Pilot: How was traffic? Well I almost got hit by someone with a learners permit but besides that, not too bad, although the controller was very busy. Coworker: * blinks *
As I approach the end of my flying career and stare mortality in the face, I can recall every single one of these kind of trips with a fond, unique memory for each. Create memories, kids.
Thomas that makes me want to say what the heck, buy a plane, and fulfill my dream of ownership as I approach 60 and am in good health. You only get one trip around the traffic pattern of life. I too remember every trip outside the local area. Fond memories indeed!
Honestly, I think it's worth it. Yes it costs about 20 dollars more. but it also adds time to your log book, keeps you in practice with your coms, and keeps your skills up. This is a perfect "excuse" to fly. Two short hops like this a day would be wonderful fun for a lot of pilots.
Flying a six seat airplane 23 miles to work?.... Impractical and much more expensive! Saves time?..... Nope! Looking down on the mortals driving in their 2 dimensional world? PRICELESS!
Yes I do. It’s great on approaches. Can display the approach plate on the MfD just by holding down a button. My flying is more precise with it. The synthetic vision is a nice bonus as well.
You didn't mention the mental cost between the two. Sitting in traffic for any amount of time (something I detest) is a negative mental cost, doing something you love and achieving the same goal, definite positive mental bonus. And you arrive fresh and ready to roll.
I’ve had a dream to get ahold of a P39 aricobra airframe if any kind, 63 400 or even 39, I imagine that you’d show up to work deaf but the smile factor would be infectious
Well, even a car is expensive, with the average used car over $27,000, and new cars ~$42,000. Then you add the infrastructure cost for the car which is around $8000 per person per year, but 20 year replacement costs are much more expensive. Then you have to add the cost of free car storage (off-street parking), which in LA encompasses about 1/5 of the land area. You can actually see huge empty parking lots in this video, which dwarfs all other man-made structures.
Definitely worth it in my book. I am still so frustrated and just not over Santa Monica closing that airport down in a few years for more housing development. I can't get over it.
Flying may be more expensive for shorter flights but the experience and joy is 100 times cooler. I watched that movie last night, I really enjoyed the part you filmed it helped to break down what actually happened. Keep up the great content!!
Recently watched that show on Netflix it was so well done. Then I’ve randomly come across your channel. Amazing work both on the documentary and here on TH-cam!
Just ride a motorcycle. I could go get anywhere in about the same time if there was no traffic. Even the fabled 405 waa nothing during rush hour. I could still average 30-40 through 10 miles of jammed up traffic.
Caught a glimpse of Mountaingate’s Lake course. I play that almost every time I’m in LA. But I have to DRIVE to it. The longest two hours of my life were the three miles over the hill on the 405.
I used to do the same flight for work! No economical sense but perhaps a lot of fun! Flying back I go through special flight rules area over LAX just to make it longer and that much more fun to fly back home!
An interesting numbers question would be: how far do you have to travel in order for it to make sense: 1) from a time perspective 2) from a money perspective
My thought as well. I drive over an hour one way and it’s about 45 miles. Not sure it’s a break even but flying to work sure seems like it would be more enjoyable. If the cost is close, might be worth the stress relief.
Money perspective? Hehe it is alway cheaper to drive..Time perspective...I used to fly from Moore county airport in NC to Manassas VA and that would take about 2 hours (wind direction depending) compared to seven hours driving. A three hour drive would take me about 1 hour in my plane...So I would say a place that is 2 hours or more is always better to fly...but then you also have to figure in getting to airport, prepping plane...etc
from a money perspective? 1 feet probably Now seriously, aviation gas in more expensive and the plane do something like 16 gallons per hour with doing 100 knots, so it's never really worth it for money reasons.
djbred summed that up nicely. I am a commerical multi student currently with my ifr rating. (I only bring that up to say I have experience). I would say past 2 hours is about right on the time break even (depending on the aircraft) and from a money perspective, the only time it makes sense is when you have a full plane and can split the cost between everyone. The FAA is real weird about that though so make sure you do it legally.
I'm always surprised by how you don't need special permission to fly into air spaces like that, but then I hear how you communicate and remember that pilots are the most civil people ever when it comes to communicating and working with each other.
Love it. I always find these conversations interesting. I live 3 hours (161 miles) from the Albuquerque Airport via car, so I make that flight all the time. It is about 1 hour, 10 minutes will pre-flight, landing, etc. No landing fees at the Albuquerque airport for New Mexico based aircraft. As you see those distances increase, the flying versus driving conversation becomes a bit cleaner argument for flying. Being able to fly in my case allows me to live in the mountains (Angel Fire, New Mexico), yet still get to a major airport for work. Most people I know would give up their dream of living in the mountains if they had to make a 3 hour drive one-way two or three times a month for their jobs. Plus, I arrive either at the airport (or customer site) with a smile on my face, relaxed, and in a much better mental position than I ever do driving.
Definitely worth the money. That view and excitement gives you your bang for the buck. Man I miss the states & Santa Monica, hope this pandemic is over soon, I would love to repeat my roadtrip down highway no 1 . Stay safe !
This is super interesting for me because I was in a rental home due north and west of Santa Monica Airport. All day long there were flights but I never got a good look around until now.
