3 ms·

> in a 175 mph airplane What's that, an SR20? The numbers are still reasonable but for the sake of completeness let's bear in mind the chance of a fatal crash

• sokoloff 13y ago
  A Skylane (Cessna 182) with a STC'd larger engine (PPonk O-520). It'll do 145-150 kts in the 4-8K feet range if you put the spurs to it. (I'm still breaking in the new engine, and that is best done at max continuous power: full throttle, 2700 RPM, in this case. At slightly more sane power settings post-break-in, I'll be doing 165-170 mph.) The fatal rate is probably much worse than "only 4x". Per mile, all factors included, it's comparable to riding a motorcycle. Now, "all factors" includes running out of fuel, flying into weather beyond the capability of the plane or pilot, and CFIT, all of which the prudent pilot has some means to control/influence to a far greater extent than a motorcyclist does. Still, it's not for the completely risk-averse, and my wife hasn't yet let me fly with me and the kids (and without her), because she doesn't want to think about living after a possible 3-fatal scenario. I borrowed a "crew car" (free, short term loaner car) yesterday to run an errand, and it was an old, clapped out Dodge Ram van that hadn't seen a tire balancer or front-end service in who knows how long. Driving that thing to/from the airport was almost certainly the most dangerous part of my travel... ;)