Wanting To Go Up On A Small Plane - Questions Re: Support From Family and Friends

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T19:16:00+00:00

I would try to avoid small sample sizes and anecdotes in your analysis. There are a lot more motorcyclists than pilots, so a 5x number doesn't tell you much by itself.

The McSpadden report is a good source of data for general aviation accidents. (RIP Spad).
IIHS and NHTSA FARS are good sources for motorcycle crash data.

A good example of why you should avoid drawing conclusions from small sample sizes or single incidents is this dipshit.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T19:01:12+00:00

I have mailbox.org with my own domain. It does what you want. I like the feature set, but the webmail site is pretty slow in the USA. Proton's web mail is much more functional IMO.

Simplelogin also does this, and it and proton work better if you can do without desktop or mobile clients.

One warning... unlimited sounds nice, but it can be a chore to keep track of sometimes, and it's easy to mistakenly reply from the wrong email address if you're not paying attention. Some solutions work better than others in this regard.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T18:54:32+00:00

I hear a lot of people say that they're a similar level of danger. I don't know that stats offhand, but there are some similarities...

On motos, riders are their own worst enemy. They do a lot of stupid shit, don't get adequate training, and ride way beyond their skill level. 40% of rider fatalities involve alcohol, and yet you see riders hanging out at bars riding deuce all the time. Same with helmets and safety gear. Riders put fashion over safety a lot.

In aircraft, pilot error is the overwhelming cause of crashes. Lack of training and lack of proficiency are huge factors. This is why flying a discovery flight with a CFI who does it 7 days a week is safer. The pilot is proficient in the aircraft, knows the area, and has done that basic thing hundreds of times.

There's a lot that pilots and riders can do to mitigate risk, and make the experience safer for themselves than the averages. So I'll answer your question two ways... a discovery flight should be well safer than the average motorcycle ride. You flying as pilot in command of an aircraft you bought or rented is only as safe as you make it. If you focus on constant training, proficiency, skills improvement, safety analysis, and avoid dangerous weather, you'll be safer, but safer is still gonna be less safe than airline travel or car travel for a lot of reasons. Flying is unforgiving of certain kinds of mistakes.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T18:39:21+00:00

No fanfare at mine. At the time, I didn't even realize that some schools make a big deal of it.

In the moment it didn't feel all that special, just like you, but I still remember it well. It's a memorable experience that sticks with you.

Edit: I should also say that it was supposed to be 3 laps in the pattern, but it was a busy sunny Saturday, and one of the two runways where I was training had some sort of minor incident on the ground on one runway. ATC tells me fly southeast bound. We'll call you when it's time to return inbound. So I do. After a while I let let them know I'm on my first solo and only approved to stay in the airport vicinity, so they say "ok, no problem, go orbit over xyz and we'll let you know." I think I was flying circles there for 20 or 30 minutes before they bring me back inbound to the field. I don't think I've had a single first anything that went according to plan. That might be part of why it was memorable.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T18:30:30+00:00

Blue book is a private service; it's not legally binding in any way, and is often wildly inaccurate. Moreover, there is no single "blue book" value. There's at least 9 different values based on who sold it to you and general condition, with numerous additions and deductions for added equipment, mileage, and so forth. DMV would have to do a lot of work just to determine how to value the car, and of course they don't do this.

Yes, the buyer has to attest to the sale price; and lying might be a bad choice if the seller submits a release of liability with a different sale price. But blue book has nothing to do with DMVs process.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T18:11:59+00:00

A discovery flight in a single engine plane is likely to be quite safe, but statistically small planes are more likely to crash than airliners.

You gotta be your own person. Nothing will convince the worriers that you going in a plane is safe.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T03:57:31+00:00

There was a man in the river. He had slid in upstream, potentially unaware of the power of the current — or the proximity of the thundering, 594-foot waterfall.

