A pilot and his wife flying an Aviat A1-B Husky over the desert about 100 miles north of Reno spotted a man lying face-down in the desert.
The former police officer landed by a car about a mile and a half away, but the two people did not know of a missing person. As he flew over the body again he noticed movement and landed. Taxiing to put the man under the shade of the wing the pilot tuned to 121.5 and contacted an airliner whose pilot relayed a message to get a medical helicopter dispatched.
Yes, but WHY was he lying face down in the desert–where was his vehicle? Or was he left there to die? The vehicle that the pilot found belonged to the other 2 people–the victim wasn’t a member of that party.
I’m left with more questions than answers. Good on the pilot and his wife (so lucky they were flying their smaller aircraft, no?)* and I’m glad the guy is recuperating.
*as fortunate as it is, I have to laugh. “Let’s take the smaller plane, darling–you know how I hate to waste fuel…” Shades of the Howells.
It’s a misconception that airplane owners are wealthy. My dad had two airplanes (a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and a Cessna 182 Skylane) and we weren’t rich. A Husky is rather expensive, but a Mooney 201 can be had for as little as less than $80,000. It depends on how old it is, how many hours are on the airframe and engine, etc. It’s a more expensive proposition to own even a single aircraft nowadays, compared to the '70s when a five- or six-year-old Skyhawk could be had for $10,000 to $15,000 but you don’t have to be Thurston Howell III rich.
I’m not criticizing, I’m just reminding you that to some of us, $80,000 is a ridiculously large sum of money for something that doesn’t come with a 30 year mortgage.
More than I can afford. But when you consider how many people have a Porsche or a couple of high-end SUVs I think it changes the perspective a little. (Of course most Mooney 201s go for about twice what the cheapest ones do, and that changes the perspective as well.) I think Mooneys are a little like Porsches. They’re a little tight, but fast for their horsepower. Something like a Skyhawk is more akin to a ‘family car’, and good examples can be had for about $40,000 to $50,000 – about the same as a luxury sedan. So while it’s a huge chunk of change, you don’t have to be ‘rich’ to own an airplane.
In case you’re wondering, an owner-operator can gross as much as $150,000 per year, but running costs will eat at least half of that. If he’s paying off his truck, he might not see more than $20,000 a year after expenses.
I would consider someone who would buy something like that for their own personal use rich, yes.
To date, I have not gathered that we are talking about bush pilots, couriers, or air taxi pilots here. If I have erred in that, my mistake. I’m talking about someone who can spend (or encumber for however long it takes to pay off) that kind of money for their own personal, private use.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. I personally, me, myself, my own personal opinion is, if you can do that, more power to you. And I consider you rich. Mazel tov.
What about boats? A lot of people have boats that cost as much as or more than a used airplane. (I’m talking a $20,000 - $40,000 Bugsmasher 100 here, not a high-performance used plane like a Mooney or later model Beechcraft.) I’d call these boat-owners middle-class. No one thinks twice about a neighbour who owns a boat; but it seems that if someone owns an airplane, even an old one that cost less than hes neighbour’s boat, he’s considered ‘rich’.
