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I'm more concerned about what your Light Sport Aircraft at 30,000 feet.

No kidding. By definition they are not pressurized. Which makes breathing a bit of an issue for starters.

Why do I mention this? Because the TSA and if the FAA and airlines have their way, private pilots will be history...

This statement doesn't make a lot of sense in light of the fact that the FAA recently made it even easier to get a pilot's license. Granted it's limited, but it IS available and requires only half the time and money compared to a traditional pilot's license.

You can indeed buy a used plane for $15000. However, to use the requisite car analogy, it'd be the equivalent of buying a $500 car - it's a car, and it'll run - mostly. The big difference is YOU can work on a car yourself; the FAA mandates only a certified aircraft mechanic (A&P) work on a certified aircraft, or optionally the original builder if it's experimental. Your drivers license cost about $100 and a couple weeks? A private pilot license will cost about $6000 and take six months if you really get after it; the FAA mandates at least 40 hours in a plane, typically 60, generally at $100+ per hour to rent the plane - note possible savings if you are flying your own - although the insurance coverage could be problematic until you have your license and/or a minimum number of hours total and / or hours in the plane. I would expect insurance to be at least $1000/yr, depending on the hull value of the plane and your experience. You take your car in for an annual inspection (maybe) for $25 - your mandatory airplane annual will be a good $500-$800 - assuming it doesn't uncover any problems. Also note that most aircraft engines have a suggested rebuild schedule at 2000 hours. You'll want to keep your new baby in hanger - expect $50/mo to well over $500/mo depending on how far in the sticks you live. Of course you'll want a good GPS ($2k for a lower-end handheld, $8k-$15k for a 'real' panel-mount IFR one) to let you know when you are approaching some arbitrary, invisible airspace restriction, and pay to keep the database current ($300/yr), and maybe some on-board weather (another $300+/yr - but oh-so-worth it if you fly cross country). I hope you understand why yet ANOTHER $1200 (although I'd heard they were closer to $300-$400 for a basic drop-in replacement) for an upgraded beacon that is renowned for not working when you need it (see: steve fossett) really annoys many pilots.

Depending on your goals, it can be much cheaper and easier to get a 'sport pilot' license (more info at http://www.sportpilot.org/), but there are a number of restrictions - daylight flight only, only in a certified 'sport plane' - limited to 100 hp, two seats, no faster than 130 mph (?). Don't get me wrong - there are some mighty nice sport planes, but since the category is pretty new, you probably aren't going to find a $15000 sport plane (they are generally MUCH cheaper than new 'regular' planes, though)

Having said all that, keep in mind that an airplane is a long-term investment, and buying one is much closer to buying a cabin or other land (or at least it was - haven't checked recently) - you should be able to get a 15-20 yr low-interest loan, and they historically keep their value pretty well due to the rigorous maintenance requirements. If you are truly passionate about flying it's certainly possible to get a pilots license. If you want to fly recreationally look into joining a flying club and distributing the ownership costs, find a busy general aviation airport and start visiting and asking questions, talk to pilots and take some rides, make friends with some mechanics, learn about various models of planes in the price range you are looking at. You'll find many are pretty small if you are a large person, and some will be more comfortable than others, and there are differences in speed, range, weight capacity, operating cost (fuel burn, parts availability and maintenance costs, insurance) that have to be considered.

In summary - flying is awesome, if you have the desire by all means follow your dreams, but don't for a second think that $15000 is going to put you in the air, even if it might buy you a plane (well, it might if you go the flying club route). You don't have to be a millionaire, but you DO have to commit serious time and effort - and a chunk of cash - into it. I can, however, assure you it's worth it.

You might want to check ou the new Light Sport Pilot Certificate and the aircraft that are available under the S-LSA rules. http://www.sportpilot.org/ 20 hours of training is all that is required.

With regard to the original post, you might consider 'pilot share the ride' - http://www.pilotsharetheride.com/. I suspect it works better in theory than in practice, but it's tough to fault the guy for implementing a good idea.

As for becoming a pilot for personal transportation - it isn't that far fetched. I'm a consultant on a long-term contract 600 miles from home (direct - 800 by road) and I got my pilots license and bought a small experimental aircraft (vans rv-8). It's analogous to a flying motorcycle - limited space, low operating cost (something like $100/hr - burns less fuel per trip home than my subaru), high speed (about 200 mph) - and as a bonus it's fully aerobatic (bigger bonus - make it a DIY project - http://www.vansaircraft.com/).

Door-to-door it's a 12 hour drive, 9 hours flying commercial, about 4.5 hours in my plane with fueling and pre-flight. Not only are small private craft (used ones, anyway) not much more than a decked-out SUV, but because they hold their value (or even appreciate) you can get 15 year loans on them - so the payments are really reasonable. Check out James Fallows' "Free Flight" for a real pep-talk.

Also consider the new 'sport pilot' rating as an easy start - http://www.sportpilot.org/. It's about $3k for the rating, can be done in 2-4 weeks. Limits include VERY small craft - 2 seat, no more than 130 mph (as I recall), only daytime flight - but the planes are cheap ($100k new), burn premium car gas, and are REALLY fuel efficent.

Another issue most people don't think about is how FAT most middle-aged americans (the ones that have the resources for a plane) have gotten - many simply won't fit into a small airplane, or if they do it severely limits any other weight that it can hold (including fuel). At 6'5 and 235lb I only just fit into mine, and I can't get my knees out of the way of the yoke in a cessna 152. At least half the guys I've given rides to in mine barely wedged themselves into it.

As for rail - I really wish that was a possibility, but land has gotten SO expensive that I just don't think it could happen. The way things are going it won't be long before it's cheaper to dig a tunnel from coast-to-coast than to buy the land needed for a rail system (ok, that's pure conjecture). That, and rail lines are a SUPER easy target for terrorist sabotage, so I doubt any security 'theater' would change.

