If we drive, my group gets off I-70 at Abilene, goes up to Wakefield, then to Riley, then comes down in on 24. This may take a few more minutes than some of the other routes spoken about on here, but that aggravates me far less than traffic jams and sitting still.
If we fly in, we just look down below and wave at the peasants. 
If you fly, how advance notice do you have to give before takeoff? And, can you easily update your route? For example, if we win can you be like “let’s go celebrate in another city?”
Since I am a private pilot with access to my own aircraft, the only people I have to notify are any passengers that are going with me, and the tower at the moment I'm ready to depart.
If I'm having to go through weather and I need to file what's known as an instrument flight plan (just means a more complicated way of flying because I can't look out the window and see where I'm going) then it's common courtesy to notify ATC of my intentions at least an hour before takoff.
EDIT: Sorry, I realized I didn't answer your other questions. Yes, I am able to easily update routes to avoid areas of high traffic or inclement weather, even mid flight. Also, yes, so long as I haven't been drinking and my friends feel like helping to pay for the fuel, we can watch the cats win an 11am kickoff game in MHK and touchdown in OKC or Denver before dinner time.
Genuinely curious - what would fuel costs be to go from MHK to Denver or OKC if you assume garden variety private plane, weather conditions, passengers, etc.
If we drive, my group gets off I-70 at Abilene, goes up to Wakefield, then to Riley, then comes down in on 24. This may take a few more minutes than some of the other routes spoken about on here, but that aggravates me far less than traffic jams and sitting still.
If we fly in, we just look down below and wave at the peasants.
If you fly, how advance notice do you have to give before takeoff? And, can you easily update your route? For example, if we win can you be like “let’s go celebrate in another city?”
Since I am a private pilot with access to my own aircraft, the only people I have to notify are any passengers that are going with me, and the tower at the moment I'm ready to depart.
If I'm having to go through weather and I need to file what's known as an instrument flight plan (just means a more complicated way of flying because I can't look out the window and see where I'm going) then it's common courtesy to notify ATC of my intentions at least an hour before takoff.
EDIT: Sorry, I realized I didn't answer your other questions. Yes, I am able to easily update routes to avoid areas of high traffic or inclement weather, even mid flight. Also, yes, so long as I haven't been drinking and my friends feel like helping to pay for the fuel, we can watch the cats win an 11am kickoff game in MHK and touchdown in OKC or Denver before dinner time.
What kind of plane/jet do you have? Also, crosspost with stud things thread
I can answer both of these questions simultaneously. I fly a Cessna 182, which is known in the GA (general aviation) community as the Chevy Tahoe of the skies. It's the third most popular plane that you will find in the air falling right behind its two smaller siblings; the 172 (most produced aircraft in history), and the 152 (most popular TRAINER in history). The 182 is arguably the most sought after used airplane on the market due to it's incredible versatility and low, relative, cost of entry. It's definitely one of the benchmarks that all other GA aircraft are compared to when pilots are looking to purchase a plane. So for the purpose of these questions, it's about as accurate of an answer as you're going to get.
Operating costs will vary with fuel prices (obviously) and my plane runs on 100LL (low lead). Some aircraft engines are certified to operate on auto fuel, yes, the exact same stuff that comes out of the Casey's pump, provided it's ethanol free. Unfortunately, mine is not so I have to pay for 100LL and wadda ya know, it costs more. At the time of this post, 100LL is running between $6 and $7 a gallon, depending upon which airport you look at. The 470 cubic inch engine that sits up front will burn between 12 and 13 gallons per hour when cruising (obviously more when climbing and less when coming back down). Throw in oil, maintenance, insurance etc. and I've found $140 per hour of engine run time to be an accurate number. I say engine run time because it costs money to taxi and wait for takeoff clearance at an airport even though you're not going anywhere.
To go to Denver on a typical day from Manhattan, you're looking at about 3 hours cruising at 150 mph. So 3 hours * $140/hr * 2(return flight) / 4 people (I can put 3 other adults and full fuel in my plane) = ~ $230 per person by the time taxing and run-up are figured into things. Also, one of the biggest benefits of planes like this is the ability to land at airstrips outside of major airports. Why land at Denver International and fight all that traffic on I-70 when I can land at Centennial or Rocky Mountain Metro and be a 15 minute Uber from downtown!
OKC is an hour and a half from Manhattan. So it would be about $120 per person for 4 adults round trip.
Where these planes really shine though, is in those 1-2 hour flight windows. The ability to fit more into your schedule is mind blowing. My plane is hangered in Hutchinson which, aside from having high fuel prices, is a fantastic little airport that's also near the middle of a destination to anywhere, i.e. Denver to KC, Omaha to Dallas etc. As an example, In August, I took off from Hutch with a friend, landed 15 minutes later at Jabara on the east side of Wichita, picked up two more friends, and 40 minutes later touched down in Enid, OK to go watch another friend perform. We ate dinner, went to the show, and then took back off. I was home, showered, and in bed before any of our friends who drove had reached Wichita.
In April I took off from Hutch in the morning around 10am, touched down in Abilene 30 minutes later, picked up a friend and his clubs, and then 15 minutes later we landed in Manhattan. We at lunch at Taco Lucha, met up with a 3rd friend, and went golfing. After that, we got back in the plane, I dropped my friend off in Abilene and an hour an a half later I was wheels down in Scott City for dinner with more friends. I stayed the night, went to church the next morning with them, hung around the house for a little bit, and then took off and landed back in Hutch with plenty of time to still do house chores and prepare for the coming week.
Finally, just this month I left Friday after lunch, and 45 minutes later was in Stillwater. I met up with friends and watched Howard throw 3 interceptions, stayed the night, wheels up at 6:30am the next morning, back down in Hutch at 7:30am, topped off with fuel and threw youngest brother into the plane. We were back in the air by 8:30am and landed in Fayetteville around 10:15am. Met up with our other brother and cousins and we were having brunch and throwing a private Octoberfest party before noon. Return flight the next day, and I was in my house a full hour before my middle brother, whom had driven down to Fayetteville from KC, made it home.
You just can't do that with a car.
As an aside; the only people that operate jets are commercial/charter flights, or the rock star rich. 'Erbody else either operates turbo-props (turbine engine with a propeller on the front) or piston driven like me.
Also also, not sure what this stud thread is that has been referenced. Kindly direct me.
