by Rod Douglas 

The freedom of flight for all is a fine concept until it becomes apparent that the financial barriers to entry can be strung extremely high. Fortunately, there are now dozens of viable options which make the ultimate pleasure affordable.

I’m a passionate sort of bloke. In fact I’ve made passion my catch cry since I retired about 15 years ago. I simply don’t do anything that doesn’t inspire me. Now, that’s not to say that there are some things that one has to do, that one procrastinates about. I love writing for Aviator. It allows me to stalk the industry, meet amazing people, fly amazing planes and generally be part of it without it costing me my fortune. Still, I can procrastinate.

I’m also not a professional writer. A professional is, in my mind, someone who can produce, on demand, great quality work, every time. While there are lots of things that I might put my hand up to say I’m a professional at, aviation journalism isn’t one of them. I have to work hard at it, and be inspired. So when Simon, our erstwhile publisher and editor, called me and asked me to knock up an extra piece for this issue on affordable flying, I naturally said yes. Then the worries set in.

I’m not a reporter, I’m a columnist. In journalistic terms that means that I tell stories that have me in them and are filled with opinion and conjecture, rather than simply reporting the facts without bias. So for me to write an article, I need some inspiration plus all of the inputs needed to build a great story. Twists and turns, tension and conflicts. People doing the extraordinary. I find it hard to write a story when the components aren’t there. Worse, is when they are there right in front of my nose but I can’t see them.

Now, my challenge is simple. Is flying affordable? I’ve lived a bloody lucky life. Whether it’s nature or nurture I don’t know. With some good luck in the gene pool, an affable father, a dedicated mother that believed I could do whatever I set my mind to, and a deep need to prove myself, I’ve always been able to achieve my goals and it’s given me a great life, with enough money to do pretty much whatever I’ve wanted. I’ve always flown beautiful, well maintained and certified equipment. I’ve always avoided the disciplined accounting I do in every other part of my life around flying, so that I wouldn’t ever be able to rationalize my passionate and deem it either unaffordable or financially wasteful.

I have to say that just about all of my peers in the aviation space, those who pay for their own flying, have exactly the same approach. I regularly ask aircraft owners if they know what it costs them to operate their aircraft and, if I’m feeling bold, I’ll ask what flying costs them every year. Every single one will either admit to not knowing (and often tag it with “and I don’t want to know”) or they simply avoid the question all together.

So what finally got me out of the quagmire of doubt about this article was when the editor sent me the information on the amazing competition he is running through Aviator from June to November. I was gob smacked. He’s giving away a $60,000 Wallaby ultralight. Wow.

I did some research. The only place I could find anything so bold was a couple of competitions that run in the US to give away aircraft. Sporty’s pilot store, the Kings and their computer based flight training programs and the AOPA sweepstakes. Those things run for a year and in an aviation market that is probably 20 times the size of Australia’s. It’s a bold move by Aviator but one which shows this magazine’s belief that the market in Australia can and should be stimulated.

(And about time too that somebody thinks that bringing good business from other disciplines and other countries can benefit Australian aviation. I’m biased but hey - go Aviator!)

That popped me through my procrastination and started me thinking about affordable flying from a different perspective. What if someone won a $60,000 aircraft? Does flying become affordable then?

Well clearly my prejudices were clouding my thinking.

If you won an ultra, the barriers to getting into the air are minimal. You need a 100 m of runway. No high airport charges required there. The economical 50 hp Rotax 503 burns about 15 litres of fuel an hour. Unleaded fuel that is. So even if you allow for the wild oil price gyrations of the past few years you have a cost of somewhere between $15 & $30 per hour.

It’s got two seats so that you can take a friend with you. The wings quickly fold and this makes the aircraft trailable. Suddenly you no longer need a hangar with its $800 - $1,000 per month impost. Just take your pride and joy home and put it in the garage.

I’m just imagining it now.

Pack the family in the Voyager, hook up the trailer and in an hour I’m setting up at Tyagarah airport at Byron Bay. Acres of green grass for my five kids to play on, while mum sits under the tree in the corner with the beautiful spread of food. Friends can pop by and 30 seconds after takeoff be flying up one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.

Want to go exploring? 65 knots might not be your desired cruise speed if you’re flying from Archerfield to Swan Hill, but convert it to kilometres per hour and suddenly you’re leaving the speed limit behind at 115 kph. Great for local touring, and better still, you get to do it out in the open.

Suddenly, the tens of thousands of dollars that I need for my current flying budget becomes a few thousand dollars every year. Now that’s affordable.

Not only that, it’s probably even more fun than the exhilaration that comes with transport flying. The macro of covering half a continent at 10,000 feet becomes the micro of 500 feet up the beach. The hours’ long conversation as the world drifts by at 180 knots becomes a short beautiful hop at 65 knots filled with exhilaration and shared with the whole family as everybody jumps aboard for their turn.

One precise takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing becomes dozens of opportunities to practice your skills in a craft that requires finesse if you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of friends and family. This is back to basic flying with the wind blowing in your face and controls responding to every movement of your fingers.

Aviation is, for everyone who participates, a passion. If you weren’t passionate the commitment and discipline required would become overrun by the lethargy of life. It takes training, knowledge and discipline to do it safely. It matters little whether it’s an ultralight off the grass, or a jet off the tarmac, if you’re not well planned, fully prepared and properly trained, if the aircraft is not properly serviced, and if the weather isn’t suitable, you have the makings of accident.

That said, it really isn’t that different from boating. Whether it’s a big boat, or a little boat, a big aircraft or a little aircraft, safe and happy tooling around in nature costs some money, but pays off big time.

If you love to fly…do your work. Figure out what you can afford, and then make the time and effort to participate. There is no excuse, in this time of reliable simple aircraft, to not exercise your passion. Flying becomes simply a question, not of is it affordable, but rather a question of what’s affordable for me now.

All I have to do is convenience Simon to let me enter the competition and you’ll soon see me hopping in and out of Tyagarah. Come say hello. Ask me for a ride. Until then… good flying.

Share your insights on how you fly, funny anecdotes of your trips or just your opinion on affordable flying with me at rod@aviatormag.com.au