Travel
[We publish on this page articles and notes which may help our readers in making their plans for travel at home and abroad. They are written by correspondents who have visited the places described. We shall be glad to answer questions arising out of the Travel articles published in our columns. Inquiries should be addressed to the Travel Manager, The SPECTATOR, 99 Gower Street, W.C.1.]
The Cost of Travelling by Private Aeroplane
THE development of flying has come just in time. As the result of the enormous advance which has taken place in the last few years, we find that we can fly four times as fast as we can drive. It is unfortunate that an im- pression exists that to own an aeroplane is an expensive business, and that flying is a recreation for the few. This is not really the case. Here is a serious comparison between the costs of motoring and flying.
Very few people actually work out how much they spend on owning a car. In fact, the figures, if broadly set out, are apt to be rather a surprise. To compare motoring with private flying, it is right to consider the costs of the man who motors chiefly for pleasure, and who buys a good car and uses it for week-end journeys and foreign touring, as part of his recreation. Striking a mean between the smaller and more luxurious sporting cars, we will assume that its-cbst is £1,175, the same as that of a three-seater cabin type aeroplane.
The heaviest annual charge will obviously be that of depreciation, which may fairly be taken at twenty-five per cent, of the first cost. Often in the first year of the carts life it is more. Interest on the capital cost of the car at five per cent. should also be charged, and there are the remaining fixed charges for insurance, tax and garage. The sum of these forms the annual standing cost, as apart from the cost of running. The car will probably be driven 10,000 miles per year, and in addition to the cost of petrol, oil and tyres, a sum must be allowed for repairs, and something to cover sundry expenses, such as shipping the car abroad for a conti- nental tour and garaging it away from home, &c. The result, therefore, for a year's operation may be set out as follows :
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