Sonora Cargo Express (former SoCal Express)

[mutley 4,498]

Congrats to Kenny and a nice tribute to Walt, a rare breed.

[ehunyadi 0]

Back in black. Not the song by AC/DC, but our financial situation at SoCal Express. With the additional pilots, SCE has been able to keep its planes flying non-stop and keep the revenue coming in as well. Kenny and Walt have been doing a great job of keeping the aircraft flying and the cargo moving while I sleep, and Kenny generally flies the C172 while I fly the Bravo during the day. Walt would fly more, but he says he's got things to do with Dorothy, his wife. Since he's an older gentleman, I'll give him that time. Kenny is younger and more eager to get the hours.

With three pilots and two aircraft, I'm contemplating a third plane. However, I've decided that I don't want to run "in the hole" anymore, so I'm going to be patient and wait a few more days before we have the money to buy another Bravo. I really like their speed, and their cargo carrying ability is nice for the price. The only contender is the 185F since it carries so much more, but it's not as fast, so we can't do as many jobs quickly. I think we're moving toward being a reliable and FAST cargo service, and the Bravos will help in that regard. With a fleet of Bravos, we can have cargo scooting all over Southern California. Plus, building a fleet of one type of aircraft cuts down on maintenance, spares, etc.

Our A&P mechanic, Kevin, has been doing a good job of keeping the planes in top form. He grumbles a bit when we ask him to help load or unload cargo, but for the most part, he's a good guy. Every once in a while, he takes a flight with Walt that is considered a lesson; it keeps both of them busy when there isn't any cargo to haul or planes to fix.

Weather is back to being wet again. This week saw lots of icing conditions (and actual icing did occur), but thankfully our aircraft are equipped to handle that.

We have a few trips scheduled down to Mexico later today. Walt said he'd take care of those since it's been a while since he's had some good Mexican food.

[Tim_A 997]

How on earth did you manage to get staff so quickly? You only started a couple of days ahead of me... On the basis of how long it took to get my rep up from 40 to 45, it'll be another 25 hours flying before I can get a lease, and 50 before I can get staff...

Or are you using time acceleration?

2 bases, 4 planes, 4 pilots & 50 loads! :icon_bowdown:

[ehunyadi 0]

No time acceleration; just a lot of flying. I started on January 4th and fly all my flights in real-time. Here's my flight log so far:

1/17/2011 05:16 Bravo G1000 KLUF KGEU 4 1/17/2011 21:43 1/17/2011 22:39 -185.3161926 Greaser

1/17/2011 05:08 Bravo G1000 A20 KLUF 56 1/17/2011 21:43 1/17/2011 22:32 -44.59891891 Greaser

1/17/2011 04:42 Bravo G1000 A09 A20 4 1/17/2011 21:33 1/17/2011 21:37 -129.183075 Greaser

1/17/2011 04:32 Bravo G1000 KEMT A09 55 1/17/2011 20:33 1/17/2011 21:28 -265.2866821 Ok

1/17/2011 03:16 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KEMT 25 1/17/2011 20:44 1/17/2011 21:10 -117.6488724 Greaser

1/17/2011 02:43 Bravo G1000 KSDM KCRQ 16 1/17/2011 20:23 1/17/2011 20:39 -83.81520844 Greaser

1/16/2011 17:40 Bravo G1000 KRNM KSDM 20 1/16/2011 20:49 1/16/2011 21:09 -71.51206207 Greaser

1/16/2011 15:46 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 11 1/16/2011 20:30 1/16/2011 20:42 -70.74311066 Greaser

1/16/2011 03:09 Bravo G1000 KEMT KCRQ 27 1/16/2011 20:36 1/16/2011 21:03 -122.2625504 Greaser

1/16/2011 00:18 Bravo G1000 L84 KEMT 50 1/16/2011 07:25 1/16/2011 08:15 -116.1109772 Greaser

1/15/2011 02:52 C185F KEMT KOXR 26 1/15/2011 10:22 1/15/2011 10:48 -227.6082764 Greaser

1/15/2011 02:10 C185F KOXR KEMT 29 1/15/2011 09:35 1/15/2011 10:04 -210.6914368 Greaser

