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From: Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: What is going on with 2024 the SCCBC season?
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:53:47 -0700
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On 2024-07-15 10:47, Tom Elam wrote:
> On 7/10/2024 3:22 PM, -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, ...
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