cfiaime@ihnp4.UUCP (Jeff Williams) (01/15/85)
Several years ago I lived in Wichita, Kansas, and my family lived in the Chicago area. During this time, I made several trips between the two points, always careful to note how much it cost and how much time it took me. A typical trip from Wichita to Chicago took: air driving miles: ~500 ~700 time: 5 hours (nonstop) 17 hours (with stops) vechicle: Cessna 172 AMC Spirit DL (1.5 engine) Cost: ~$300 (rental, wet, ~$140 out of pocket (40 gallons round trip, block fuel @ $1.00 per gallon, $70 rate.) lodging, $30 food.) or $308 at the 22 cents per mile I was paid for use of the same car on company business. The auto cost MUST include the same items as the aircraft cost if there is to be a meaningful comparison. These include fixed and variable costs (ie. fuel, insurance, rotables maintenance, payment, insurance, and the like.) In the driving time, I did not allocate any time for overnight stops, but you should really add 6 hours, making 23 hours door to door. For the Cessna, add an hour on both ends for loading, unloading, and trip to the airport or house, making 7 hours door to door. I just realized an error in my figures above. At 22 cents per mile, the AUTO expenses were $308. You still need to add overnight lodging ($35 per night) and meals ($30) to that figure. Most of the trips that I flew were VFR, with one exception. Later I flew the Funk up to Chicago (it was being recovered at the time this whole mess happened), and it took about 9 hours door to door. But I took my time at lunch in Burlington, Iowa, and at another fuel stop in Kansas City. Using this as a basis, not only can an airplane be faster, but it can actually be less expensive on a trip. If you need to rent a car at the destination, your savings are gone in a hurry, however. As another excercise, compute the savings of time by using a light aircraft rather than the airlines for a typical trip. (Remember to include time to the airport, and pre-boarding wait time.) Jeff Williams AT&T Bell Laboratories ihnp4!cfiaime
mcmahan@dartvax.UUCP (Bob McMahan) (01/15/85)
> Several years ago I lived in Wichita, Kansas, and my family lived in > the Chicago area. During this time, I made several trips between the > two points, always careful to note how much it cost and how much time > it took me. > > A typical trip from Wichita to Chicago took: > air driving > miles: ~500 ~700 > time: 5 hours (nonstop) 17 hours (with stops) > vechicle: Cessna 172 AMC Spirit DL (1.5 engine) > Cost: ~$300 (rental, wet, ~$140 out of pocket (40 gallons > round trip, block fuel @ $1.00 per gallon, $70 > rate.) lodging, $30 food.) > or > $308 at the 22 cents per mile > I was paid for use of the same > car on company business. The > auto cost MUST include the same > items as the aircraft cost if there > is to be a meaningful comparison. > These include fixed and variable > costs (ie. fuel, insurance, rotables > maintenance, payment, insurance, > and the like.) > > In the driving time, I did not allocate any time for overnight stops, > but you should really add 6 hours, making 23 hours door to door. For the > Cessna, add an hour on both ends for loading, unloading, and trip to the > airport or house, making 7 hours door to door. > > I just realized an error in my figures above. At 22 cents per mile, the > AUTO expenses were $308. You still need to add overnight lodging ($35 per > night) and meals ($30) to that figure. > > Most of the trips that I flew were VFR, with one exception. Later I flew > the Funk up to Chicago (it was being recovered at the time this whole mess > happened), and it took about 9 hours door to door. But I took my time at > lunch in Burlington, Iowa, and at another fuel stop in Kansas City. > > Using this as a basis, not only can an airplane be faster, but it can actually > be less expensive on a trip. If you need to rent a car at the destination, > your savings are gone in a hurry, however. > > As another excercise, compute the savings of time by using a light aircraft > rather than the airlines for a typical trip. (Remember to include time to > the airport, and pre-boarding wait time.) > > Jeff Williams > AT&T Bell Laboratories > ihnp4!cfiaime [**] FYI: This months AOPA Newsletter has a factsheet on which you may find a comparison of the relative efficiencies of air vs. automobile travel (this catagory is also broken down by aircraft type ). This sheet is great to have - with it you can quickly settle most arguments about General Aviation. -- Bob McMahan UUCP : {decvax,harvard,linus,cornell,dalcs,true,astrovax} !dartvax!mcmahan ARPA : mcmahan%dartmouth@csnet-relay CSNET : mcmahan@dartmouth USPS : Shattuck Observatory Dartmouth College Hanover, N.H. 03755 603-646-2310
wayne@cylixd.UUCP (Wayne Steinmetz) (01/17/85)
[ payment to the line eater made here ] Another cost that was not figured in your reprint Bob (and is relatively hard to do) is from a business standpoint. How much is your working time worth. If it takes 7 hours by plane, and ~30 hours by car, that's a lot of man-hour dollars. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ from the desk of ..!inhp4!akgub!cylixd!wayne