1/15/2011 01:34 C185F KEMT KOXR 27 1/15/2011 09:00 1/15/2011 09:27 -230.6840668 Greaser

1/14/2011 22:43 Bravo G1000 KEMT KEMT 29 1/15/2011 06:08 1/15/2011 06:37 -127.6451797 Greaser

1/14/2011 22:36 Bravo G1000 KTSP KEMT 0 1/15/2011 06:08 1/15/2011 06:33 -140.7172852 Greaser

1/14/2011 22:04 Bravo G1000 KLSN KTSP 55 1/15/2011 05:07 1/15/2011 06:02 -182.2404022 Greaser

1/14/2011 16:14 Bravo G1000 KEMT KLSN 101 1/14/2011 22:03 1/14/2011 23:45 -98.42520142 Greaser

1/14/2011 02:47 Bravo G1000 KPSP KEMT 30 1/14/2011 10:11 1/14/2011 10:41 -102.2699356 Greaser

1/14/2011 02:06 Bravo G1000 L77 KPSP 18 1/14/2011 09:44 1/14/2011 10:03 -179.9335632 Greaser

1/14/2011 01:19 Bravo G1000 KEMT L77 40 1/14/2011 19:16 1/14/2011 19:57 -82.27731323 Greaser

1/14/2011 00:23 Bravo G1000 L77 KEMT 43 1/13/2011 20:38 1/13/2011 21:22 -73.04994965 Greaser

1/13/2011 23:33 Bravo G1000 KEMT L77 42 1/13/2011 19:48 1/13/2011 20:31 -109.1904526 Greaser

1/13/2011 03:03 Bravo G1000 KUDD KEMT 34 1/13/2011 10:24 1/13/2011 10:59 -101.5009842 Greaser

1/13/2011 02:21 Bravo G1000 KEMT KUDD 41 1/13/2011 09:35 1/13/2011 10:17 -108.4215088 Greaser

1/12/2011 16:10 Bravo G1000 KEMT MMTJ 39 1/12/2011 23:21 1/13/2011 00:01 -79.20153046 Greaser

1/12/2011 15:19 Bravo G1000 MMTJ KEMT 39 1/12/2011 22:33 1/12/2011 23:12 -133.7967529 Greaser

1/12/2011 14:27 Bravo G1000 KRNM MMTJ 13 1/12/2011 21:57 1/12/2011 22:10 -229.1461639 Greaser

1/12/2011 12:21 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 9 1/12/2011 19:53 1/12/2011 20:02 -83.04626465 Greaser

1/12/2011 11:54 Bravo G1000 L08 KCRQ 20 1/12/2011 19:24 1/12/2011 19:44 -79.97047424 Greaser

1/12/2011 02:18 Bravo G1000 KRNM L08 16 1/12/2011 10:00 1/12/2011 10:16 -100.7320404 Greaser

1/12/2011 01:43 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 11 1/12/2011 09:25 1/12/2011 09:37 -139.1793823 Greaser

1/12/2011 01:25 Bravo G1000 KMYF KCRQ 10 1/12/2011 09:09 1/12/2011 09:19 -55.36417389 Greaser

1/12/2011 01:07 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KMYF 10 1/12/2011 08:50 1/12/2011 09:00 -67.66732788 Greaser

1/12/2011 00:48 Bravo G1000 KSDM KCRQ 17 1/12/2011 08:27 1/12/2011 08:44 -143.7930603 Greaser

1/12/2011 00:16 Bravo G1000 KMYF KSDM 7 1/12/2011 08:03 1/12/2011 08:11 -73.81890106 Greaser

1/12/2011 00:03 Bravo G1000 KEMT KMYF 35 1/12/2011 07:25 1/12/2011 08:00 -69.20521545 Greaser

1/11/2011 23:23 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KEMT 24 1/12/2011 06:55 1/12/2011 07:19 -219.918808 Greaser

1/11/2011 15:56 Bravo G1000 KEMT KCRQ 28 1/11/2011 23:25 1/11/2011 23:53 -99.96309662 Greaser

1/11/2011 03:09 Bravo G1000 KSAN KEMT 35 1/11/2011 10:28 1/11/2011 11:03 -127.6451797 Greaser

1/11/2011 01:58 Bravo G1000 KRNM KSAN 12 1/11/2011 09:39 1/11/2011 09:51 -67.66732788 Greaser

