I remember when I was learning 10 years ago how exhausted I was after every lesson. These days I don’t find it hard at all but I rarely fly for more than two hours. Hopefully I’ll get some longer trips done this year but I intend installing AP soon to help with that. Passengers, especially ones new to GA, massively increase the work load. I used to do some paid sailing as skipper and those trips were always very tiring because the added responsibility definitely raises the workload. Aeros also wear me out pretty quickly. One thing I am VERY careful about is what I eat and drink before I fly, carb-heavy foods will have me feeling tired after an hour.
Agree with Peter on this, in particular flying airways – although IMC in light/moderate turbulence, by GA standards, if you are not very current can be equally tiring.
Long distance (say 500nm +) VFR is OK if there are no weather challenges – some routes VFR may be easier as there isn’t a suitable airway with a reasonable MEA for pistons. On these trips the philosophy ‘if you have time to spare, travel by air’ needs to be uppermost. Divert, wait it out, enjoy that it is taking longer than you expected. Milan Linate to Catania is one of my favourite low level VFR routes, usually the weather obliges and you get an F-16 transiting with you near Campagna, Stromboli and Aetna smoking and a string of Islands as waypoints.
The other challenge is staying hydrated in a no potty, no multi crew aircraft. Using recycled plastic bottles or ‘pilot’ kits are never very dignified – especially as ATC usually chooses to talk to you at precisely the moment you are engaged! De hydration is probably one of the main factors causing tiredness – oxygen helps, but drinking water and staying off the caffeine is just as important.
Bottom line is stay current, and your stamina and alertness will build up.
how exhausted I was after every lesson
I suspect that is normal.
I was totally shagged after every lesson – PPL CPL IR (FAA & CAA). Doing the IR in the USA we flew twice a day; once at 8am and again 2pm. The IR was done in 2 weeks but I slept much of the non-flying time.
Non-training flight is much nicer, I find.
In addition to what’s already been written, one thing I’ve learned during longer trips (over multiple days) is to have different routes available in case of WX issue, both for VFR and IFR flights. Don’t wait until the last evening to start searching for alternatives, it can be quite messy (as I’ve learned the hard way).
A 2 hour VFR trip in complex airspace can be as tiring as a whole day trip almost in an easier airspace (no R-areas, few TMAs and so on). As a newbie IR pilot the approaches and SID-departues still take a lot of energy from me, setting everything up and mentally preparing for the possibilities.
I suppose you need to draw a difference between exhausted and tired.
When training and you’re being pushed by your instructor (good instructor ;) ) or you’ve undertaking a long and difficult flight either through complex airspace or difficult weather you are probably exhausted because your brain is working very hard for a long time.
I’ve been flying as a hobby for 13 years or so…at about 30-40 hours per year. So not very experienced, but comfortable with the sort of flying that I do, and enough currency to mean that it’s normally overly taxing. However I still always have a little tiredness after flying, even if it’s only a short flight. I think that there are a few factors in this, most if not all have been mentioned before.
Noise is one. I bought myself a top of the range DC ANR headset when I got my PPL and it helps a lot. (Cost as much 12 years ago as a Bose does today!) But there is still a noise element to the experience and I think that does add to tiredness.
Altitude is also a factor. You are breathing less oxygen. I bought a cheap O2 oxymeter to measure my O2 levels. I was surprised by how low they were. At 7-10K feet they were in the low 80’s. I’ve never smoked, correct weight for my height and am generally healthy. So was surprised by this. I suspect it may contribute a lot to tiredness. If you want to check your own levels you can by these things for about $20-$25 (from memory) on ebay/Amazon.
There is also the faffing about. Even for a relatively short flight you still end up getting up early on a weekend, printing off plogs, calling for PPR, filing flight plans etc. And then ‘unpacking’ the airplane ie removing covers etc (if it’s not a school one used all the time) and preflighting, and at the end putting everything away.
