'Business class' takes on new meaning among pilots
Many a parent has subscribed to the theory that if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.
Some Eastern Nebraska business owners have taken that attitude to a new altitude, as in thousands of feet above the ground.
Rather than trying to schedule their business lives around the commercial airlines, these people are taking the stick for themselves, getting pilot’s licenses and making their own schedules.
For Stan Meyer, who flies 12 to 14 times a year from Beatrice to business meetings and conventions, flying is a way to avoid driving to Lincoln or Omaha, going through a security check, and taking several connecting flights.
If a businessperson’s destination isn’t near an airport, flying commercial means another drive awaits at the end of the trip.
Meyer parks his Cirrus FR-22 at Beatrice Airport, and can fly to High Point, N.C. in 5.5 hours. Flying commercial from Lincoln would require at least one connection and a drive from Greensboro.
“It’s generally a 10- to 12-hour deal,” said Mayer, who owns Stan’s Brand Source and Ashley Furniture.
Jack Vetter, owner of Vetter Health Services in Omaha, has a similar tale to tell. His company owns nursing, assisted living and retirement homes in five states.
“A lot of these facilities are not close to a commercial airport,” said Vetter. “It’s just expedient that I use an airplane.”
The advantage of flying himself is clear when considering Vetter’s trips to Lander, Wyo.
Option A: drive from his acreage north of Gretna to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, take a flight to Denver, wait for a connecting flight to Riverton, Wyo. ,(they’re not frequent, says Vetter), then drive 30-plus miles to Lander.
Option B: Fly directly from Millard Airport, where Vetter’s Piper Meridian is hangared, to Lander’s Hunt Field Airport.
Option A, Vetter said, is an all-day experience. He can fly Millard-to-Lander in about three hours.
“Plus,” he said. “I do it on my schedule versus the airline’s schedule.”
Since he often takes along one or more passengers, Vetter said he usually saves money flying to his company’s properties, versus flying commercial. If he’s going to a convention in D.C., though, he takes the airlines.
“The distance is great, the connections are decent, and you don’t lose any time,” Vetter said.
Meyer said he doesn’t necessarily save money by flying himself, but he values the convenience his own plane offers. He said he hasn’t flown commercially for six years.
Mike Weatherl of Lincoln not only flies his two planes and helicopter, he also uses the helicopter as a business tool.
Weatherl, owner of Silverhawk Investigations Inc., says the helicopter is useful in surveillance, where cars would be easily spotted by the target.
Recently, Weatherl said, he planned to leave Lincoln for Texas to visit an office an hour north of Amarillo, then head to Springfield, Ill., all in the same day. It would be almost impossible to do that flying commercially, he said.
In addition to making more sense business-wise, said Weatherl, flying is also enjoyable.
“Where other people think of getting in the pickup and going to Wal-Mart,” he said. “I plan my day around finding a way to get into an airplane.”
The Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association is expecting more businesspeople to take to the skies, said spokeswoman Kathleen Vasconcelos.
The Frederick, Md.-based general aviation advocacy group has anecdotal evidence that suggests the number of people getting pilot’s licenses for business purposes is on the rise, Vasconcelos said.
No wonder: Of the more than 5,000 public-use airports in the U.S., she said, commercial airlines fly to about 500, meaning that large swathes of the country are nearer to general aviation airfields.
Getting a pilot’s license isn’t as difficult as some might imagine, Vasconcelos said. Becoming licensed requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight instruction, and will cost about $5,000 to $9,000.
Advances in small aircraft will make flying more attractive to more people, said Meyer, who sees in the near future faster planes that are not much more expensive that his propeller-driven Cirrus. The Cirrus aircraft now cost up to $450,000, according to the company.
Manufacturers have orders on hand for thousands of small jets similar to what Meyer described. Called "microjets," or "very light jets," they typically have two engines and seat five or six.
Those jets, Meyer said, “can get you to Vegas in two hours and to Miami in three.”
Reach Rodd Cayton at 473-7107 or rcayton@journalstar.com.Wanna fly?According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has launched Project Pilot, a new program aimed at getting more people into the skies, this is what it’ll be like to learn how to fly.
The Project Pilot website, www.projectpilot.org, offers information for beginner pilots as well as for those thinking about learning to fly, including a database of more than 3,500 flight schools nationwide.
Project Pilot encourages those with an interest to contact a local flight school to schedule an introductory flight, during which the prospective student will actually get to fly the airplane. The time accrued counts toward the student’s FAA-required minimum.
Learning to fly is well within reach of a person of average ability and health. If you can drive a car and read a map, most likely you can learn to fly, the group says.
A private pilot certificate is good for life; the pilot just has to pass an FAA-mandated biannual medical exam.
Once you earn your private pilot certificate, you don’t have to buy an airplane to fly. In fact, more than half of all pilots rent planes, for as little as $65 per hour including fuel, the group says.
