The Mackenzie Field Hangar unlocks after the Nervous Ron mission, allowing Trevor to run arms to potential buyers all over Los Santos. The business itself costs $150,000, but is it worth it? Let’s dive into the numbers.
Starting with the air traffic missions, you’ll have five distinct runs. The first one will give you $7,000, plus the option to pick up some accuracy and time bonuses, giving you a tally of $7,250 in-game dollars. The second option will give you a bonus for altitude as well, which gives you a maximum payout of $7,375. Runs three through five also end up just giving you the two bonuses to a maximum payout of $7,250. But let’s be honest, most of the time it’ll be $7,000.
The second type of mission is a ground trafficking mission where you’re in the buggy. Again, run one will give you a pistol and $5,000. Run two will give you a micro SMG or some ammo at least, and $5,000. And then runs three through five will also give you $5,000 a piece with grenades, pump shotguns, and assault rifles as additional rewards.
So, where does that leave us? With the ground trafficking at $5,000 and a maximum average payout for air trafficking at $7,250, we have a total of $12,250 per round. Now each round takes around about 15 minutes to do. We need 13 rounds before we top out our $150,000 investment, which means that we end up spending roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay to get a return on investment.
Unlike the other businesses in the game, there is no passive side to this one. You have to be active to get it. So the question actually becomes, do you get the hanger? And to be honest, probably not at the start of the game. You’ve got $150,000, which could be better spent elsewhere, and it will take you quite some time to grind back that investment.
However, it is a lot of fun to play these missions. So what we would probably suggest is that after you’ve done the first hotel assassination where you’ve got some spare cash and you’ve got a bit more of a feel for the game, then dive in. That’ll give you a chance to get some better weapons, to get a bit of experience, to make sure you’ve got some cash under your belt so you’re not leaving Trevor strapped for the rest of the missions, and will give you the luxury of time. You won’t have to grind that 3.5 hours of solid gameplay loop to be able to get that return on investment and continue with the game.
In conclusion, the Mackenzie Airfield Hangar business is not worth purchasing at the start of the game. However, if you have spare cash and some experience, it can be a lot of fun to play these missions. Ultimately, it’s up to personal preference. Feel free to comment below and let us know what you think.
