7 ms·

Personal aircraft. The great equalizer.

by comrade1234 4mo ago

pixl97 4mo ago
Seems aircraft have been hard on tech this week.
master_crab 4mo ago
“Doctor killer” for a reason. It can be monotonous and degrading, but commercial air is the safe way to travel.
- altmanaltman 4mo ago
  It was a Cessna 421 so its not really about travel but flying as a hobby most likely.
  - weaksauce 4mo ago
    probably a hobby but a 421 is a high performance dual engine with a pressurized cabin... that's a lot of plane and dual engines are difficult to fly with a lot of technical knowledge and practice to handle an engine out procedure safely. this kind of plane very commonly kills doctors and other high earning individuals that don't have the time to keep their time in the plane to stay recent. a lot of time people do buy multi engine planes for travel so it's not certain it was just a hobby.
    - khuey 4mo ago
      There's a saying among pilots that on a twin piston (which the 421 is) the second engine is there to get you to the crash site faster.
kylecazar 4mo ago
I clicked a news article a few months ago about a crash... Google has since decided I need to know about all future aviation accidents. I was surprised how frequent it happens. Two brothers were killed in a Cessna just the other day. I suppose it's a combination of lower maintenance standards and pilot experience, definitely doesn't make me want to hop in a small plane anytime soon.
- ultrarunner 4mo ago
  Counterintuitively, it's probably the unrealistically high maintenance standards that lead to 1) no available qualified mechanics, and 2) incredibly high prices, resulting in 3) deferring whatever is possible to defer. This is the situation in the US; I imagine costs are doubly impactful in a country like France.
  - NordSteve 4mo ago
    It's certainly possible to maintain GA aircraft to a high standard and not break the bank. For example, a flying club I'm in has Cessna 172s for $116/hr wet with no-compromises maintenance.
    - ultrarunner 4mo ago
      If you're not directly involved in the maintenance, I am skeptical. For example, many flying clubs only exist because they have members who are A&Ps / IAs, who maintain the plane in consideration of membership. That's a workaround for the problem I'm presenting. I won't say it's impossible, but it's increasingly difficult and location-dependent.
    - vwcx 4mo ago
      what's the club buy in and annual fee? I instruct out of a 150 and $125/hr is the cheapest I can justify charging.
      - NordSteve 4mo ago
        $13800 transferable membership and $220/mo.
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - dirtbagskier 4mo ago
    [dead]
  - 4mo ago
jmartrican 4mo ago
I worked for a small successful company in the pharmaceutical industry. One of their founders died in a crash in his small personal aircraft. He was a really nice guy and very charismatic. I was not working there when the accident happened, but I was sad to hear about it. I agree with OP's sentiment.

Personal aircraft. The great equalizer.

pixl97 4mo ago

Seems aircraft have been hard on tech this week.

master_crab 4mo ago

“Doctor killer” for a reason. It can be monotonous and degrading, but commercial air is the safe way to travel.

altmanaltman 4mo ago
It was a Cessna 421 so its not really about travel but flying as a hobby most likely.
- weaksauce 4mo ago
  probably a hobby but a 421 is a high performance dual engine with a pressurized cabin... that's a lot of plane and dual engines are difficult to fly with a lot of technical knowledge and practice to handle an engine out procedure safely. this kind of plane very commonly kills doctors and other high earning individuals that don't have the time to keep their time in the plane to stay recent. a lot of time people do buy multi engine planes for travel so it's not certain it was just a hobby.
  - khuey 4mo ago
    There's a saying among pilots that on a twin piston (which the 421 is) the second engine is there to get you to the crash site faster.

kylecazar 4mo ago

I clicked a news article a few months ago about a crash... Google has since decided I need to know about all future aviation accidents. I was surprised how frequent it happens. Two brothers were killed in a Cessna just the other day. I suppose it's a combination of lower maintenance standards and pilot experience, definitely doesn't make me want to hop in a small plane anytime soon.

ultrarunner 4mo ago
Counterintuitively, it's probably the unrealistically high maintenance standards that lead to 1) no available qualified mechanics, and 2) incredibly high prices, resulting in 3) deferring whatever is possible to defer. This is the situation in the US; I imagine costs are doubly impactful in a country like France.
- NordSteve 4mo ago
  It's certainly possible to maintain GA aircraft to a high standard and not break the bank. For example, a flying club I'm in has Cessna 172s for $116/hr wet with no-compromises maintenance.
  - ultrarunner 4mo ago
    If you're not directly involved in the maintenance, I am skeptical. For example, many flying clubs only exist because they have members who are A&Ps / IAs, who maintain the plane in consideration of membership. That's a workaround for the problem I'm presenting. I won't say it's impossible, but it's increasingly difficult and location-dependent.
  - vwcx 4mo ago
    what's the club buy in and annual fee? I instruct out of a 150 and $125/hr is the cheapest I can justify charging.
    - NordSteve 4mo ago
      $13800 transferable membership and $220/mo.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- dirtbagskier 4mo ago
  [dead]
- 4mo ago

jmartrican 4mo ago

I worked for a small successful company in the pharmaceutical industry. One of their founders died in a crash in his small personal aircraft. He was a really nice guy and very charismatic. I was not working there when the accident happened, but I was sad to hear about it. I agree with OP's sentiment.