1st world problem??

[pwttogfk]

I don't know your employer so I may be way off base, but do you think they'll let you charge your EV on their dime? Looking from the employer's perspective, I would be worried about every other employee in the company asking when they are going to get a fuel allowance for their personal vehicles.

We’ve got EV chargers in the lot at HQ, so yes.

 

[knot4u]

Just checking in from the “corpie” world over here…I know I’m not worthy to be in the presence of airline W-2s but I’ve never had to commute longer than 15 minutes for work (and it was worth the drive to live in the “nice” part of Independence, KS).

One of my friends owns a small car dealer and if I can find the right weird little short range EV (i3 and e-Golf are up there) is willing to help me get the paperwork done for the $4k used EV rebate. I might be able to get my commuting costs down to 0. Just plug in at the hangar where they’ve already got high voltage wiring for GPUs.

That sounds like a great idea, until that plug needs to be used for a GPU and no one bothers to plug your car back in. It would suck to get home after a trip in the middle of the night and find out you don't have enough charge to get home. Would you be angry? Maybe, but that plug wasn't placed there for your convenience and unless you're paying someone it's not their job to tend to your car. I worked for a company whose owner drove a Tesla Model S, he had a 240V plug installed in the hangar specifically for his car. his car would send him a text message if it was unplugged and he'd call and raise hell. That was his plug and no one unplugged it when he was out flying. We'd use it when he wasn't around but if you unplugged his car you'd better have a damn good reason. I wouldn't have had any problem unplugging a pilots car if I needed that plug, they weren't paying for it and I need it right now.

 

[pwttogfk]

That sounds like a great idea, until that plug needs to be used for a GPU and no one bothers to plug your car back in. It would suck to get home after a trip in the middle of the night and find out you don't have enough charge to get home. Would you be angry? Maybe, but that plug wasn't placed there for your convenience and unless you're paying someone it's not their job to tend to your car. I worked for a company whose owner drove a Tesla Model S, he had a 240V plug installed in the hangar specifically for his car. his car would send him a text message if it was unplugged and he'd call and raise hell. That was his plug and no one unplugged it when he was out flying. We'd use it when he wasn't around but if you unplugged his car you'd better have a damn good reason. I wouldn't have had any problem unplugging a pilots car if I needed that plug, they weren't paying for it and I need it right now.

That’s fine. It doesn’t need to be plugged in 24/7 and it’s not hard to be considerate.

As I’m getting more into EVs (our main car now is a PHEV) it amazes me how much folks want to dump on them for no explicable reason. They’re reliable and cheap to operate. Acquisition costs and manufacturing processes are the issues right now.

 

[knot4u]

That’s fine. It doesn’t need to be plugged in 24/7 and it’s not hard to be considerate.

As I’m getting more into EVs (our main car now is a PHEV) it amazes me how much folks want to dump on them for no explicable reason. They’re reliable and cheap to operate. Acquisition costs and manufacturing processes are the issues right now.

It's not about being considerate. Occasionally updates on aircraft can take as much as 8 hours to complete and if you're gone for 10 and come back to find your car has only been considerately plugged in for 2 you're still screwed.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

It's not about being considerate. Occasionally updates on aircraft can take as much as 8 hours to complete and if you're gone for 10 and come back to find your car has only been considerately plugged in for 2 you're still screwed.

How hard is it for you to not be a monumental dick and plug his car back in when you’re done?

 

[knot4u]

How hard is it for you to not be a monumental dick and plug his car back in when you’re done?

If he plugs his car in at 6am and I show up at 7am and unplug his car to plug in a GPU so I can work on an airplane (the actual reason why the plug is there) for 8 hours, finish my my work at 4pm and considerately plug his car back in and he lands an hour later the car has only been charging for 2 hours. I was considerate, I did plug the car back in. Am I wrong? Maybe I should just do those updates outside of the hangar using the APU and leave his car plugged in inside the hangar. Is @pwttogfk willing to pay for the fuel?