Flew back from Australia. A friends son picked me up at LAX, drove me to Santa Monica. We flew back to Big Bear in 30-40 minutes, looking down at the 210 parking lot. Halfway around the world in planes!!!! SMO is a great port!!!!
Flew traffic watch in a C172 out of KVNY in the late 90's. Also did all my helicopter flight training there, too in the late 80's. One tip, if you don't already know - use 123.02 when outside the local Class C and D airspace for aircraft-to-aircraft comm. It's the helo freq for areas north of the 91.
Question: I noticed when flying through some of the complex air space around VNY and on your way to Santa Monica that your radio calls included your location by using landmarks that seemingly only a local pilot would be able to identify and call out by name. Where I fly on the other side of the country, we do the same thing, but to a much lesser degree. How complicated would this flight have been for a pilot that was not used to flying in the area assuming they might not be able to identify from the air certain freeways, mountain passes, etc.? At one point you were using a specific transition procedure, is that a published procedure? And how would an average VFR pilot know that that procedure is required in that area and where to find it?
Freeways in SoCal tend to be the most prominent useful landmarks for navigation and labeled thusly in VFR charts (definitely get a TAC chart for LA if you intend to fly there!). The departure and transition instruction in this video is not an official published procedure, however it's one that can easily be determined by simply looking at a VFR chart. "Oh, he wants me east of this freeway here, probably because of Van Nuys airport to the west. Makes sense." Because of how dense and busy LA airspace is, there is a greater responsibility on the pilot to study the airspace and landmarks, and become familiar beforehand. BUT as always, every pilot no matter how experienced or familiar can get confused! So it's always OK to tell ATC "I'm not familiar; I don't understand; unable", and ask for help or clarification! ATC always wants to make sure you understand, even if it takes extra time to communicate -- the worst thing you can do is pretend to understand and comply, then do something else they didn't expect. I've definitely had my shares of feeling overwhelmed by busy traffic or fast instructions. It just takes practice to get a hang of it, and also to just calm down and communicate your concerns. Aviate, navigate, communicate -- don't rush! Hope that helps a little, safe flying!
My neighbor flies to work. I live on a lake so he takes off with his sea plane and flies to his job as a chef at a restaurant on a nearby lake. He drives sometimes when the weather is bad and in the winter he outfits his plane with skis. I live in Minnesota for anyone wondering. That is why it makes sense for him as it takes around 2 hours by car because you have to navigate around the lakes, but only 15 mins by plane.
@@Chance-ry1hq when im 64 years old I hope I have better shit to do than reguritate bullshit on the internet, otherwise id do the honorable thing and blow my brains out
So I did almost the same thing once. (Also for Netflix, amusingly.). I was visiting some friends down near Irvine and had my plane at John Wayne. But I needed to go into the office up north in Hollywood. So I flew from John Wayne to Burbank and took a Lyft into Hollywood to get to work. In the end, it actually saved me time AND money, since a Lyft from Irvine to Hollywood would have been TERRIBLE.
Sometimes when driving the Sepulveda Pass I imagined driving a heavily armored tank. Never thought of a plane. Probably more civil than my first approach. Some days I miss West LA. But then I remember the 405, and I get over it.
I was on the fence about watching that series. Now I’ll watch it! On the cost breakdown you don’t factor in hourly cost of ownership - that would be an interesting number.
Your are flying so that makes all the sense in the world. Good for your stress level and high on the enjoyment meter which is something you would never get slogging it out in heavy traffic with the maniac drivers. Living in the Atlanta area I love it when heading south and looking at the bumper to bumper traffic while I am at 5000 MSL in a Cirrus looking down on the connector. All of us pilots are blessed and fortunate to have found aviation. Great video!
I'm not involved in the aviation industry but this is my favourite TH-cam channel. Really interesting, entertaining and positive material - and the scenery is spectacular.
Flying your plane to work is like driving a sports car to work. It would be more practical to have an economy sedan if all you care about is the monetary cost, but with the airplane or the sports car you get a level of enjoyment out of the travel.
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey It was quick. But, I was working for a fractional at the time and the aircraft needed to be moved for the next live leg. Happened all the time. Shortest ones I ever flew were MSP to STP and ORL to MCO.
Totally worth it :) I did the same thing once from SLC to PVU in Utah with a buddy of mine.... flight took longer than driving but it was so much fun! Thanks for sharing. :)
That’s a really good idea to carry an electric scooter in your plane. I’m always thinking of how I’m gonna get around (if there is a car rental available, Uber, etc.) but having a scooter with you is genius
Very relatable video for everyone I’d say - I just took my G6 to the local shops and back - very pleasant - my mate uses his Saturn V rocket on the school run - aren’t choices great?
You probably assumed from the beginning it would be cheaper to just drive, but super awesome you went through the trouble to make the video! Great content!
As an ATC'r having a pilot, especially a student turn base (or any instruction) immediately, usually is the result of loss of situational awareness. They shouldn't have accepted the transition without prior altitude separation, or other instructions/traffic calls to the students in the downwind.
