You could also look at joining a flying club. Its a little like a time share program for aircraft, usually an up front fee thats returnable when you leave the club and anywhere from $100-$200 a month and lower per hour charges compared to going to an FBO and renting one of theirs. That amount may be off, its been a while. Its a good deal, especially if you do not want to worry about Time Between Overhauls, maintenance, inspections, etc. I think the maintenance part is what alot of new aircraft owners fail to research the cost. A private pilots license runs around $3,000 depending on where you are, learning curve etc.
you guys may laugh, but can you bring a parachute with you and jump out in case you have to? say you're flying and the engine dies. rather than just sit there and crash, can you jump out with a parachute????? lol i'm asking seriously, though.
And no you can't bring a parachute. There's an unwritten code that forbids you from bringing a parachute. If your plane goes down, you go down with it...in HONOR -Fast
You could, I do not know many pilots who fly for pleasure who do. Most small aircraft accidents happen on take-off and landing and there is generally not enough altitude to use a parachute. If you're at cruising altitude an engine failure gives you alot more time to figure out where to land and try to start the engine. If your engine quits at cruising altitude you have a while to glide and find a road or flat field. It just does not fall out of the sky. There is an airplane (I forget the name) that has a parachute attached to it. I remember seeing the ad somewhere.
I've seen the website before, but can't remember the name either. These will give GG some idea of what you're talking about. Interesting stuff: http://www.nasa.gov/lb/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/SafeLanding_feature_5_8.html (Scroll halfway down the page to see the article.) http://www.dropzonepress.com/cirruspl.htm From the NASA site above: "The rocket that deploys the parachute is a smaller version of the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters." "The parachute rescue system can safely deploy at altitudes as low as 91 meters (300 feet)." "So far, the plane chute has had over 150 success stories. [...] Just last year, a pilot flying in a single-engine plane had to make an emergency landing with the plane chute. He landed safely in a tree grove. The pilot was uninjured, and the plane only suffered minimal damage." "The next step is to develop the parachute system for planes that carry up to 12 people."
i believe if anyone was short into the close, the "plunge Protection Team" did their duty, fucked the shorts hard. And its gota be the Protection Team, i have not seen a shortsquezz like that in a while....woooowowowow