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Used to be that my wife and I would fly anywhere that was more than a 5 hour drive away. Now it's anything more than 10-12 hours away. We get to pack more clothing and creature comforts, and are more flexible about arrival and departure days and times. We often bring food along and keep it and soft drinks cold in our traveling refrigerator. We can bring gifts for our hosts, and we can shop and bring home things without worrying about having enough room. We have planty of time to chat and catch up on things, and make plans. We enjoy one another's and our shared tastes in music, and laugh out loud at comedy routines broadcast on XM radio. Our out-of-pocket travel costs are lower, as gas is less expensive than airfare for two, and we do not incur car rental charges or taxi fees which can be significant.

Remind me again why I should fly?

I know the terrorists changed commercial flight forever on 9/11/01, but do the industry and the government really have to try so hard to discourage us all from flying anymore? What used to be a reasonably inexpensive, quick and enjoyable way to travel has become expensive, much slower and truly unpleasant for everyone.

Until the TSA gets real about threat assessment and security, we will have long lines of grumbling people in their stocking feet dumping out their 8 oz. shampoos while anyone with a pulse and a few connections can get a union scale job that lets them stroll onto aircraft unsupervised and do whatever they want.

Even with fare wars it was fun to fly. Ask those who were either in the industry directly or tangentially, it is not fun for them anymore. And like you I know of some that prefer to drive. Rather than adopt Israel's mare stringent screening with the benefits of real meals with silverware when you fly, we are lucky to get pretzels...

Now those with access to a Mooney, Bonanza or an "RV-10" going to one of these 450 airports will potentially get this new treatment. It is very sad....

Their are those in the homebuilt/aircraft design arena with some interesting ideas for low cost 4 seaters utilizing different powerplants and construction techniques to bring their cost in at not much more than a luxury car.

With this as a backdrop, would you put the "Capital" in to such a project now? That assumes you could get you hand on some Venture Capital/Angel Money.