1980’s i would commute in my tomahawk from byron to various bay area ap’s. A friend allowed me to leave my MC in his hanger at RHV or work partners would pick me up from various ap’s SQL etc.... Good times Cheers
Really appreciate you and your videos. Always well done and informative. It’s fun to also watch you and your family taking trips. Making memories with your children. They grow up fast! Dan
My grandfather used to fly us in his helicopter to everything, even flew my mother and father to there prom when they where in high School. It inspired me to get my license so sometime when im older i can fly myself!
Thanks for explaining why you were at pattern altitude for opposing traffic pattern. My first question was, why are you there? Then you explained. Thanks.
You nailed it. There’s a whole lot about aviation you can’t justify the way people normally want to justify things. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Just means our math is different.
Great video!! As per your comment of coast of plane. I would consider it a mental health payments that are priceless. To me, It's like driving the car on the weekend in the environment you like driving listening to music.
In California, it actually makes a lot of sense to avoid the pain of traffic. Where I live, fuel costs are already a problem for me, and our roads are fully uncongested and go through beautiful terrain, so I can have a bit of fun in my car before work too. In California however, it would just be pain for an hour straight to get to work by car. Living in a rural area has it's perks! I get surprised whenever I encounter ANY road traffic where I live (and I live within a couple miles of an airport with a huge runway, a nice perk of the specific location I chose)
I seem to remember when I was training with American Flyers at SMO in 2016 that the landing fee was $50 which kept me away for pleasure flights. Good to see it’s more reasonable now.
It can depend on time of day. I had recurring commute between LGB and BUR and was regularly spending 15-20 hours in my car each week. Now that was a little over 40 miles each way... Mornings weren't terrible, usually about an hour... But afternoons... Ugh. At least 90 minutes, usually closer to 2 hours. After about a year, I was looking for reasons to drive later and 3-4 times a month, just finding random parking lots around Commerce and Downey to just pull over and take a 15-20 minute nap. If I could have, I would have. (I saw an ad for an air taxi service but they wanted $1200/month where driving was costing 4-5 hundred. Metrolink might have been an option, too. Less than 300/month but guaranteed over 4 hours per day round trip door to door)
Funny enough I got my hours at Vista Air there, I remember turning left before the 4 stacks, then left again when I got near the golfing corse for left wind departure. Then Climb after the dam
IT was a super fun, sometimes IT is better to have fun no matters if IT Has any sense. I was on Santa Monica 10years ago. I really love IT. I Hope i will be back again in a future.greetings from Poland.
In my opinion you save time ive seen the freeway shut down before because of accidents if that happens then your stuck but if you fly nothing holding you back!
I work with a guy who commutes to work via Cessna. He inherited a large family farm 3 hours from work, and decided to live there. He keeps a cheap car at the local airport 20 minutes from the office. He says flying shaves an hour off his commute, and he flies whenever the weather is nice.
In SoCal, commuting by plane can make sense! Years ago, I lived in Fullerton, and worked in (the Peoples' Republic of) Irvine; my company was purchased, and the plan was to move us all to the company facility in Hawthorne (!). We started having to go to Hawthorne once every week or so, and it was a beastly drive - over an hour from Fullerton, and worse for my work mates who lived in the Inland Empire. The only decent place to eat near the Hawthorne office was the airport restaurant at the Hawthorne airport (KHHR), amusingly named "Icarus" at the time, and I marveled at all the postings on the bulletin board for Northrop employees with planes, operating "plane-pools" to fly from places like Riverside and Chino to Hawthorne every day to work. Given SoCal traffic then, it made a great deal of sense, though, because flying would turn a-hour commute into 30 minutes or so by Cherokee. The plan to move us all to Hawthorne, by the way, never panned out (because no one would remain), so they opened a new facility in Tustin instead, right across the street from MCAS-H Tustin - but that's another story. I used the career bump as an excuse to move home to Texas, go to law school , and enter the most beloved profession of all! I learned to fly in 2002, and love toodling around in my Bonanza. Keep up the great vids, and will see you at PilotsOfAmerica.com !
Thanks for sharing your story. I'd love to live farther out of the city and be able to just commute in by plane when necessary. That drive from Fullerton to Hawthorne every day would be soul crushing thats for sure!
It would be interesting to see this for different length journeys. 23mi, then 50mi, up to 100mi. To see if where the higher average speed of the plane starts to overcome some of the extra little bits of time you spend before takeoff / after landing.
I did hour building from Corona Municipal Airport (KAJO) and my first flight was to Van Nuys. I did that flight solo after being cleared to rent a PA28. It was the most busy and stressful experience I’ve had to date and I learned how to fly next to heathrow :/ great video btw!
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey I agree, socal was a beautiful place to fly. Catalina island was also one of the highlight of my hour building experience. Greetings from the UK!
Your math and rationalization made perfect sense to me. The answer is obvious - fly. I do the same thing when I choose to fly to Dallas. It is a 2 hour drive for me under ideal conditions. There are lots of great GA airports all over the DFW area that makes it a short Uber ride or even a walk in some cases to where I need to go (usually for business). Another great video. Thanks for doing them!
