[The phrase is] used in general aviation in the United States (perhaps with variations on the theme elsewhere?). A lot of pilots like to pick a random airport a couple or a few hours away, drop-in for a meal, refuel, and then take off again to fly back home. The sheer joy of flying seems to serve as the primary motivation, like someone taking a sports car out into the countryside for a weekend getaway. The $100 price tag refers to the cost of flying to a distant runway for no reason other than wanting to fly to it, and not specifically to any meal that may have been purchased there. It’s a euphemism, or a wink-and-a-nod, or both, even though fuel prices today would make a hundred dollar round-trip flight a bargain."Via Twelve Mile Circle, which has links to relevant sites.
31 May 2013
"Hundred dollar hamburger" explained
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It's a thrill to get a link to Twelve Mile Circle from TYWKIWDBI. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo that's what the 1% do for fun...
ReplyDeleteThat's not the 1% (who have pilots for private Learjets. I believe most general aviation is conducted by recreational pilots who are in the (shrinking) middle/upper middle class.
DeleteIt's hours that you can log into your flight book, so it's experience. The hamburger is a bonus.
ReplyDeleteAll pilots must fly a certain number of hours in a month and do a certain number of takeoffs and landings to legally passenger(s). Most pilots do the $100 hamburger/cup of coffee routine to maintain their currency if they haven't done enough flying during the month.
ReplyDeleteI know someone who does this kind of thing with commercial airline travel, taking a quick BOS-NYC shuttle trip. He does it when his frequent flier mile total is almost, but not quite, to an award threshold.
ReplyDeleteI have a €100 pizza waiting for me in London. It's worth it.
ReplyDelete