On 2024-07-10 12:22, -hh wrote:
> On 7/10/24 10:51 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 7/6/2024 4:42 PM, -hh wrote:
>>> On 7/5/24 2:19 PM, Tom Elam wrote (plus merged posts):
>>>> On 6/28/2024 8:04 PM, -hh wrote:
>>>>> On 6/28/24 11:10 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>> On 6/27/2024 3:55 PM, Alan wrote:
>>>>>>> On 2024-06-25 10:34, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>>>> Dear Alan,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Last year, 2023, April-June, there 3 weekends, 9 races at SBBC.
>>>>>>>> Total unique CW driver entries were 97, OW 37. These are typical
>>>>>>>> for an entire season for 2021-2023. In April-June 2024 unique
>>>>>>>> driver entries are 14 OW and 49 CW, about half prior years.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> These stats are from the SBBC season championship records.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Wow, quite the drop. What's going on, Alan?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> And, BTW, you entered 11 out of a 71 2021-2024 races. None last
>>>>>>>> year of course, but also none this year and 11 out of 34 in
>>>>>>>> 2021-22. Have you retired? I thought you were looking forward to
>>>>>>>> getting back this year. Not so much?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So great to see you taking such an interest in my life, Liarboy!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I wonder if I might take a little interest in yours.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Done much flying lately?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Well, yes. Two very different flavors. Full scale last 6 months,
>>>>>> 36 hours logged including 2 family visit trips to Georgia, some
>>>>>> CAP hours, and just passed a VFR checkride. The Christmas return
>>>>>> flight from Georgia was IFR all the way home and an instrument
>>>>>> approach into Indy Metro.
>>>>>
>>>>> Christmas of 2023, of course.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Now good for 2 another years on my BFR, taking me almost to my
>>>>>> 80th birthday. At this time I am also IFR current and capable, but
>>>>>> those are perishable skills. I'll be taking an IFR skills test
>>>>>> checkride before the end of September.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> RC model flying has been active since the weather improved in
>>>>>> April. Some of that is documented on my YouTube channel available at:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcvZXi-36GQkeHr0FdB4cTg
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My latest YT video is rendering as I write this. That one is on
>>>>>> programming my 3 meter Fox sailplane for solo hand launch. It will
>>>>>> be up on the channel by end of today.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tomorrow I am scheduled to go to the AMA annual Fun Fly in Muncie
>>>>>> and do some instructing with beginning RC pilots. I also just
>>>>>> passed my Part 107 Remote Pilot/commercial drone license FAA
>>>>>> refresher, and good for another 2 on that front years too.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So yes, done a lot of flying. Some airline flying in the near
>>>>>> future too!
>>>>>
>>>>> Because even 36 hours droning along at a Cessna's 125mph cruising
>>>>> speed is just 4500 miles: enough to cross the pond once...but not
>>>>> back.
>>>>>
>>>>>> We will be flying to Vancouver next month to catch a train to
>>>>>> Calgary then flying home from there. August takes us to France,
>>>>>> Luxembourg and a Viking river cruise to Basel. Flying home from
>>>>>> Zurich. Ten day trip in all. So still traveling too.
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh, so now its a ten day trip for what previously was a twelve day
>>>>> Paris-Rhine cruise claimed back in February?  /s
>>>>>
>>>>>> How about you, doing any racing lately? I know the answer to that,
>>>>>> at least for SBBC events. Null, zero, nada since 2022. Going
>>>>>> anywhere outside Canada this year?
>>>>>
>>>>> Life invariably takes different turns.  My last travel comment here
>>>>> was in early 2023, that we were looking (in 2023) to be making up
>>>>> for our CoVid travel lull, but that doesn't mean that it all went
>>>>> as had been hoped for: indeed, it could have changed.  Cancelled
>>>>> outright, or even perhaps upgraded to be in First Class instead of
>>>>> Coach on all of that year's international flights! /s
>>>>>
>>>>> Same applies for 2024 as well, for life invariably throws curve
>>>>> balls; this is why the advice was to 'do the hard stuff' while
>>>>> one's body (& finances) are healthy enough to be still able to do
>>>>> what one wishes. Otherwise, one can be pushing 80 and renting a car
>>>>> is no longer trivial, so one can get increasingly constrained to
>>>>> guided tours on cruise ships.
>>>>>
>>>>> In any event, a week on the Rocky Mountaineer and the
>>>>> aforementioned Rhine cruise sounds to be in the rough ballpark of
>>>>> ($7500+air)/pp, so it does seem like Tommy is perhaps finally
>>>>> breaking out of his prior fiscal constraint, as I'd long advised.