I used to do a short commute by air in Northern CA just under 40nm. By car, it normally took 50 minutes, but on the worst traffic days it would take a stressful 1 and a half hours. I have taken the motorcycle before and split lanes to get to work, but it was still a stressful commute. By plane, it was an easy 20 minutes on a VFR day, and another 5-10 minutes more on IFR days. When I got the routine down, I was able to make it 45 minutes door to door in the plane, so it was easily worth the extra expense of flying. The bonus on the return trip home was that I would never have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home after a long day at work. Commuting to work by plane was priceless!
Honestly, it makes more sense to fly.. for 30 (a few snooze alarms) extra minutes and a few bucks, (brew your own coffee) you avoid the toxic annoyances of commuting through hanus traffic and replace it with a very pleasant experience. Starting your day off 100x better. Your living life the right way!
mathed it out at the end. nice stats. the veiws make it worth it. economicly though 5x more fuelcost half times more time to destination, but overall fly not cause you have to but because you want to
That looks like so much fun.. if the distance were to be a little bit longer, than flying might even Safe time and maybe also money.. I’m thinking about crossing downtown + huge traffic jam right in rush hour..
Awsome! Loved the video, it was fun to watch! What you just did I call it living bro. Few bucks more or less for the price of that kind of joy is tottaly worth it!
“It doesn’t really make any sense”...It makes absolute sense! You showed up for work smiling. Not cursing after sitting in traffic for an hour.
100% it makes sense because of the peace of mind and the convince of not being inconvenienced by all the car traffic!
This's where electric planes may have an advantage in sub 50mile flights!
If 5% of those who drive, fly, you would be cursing and having a bad time flying too. Its a matter of numbers actually.
@@mayshack He probably still enjoyed the flight more though.
If you filter through traffic, a motorcycle is also a hell of a lot of fun and a lot cheaper than a plane. You don't get the views though.
Great aviation quote. "The return on investment is the fun you have."
.... spoiler alert
I hear ya. It's like having a motorcycle....any excuse to ride I always say.
The old saying goes, “If it floats, flies or fornicates...it’s expensive” 😂
Very well said
Same for motorcycle riding - at least if you have the scenery like we have in switzerland 🤩
imagine coming into work and your colleague asks you how traffic was
and you say "ah, wasnt too bad. flew right over them"
Pilot: How was traffic? Well I almost got hit by someone with a learners permit but besides that, not too bad, although the controller was very busy.
Coworker: * blinks *
As I approach the end of my flying career and stare mortality in the face, I can recall every single one of these kind of trips with a fond, unique memory for each. Create memories, kids.
That’s profound and sage advice!
Really peculiar, I was contemplating the very same before watching this video.
You're a legend Mr. Smith
Thomas that makes me want to say what the heck, buy a plane, and fulfill my dream of ownership as I approach 60 and am in good health. You only get one trip around the traffic pattern of life. I too remember every trip outside the local area. Fond memories indeed!
Very well said! You can’t a price on the fun factor. And to start and end your work day with those views makes it worth every penny.
Starting work in a great mood is a huge bonus you are right!
It's very easy to put a price on the fun factory. It's called money.
Hi
Uh, yes you can.
still spending nearly half of your life at work. away from your family and children. not worth it.
Honestly, I think it's worth it. Yes it costs about 20 dollars more. but it also adds time to your log book, keeps you in practice with your coms, and keeps your skills up.
This is a perfect "excuse" to fly. Two short hops like this a day would be wonderful fun for a lot of pilots.
Flying a six seat airplane 23 miles to work?....
Impractical and much more expensive!
Saves time?.....
Nope!
Looking down on the mortals driving in their 2 dimensional world?
PRICELESS!
😀
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey fill the other seats bring the price down :D
Lol
Great comment!
I think the fuel comparison should be against a Chevy Suburban. Now all of a sudden flying will be cheaper
Man that cabin is lush. Of course it's worth it! any excuse to flying. On a side note, how are you liking those Dynon Skyview?
The HDX is amazing. I love it!
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey good deal. Do you use it much for IFR? if so how have they handled in instrument flying?
Yes I do. It’s great on approaches. Can display the approach plate on the MfD just by holding down a button. My flying is more precise with it. The synthetic vision is a nice bonus as well.
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey what kind of plane is it?
@Ian West thanks
You didn't mention the mental cost between the two. Sitting in traffic for any amount of time (something I detest) is a negative mental cost, doing something you love and achieving the same goal, definite positive mental bonus. And you arrive fresh and ready to roll.
You;re so right!
I’ve had a dream to get ahold of a P39 aricobra airframe if any kind, 63 400 or even 39, I imagine that you’d show up to work deaf but the smile factor would be infectious
$21opportunity cost for 1 hour of fun? People spend that much at starbucks! That is so worth it!
Agreed!
Yeah you only need a plane, permission to fly etc
You also need a plane which sometimes costs more than £400,000
But this yt bought his plane for £30000
Well, even a car is expensive, with the average used car over $27,000, and new cars ~$42,000. Then you add the infrastructure cost for the car which is around $8000 per person per year, but 20 year replacement costs are much more expensive.
Then you have to add the cost of free car storage (off-street parking), which in LA encompasses about 1/5 of the land area. You can actually see huge empty parking lots in this video, which dwarfs all other man-made structures.
When we're on our deathbed, we're not gonna think. "damn, I should have driven to Santa Monica"!
Haha very true!
Unless you die while flying to Santa Monica... XD
How about thinking what's on the other side?