 

[Soul Brotha']

@JDean3204, I am about to enter the situation you are considering. I have been MCO based for almost 9 years but I got displaced and will be based in FLL. I hate commuting by plane(especially to the NYC area), so I would rather drive the 3ish hours from Orlando to FLL. There are about 4 flights a day between the two cities but interstate travel by plane in Florida especially during storm season which is 60% of the year would suck. I think I am going to trade in my car for an EV this summer. Only issue is if it will have the range to do the round trip without stopping to charge up.

 

[pwttogfk]

If he plugs his car in at 6am and I show up at 7am and unplug his car to plug in a GPU so I can work on an airplane (the actual reason why the plug is there) for 8 hours, finish my my work at 4pm and considerately plug his car back in and he lands an hour later the car has only been charging for 2 hours. I was considerate, I did plug the car back in. Am I wrong? Maybe I should just do those updates outside of the hangar using the APU and leave his car plugged in inside the hangar. Is @pwttogfk willing to pay for the fuel?

Level 2 charging adds plenty of range per hour. That’s perfectly fine. It would take maybe an hour to recharge from my commute.

Not sure what kind of plane takes 8 hours to update, guessing it’s one of those special kinds with the “HOW DARE YOU” stickers next to the fuel panel…

 

[pwttogfk]

How hard is it for you to not be a monumental dick and plug his car back in when you’re done?

I kid you not, my car’s been keyed at one charger and had someone slap a (predictably dumb) bumper sticker on it at another. You’d think Republicans would love the only form of car that can run off of coal.

 

[knot4u]

Level 2 charging adds plenty of range per hour. That’s perfectly fine. It would take maybe an hour to recharge from my commute.

Not sure what kind of plane takes 8 hours to update, guessing it’s one of those special kinds with the “HOW DARE YOU” stickers next to the fuel panel…

Gulfstreams with Planeview avionics can take hours to update depending on what's being updated. If the upload fails (not uncommon) you just power down, go take a break, come back and start again from a dark airplane. If that doesn't work you call Tech Ops, they'll suggest you power down, take a break and start again from a dark airplane and then attempt to walk you through it. If that doesn't work then that's when e-mails full of data in zipped files start being sent back and forth. Oh, did I mention this airplane is leaving for 2 weeks at 10pm? Eventually it will end up getting resolved and the airplane will make its flight. Whose car got unplugged?

 

[JDean3204]

@JDean3204, I am about to enter the situation you are considering. I have been MCO based for almost 9 years but I got displaced and will be based in FLL. I hate commuting by plane(especially to the NYC area), so I would rather drive the 3ish hours from Orlando to FLL. There are about 4 flights a day between the two cities but interstate travel by plane in Florida especially during storm season which is 60% of the year would suck. I think I am going to trade in my car for an EV this summer. Only issue is if it will have the range to do the round trip without stopping to charge up.

Thank you for that response! Good on you for thinking about getting an EV. I made the dumbest financial decision last year and traded in a brand new SUV that I no longer needed or wanted after the depreciation. Bought a German car as a present for myself and jokes on me as I’m about as upside down as I’ve ever been on a car now. Maybe once I can hack at that negative equity I’ll look into EV. SoCal gas prices really suck too, but that’s life and sacrifices for dumb mistakes in the past.

I hope the drive works out for you and let me know what EV you end up buying!

 

[///AMG]

^^^ Oh no. A few German models hold their value, but not very many.

I did sell my (relatively low mile) e92 M3 back in 2019 right before we moved across the country, and we didn't want to ship 4 cars. I got a fair price at the time. Fast forward to the pandemic used car surge, and I still kick myself a little bit. Even now, I could have sold it for more than what I paid for it originally. But M cars get into these weird upswings, generally as the second newer model arrives, or so I have noticed. That and the NA V8 in that thing will probably become more sought after in the future. Dumb decision on my part, but I also appreciate the empty other half of my garage at the moment. What did you get?