Source: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Some Eastern Nebraska business owners have taken that attitude to a new altitude, as in thousands of feet above the ground.
Rather than trying to schedule their business lives around the commercial airlines, these people are taking the stick for themselves, getting pilot’s licenses and making their own schedules.
For Stan Meyer, who flies 12 to 14 times a year from Beatrice to business meetings and conventions, flying is a way to avoid driving to Lincoln or Omaha, going through a security check, and taking several connecting flights.
If a businessperson’s destination isn’t near an airport, flying commercial means another drive awaits at the end of the trip.
Meyer parks his Cirrus FR-22 at Beatrice Airport, and can fly to High Point, N.C. in 5.5 hours. Flying commercial from Lincoln would require at least one connection and a drive from Greensboro.
“It’s generally a 10- to 12-hour deal,” said Mayer, who owns Stan’s Brand Source and Ashley Furniture.
Jack Vetter, owner of Vetter Health Services in Omaha, has a similar tale to tell. His company owns nursing, assisted living and retirement homes in five states.
“A lot of these facilities are not close to a commercial airport,” said Vetter. “It’s just expedient that I use an airplane.”
The advantage of flying himself is clear when considering Vetter’s trips to Lander, Wyo.
Option A: drive from his acreage north of Gretna to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, take a flight to Denver, wait for a connecting flight to Riverton, Wyo. ,(they’re not frequent, says Vetter), then drive 30-plus miles to Lander.
Option B: Fly directly from Millard Airport, where Vetter’s Piper Meridian is hangared, to Lander’s Hunt Field Airport.
Option A, Vetter said, is an all-day experience. He can fly Millard-to-Lander in about three hours.
“Plus,” he said. “I do it on my schedule versus the airline’s schedule.”
Since he often takes along one or more passengers, Vetter said he usually saves money flying to his company’s properties, versus flying commercial. If he’s going to a convention in D.C., though, he takes the airlines.
“The distance is great, the connections are decent, and you don’t lose any time,” Vetter said.
Meyer said he doesn’t necessarily save money by flying himself, but he values the convenience his own plane offers. He said he hasn’t flown commercially for six years.
Mike Weatherl of Lincoln not only flies his two planes and helicopter, he also uses the helicopter as a business tool.
Weatherl, owner of Silverhawk Investigations Inc., says the helicopter is useful in surveillance, where cars would be easily spotted by the target.
Recently, Weatherl said, he planned to leave Lincoln for Texas to visit an office an hour north of Amarillo, then head to Springfield, Ill., all in the same day. It would be almost impossible to do that flying commercially, he said.
In addition to making more sense business-wise, said Weatherl, flying is also enjoyable.
“Where other people think of getting in the pickup and going to Wal-Mart,” he said. “I plan my day around finding a way to get into an airplane.”
The Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association is expecting more businesspeople to take to the skies, said spokeswoman Kathleen Vasconcelos.
The Frederick, Md.-based general aviation advocacy group has anecdotal evidence that suggests the number of people getting pilot’s licenses for business purposes is on the rise, Vasconcelos said.
No wonder: Of the more than 5,000 public-use airports in the U.S., she said, commercial airlines fly to about 500, meaning that large swathes of the country are nearer to general aviation airfields.
Getting a pilot’s license isn’t as difficult as some might imagine, Vasconcelos said. Becoming licensed requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight instruction, and will cost about $5,000 to $9,000.
Advances in small aircraft will make flying more attractive to more people, said Meyer, who sees in the near future faster planes that are not much more expensive that his propeller-driven Cirrus. The Cirrus aircraft now cost up to $450,000, according to the company.
Manufacturers have orders on hand for thousands of small jets similar to what Meyer described. Called "microjets," or "very light jets," they typically have two engines and seat five or six.
Those jets, Meyer said, “can get you to Vegas in two hours and to Miami in three.”
Reach Rodd Cayton at 473-7107 or rcayton@journalstar.com.Wanna fly?According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has launched Project Pilot, a new program aimed at getting more people into the skies, this is what it’ll be like to learn how to fly.
The Project Pilot website, www.projectpilot.org, offers information for beginner pilots as well as for those thinking about learning to fly, including a database of more than 3,500 flight schools nationwide.
Project Pilot encourages those with an interest to contact a local flight school to schedule an introductory flight, during which the prospective student will actually get to fly the airplane. The time accrued counts toward the student’s FAA-required minimum.
Learning to fly is well within reach of a person of average ability and health. If you can drive a car and read a map, most likely you can learn to fly, the group says.
A private pilot certificate is good for life; the pilot just has to pass an FAA-mandated biannual medical exam.
Once you earn your private pilot certificate, you don’t have to buy an airplane to fly. In fact, more than half of all pilots rent planes, for as little as $65 per hour including fuel, the group says.
Source: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
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