1/11/2011 01:36 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 8 1/11/2011 09:23 1/11/2011 09:32 -78.43257904 Greaser

1/11/2011 01:14 Bravo G1000 KEMT KCRQ 28 1/11/2011 08:42 1/11/2011 09:11 -93.04257202 Greaser

1/11/2011 00:15 Bravo G1000 U75 KEMT 70 1/10/2011 15:15 1/10/2011 16:26 -98.42520142 Greaser

1/10/2011 22:49 Bravo G1000 KINS U75 21 1/10/2011 14:39 1/10/2011 15:01 -216.8430176 Greaser

1/10/2011 02:46 Bravo G1000 KCCB KINS 71 1/10/2011 09:28 1/10/2011 10:40 -83.04626465 Greaser

1/10/2011 01:15 Bravo G1000 KSEE KEMT 38 1/10/2011 19:46 1/10/2011 20:24 -139.1793823 Greaser

1/10/2011 00:15 Bravo G1000 MMES KSEE 25 1/9/2011 19:40 1/9/2011 20:05 -66.89837646 Greaser

1/9/2011 21:53 Bravo G1000 KRNM MMES 29 1/10/2011 05:08 1/10/2011 05:37 -219.1498566 Greaser

1/9/2011 20:31 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 10 1/10/2011 04:18 1/10/2011 04:28 -187.6230316 Greaser

1/9/2011 19:17 Bravo G1000 KPSP KCRQ 31 1/10/2011 02:42 1/10/2011 03:14 -89.96678162 Greaser

1/9/2011 17:54 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KPSP 34 1/10/2011 01:13 1/10/2011 01:47 -80.73942566 Greaser

1/9/2011 17:04 Bravo G1000 KRNM KCRQ 8 1/10/2011 00:52 1/10/2011 01:00 -76.12574005 Greaser

1/9/2011 16:38 Bravo G1000 MMTJ KRNM 13 1/10/2011 00:19 1/10/2011 00:33 -149.1756897 Greaser

1/9/2011 15:35 Bravo G1000 KSAN MMTJ 8 1/9/2011 23:20 1/9/2011 23:29 -49.98154831 Greaser

1/9/2011 04:47 Bravo G1000 MMTJ KSAN 12 1/9/2011 12:25 1/9/2011 12:37 -71.51206207 Greaser

1/9/2011 04:26 Bravo G1000 KEMT MMTJ 40 1/9/2011 11:37 1/9/2011 12:17 -115.3420334 Greaser

1/9/2011 03:34 Bravo G1000 MMTJ KEMT 36 1/9/2011 10:52 1/9/2011 11:29 -110.7283478 Greaser

1/9/2011 02:49 Bravo G1000 KEMT MMTJ 37 1/9/2011 10:00 1/9/2011 10:38 -136.1035919 Greaser

1/9/2011 00:46 Bravo G1000 L05 KEMT 38 1/8/2011 19:48 1/8/2011 20:27 -127.6451797 Greaser

1/8/2011 23:54 Bravo G1000 KIYK L05 14 1/8/2011 19:22 1/8/2011 19:36 -101.5009842 Greaser

1/8/2011 23:25 Bravo G1000 KEMT KIYK 38 1/9/2011 06:40 1/9/2011 07:18 -96.88730621 Greaser

1/8/2011 00:59 Bravo G1000 KMYF KEMT 42 1/8/2011 08:10 1/8/2011 08:52 -87.65994263 Greaser

1/8/2011 00:05 Bravo G1000 KSDM KMYF 10 1/8/2011 07:51 1/8/2011 08:01 -139.1793823 Greaser

1/7/2011 17:09 Bravo G1000 KEMT KSDM 41 1/8/2011 00:22 1/8/2011 01:04 -128.4141235 Greaser

1/7/2011 16:18 Bravo G1000 KSAN KEMT 37 1/7/2011 23:37 1/8/2011 00:14 -72.28100586 Greaser

1/7/2011 14:37 Bravo G1000 KRNM KSAN 19 1/7/2011 22:14 1/7/2011 22:34 -81.50836945 Greaser

1/7/2011 12:54 Bravo G1000 KCRQ KRNM 10 1/7/2011 20:32 1/7/2011 20:42 -72.28100586 Greaser

