Private plane charter to trailhead

“Some friends and I are thinking of taking a trip that's about 10 hours away(Shenandoah). Richmond is close and airfare from Birmingham is $220-300/person. This got me to thinking about chartering a private plane and flying in closer. The local airport is full of weekend hobbyist with 4 seaters. One of those guys might do it(my wife has a friend who flies, I'll bounce it off him next time I see him). Has anyone looked into the cost of doing something like this? It would be faster and more convenient than driving. It would be more convenient, less stove troubles, and possbily cheaper than commercial flying.

Advice.”

“Cost comparison, mi amigo.

If it's less (or even slightly more) expensive, go for it.”

“I agree. I'm just not sure where the cost will come in. When I get it priced I'll pass it on. I'm also going to get the Dacks and Tetons priced as well. If you're gone for a week, it better be somewhere good.”

“If your wife's friend is IFR, go for it. If he's not make sure he sets down before it gets dark or stormy.”

“IFR?”

“bitpusher is way too practical....


heck, I say go for it.....navigate by GPS.....”

“Instrument Flight Rated. That way, if he can't see the ground, he can still get to where he's going. Most private pilots are VFR, like John Jr. And we all know what happened to him...”

“It runs around $55-$65 an hour to opperate a small plane, plus whatever the pilot charges. You have to consider weight and storage. You might want to ask a local pilot with a six seater instead of a four. (Unless it's just a couple of hikers)”

“Yah. Too much weight in the plane kills a lot of private pilots. There was a guy from a town near here. He ran a little air museum, with reproductions of WWI biplanes and stuff like that. He, his wife, and a couple of friends went on an antiquing trip in his plane. Anyway, they load up to come home, he taxis, takes off, and crashes almost immediately. Everyone aboard dies. The NTSB does its investigation, determines that the plane was overloaded. I can't remember what they had on that thing, but it was like 900lbs over its rating. And the pilot definitely knew better.

So yeah, getting a bigger plane might be better if there are a lot of y'all.”

“If it's $65/ hr then it probably won't work. If it's 600 miles by road to Charlottesville, VA at 175 mph for 4 one-ways that's about 14 hrs = $910 + pilot. If there were 5 of us, then maybe. $910 + $300 = 1210/5 = $242/person. That would be worth it then. I'll let everyone know how final pricing goes.

We may be having an Alabama hikers meets VA TT trip.”

“My packweight is under 20#'s and I weigh under 160. I ought to be ok. The weight on the return flight should be LIGHTER on the way back.”

“Back in the seventies er late sixties when I was a fanatical duck hunter we'd find a pilot and pay his rental and gas to fly us around looking for potholes. Pilots are always trying to add hours toward their next classification and love to fly free. Bounce it off your friend - he might even know someone who'll rent him a 'plane below the commercial rental fee.”

“Look at it this way.....

on the way home, you can chunk beercans out of the window a 7,000 feet doing 140 mph.

Where else can you get that experience......go for it.”

“The best part is that this guy already owns 3 planes.”

“He owns the planes? Talk him into going with you and you only have to pay him for two trips instead of four!”

“I was just telling chili the same thing. He and his wife have been on an exercise/eating better kick just like my wife and I. Maybe he'll think it's a cool idea and want to try it. It couldn't get any better than a backpacking friend who flies.

I'll be seeing him in two weeks at his sons birthday party...at the airport. Their soon to be 3 year olds party is at the local airport. The party will be early in the morning when all the fliers are taking off. A few guys out there own WWII planes. I see them all the time when I'm out in my yard. Local guys have P-51, F4U Corsair, F4F Wildcat(I think), a divebomber or torpedo bomber, and a P-38. I can really tell when one of those guys flys over while I'm cutting grass.”

“Dayhiker: It gets expensive. I considered chartering a plane to a really remote section of CA coastline. As the crow flys it was under an hour. With runway fees and all that, plus the pilot's time was about $1,000. For TWO friggin' hours!”

“While kayaking last summer we flew out of the lodge and back to town in a float plane. 20 minute flight for 6 people cost a little over $900 (Canadian $) total.”

“dayhiker let me know when you plan to hit Shen and I'll try to meet up with you somewhere - I live only 14 miles from where Rt 33 crosses Skyline drive.”

“dayhiker...just pay one way..and chute in!”

“I'll let you know HOI.

OPIE, I still have to get home. I could hitch a ride.

The beauty of this, if it works out, is that I could leave home at 6 am and be at a trailhead no later than 12. I'd still get almost a full day of hiking on travel days. SWEEEET!”

“Wow, had no idea it ran that much! Yowzers!”

“Sorry I can't help you with the plane issue, but if you plan a trip to SNP and would like TT company, please post it. I LOVE SNP.”

“i still say you only have to pay for the home airstrip...chute into the area...then for retrieval find a high point...attach a catch pole...and hope he snags you on one of the first few passes”

“Opie has obviously been staying up too late watching James Bond movies.”

“For someone in the shipping business you'd think he'd be familiar with the concept of charging for empty hauls back to home.

Now chili has an idea. What about one of those nifty jet backpacks to get you there.”

“We'll do on the post. Depending on how the cost comes out it could be a Wed or Thur to Sun or a full week. If we do a full week then I'd try to thru-hike the whole thing.”