Hopefully the new Very Light Jets can fuel a viable air taxi service, and I REALLY hope there isn't some plot against general aviation that makes flying your own plane as big a hastle as flying commercial - 'cause as it stands right now private aviation and flying charter (at least at the little airports) has just a hair more than ZERO security, and that's fine with me.

Sorry for trying to address multiple topics with one post, but this discussion is dear to me.

If you've been out of the action for that long, perhaps you don't understand just how serious the political assaults against General Aviation have gotten. What we DON'T need is more people using "pseudo-aviation" style vernacular when discussing GA because that will only help to further propagate the kinds of mis-information and half-truths that the common media is so full of WRT general aviation. When discussing general aviation, we should always make it a point to always be accurate and technically precise with our terminology. Especially now that the Light Sport Aircraft / Sport Pilot Certificate program is finally in place in the USA and general aviation is poised on the brink of either a fresh revival... or extinction... depending upon the collective behaviour of the established general aviation community and all those new Sport Pilots who'll hopefully be joining our ranks soon. The general aviation community has always had a pretty good record of "policing ourselves" in the past, and we definitely need to keep this tradition going on in our new (hopefully revitalized) future.

PS: Get back into that left seat man....

PPS: To everybody out there in the US who is interested in being a pilot, please consider joining the EAA www.eaa.org and/or the AOPA www.aopa.org
and if you're interested in the new Sport Pilot certificate and light sport aircraft, please visit the EAA's Sport Pilot Website.

I'm working on a Private Pilot certificate and eventually a CFI/CFII so I can help teach some of the new crop of sport pilots. (I see money in that! :) Even with the new Sport Pilot rules, they are very, very limited in range and operating conditions. You can only operate under VFR, not at night, and you have to keep your gross weight under 1,320lbs. There are few commerical aircraft available with more than 1 seat in that category, and none of the planes in that group I've seen are intended for regular flight -- e.g. To Be Overhauled times of less than 1,000 hours, or worse yet, kit planes (which, of all aircraft, are likely to be the least safe, IMHO). Not to mention, if you want more than 2 people, you have to shift away from Sport Pilot rules entirely.

For anyone interested in the new Sport Pilot rules, visit the EAA's Sport Pilot website. If your more interested in a private pilots license, I've found Cessna's Learn to Fly site and the AOPA to be very valuable.

Here's a good page of information from the Experimental Aircraft Association

QUICK ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS
July 20, 2004 - Here is a collection of answers to some of the more common Sport Pilot questions:

Gross weight = 1,320 pounds (600 kilograms)
Floatplanes = 1,430 (650 kilograms)
Maximum Full Power Speed = 120 knots (138 mph)
Stall Speed = 45 knots (52 mph) no more dual stall speeds
Fixed Prop - may be ground adjustable
Fixed Gear - amphibians allowed "repositionable" gear
Two Place - pilot and one passenger
Day VFR
Driver's License Medical Approved - however, if you have received a letter with the word "denied" from FAA, not from your doctor, you must get a one-time special issuance or FAA authorization even if you have been denied in the past, you can try again for special issuance (medicines have changed, for example) more on this as EAA continues to analyze the new rule
Owner Maintenance Approved on ELSAs - no changes - if you are operating an Amateur-Built or Standard category as an LSA, maintenance remains as it was without change
No Recertification of aircraft required or permitted (this means ultralights are converted to ELSAs; all other aircraft certification and maintenance remain the same)
Rule Effective Date = 9/1/04

These are the standard class aircraft that are considered to be sport pilot legal.

Lots of pictures at the Sport Pilot web site

The FAA has proposed new rule for what will be called a Sport Pilots License. The rules should be approved this summer and it will make it much easier for anyone to become a pilot. For one, you won't have to take an expensive physical any longer.

However, there are a lot of restrictions on someone with an SPL. You can't fly an aircraft that has a gross takeoff weight higher than 1232lbs. You can only fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions and you cannot fly any faster than 132MPH.

Because flight training takes place in the less expensive Light Sport Aircraft class (LSA) flight training should be less expensive. Also, a prospective SPL student only needs to fly 20 hours to get their license. Normally, you have to fly at least 40 hours.

Personally, I can't wait.

If you want to learn more about it, goto www.sportpilot.org

Check out EAA's Sport Pilot Introduction.

In a couple of months, you will be able to get a sport pilot's license with only 20 hours of training. Instead of a one seat ultralight, you will now have a vehicle with two seats, a maximum gross takeoff weight of 1,232 pounds, and a maximum speed in level flight of 132 mph!

I currently commute 16 miles each way. This takes me about 1 hour each way.

With a gyroplane capable of going 60 miles an hour, I can cut this commute to under 15 minutes each way (only 11 miles as the crow flies). Since gyroplanes as short takeoff and landing, this should be feasible. Now, if only I can get my employer to go for me landing and taking off on the property...

Well you can email a congress man, I don't know if they will listen, you can also ask your MP (or whatever) to have your government have an oppinion.

The major problem is that congressmen hear from big organized groups not from the average joe. Someone needs to organize a "Geek Lobby" that will define some goals and raise money towards a PAC. But more importantly Organize letter writing. Also note that much of what happens in the US Govenment is done by Rulmaking in the various departments. When departments make rules they have to ask for comments. For example see the new Sport Pilot rules that the FAA is working on

Also if you are writing once again, be polite, direct and to the point. And Specifics are good, don't go in for abstracts, make specific points about the bill or rule and why its a problem and for whom. Mentioning job losses is probably a good idea, congress does not want to cause people to loose jobs if they can help it.