''$100 hamburger'' ("hundred-dollar hamburger") is

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

for the excuse a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

pilot might use to fly.

Background

A $100 hamburger trip typically involves flying a short distance (less than two hours), eating at an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

, and then flying home. "$100" originally referred to the approximate cost of

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement (or lease) is sig ...

or operating a light general aviation

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, such as a

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

prices have since caused an increase in hourly operating costs for most

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

s, and a Cessna 172 now costs US$95–180 per

Hobbs Hobbs may refer to: Surname * Hobbs (surname) Fictional * Russel Hobbs of the virtual band Gorillaz * Luke Hobbs, a character from ''The Fast and the Furious'' film series * Lynne Hobbs, a character from ''EastEnders'' * Garry Hobbs, a chara ...

hour to rent, including fuel. In

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, for example, in the San Francisco Bay Area one could fly short distances up to the

Nut Tree Nut Tree is a lifestyle center in Vacaville, California near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 505. The original Nut Tree History The original Nut Tree opened on July 3, 1921 on the Lincoln Highway (old U.S. Route 40). It was ...

in Vacaville, or down to

Harris Ranch Harris Ranch, or the Harris Cattle Ranch, feedlot is California's largest beef producer, producing of beef per year in 2010. It is located alongside Interstate 5 at its intersection with State Route 198 east of Coalinga, in the San Joaquin ...

in Selma. Often the meal is upgraded to steaks, rather than just hamburgers. In

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, a similar mentality resulted in the 'Rotto Bun Run'. A group of pilots who had run out of

hot cross bun A hot cross bun is a spiced bun, usually containing small pieces of raisins and marked with a cross on the top, traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Pakistan, M ...

s on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

decided to fly to the closest open bakery on

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

. The run is now an annual charity event.

References

General aviation English-language slang Metaphors referring to food and drink {{Aviation-stub