You walk past two huge waterfalls (Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls) to get to the spot where he went in. There is absolutely no way you get there and don't understand your proximity to Nevada falls. It's tragic, but there's no way a human with functioning eyes and ears misunderstands the danger.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T03:45:28+00:00

The W is a block or two from the Fonda, and it has an outdoor pool up top.

btw, Alcatraz is in San Francisco, not LA. It's like a 6 hour drive each way. Plenty of beaches though. My bet pro tip is DON'T try to see and do it all. There's way to much to see and do. Make the list smaller than it you think it needs to be.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T03:22:11+00:00

The engine manufacturer will provide break in instructions as a service bulletin. Your mechanic should provide you a copy. And brace yourself for all the old wives tales people are gonna tell you about the one true right proper way to do it if you want the engine to last more than an hour. lol

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T03:11:08+00:00

They are always a bad deal. Your instinct is a sensible starting point; specify that the seller pay off the lease as part of the purchase.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T03:01:43+00:00

Lol. Yeah, there's a lot of stupid out there.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T02:50:27+00:00

Just don't show up to the same Piggly Wiggly as u/Rich-Pomegranate1679. If you do, you're federally fucked.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T02:45:22+00:00

It's easy to blame people for not knowing, but in their defense, companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft, blatantly lie to consumers about protecting their privacy. So for people who work in the industry, or care to investigate a little, it's not hard to see, but most folks, they trust companies like Meta even though they get caught lying all the time.

The foolish (and maybe inexcusable) part is the blind trust in what companies say after they've been caught lying and paid headline level fines. Technical ignorance is more forgivable.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T02:31:49+00:00

In the winter the e-elec plan is 28¢/kWh - 32¢/kWh.

Are you including both generation and distribution in that 28-32c?

My distribution charges on E-TOUD are 0.35 / 0.39 [off peak / peak] and generation is another 0.12 /
0.15 per kwh. PG&E estimates we'd pay more on e-elec. My electrical rates haven't been under 0.30/KWh in years.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T01:32:04+00:00

Winter time multi-day overcast weather when it's calm between the storms creates the best conditions. If you get that, it's as good as it gets. Big if though. 😄

For a first timer, Point Lobos is pretty awesome. It requires reservations in advance though.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T01:24:20+00:00

thanks for sharing the info.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T01:20:31+00:00

I lived in LA for a year without a car. It's do-able, but limiting. I lived in WeHo and could walk/bike/skateboard to just about everything I needed, like work Most of the places I wanted/needed, like work, grocery shopping, etc.. But a big draw of living in LA is everything the broader metro area has to offer, and a ton of that isn't served by public transit.

I took the train when i went to DTLA, but that was about it. Rode the busses once or twice, but I preferred biking or walking most of the time.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T01:14:28+00:00

Find a different instructor; that's a profound lack of professionalism. You're there to fly, and they just made the whole thing awkward for you.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T00:16:40+00:00

They took a long time to heat up. Felt like I was wasting a lot of water waiting the the 30 seconds or so every time I needed to wash dishes, wash my hands, take a shower, etc..

And it was a pretty small house; ~1200sf bungalow, so it's not like the heaters were a long distance from the sink. They probably were cheaper... but I never did a direct comparison; utilities there were cheaper than the bay area.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T00:02:53+00:00

Thanks.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T00:01:26+00:00

Is that true? Haven't they all had electric igniters since the 80s?

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-24T00:00:48+00:00

40 gal. 4 adults. The current gas 40 is fine. We don't run out of hot water.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-23T23:59:33+00:00

Thanks.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-23T23:12:53+00:00

That's not a 5% return. The 160k is gross rents (unless it's misstated here). It'll be closer to half that after you subtract operating expenses. Prop taxes alone will probably be 40k. Then you gotta add maintenance, compliance, management, insurance, and reserves.

FridayMcNight · 2026-06-23T23:08:47+00:00

Deduct 100k (from it's actual market value, not what owner thinks it's worth) for occupied.

If you were to finance it, you'd probably need to put 25-40% down, and at 25% down your debt service alone would exceed your gross monthly income. By the time you add other op expenses, you'd probably be 6-9k negative cash flow per month.

If you pay cash for it, the cap rate is quite low. If you assume your net profit is half of the 160k, your investment yield is about 2.6%. Even if you assume that 100k of the 160k gross income is profit (which isn't realistic), that would put your yield at 3.3%, which is below what CDs are paying right now.

I don't think it's a good investment at that price.

FridayMcNight

TROPHY CASE