 

[JDean3204]

^^^ Oh no. A few German models hold their value, but not very many.

I did sell my (relatively low mile) e92 M3 back in 2019 right before we moved across the country, and we didn't want to ship 4 cars. I got a fair price at the time. Fast forward to the pandemic used car surge, and I still kick myself a little bit. Even now, I could have sold it for more than what I paid for it originally. But M cars get into these weird upswings, generally as the second newer model arrives, or so I have noticed. That and the NA V8 in that thing will probably become more sought after in the future. Dumb decision on my part, but I also appreciate the empty other half of my garage at the moment. What did you get?

Definitely didn’t spring for them M that’s for sure. 2018 320i and I owe about a used Nissan Altima on top of its current value. Epic financial fail on my end man.

 

[JDean3204]

Drove 180 miles ~ 3 hours to work for 6 years, still preferable to commuting by airplane.

LAX is small and stagnant for AA, LAX covers SNA, SAN and ONT as well, but there seems to be enough people living around socal that you can fly out of whichever airport you want to, maybe when the gate construction finishes LAX will start to expand again.

AA is where most guys from my shop are going and are happier there for sure. But, none of them live in California. I’ve heard that out of all the majors/legacies AA has the smallest LAX base relative to its other base options. With that being said, being able to start and stop out of SAN eventually would be completely ideal for me, like dream come true ideal. That mixed with a contract saying short call is “within a reasonable time” means I’ll even be able to sit short call at home and no crash pad would be needed. All other places I’ll need a crash pad 120 miles from home to make short call work. These are all things I’m just jotting down though, I’m very grateful to be flying planes for a living and I know any of the sought after places will be great for my future and the drive is just a small sacrifice for a winning lottery ticket

 

[JDean3204]

I think there is an important point here. If you go to a shop that flies widebodies from LAX, you can bid the long Asia trips, (which I'm guessing you're doing now) and only have to make the LAX drive 1-3x per month. Additionally, at Widget, there are dozens of 757 trips that start and end at SNA in the February bid pack. That category also flies 767-300ER so you can do long haul, too.

Valid point, I still don’t feel like I’m qualified for Delta though. Heck, I don’t even know if I’ll get on anywhere, but I’ll kick myself in a few years when the music stops and these mins get raised again and I didn’t at least have my name in the hat while the getting was good.

 

[DropTank]

Level 2 charging adds plenty of range per hour. That’s perfectly fine. It would take maybe an hour to recharge from my commute.

Not sure what kind of plane takes 8 hours to update, guessing it’s one of those special kinds with the “HOW DARE YOU” stickers next to the fuel panel…

For a Model 3 or Y, a level 2 charger will give about 25-30 miles/hour charge.
8 hour day, 200 miles.

 

[derg]

Valid point, I still don’t feel like I’m qualified for Delta though. Heck, I don’t even know if I’ll get on anywhere, but I’ll kick myself in a few years when the music stops and these mins get raised again and I didn’t at least have my name in the hat while the getting was good.

Well, there's some people you could talk to about that...

 

[JDean3204]

Well, there's some people you could take to about that...

That is true, I know this thread is a little bit of a 180 from our convo the other day but that’s my brain these days. Like a mouse in a closed up maze! I wish I could switch it off and just be happy where I’m at, but something is just telling me to not be. Who or what that is, is beyond me. So I have come to the decision to get the ball rolling on my end, as you can see

 

[alaskadrifter]

Valid point, I still don’t feel like I’m qualified for Delta though. Heck, I don’t even know if I’ll get on anywhere, but I’ll kick myself in a few years when the music stops and these mins get raised again and I didn’t at least have my name in the hat while the getting was good.

I think everyone feels that way!

 

[///AMG]

Definitely didn’t spring for them M that’s for sure. 2018 320i and I owe about a used Nissan Altima on top of its current value. Epic financial fail on my end man.

Well at least thats a nice car......sucks to be underwater, but one day you wont be! Enjoy it