1/7/2011 12:30 Bravo G1000 KSDM KCRQ 28 1/7/2011 19:51 1/7/2011 20:20 -41.52313232 Greaser

1/7/2011 11:41 Bravo G1000 KEMT KSDM 43 1/7/2011 18:48 1/7/2011 19:32 -35.37155533 Greaser

1/7/2011 02:16 C172SP Skyhawk KSAN KEMT 51 1/7/2011 09:21 1/7/2011 10:12 -111.4972992 Greaser

1/7/2011 01:05 C172SP Skyhawk KIPL KSAN 40 1/7/2011 08:20 1/7/2011 09:00 -66.12943268 Greaser

1/6/2011 18:30 C172SP Skyhawk KCRQ KIPL 51 1/7/2011 01:30 1/7/2011 02:21 -80.73942566 Greaser

1/6/2011 17:17 C172SP Skyhawk KSDM KCRQ 22 1/7/2011 00:51 1/7/2011 01:14 -99.1941452 Greaser

1/6/2011 15:44 C172SP Skyhawk KCRQ KSDM 38 1/6/2011 22:58 1/6/2011 23:37 -114.573082 Greaser

1/6/2011 02:18 C172SP Skyhawk KSEE KCRQ 17 1/6/2011 21:12 1/6/2011 21:30 -39.21628952 Greaser

1/6/2011 01:49 C172SP Skyhawk KSAN KSEE 19 1/6/2011 20:42 1/6/2011 21:02 -59.97785568 Greaser

1/6/2011 01:18 C172SP Skyhawk KCRQ KSAN 29 1/6/2011 20:02 1/6/2011 20:32 -76.12574005 Greaser

1/6/2011 00:32 C172SP Skyhawk KEMT KCRQ 55 1/6/2011 07:33 1/6/2011 08:29 -113.8041382 Greaser

1/5/2011 23:02 C172SP Skyhawk KUDD KEMT 72 1/6/2011 03:32 1/6/2011 04:45 -96.11836243 Greaser

1/5/2011 21:28 C172SP Skyhawk L22 KUDD 19 1/6/2011 03:03 1/6/2011 03:22 -89.96678162 Greaser

1/5/2011 21:01 C172SP Skyhawk KEMT L22 48 1/6/2011 02:08 1/6/2011 02:57 -140.7172852 Greaser

1/5/2011 17:22 C172SP Skyhawk L08 KEMT 54 1/6/2011 00:22 1/6/2011 01:17 -96.11836243 Greaser

1/5/2011 16:19 C172SP Skyhawk KSEE L08 26 1/5/2011 23:50 1/6/2011 00:17 -146.0998993 Greaser

1/5/2011 02:54 C172SP Skyhawk KSAN KSEE 7 1/5/2011 10:36 1/5/2011 10:44 -163.7856903 Greaser

1/5/2011 02:40 C172SP Skyhawk KSEE KSAN 24 1/5/2011 10:05 1/5/2011 10:30 -96.88730621 Greaser

1/5/2011 01:59 C172SP Skyhawk KCRQ KSEE 27 1/5/2011 09:24 1/5/2011 09:52 -104.5767746 Greaser

1/5/2011 01:17 C172SP Skyhawk KRNM KCRQ 19 1/5/2011 08:53 1/5/2011 09:13 -115.3420334 Greaser

1/5/2011 00:31 C172SP Skyhawk KEMT KRNM 58 1/5/2011 07:24 1/5/2011 08:22 -152.2514801 Greaser

1/4/2011 17:40 C172SP Skyhawk KSMX KEMT 73 1/5/2011 00:09 1/5/2011 01:22 -57.67101669 Greaser

1/4/2011 16:17 C172SP Skyhawk KLPC KSMX 9 1/4/2011 23:51 1/5/2011 00:00 -136.8725433 Greaser

1/4/2011 15:59 C172SP Skyhawk KMIT KLPC 62 1/4/2011 22:40 1/4/2011 23:42 -136.1035919 Greaser

1/4/2011 13:59 C172SP Skyhawk KEMT KMIT 72 1/4/2011 20:40 1/4/2011 21:53 -150.7135925 Greaser