@@zakirnaikahmaddeedat3651 your dead. There’s nothing lol
@@elmothewise3915 Pascal's wager favors theism, theism favors Islam. Join Hamza's Den's youtube channel stream, let's have beneficial discussion.
Definitely worth it in my book. I am still so frustrated and just not over Santa Monica closing that airport down in a few years for more housing development. I can't get over it.
Wow
Thats news to me
Very sad if it happens
I don't think there's a pilot on this channel who would disagree with you: "The return on investment is the fun you have."
:)
Flying may be more expensive for shorter flights but the experience and joy is 100 times cooler. I watched that movie last night, I really enjoyed the part you filmed it helped to break down what actually happened. Keep up the great content!!
Glad you saw it! Thank you for the encouragement.
That landing in SMO was probably the best landing shot I've ever seen, dear god
Thank you!!
So much swearing though. 😁 6:07
@@mreese8764 hahah
That went crazy
Haven’t got this excited for a video in a long time
Yeah he is one of my favorite youtube flight channels. Seems so chill and of course the camera working editing is amazing.
If your stress level was lower after you landed, then yes, it was worth it
I always am happier after a flight.
dont forget the $$ you get from monetizing your commute to work with this video, the write offs like gas for making this vid :)
52$ exacly eh he did the video for the funs of it too
@Yama Fanboy and you could potentially depending on the tax laws of your country of residence write them off as business expenses.
Recently watched that show on Netflix it was so well done. Then I’ve randomly come across your channel. Amazing work both on the documentary and here on TH-cam!
thank you so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
In L A even taking a rocket to outer space and back is faster than driving.
You’ve never been to Atlanta have you?
Just ride a motorcycle. I could go get anywhere in about the same time if there was no traffic. Even the fabled 405 waa nothing during rush hour. I could still average 30-40 through 10 miles of jammed up traffic.
I don't know, Elon still waiting for his car to come back lol
@@donmcatee45 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The "The return on investment is the fun you have" helped me make my decision! Cheers from Brazil!
I dont know about y'all, but to me it looks like that approach is most definetly worth $25 due to the beauty factor.
I agree!
Caught a glimpse of Mountaingate’s Lake course. I play that almost every time I’m in LA. But I have to DRIVE to it.
The longest two hours of my life were the three miles over the hill on the 405.
I used to do the same flight for work! No economical sense but perhaps a lot of fun! Flying back I go through special flight rules area over LAX just to make it longer and that much more fun to fly back home!
An interesting numbers question would be: how far do you have to travel in order for it to make sense:
1) from a time perspective
2) from a money perspective
My thought as well. I drive over an hour one way and it’s about 45 miles. Not sure it’s a break even but flying to work sure seems like it would be more enjoyable. If the cost is close, might be worth the stress relief.
Money perspective? Hehe it is alway cheaper to drive..Time perspective...I used to fly from Moore county airport in NC to Manassas VA and that would take about 2 hours (wind direction depending) compared to seven hours driving. A three hour drive would take me about 1 hour in my plane...So I would say a place that is 2 hours or more is always better to fly...but then you also have to figure in getting to airport, prepping plane...etc
from a money perspective? 1 feet probably
Now seriously, aviation gas in more expensive and the plane do something like 16 gallons per hour with doing 100 knots, so it's never really worth it for money reasons.
@@fabiobeck3682 What about electric plane?
djbred summed that up nicely. I am a commerical multi student currently with my ifr rating. (I only bring that up to say I have experience). I would say past 2 hours is about right on the time break even (depending on the aircraft) and from a money perspective, the only time it makes sense is when you have a full plane and can split the cost between everyone. The FAA is real weird about that though so make sure you do it legally.
I'm always surprised by how you don't need special permission to fly into air spaces like that, but then I hear how you communicate and remember that pilots are the most civil people ever when it comes to communicating and working with each other.
Heck yeah! Avoiding traffic in the basin is a definite plus. I assume a Tax write off is available too. Another plus.
Love it. I always find these conversations interesting. I live 3 hours (161 miles) from the Albuquerque Airport via car, so I make that flight all the time. It is about 1 hour, 10 minutes will pre-flight, landing, etc. No landing fees at the Albuquerque airport for New Mexico based aircraft. As you see those distances increase, the flying versus driving conversation becomes a bit cleaner argument for flying. Being able to fly in my case allows me to live in the mountains (Angel Fire, New Mexico), yet still get to a major airport for work. Most people I know would give up their dream of living in the mountains if they had to make a 3 hour drive one-way two or three times a month for their jobs. Plus, I arrive either at the airport (or customer site) with a smile on my face, relaxed, and in a much better mental position than I ever do driving.
I love Santa Monica Airport too! It’s my local airport so I’m there all the time, I even made some plane spotting vids there!
Definitely worth the money. That view and excitement gives you your bang for the buck. Man I miss the states & Santa Monica, hope this pandemic is over soon, I would love to repeat my roadtrip down highway no 1 . Stay safe !
This will help me a lot in the future I’m a13 year old student pilot
This is super interesting for me because I was in a rental home due north and west of Santa Monica Airport. All day long there were flights but I never got a good look around until now.
it's a nice little airport.