>>>>> Yay, you!.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -hh
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Ten was a wrong number for Europe. It IS 12 days plus 2 for to-from
>>>> travel that I did not include in a prior post.
>>>
>>> But also plus +3 days pre-tour in Paris, as you've mentioned before
>>> and mentioned again below.
>>>
>>>
>>>> The Canada trip is a package tour via a local company. It includes
>>>> several side trips, most meals, air, and several nights in the
>>>> Fairmont Banff Springs and others of similar quality prior to Banff
>>>> Springs. Check the rates on that hotel. $11,990 for 2. Sadly, one of
>>>> the people, a good friend at that, was scheduled to go but died very
>>>> suddenly. The wife has to cancel. It may still be an open
>>>> reservation for two. Interested? Starts July 20.
>>>
>>>
>>> We've been meaning to get back to the Canadian Rockies, but that
>>> start date hits a schedule conflict.  Plus we learned last month that
>>> we're out of shape for any decent hiking in the Rockies (not that
>>> this rail journey would really have much), so not enough pre-trip
>>> prep time either.
>>>
>>>
>>>> The Europe trip including air is a bit over $10,000 plus 3 nights on
>>>> our own in a Paris hotel at $300/night, plus meals, local
>>>> transportation and sundries. Likely to also come to about $12,000.
>>>
>>> Figured about that, as a cabin on Viking is ~$3800/pp on its own.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Your $7,500 pp is spot-on but includes airfare.
>>>
>>> As you know, there's several rail journey options to choose from, of
>>> varying lengths; I'd conservatively parameterized to a higher end
>>> tour than what you actually chose.
>>>
>>>
>>>> We also just this week scheduled a trip to Luddington MI to spend a
>>>> week with some good friends at their cabin. I'll be flying us up
>>>> there, only about $600 R/T for air plus taking them out to a VERY
>>>> nice restaurant or two.
>>>>
>>>> We also have the annual ski trip of course. 2024 is a bit of a
>>>> splurge but not that different from many prior years.
>>>
>>> I've not chatted skiing lately with a colleague who spends 2-3 weeks
>>> in Vail each season to know current rates, but I'd expect that the
>>> Epic is still just ~$1K/pp and that condo/AirBNB rates are quite
>>> variable.  Even so, $10K probably covers ~3 weeks when driving.  So
>>> without the ski trip, ballpark $25K for 2024, including the Florida
>>> bit (next below):
>>>
>>> {merge}
>>>  >
>>>  > Second reply. I just updated the 2024 travel diary and forgot to
>>>  > include 2 January Florida weeks. We stayed with friends week 1, so
>>>  > that kept the cost down. I think the whole trip was only maybe $3-4k
>>>  > all-in.
>>>
>>>
>>> {merge}
>>>  >
>>>  > Back again. FYI the club 182 cruises at 160+ mph, not 125.
>>>
>>> So its an 5,760 miles upper limit.  That's still not enough to cross
>>> the pond & back...and one still can't nap (safely) when at the controls.
>>>
>>>
>>>  > It's a little over 2.5 hours including taxi time, with no headwind.
>>>  > Delta makes it in 1:30 of droning on in a B737 but them you have a
>>> 1+  > hour drive to my sister's place in Woodstock, TSA hassles, ...
>>>
>>> TSA Pre makes airport security pretty trivial.  And since someone
>>> else is driving, its easy to take a nap, watch a movie, read a book...
>>>
>>>  > ... and what do we do with all the Christmas presents in Cessna
>>>  > luggage compartment? 🙂
>>>
>>> Have Amazon send them direct to final destination.  Or ship them out
>>> in advance via FedEx, USPS, or UPS.  Or small gifts which fit easily
>>> in one's pocket, and/or a small carry-on bag.
>>>
>>>
>>> -hh
>>
>> I NEVER feel the need to nap when I'm in the aircraft left front seat.
>
> Irrelevant, because you have no other choice.  Ditto for going up to go
> to the bathroom.
>
>
>> You have no clue, do you? Flying yourself is an exciting and engaging
>> way to get there that adds a whole new dimension to a vacation. You
>> will never experience that.
>
> You should have said "never again", because you've not recalled my
> comment from a 2011 post which is germane:
>
> "Personally, I've not had sufficient stick time to have much of a strong
> opinion, but enough to know a few things and ask a few questions."
>
> Plus I've also mentioned that I had had a coworker who was trying to
> encourage me to get my ticket and buy his C172...remember?
>
> There might even be a few random comments from my even older analog RC
> aircraft days.
>
> -hh
>
>

Our Tommie has what I would term a very "convenient" memory.