I am fortunate in that I work from home, and I fly on my main computer and have been working off my laptop for email, WebEx meetings, Skype, etc. It took a lot of flying to get to 55%, and I started hiring people immediately. I also got lucky and found a Bravo cheap in the used bin, so that was more fortune than skill. I flew that thing at 55% condition and nursed it up to 100% with every flight I made. When I made 55% reputation (on January 11th, one week from the day I started this company), I quickly hired a pilot and put him to work flying the C172 while I continued to fly the Bravo (still my fleet favorite). I have three Bravos, the C172, and a C185F and three pilots working for me out of three bases. I want to hire at least two more pilots, but the best are only 86%, and I'm holding out for some pilots in the 90%+ range.

I had my first "less than a greaser" landing today when I was down to 6lbs of fuel due to my not double-checking the distance before a flight, and I knew I didn't have enough fuel to go around and it was a crummy approach from a dash-dive down from 8500'. GRRR. At least we got on the ground, taxied to the ramp, got fuel, and then flew the last few minutes to our final destination to pick up the cargo.

Oh... and my AI pilots have killed me in reputation. I'm currently flying off a 2 point deduction for one of my pilots having left the cargo on the plane (bug?) when he got to his final destination. All I had to do was unload the plane for him; it was there for hours and was never delivered. The other time I lost reputation was due to scheduling not adding up right (my fault in Ops). Oh, and then there was the very first time I lost 2 points of reputation, that time because I didn't pay attention to the due date and took a 2.5 hour duration flight with only 1.7 hours remaining until it was due. There was no way to do it, and I didn't realize that if I were to just cancel the job, I'd have only lost 1 point instead of 2. I made it into the airport 17 minutes late; too bad I couldn't get a "well, at least you tried!" award or something. lol.

[Tim_A 997]

Ah that explains it! I had a pretty good weekend, where I managed to get in a decent number of flights, with either back hauls or short (<20nm) positioning flights for the next load. That's brought me up to 48.5, so I reckon 3 more loads and I can get a lease. I'm reasonably well off for cash, so my strategy ATM is simply to take the short hauls and build up the rep.

I don't know how AH works out its landing fees, but I got stung well over £350 on one landing, and it was only a grass field, no ameneties, no ATC or anything -- definitely swindled on that one!

The one time I left FS running while I went off to do something else, I completely forgot about it, and when I got back to it, the plane had been orbiting 5000ft overhead the destination field for an hour, and was pretty much on fumes. I just chopped the throttle and deadsticked it down to the runway. Only got an OK an that one too, Plus it cost me an extra 50 quid in wasted fuel!

[ehunyadi 0]

Ah that explains it! I had a pretty good weekend, where I managed to get in a decent number of flights, with either back hauls or short (<20nm) positioning flights for the next load. That's brought me up to 48.5, so I reckon 3 more loads and I can get a lease. I'm reasonably well off for cash, so my strategy ATM is simply to take the short hauls and build up the rep.

I did this exact same thing; I took lots and lots of short hauls and made the reputation up quickly that way. Now, the distances being generated are greater due to the fleet size and distance my planes can fly, and having three bases over which to spread out the shorter hops adds some complexity to my flying all the short hauls while the AI pilots fly the long hauls, but it makes me have to fly all over SoCal and now into Arizona, so it's pretty fun. Right now as I type, I'm flying from Phoenix to Palm Springs and then to Los Angeles, and then up to San Francisco.

I don't know how AH works out its landing fees, but I got stung well over £350 on one landing, and it was only a grass field, no ameneties, no ATC or anything -- definitely swindled on that one!

Me neither, and landing fees aren't very high in the US, but I understand that there needs to be a money sink, so I live with it. It does influence which airports I fly into, though. Some landing fees are over $2k!!!

The one time I left FS running while I went off to do something else, I completely forgot about it, and when I got back to it, the plane had been orbiting 5000ft overhead the destination field for an hour, and was pretty much on fumes. I just chopped the throttle and deadsticked it down to the runway. Only got an OK an that one too, Plus it cost me an extra 50 quid in wasted fuel!

I fell asleep one night and woke up circling the field. Fortunately, the plane was empty and on a positioning flight, and the C172 doesn't burn very much fuel at all.