"It doesn't really make any sense but it sure is fun."
I see you, fellow human.
Yeah.. flying was like that... and so was that girlfriend..both memories still make me smile...😏
Flew back from Australia. A friends son picked me up at LAX, drove me to Santa Monica. We flew back to Big Bear in 30-40 minutes, looking down at the 210 parking lot. Halfway around the world in planes!!!! SMO is a great port!!!!
Haha - Never calculate if it makes sense to fly short distances :) - Just do it !!!
- yet another great video !!! Thanks :)
Flew traffic watch in a C172 out of KVNY in the late 90's. Also did all my helicopter flight training there, too in the late 80's. One tip, if you don't already know - use 123.02 when outside the local Class C and D airspace for aircraft-to-aircraft comm. It's the helo freq for areas north of the 91.
Question: I noticed when flying through some of the complex air space around VNY and on your way to Santa Monica that your radio calls included your location by using landmarks that seemingly only a local pilot would be able to identify and call out by name. Where I fly on the other side of the country, we do the same thing, but to a much lesser degree. How complicated would this flight have been for a pilot that was not used to flying in the area assuming they might not be able to identify from the air certain freeways, mountain passes, etc.? At one point you were using a specific transition procedure, is that a published procedure? And how would an average VFR pilot know that that procedure is required in that area and where to find it?
Freeways in SoCal tend to be the most prominent useful landmarks for navigation and labeled thusly in VFR charts (definitely get a TAC chart for LA if you intend to fly there!). The departure and transition instruction in this video is not an official published procedure, however it's one that can easily be determined by simply looking at a VFR chart. "Oh, he wants me east of this freeway here, probably because of Van Nuys airport to the west. Makes sense."
Because of how dense and busy LA airspace is, there is a greater responsibility on the pilot to study the airspace and landmarks, and become familiar beforehand.
BUT as always, every pilot no matter how experienced or familiar can get confused! So it's always OK to tell ATC "I'm not familiar; I don't understand; unable", and ask for help or clarification! ATC always wants to make sure you understand, even if it takes extra time to communicate -- the worst thing you can do is pretend to understand and comply, then do something else they didn't expect.
I've definitely had my shares of feeling overwhelmed by busy traffic or fast instructions. It just takes practice to get a hang of it, and also to just calm down and communicate your concerns. Aviate, navigate, communicate -- don't rush!
Hope that helps a little, safe flying!
My neighbor flies to work. I live on a lake so he takes off with his sea plane and flies to his job as a chef at a restaurant on a nearby lake. He drives sometimes when the weather is bad and in the winter he outfits his plane with skis.
I live in Minnesota for anyone wondering. That is why it makes sense for him as it takes around 2 hours by car because you have to navigate around the lakes, but only 15 mins by plane.
Staying proficient for when your family is on board = Priceless
That made all the sense in the world. Good for you that you can do this. Worth every penny.
😂he drives 12 miles to the airport, flys, and once he lands he drives 11 miles to work. Sounds like a great plan to me.
have you seen traffic in california
@@barrackobamar That’s why I don’t live there. That and the fact it is the most screwed up place in the country.
@@Chance-ry1hq when im 64 years old I hope I have better shit to do than reguritate bullshit on the internet, otherwise id do the honorable thing and blow my brains out
@@Chance-ry1hq climate and landscape is awesome but everything else blows
People can justify anything cant they.
So I did almost the same thing once. (Also for Netflix, amusingly.). I was visiting some friends down near Irvine and had my plane at John Wayne. But I needed to go into the office up north in Hollywood. So I flew from John Wayne to Burbank and took a Lyft into Hollywood to get to work. In the end, it actually saved me time AND money, since a Lyft from Irvine to Hollywood would have been TERRIBLE.
5:55 "A little high, but this airplane really likes to descend." I bet my car beats your plane at descending!
Sometimes when driving the Sepulveda Pass I imagined driving a heavily armored tank. Never thought of a plane. Probably more civil than my first approach.
Some days I miss West LA. But then I remember the 405, and I get over it.
Is it worth it, financially?
No.
Why do you do it?
Because it's fun, beautiful, and I can.
I was on the fence about watching that series. Now I’ll watch it!
On the cost breakdown you don’t factor in hourly cost of ownership - that would be an interesting number.
Santa Monica is such a great airport, it really is a shame it's closing down in just a few years.
Your are flying so that makes all the sense in the world. Good for your stress level and high on the enjoyment meter which is something you would never get slogging it out in heavy traffic with the maniac drivers. Living in the Atlanta area I love it when heading south and looking at the bumper to bumper traffic while I am at 5000 MSL in a Cirrus looking down on the connector. All of us pilots are blessed and fortunate to have found aviation. Great video!
Well said!
6:08
Man that's alot of swearing for such a smooth looking landing
I'm not involved in the aviation industry but this is my favourite TH-cam channel.
Really interesting, entertaining and positive material - and the scenery is spectacular.
hey thanks so much- I really appreciate that and glad it is appealing to you.
Would love to see a family trip to Catalina. Great content!
That must be nice!
I’m guessing they have amazing wine mixers there!
Go when Prestige Worldwide is hosting.
@@djbred18 hahaha! Damn right!
