User Panel
If you already own a plane, maybe. The cost and time commitment to be a competent pilot is not worth it, if you are only going for bug-out plans.
Even if your wx limits VFR are 500-1, there are still days you don't fly...and depending on your starting location, that may be the reason to bug out. Do you expect towers and navaids to work when the masses are already in a panicked traffic jam? It's iffy. Now, for regional SHTF that you can see coming, it might be a great option. Fly away from the storm a day or two before landfall. For "oh crap, get to the chopper!" scenarios, not so much. |
|
|
Yep, I've always liked the gyrocopter option for certain scenarios.
A few planes I've owned that would be useful for short field work, were the Maule and Cub Crafter's modified Super Cub w/ 180 HP engine. It was like being in an elevator, but short legs. The other tail draggers were potentially useful, but not as much short field ability. All [except my fav rompin stompin fire-breathing one] were suitable for unimproved strips. One thing to consider, in a real SHTF, you may only need to use the aircraft one last time. Implying landing where it might be difficult/impossible to take off. As a nuke designer once told me, after I expressed concern of high voltage breakdown of the miniaturized neutron generator module... "It only has to work once!" The 'best' aircraft --depends. Some areas of the country enjoy a lot of IFR condx, while others very little, for instance. |
|
Caravan with floats to whisk family and friends to private island fortress !
|
|
I think a Gyrocopter is an interesting option.
http://defence-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/c3ad7301d43f.jpg View Quote |
|
Depending on what brings about the need to Bug Out would the government grounding all flights be an issue?
Where small planes flying after 911? |
|
Quoted:
Depending on what brings about the need to Bug Out would the government grounding all flights be an issue? Where small planes flying after 911? View Quote So it sounds like $50K at least probably for a small airplane, licensing and what not. $50K goes a hellluva long way to actually moving where you are safer NOW, versus some "false bravado" of a last minute bug out whether by "Mad max" vehicle or via plane. |
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I plan on rolling up to my local small airport that has a bunch of small planes just sitting out there with owners that don't fly often. I can take a pick of any aircraft in the field in a SHTF scenario. Nobody is going to stop you.. No anti theft devices in these things and so long as you can get fuel your GTG. I suppose airworthiness may be an issue with an unknown aircraft, but thats a risk you have to take. You think you won't get shot? None of us are pilots but I wondered if a realistic flight sim would give you basic knowledge. |
|
Quoted: When I was working in the Seattle area I discussed this with my coworkers. The discussion was mainly what one would do if Mt Rainier popped. If you survived the lahar what then? Everything would get dicey once people started to flee and there are not that many roads in or out. Someone suggested taking a small plane. Maybe viable, I don't know. You might have to shoot your way in. None of us are pilots but I wondered if a realistic flight sim would give you basic knowledge. View Quote |
|
|
Small planes in and out of real airports and airparks were not. The small planes out of the back 40 onto the grass strip at the BOL had no issues though. I suppose if someone wanted to make a big deal about it later they could have- it's not like you're invisible for 100% of the flight to everyone, everywhere. But "making a big deal about it later" isn't much of a concern for a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation.
|
|
Quoted:
Small planes in and out of real airports and airparks were not. The small planes out of the back 40 onto the grass strip at the BOL had no issues though. I suppose if someone wanted to make a big deal about it later they could have- it's not like you're invisible for 100% of the flight to everyone, everywhere. But "making a big deal about it later" isn't much of a concern for a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation. View Quote Now with far more capable radar and sensors of all kinds, I wouldn't think about it. |
|
yes, i park my bug out plane right next to my daily commuter plane. easy solution.
|
|
Quoted:
yes, i park my bug out plane right next to my daily commuter plane. easy solution. View Quote And you must be blessed with a level of big-bucks income the rest of us don't have. Nothing wrong with that, but you will still likely encounter the sorts of 'getting to it' problems discussed earlier in this thread. Maybe not so easy then? |
|
I am not a pilot. And I don't own a plane. However my VERY limited experience tells me a SHTF plane is a decidedly BAD idea.