[ehunyadi 0]

There are challenges with running a business with other pilots flying for you. First, you need to keep on top of their schedules to ensure they are used to their maximum abilities, and that their routes are planned in such a way that they aren't late. Sometimes, however, even with all the best planning, the pilot forgets to pull a box or two out of the plane and then that mission is considered a failure because it was not completed properly. This happened to me twice this week; my pilots Stevie and Woody both left boxes on their planes while sitting on the tarmac. All flights done, with the pilots sitting in the lounge, but with packages aboard. Then, one of my most experienced pilots had a hard landing and bent the plane a bit and damaged the cargo. Repairs were a paltry $3600, but the haul only paid $12k out of the promised $16k.

Otherwise, we've grown quite a bit and are almost ready to drop the (and Patios) from our name! We now have four bases, seven aircraft, and five pilots (including me). No bank loans and operating in the black! We've been extremely lucky with no serious mishaps, and I've been a hard task-master, keeping the pilots flying non-stop and keeping up with loans to pay them off (when I did take them out) to make sure we don't pay interest. Gotta love it!

Our fleet is pretty big now: three Mooney Bravos (one G1000-equipped), two Cessna C185F's, one Cessna U206G, and the plane that started it all, the Cessna C172. The C172 just went through its first 100-hour inspection and passed with flying colors. I use the C172 for the new pilots I hire to get them proficient before letting them fly the bigger and more expensive planes. They log lots of hours in the C172, and if they can prove they don't bend planes, I let them loose on the faster and bigger metal. It's worked well so far.

The closest four planes belong to SoCal Express!

Our bases are now servicing California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. We have plans to expand into Northern California, Oregon, Colorado, and Texas. Our name may change as well to reflect the fact that we'll be servicing the South-West United States instead of just Southern California. Of course, there's time for that later.

Otherwise, our star pilot is still Kenny who is now in the lead with the most revenue generated and most flights flown. On his heels are Walt and Stevie (behind me) and our newest pilot, Woody, is working on catching up. Woody was an F-105 Avionics mechanic in the 60's and after retiring from the USAF got his PPL and then commercial certificate and asked if he could fly for me. Having worked for him in the past (until he retired a second time), I said, "Sure!" He's a little rusty and not quite up to the caliber of the others, but I let him fly the U206G and told him to be VERY careful. So far, he's complied.

As for me, I'm up in the Bay Area just north of San Francisco. I flew up last night with a medium-sized haul of baby toys of some sort. We did have an interesting not-too-close-but-closer-than-normal encounter with a DC-10-30 that was pretty neat. Rarely do I get to fly so close to the big boys at altitude (I was at 8500'). After a scenic flight (clouds obstructed most of the view passing San Francisco, but I did get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge), I landed safely and tied down for the night. I'm waiting here in Wine Country for a suitable haul back down South. I'm not in any hurry, though. There's this wine here called "Angelica" that is simply phenomenal, and I'm sampling quite a bit of it. I may not get to fly this weekend if this keeps up!

There goes the DC-10-30 right over us by about 2000'.

San Francisco mostly obscured by clouds.

Looking back at Oakland and the Bay Bridge.

[ehunyadi 0]

Lucky. Today, another U206G showed up on the market for a mere $159k. We snagged it up, paid around $17k to fix it up to 100%, insured it, and put it to work. Now that means I have three planes without pilots, but as we're moving to bigger and longer hauls, it's actually getting hard to find the smaller/shorter jobs. The planes are all strategically placed at our bases so that if a short/fast job comes in we can do them with the smaller planes (that suck less fuel) but otherwise, it's all about the big/heavy hauls for the big bucks.

The pilots are holding up but are getting quite tired. They've been flying for the max allowable by the FAA, and they often spend the night in small podunk towns. Their expense reports come in via email, and I have our ops manager Ramona check them against the credit card statements online; so far, no issues.

As for myself, I'm still in wine country. There's a job I can take to get me back home to El Monte, but I am enjoying this place too much. Maybe later...

[mutley 4,498]

New aircraft? Well done EJ.

You can't drink and fly anyway so enjoy the wine!

