warm? it's winter. who cares if it's cold or warm? Here in the
northeast it doesn't get so cold that a nominal preheat wouldn't
be effective.

Me, I haven't flown since before Thanksgiving because work
and the weather (ain't flying in icing conditions) have conspired
to keep me on the ground. :-(

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Ron Lee wrote:

Mxsmanic wrote:


Jay Honeck writes:


I suppose it's a habit thing: It's January, dammit, and folks just
don't expect to be flying -- so they're just NOT? Dunno -- but it's
sure been wonderful, flying in shirtsleeves in January...

You'll pay for it when it's 115 degrees in July. The world is getting
warmer.


That is just a simulated weather forecast. In Colorado we have had
blizzards, unusual snow amounts and lots of cold. Global warming
fanatics should look at global temperatures over the last million
years or so (certainly hundreds of thousands of years) then shut up.

I'm with you. What we are seeing now isn't even a blip on the scale of
past climate cycles.

Matt