Friends do have planes. And they are VERY weather dependent. Many kinds of SHTF are weather dependent events. You do not want to be taking off or attempting to land in a tropical storm or blizzard. From what I have observed, friends are often stranded, sometimes for days, at far away airports because weather changed. I can drive from my home to Cape Cod in 8 hours. I've witnessed a friend stuck there for three days.... Visual flight rules. Most of the recreational pilots I know fly VFR. We are therefore stuck evacuating for only half the day, provided its a nice day... Ive spent a few days in a cabin waiting for a float plane that couldn't come, due to low clouds.... And night time? Do you really want to fly around at night, during a major evacuation event, when electrical grid is down? I'm not certain how robust navigation aids are.... Little Cessnas and the like DONT come equipped with radar..... Landing at night at an airport that doesnt have operating strip lights, radios, beacons, etc? Really???? Load: This thing about airplanes for 4-6 people is bullshit. I've done a fly in hunt out of a Cessna 182 on floats. This isn't a cheap plane. and with three people a 200 lbs of gear (which is almost nothing) the damned plane is loaded to the max. Its likely over loaded. I have flown out on a DeHaviland Beaver. Nice plane. Great load carrying capacity. This one recently had undergone a rebuild, to the tune of something crazy like $300,000. This didn't include the actual purchase of the plane, just the refurb. The SHTF plane is a shitty idea. Its a very vulnerable delicate craft, quite expensive to buy, more expensive to operate and maintain, that is essentially only good half the day, and on nice days at that. |
|
Quoted: If they were picked up on radar, there was a good chance of being intercepted unless flight was short, then maybe a welcoming at the end. Now with far more capable radar and sensors of all kinds, I wouldn't think about it. View Quote |
|
Predicating a sweeping analysis on one or two data points, is often a bad idea, especially for folks who know little to nothing about what they are talking about.
|
|
Not a pilot but outside of icing isn't bad weather it matter of you shouldn't fly not a matter of you can't fly?
Zombie hordes are coming I'm taking off in the rain who cares. I don't think a plane is a good bug-out vehicle but it's a great emergency escape option. |
|
Quoted:
Not a pilot but outside of icing isn't bad weather it matter of you shouldn't fly not a matter of you can't fly? Zombie hordes are coming I'm taking off in the rain who cares. I don't think a plane is a good bug-out vehicle but it's a great emergency escape option. View Quote How many times have you driven down the road and thought maybe you should get off the road and wait for the weather to pass? Not an option in the air. Raking off in the rain is fine...but then what can you see? Visibility is how far? VFR vs IFR has already been hit so I won't beat that horse. |
|
I am not a pilot but have flown a little. Unless you are looking at a turbine powered single or a big twin. You are not bugging out with much more than your clothes. You would be miles ahead with a boat.
|
|
Everyone of you that starts your post with “I’m not a pilot but” should follow it with “so I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about”.
|
|
Quoted:
I am not a pilot but have flown a little. Unless you are looking at a turbine powered single or a big twin. You are not bugging out with much more than your clothes. You would be miles ahead with a boat. View Quote |
|
|
|
I Know what I want..just waiting to win the lottery so I can afford it... A Pilatus PC-6a
Turbine Porter FTW |
|
Quoted:
I am not a pilot but have flown a little. Unless you are looking at a turbine powered single or a big twin. You are not bugging out with much more than your clothes. You would be miles ahead with a boat. View Quote This is better than a what's wrong with muh air conditioner thread! |
|
|
Im not a pilot but I do watch the weather channel.