[ehunyadi 0]

I was finally convinced by Ramona and my business advisor Lawrence to sell two planes and replace them with one larger plane. Their arguments were valid; why hold onto planes not being flown? Since I don't want to hire more pilots at this point, that left three planes without pilots. I figured they were assets; my accountants knew better. "Replace them with larger planes; reduce the fleet, but increase the earning potential." They were right. I sold N100SE, our first aircraft (C172) and N102SE (Mooney Bravo) and bought in its place our third C185F, N108SE. This brings our fleet size down by one to seven (still with only five pilots), but I think I will hold onto the remaining Bravos. We now have a plane with a decent carrying capacity at each of our bases, and I can continue to fly some of the shorter/faster hauls as they show up. You never know when the random emergency haggis job will come our way!

It was sad to see the old 172 go, but I had to remind myself that this is a business and not a sentimental museum. The decisions I make have to be in the interest of the business and in paying our bills. Having three aircraft sit around and tied down wasn't helping anything or anyone. Reducing the number of different aircraft also helps in reducing repair costs (theoretically).

As for the damaged aircraft report, we had two more hard landings, by Stevie and Woody. Both got the planes fixed quickly and carried on with their hauls, but I'm going to have to have a safety stand-down Monday to talk to the pilots about being a bit more careful with the planes.

[ehunyadi 0]

Many changes.

The Quest Kodiak, former flagship of the SCE Fleet (in its SoCal Express livery).

Fist big change: a new name. To reflect our growing presence in the South-West US, we changed our name from SoCal Express to Sonora Cargo Express. This allows us to keep our FAA abbreviation (SCE) and also reflects our flying area better (through the Chihuahua, Sonora, and Mojave deserts). We now have additional bases in Texas and New Mexico, and have a larger fleet of C185F's and more pilots.

Same plane, new livery (and new name!).

We have begun standardizing on the C185F due to the cost/return ratio. I can purchase a C185F for under $200k used and it carries over 1300 lbs of cargo for a range of 470 miles and a very slim 12 gph fuel burn. Whenever one comes up for sale on the used market, I snatch it up, have Kevin in El Monte go over it with a fine-toothed comb, get it back to 100%, and replace any non-C185F. We're down to the last C206 to replace; if I can get a C185F this week to replace it, I will. I will then have the two C206's that I can sell to recoup costs. We also still have the two Mooney Bravos sitting on the tarmac in El Monte. I may just sell those, too. Not sure yet.

One of the C206's that are being phased out of the fleet and soon to be sold.

As for the flagship of the fleet, it was the Quest Kodiak I've been flying around Southern California, but a deal presented itself on the used market, and I got a C208B for the bargain-basement price of $400k. Another $99k in repairs, and the bird was at 100%, insured, and turning revenue flights. It's exciting!

The Kodiak at home in El Monte getting ready to load up for another haul.

[ehunyadi 0]

Much has happened in the past few weeks.

First of all, I flew the final flight of the last C U206G (N106SE) from KFMN to KEMT. The plane was sold having served Sonora Cargo Express well.

The 206's were nice, but for an extra $4,000, it is possible to buy a C185F that carries nearly twice the cargo. It's sort of a no-brainer.

The SCE fleet now consists of nine C185F's. The following photo is of our oldest C185F, with over 252 hours on the airframe. The newest C185F, by comparison, has nearly 57 hours.

We announced the purchase of a C208B last month, but after doing an analysis of cost/benefit, we decided to forego the 208's and go straight to the Beechcraft B1900C's. So far, we have been fortunate in purchasing one used B1900C (N1030P) that was formerly used by a local carrier called "SlikAir," and a second B1900C brand-new from the factory (N116SE).

We are up to 12 pilots in addition to myself, and have had to let one pilot go due to excessive damage to aircraft and repeated late deliveries for no reason. Our newest pilot, Noe has just under four hours while our most senior pilot, Kenny, has over 335 hours. We have grown to 12 bases covering the South-West portion of the United States, from California to Louisiana and up to Kansas. It's a lot of work keeping all the planes flying and all the pilots busy, but it's well worth it. We have been able to pay for all aircraft and repairs with cash, and we have been able to begin investing some of our money into the stock market.

I'm still flying. I am the primary assigned pilot for our fleet's first B1900C, and I fly out of KEMT (El Monte, CA) regularly (and by regularly, I mean daily).