Flying your plane to work is like driving a sports car to work. It would be more practical to have an economy sedan if all you care about is the monetary cost, but with the airplane or the sports car you get a level of enjoyment out of the travel.
Bizarre that I've literally just watched this episode on Netflix, in the UK. Then seen this episode.
What's it called?
Your vids a crisp and easy to follow and listen to.......professionally done.
I appreciate that!
YES FLYING TO WORK IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT. I WOULD DO IT EVERY DAY. I WANT A PLANE 😭😭😭😭😭
Nice! I used to fly citations into SMO back before they shortened the runway. I once did a position flight from VNY to SMO. Brings back some memories!
That would be about 30 seconds in a jet. Haha.
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey It was quick. But, I was working for a fractional at the time and the aircraft needed to be moved for the next live leg. Happened all the time. Shortest ones I ever flew were MSP to STP and ORL to MCO.
It could have been a very different story if you were not living in a city , or somewhere you doesn't take off or land on a airport 😆
Totally worth it :)
I did the same thing once from SLC to PVU in Utah with a buddy of mine.... flight took longer than driving but it was so much fun! Thanks for sharing. :)
*static*... "bravo whiskey!"
That’s a really good idea to carry an electric scooter in your plane. I’m always thinking of how I’m gonna get around (if there is a car rental available, Uber, etc.) but having a scooter with you is genius
Very relatable video for everyone I’d say - I just took my G6 to the local shops and back - very pleasant - my mate uses his Saturn V rocket on the school run - aren’t choices great?
You probably assumed from the beginning it would be cheaper to just drive, but super awesome you went through the trouble to make the video! Great content!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
As an ATC'r having a pilot, especially a student turn base (or any instruction) immediately, usually is the result of loss of situational awareness. They shouldn't have accepted the transition without prior altitude separation, or other instructions/traffic calls to the students in the downwind.
I used to work at Van Nuys airport that place does get busy. Great video!!
The noise on the ground from those airplanes.
1980’s i would commute in my tomahawk from byron to various bay area ap’s.
A friend allowed me to leave my MC in his hanger at RHV or work partners would pick me up from various ap’s SQL etc....
Good times
Cheers
That sounds like fun.
Really appreciate you and your videos. Always well done and informative. It’s fun to also watch you and your family taking trips. Making memories with your children. They grow up fast!
Dan
they sure do! Thanks for the support and encouragement. I really appreciate it!
My grandfather used to fly us in his helicopter to everything, even flew my mother and father to there prom when they where in high School. It inspired me to get my license so sometime when im older i can fly myself!
Nice greaser in Santa Monica! Always fun watching you fly, and I agree, it's never about it being more efficient, but wayyyy more fun haha
Thanks for explaining why you were at pattern altitude for opposing traffic pattern. My first question was, why are you there? Then you explained. Thanks.
You nailed it. There’s a whole lot about aviation you can’t justify the way people normally want to justify things. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Just means our math is different.
Very nice Eric. I love to hear about the procedures surrounding flying LA.
I'll incorporate that into future videos. I have some ideas/....
Great video!! As per your comment of coast of plane.
I would consider it a mental health payments that are priceless. To me, It's like driving the car on the weekend in the environment you like driving listening to music.
Yeah that's a great way to look at it. Thank you
In California, it actually makes a lot of sense to avoid the pain of traffic. Where I live, fuel costs are already a problem for me, and our roads are fully uncongested and go through beautiful terrain, so I can have a bit of fun in my car before work too. In California however, it would just be pain for an hour straight to get to work by car.
Living in a rural area has it's perks! I get surprised whenever I encounter ANY road traffic where I live (and I live within a couple miles of an airport with a huge runway, a nice perk of the specific location I chose)
This was a great video! It’s nice to watch videos that are a little less serious sometimes and this was just fun to watch.
Loved the breakdown! I’ve driven in SoCal traffic before. You’re flying. Enough said.
I just watched that Netflix documentary last week and it was awesome. Thanks for all the awesome videos.
Glad you enjoyed the doc. Thanks for watching it and these videos too!
I seem to remember when I was training with American Flyers at SMO in 2016 that the landing fee was $50 which kept me away for pleasure flights. Good to see it’s more reasonable now.
It can depend on time of day. I had recurring commute between LGB and BUR and was regularly spending 15-20 hours in my car each week. Now that was a little over 40 miles each way... Mornings weren't terrible, usually about an hour... But afternoons... Ugh. At least 90 minutes, usually closer to 2 hours. After about a year, I was looking for reasons to drive later and 3-4 times a month, just finding random parking lots around Commerce and Downey to just pull over and take a 15-20 minute nap. If I could have, I would have. (I saw an ad for an air taxi service but they wanted $1200/month where driving was costing 4-5 hundred. Metrolink might have been an option, too. Less than 300/month but guaranteed over 4 hours per day round trip door to door)
Funny enough I got my hours at Vista Air there, I remember turning left before the 4 stacks, then left again when I got near the golfing corse for left wind departure. Then Climb after the dam
I fly for work occasionally. I love it. I usually go from Oxnard to San Diego or Sacramento. Beats driving!
Definitely!
IT was a super fun, sometimes IT is better to have fun no matters if IT Has any sense. I was on Santa Monica 10years ago. I really love IT. I Hope i will be back again in a future.greetings from Poland.
