Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/18/2015 8:05 AM, Ryan P. wrote:
On 9/18/2015 1:25 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/17/2015 8:16 PM, Alex wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/16/2015 8:00 PM, Alex wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/15/2015 8:07 PM, Alex wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/14/2015 8:15 PM, Alex wrote:


The motor on that door had such a high gear reduction I
think it
would
probably lift the front end of a car off the ground with no
problem.
The Harley was close to 900lbs and it lifted it off the back
of my
truck
like it wasn't even there.

If I remember correctly it took about 3 minutes for the folding
hanger
door to open halfway.




I can't believe the door didn't fold in half.


It did.


I meant horizontally - from the weight.


No way. The "garage" was actually a 32' by 46' aircraft hanger
that
one of the properties we had in Florida had. The door was about
28'
feet wide and 16 feet high. It folded in half horizontally as
it was
raised.

It had a very heavy duty frame (probably for hurricane codes)
made of
square 4" by 4" steel tubing that ran horizontally and vertically
every four feet or so. Lifting a 900lb motorcycle was duck
soup for
it to handle. The electric motor didn't even change pitch when
lifting it due to the high gear reduction.

During one of the hurricanes (we were not there) about 24 people
who
lived in the gated community all moved into the hanger during the
worst of the storm because it was totally brick construction (other
than the door). From the stories I've heard they had quite a
hurricane party in it with generators sitting outside providing
power.




Nice! Did you have a community landing strip in that development?
There
are several scattered around FL.

There is a private airstrip in the community although our house was
not in that section. The hanger on our property was actually built
for helicopters.


I have always wanted to learn to fly. I have two friends who are GA
pilots and live in communities like that. There is one about 100
miles
north of me that has home sites on about 3 acres for only $30K. One
friend has a place there, too. I'm seriously considering grabbing o
to build on later. It might push me to get a license and a little
plane. He's offered space in his hangar if I want to do it.

I had always dreamed of getting a pilot's license since I was a kid
and finally pursued it when I was in my early 50's. Once I had my
ticket though I began to realize that the fun was the challenge of
learning to fly. I had no purpose for flying other than recreational
sightseeing and found that it wasn't exactly "relaxing". I
continued to
rent a Cessna or a Warrior for a few years but also got into boating
which I found much more to my liking.

Flying is something that's always been on my "it would be nice" radar,
too. I've thought about what I would do with a license... If my
property up north had enough land to clear out an air strip, that would
be my main use.

Otherwise, its just the "cool" factor of having a license. So in an
emergency, I can be like Randy Quaid in Independence Day... "I'm a
pilot. I can fly." lol


How much does it cost to rent a small plane like that?

Not sure what the going rate is now. Probably $75-$100 per hour
depending on the type of aircraft.

When I was taking lessons back in the mid-90's it cost $25/hr for the
plane and $25/hr for the instructor. Once you solo'd and didn't need
a CFI with you it was only the $25 for the aircraft. Those rates may
have been "special" rates for students taking the course though.

I think the total cost of getting your basic, private ticket is probably
at least double what it was back when I got mine. IIRC, my total cost
was somewhere around $3K which also included weekly ground school
classes.



That's not bad. Are you on a fixed schedule for the classes and flight
time or is it flexible? It's tough to put a week, or more, aside right now.