If you go somewhere you are probably walking a fair bit, and generally keeping busy. I certainly get more exercise on a flying day than I do sat at my desk most work days ;)
And as someone else mentioned, looking after passengers takes a bit out of you too.
None of these are particularly stressful or tiring but they all add up.
It’s rare that I feel exhausted after flying these days, but I do then to sleep well come the evening ;)
Hopefully that helps to add a bit of context for you ;)
Colm
As a low hour ppl (5hrs post skills test), I’m finding that fatigue post flight is getting better after each flight.
After my cross country trip when I was doing the ppl, I was absolutely shattered. I crashed in bed that day after the flight and woke up the next! The problem was the constant ‘Am I on track? is that X or Y? Am I far enough from the airspace?’ and the fact that I was using cheapo headsets. My first flight after ppl I used a gps on my phone and it was so easy that it was almost boring!
So yeah if you have the right equipment it must help a lot. GPS, good headsets and ap. I got the first now… I’m working on the other two 
Depends what I’m doing.
Cross country flight that’s mostly straight and level? Not really tiring. A decent headset helps.
Towing gliders? I find that quite tiring, even if we only do a few aerotows.
Aerobatics? Extremely tiring!
I used to tow gliders at the Soaring Club of Houston with their Pawnees, and it almost always seemed like when it was my duty day it was (a) booming so everyone and his dog came out to fly, (b) very hot (c ) no other tow pilots were around to help out in the other Pawnee! We had a procedure to turn around fairly quickly – tow the glider up, after release, spiral down to get a very high descent rate (I used to steep turn circle in sink, the Pawnees had 6000fpm VSIs and I could peg it down. This implies pulling a couple of G…) pick up the next glider and do it all over again stopping only to refuel. It was extremely hot and tiring and went on all day (but it was fun). Since I lived on the other side of the city I compounded it by flying our little Cessna 140 up to the glider club. The return home almost always involved a hard or bounced landing!
The problem was the constant ‘Am I on track? is that X or Y? Am I far enough from the airspace?’ and the fact that I was using cheapo headsets. My first flight after ppl I used a gps on my phone and it was so easy that it was almost boring!
Welcome to the GPS club
Navigating traditionally, I would be permanently shagged, worrying about whether one missed the waypoint, etc.
I would be a little careful about a phone GPS, however One does need to make sure one is getting a reliable reception in the actual aircraft. Generally the only assurance is having a rooftop antenna, although great many portable devices turn out to work very well so few people spend too much time worrying about it. But I have “lost” handheld GPSs in most situations, at one time or another.
It was extremely hot and tiring and went on all day (but it was fun). Since I lived on the other side of the city I compounded it by flying our little Cessna 140 up to the glider club. The return home almost always involved a hard or bounced landing!
An air carrier check pilot local to me has a C172 for that reason. His weekend house is on an airport with a fairly narrow runway, so when he transitions from CAT to light plane for the final leg home he wants it to be relatively easy. He flies a beautiful C195 on the weekends and says its too challenging for the ‘tired pilot commuting job’. He has zillions of hours and says that makes little difference to this particular issue – everybody gets tired at some point, and then their performance drops off.
Flying 2 or 300nm legs is generally fine. Lots of short legs with associated approaches and departures can get tiring; on one occasion, I had to fly my brothers family and mine back from Cherbourg, on the same day, so there were four legs in an afternoon. Cherbourg to White Waltham, White Waltham to Guernsey (for fuel), Guernsey to Cherbourg and then back to White Waltham. Inexperienced pax added to the experience.
On another occasion, I flew from Denham to Lyon Bron, to stay with friends, and then got a call from a client who wanted to see me at short notice the following am, so it was a case of turning straight around and flying back to Denham – 7hrs round trip. I had to lie down, after that.
I agree with Peter about Oxygen – I flew Cherbourg direct to Portimao (LPPM) 850nm mostly at fl105 for 5.25 hrs, without O2 and – although fine for the flight – felt absolutely washed out the next day.