Try LVK to SMO, starting up the Grapevine at around 2 P.M. and the savings in time would be enormous. I bet it might even be cheaper to fly.
In my opinion you save time ive seen the freeway shut down before because of accidents if that happens then your stuck but if you fly nothing holding you back!
I work with a guy who commutes to work via Cessna. He inherited a large family farm 3 hours from work, and decided to live there. He keeps a cheap car at the local airport 20 minutes from the office. He says flying shaves an hour off his commute, and he flies whenever the weather is nice.
In SoCal, commuting by plane can make sense! Years ago, I lived in Fullerton, and worked in (the Peoples' Republic of) Irvine; my company was purchased, and the plan was to move us all to the company facility in Hawthorne (!). We started having to go to Hawthorne once every week or so, and it was a beastly drive - over an hour from Fullerton, and worse for my work mates who lived in the Inland Empire. The only decent place to eat near the Hawthorne office was the airport restaurant at the Hawthorne airport (KHHR), amusingly named "Icarus" at the time, and I marveled at all the postings on the bulletin board for Northrop employees with planes, operating "plane-pools" to fly from places like Riverside and Chino to Hawthorne every day to work. Given SoCal traffic then, it made a great deal of sense, though, because flying would turn a-hour commute into 30 minutes or so by Cherokee. The plan to move us all to Hawthorne, by the way, never panned out (because no one would remain), so they opened a new facility in Tustin instead, right across the street from MCAS-H Tustin - but that's another story. I used the career bump as an excuse to move home to Texas, go to law school , and enter the most beloved profession of all! I learned to fly in 2002, and love toodling around in my Bonanza. Keep up the great vids, and will see you at PilotsOfAmerica.com !
Thanks for sharing your story. I'd love to live farther out of the city and be able to just commute in by plane when necessary. That drive from Fullerton to Hawthorne every day would be soul crushing thats for sure!
Great video! I loved flying into KSMO when I lived in SoCal! Thanks for sharing your commute!
Thanks for watching. It really is a nice little airport.
It would be interesting to see this for different length journeys. 23mi, then 50mi, up to 100mi. To see if where the higher average speed of the plane starts to overcome some of the extra little bits of time you spend before takeoff / after landing.
"The ROI is the fun that you have ... " Love that thought. Thanks for the video.
New Sub! Loved your video, breakdown in time & costs, and the fact you did it all for the Love of it and to share with us!
Thanks for the sub!
I did hour building from Corona Municipal Airport (KAJO) and my first flight was to Van Nuys. I did that flight solo after being cleared to rent a PA28. It was the most busy and stressful experience I’ve had to date and I learned how to fly next to heathrow :/ great video btw!
yes the airspace around here is super busy. If you learn in this environment youre ready for almost anything.
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey I agree, socal was a beautiful place to fly. Catalina island was also one of the highlight of my hour building experience. Greetings from the UK!
Your math and rationalization made perfect sense to me. The answer is obvious - fly. I do the same thing when I choose to fly to Dallas. It is a 2 hour drive for me under ideal conditions. There are lots of great GA airports all over the DFW area that makes it a short Uber ride or even a walk in some cases to where I need to go (usually for business).
Another great video. Thanks for doing them!
Ive never flown into Dallas in my plane but hope to someday. Thanks for watching and sharing your expereince.
I loved this video. When I used to fly the ATR we had some short hops. My record was 16 minutes between SBJP and SBRF.
It was so much fun!
I used to do a short commute by air in Northern CA just under 40nm. By car, it normally took 50 minutes, but on the worst traffic days it would take a stressful 1 and a half hours. I have taken the motorcycle before and split lanes to get to work, but it was still a stressful commute. By plane, it was an easy 20 minutes on a VFR day, and another 5-10 minutes more on IFR days. When I got the routine down, I was able to make it 45 minutes door to door in the plane, so it was easily worth the extra expense of flying. The bonus on the return trip home was that I would never have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home after a long day at work. Commuting to work by plane was priceless!
that sounds great!
Absolutely love your videos, they are incredibly well done, bravo!
Saw the Netflix documentary last week. Really cool the way you used the miniature cars, people, houses, etc.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. It was fun to do.
Honestly, it makes more sense to fly.. for 30 (a few snooze alarms) extra minutes and a few bucks, (brew your own coffee) you avoid the toxic annoyances of commuting through hanus traffic and replace it with a very pleasant experience. Starting your day off 100x better.
Your living life the right way!
mathed it out at the end. nice stats. the veiws make it worth it. economicly though 5x more fuelcost half times more time to destination, but overall fly not cause you have to but because you want to
Positive guy, lovely aeroplane, great trip! And filming the model reconstruction looked like a lot of fun and very cool too.
Thanks a lot!
That looks like so much fun.. if the distance were to be a little bit longer, than flying might even Safe time and maybe also money.. I’m thinking about crossing downtown + huge traffic jam right in rush hour..
Awsome! Loved the video, it was fun to watch! What you just did I call it living bro. Few bucks more or less for the price of that kind of joy is tottaly worth it!
Right on!
@@SoCalFlyingMonkey I subscribed to the chanel you have great material to show.