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Leisure Travel ENJOYING LIFE WITH YOUR PLANE
Finding Your Home Away From Home
For people with second homes, relaxation comes easy as they exchange the daily grind for life in completely different surroundings. High-rise dwellers switch from potted plants to cottage gardening. Suburbanites trade carpools for tide pools. City dwellers swap sidewalk sales for antiquing. But these idyllic sites have one common hazard: the trek through traffic encountered in both directions. For private pilots, that burden is considerably lightened. Flying can put paradise just a hop, skip and a jump away.
 If you're considering investing in a second home, you're hardly alone. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), an estimated 445,000 second homes were sold in 2003, an increase of 30,000 over the number sold in 2000. People travel a median distance of 185 miles to their second homes, according to the NAR. Of those, one-third travel less than 100 miles and one third travel more than 500 miles. Flying can move you into the latter category with ease.
Sorting Out The Details
Still, there's likely to be a limit to the number of in-flight hours you're willing to log. Before you sign on the real estate agent's dotted line, consider how often you want to visit your second home, how long you plan to stay and whether you're willing to make a planned overnight stop along the way. If weather prevents flying to your second home, would driving be an option or would it be too far?
Peruse charts to determine the best route and any alternatives. Will the family dog be able to fly at the altitude necessary for crossing mountains? Will the kids sit still on a four-hour trip twice in one weekend? Are you willing to fly over open water in a single engine plane? Will your trip involve a stop for customs?
Convenience at both ends also is an issue. Ask about leaving your car at your home base for extended periods of time and investigate transportation options at airports near your second home. Renting a car at the FBO may be possible, but in smaller towns you may have to depend on the rental car company's pickup service or taxi service to an in-town car rental office.
Keeping a car at or near your second home also can work. Some second homers find cooperative garage owners to store their second home vehicles when they're not in town. Others are able to park cars free of charge at local airports.
Investigate services at the airport itself. Ask about airport security and whether a heated hanger would be available on short notice on the night before you depart a chilly location. Check out the options for minor repairs. Consider what you'd do if weather prevented your leaving for home on schedule. Safety first might mean hanging around an extra day, renting a car or going commercial for the trip back.
If you require fuel, a paved runway or an instrument approach, or if landing on a short or dirt strip close to your destination isn't an option for your airplane, the closest airport may not be the best choice. Pilots with mountain condos may be more comfortable landing at nearby flatland airports. Those whose fishing cabins require water or gravel strip landings may find air taxi services from more traditional airports their best bet.
Pricing To Suit Your Wallet
Finances are a part of every second home purchase. Sean Sebold, a certified financial planner at Sebold Capital Management in Naperville, Ill. advises clients to take a long look at their comprehensive financial situations when considering the purchase of a second home.
“Make sure you are on stable financial ground before investing in a non-liquid asset like a house,” Sebold says. “Otherwise you're taking a tremendous risk by being bound to a payment you may eventually not be able to afford.”
Getting Your Stuff There
Once you've run the numbers and closed the deal, you'll find the fun of owning a second home includes equipping it with cozy furniture and sports equipment to suit your taste and mood. But in small towns where many recreational second homes are located, the pickings can seem slim. Buying a second home already equipped with everything from chip-and-dip platters to bathmats works for some people.
Others rely on the services of national companies - pricey when you're shipping that sectional sofa. Many discover the wide range of online providers who supply niche cravings from footstools to food processors. A further option: explore local newspapers for farm auction announcements and ads from specialized craftspeople.
When you and your family have settled into your second home, weekends may slide into weeklong stays and perhaps one day, retirement living beyond compare.
—Janice Rosenberg
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