I left the hurricane path at 11 pm, had no traffic issues on my chosen date and route, and saved about 50k dollars on a plane and training at the same time. |
|
Everyone of you that starts your post with “I’m not a pilot but” should follow it with “so I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about”. View Quote I don't think it really works like that in the real world, at least not in organizations that don't suck. A group of people should have experiences, skills, and abilities that work together and mesh, rather than being strictly silo'd. |
|
Sailboat is the way to go. Can fish, isolate oneself if needed, clear fields of fire, can relocate with seasons to keep yourself a nice 80 degrees all year long, incredible range off relatively small amounts of diesel if becalmed, etc. Fresh Water and other boaters only real concern. Y.W.
|
|
|
Hey, it worked before. Not once but TWICE!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzu1V5GzIPY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qILmMqxXBY |
|
After 9/11 all planes were grounded... It's not a fail proof plan.
Accountant |
|
Short memories. 9/11/2001, the American airspace was shut down TO ALL but government sanctioned operations within the first hour for the next two weeks. Detected violators were intercepted and I'm unaware of any violations being dished out but none the less, ops were not allowed. Bugging out by aircraft might leave you stranded at the airport.
Beat by 2 minutes. |
|
Quoted:
No harm in being interested but I’d probably not offer an opinion or a critique. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
|
|
|
|
Quoted:
Sailboat is the way to go. Can fish, isolate oneself if needed, clear fields of fire, can relocate with seasons to keep yourself a nice 80 degrees all year long, incredible range off relatively small amounts of diesel if becalmed, etc. Fresh Water and other boaters only real concern. Y.W. View Quote |
|
A 182 can haul a sizable load and has longish legs, relatively low maintenance, acquisition, insurance, operating costs, plentiful parts and is an excellent choice for many scenarios.
Once we flew to Dayton Hamfest, and returned, me, my wife and a friend, and a lot of stuff we bought. Surprising what they will haul safely at lower elevations. Flew that plane for 4 years, rebuilt the engine myself at home w/ supervision of an A&P, cut and installed new panels w/ updated gyros and avionics, for better IFR training capability, and sold it for a lot more than I paid for it. The 'life opportunities' of learning to fly and aircraft ownership, are many, and a lot of folks credit their future success to the experience. If there is anything 'survival in life' related to flying, this can be a big part of it. |
|
Quite a few good choices out there besides a 182.
All scenario and capability dependent. I had a friend who commuted for a while in a tail dragging L10 [.mil observation plane] or whatever, some will know the model, had it IFR equipped for limited use, always liked that plane, but too slow for my needs. |
|
Quoted: Everyone of you that starts your post with “I’m not a pilot but” should follow it with “so I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about”. View Quote Not knowing how to fly a plane, or not being a licensed pilot, doesn't mean you can't appreciate the risk(s) associated with the OP's topic - like, for example, how do you get to your little cub plane at the 'port if the roads are blocked by traffic, rioters, or LE, Mil, or FEMA roadblocks, etc.? And even non-pilots can appreciate the risks of trying to fly in really bad weather as well as understand the difference in pilot qual-ratings to be able to do it safely - VFR vs. IFR. |
|
Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/76643/34137517_10212403231820801_4204304672434946048_n-573758.JPG How about this. 4 people and gear. View Quote |
|
Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/76643/34137517_10212403231820801_4204304672434946048_n-573758.JPG How about this. 4 people and gear. View Quote |
|
Quoted: How 'bout a stolen Barrett .50-cal vetos that right after take-off ... View Quote |
|
Quoted: How 'bout a stolen Barrett .50-cal vetos that right after take-off ... View Quote I have thought that I need to get a plane to take the wife visiting the grand kids so we could get home if SHTF but she pointed out that the kids and grandkids are coming home with us... So I am working on the BORV since i need to carry 8ish. |
|
Quoted: This has been brought up a few times in this thread, outside of movies I’ve never seen a semi auto effectively engage an aircraft...especially if it’s flying at say 3k AGL which is gonna be at the max effect range of about anything even if your right in the flight path. Getting shot down would be the least of my worries. View Quote |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.