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How often and why do we fly ?

Why we fly is an interesting question.

I’ve been a flying nut since I was a kid. I followed the path to aviation regardless of the fact that I was turned down by all then “free” ways to go there, military, airline sponsored programs and so on. Paid my way to an IR/CPL/MEP but did never get hired by anyone, but could not let go of the dream. Personally I think it is like an addiction, once in it, there is no way out. Or at least not one which leaves you happy. Clearly, I could have made a better career and maybe had more money to fly at a later age if I had not thrown away everything to simply work and be near airplanes, being a load controller first, dispatcher later and now met guy since 25 years. But somehow it felt right at the time and it was huge fun as well.

I bought my first plane at 21 in 1983, a Cessna 150 with which in retrospect i did most of my flying with. I went flying every free minute, I took friends along and I had a girlfriend who liked flying. It was a cheap and easy way to fly, still an IFR plane in the end (old style, before EFIS and GPS) but we flew great trips to France, Italy, Germany and Austria mostly, once even down to Spain. It never had an AP but it had the full 2×NAV/COM, ILS, HSI (Narco DGO10), ADF, DME and Pronav(Garmin) 100 GPS.

I sold it when I was out of work and had no money to fly it anymore.

Got back into flying 2009 with my Mooney which I upgraded to IFR and AP at great cost. Flying that plane with AP and Aspen was super! It gave me huge satisfaction and was the kind of flying I love. Going places, even if it’s not that far, short trip times, relaxed flying with the AP and great versatility at a bargain price (still with all I spent I could not have gotten a more economical plane). Destinations were Bulgaria, France, Germany and Austria, the plane in the mean time has been around in many more places. It just returned from an italy trip.

I liked the Mooney with it’s equipment because it is comparatively cheap to operate, it is reasonably fast (140 kt) and its cockpit is now close to one of my favorite airplanes which is the A310. I like flying on AP, like following the magenta line, like programming routes up to the point where even VFR arrivals can be flown in RNAV mode. It’s my thing, while others love to stick and rudder around for hours. Done that, but with the AP it’s much better and nicer for me. I would never consider a plane without one now.

Big stop came when I became a dad at 54. No more time, no more incentive as the wife sais, not with the kid on board. Total change from before when she loved coming along and was actually proud of us being airplane owners to total risk aversion. We also have to attend to family and property abroad so all our vaccations go to this, no more travelling other than to the “2nd home”, no more anything. Life has become duty and duty only, all work, no play. Also flying there and back is no longer an option as the goal is always fixed dates and times and optimum stretch of vaccation time. That can’t be done with this kind of plane.

I still am hanging on and will give it another go in the next few months to get my SEP back. I have stopped dreaming about IR or anything, as I have no time whatsoever to do much extra activity. Maybe a few burger runs will still be possible. I also managed after 10 years to finally secure a hangar space, so that is another motivation, along with my wife also telling me not to sell the plane and promising to give me time. Well, we shall see. The aircraft will need major upgrades such as new paint and new windows in the very near future as well, so that is another very large step which I am not sure I can actually finance. I might well be outpriced and may have to give up.

About a year ago I got hold of the use of a 737NG sim nearby, which has hugely renewed my interest in flying. Being an airline pilot was my failed life’s ambition and the 737, while not my favorite plane, gives me all of this. My “fun flying” in the sense of not going anywhere, has been entirely in the sim now and it is much more rewarding than the constant hassle faced in real world flying. It also means to be able to do a bit of flying when I actually do have time (e.g. after a late shift from midnight to 2am or so) and do all sorts of interesting places I will never be able to go to in real life.

So if I had my way (which I obviously don’t) I’d do my “fun” flying in the 737 sim and my travelling with the Mooney, even if travelling means being alone on board and short trips like seeing my friends in Salzburg and other places or maybe drop into a Euroga fly in if it’s near. We’ll see how it goes.

Last Edited by Mooney_Driver at 28 Aug 09:41
LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Hi Bosco, South east of the UK from someone’s private strip. Cessna T210.
Nearly always 1 10 day tour of 2 countries each year and as many city breaks as the budget will handle.
She’s thirsty so can’t keep up with Peter.
Silvaire, thanks, agree with what you wrote. That was clear detail and I’m happy I was imagining sort of close to what you describe. I’m sure I’d like it.
It was the Mustang Jet, I think I’d find it exciting (I get it’s not for everyone) but covering distance easily above most wx all at your own agenda does have an alure for me. If I could afford one, I could probably also afford a Husky to go with it.

United Kingdom

Interesting (certainly more than mine) prof career @yeager, thanks for sharing and looking forward meeting you in flesh one day… we’d sure have some stories to share

PS
Yes, I realize not being asked for any comment on the subject, just couldn’t help it

Dan
ain't the Destination, but the Journey
LSZF, Switzerland

boscomantico wrote:

@Yeager an interesting profile for sure. What is your background?

Professionally, simply put (chronologic´ish); 2 year ab-initio (EASA modular ppl/cpl/sep/mep/IR) early age. B200/1900 first job (Africa/Afghanistan). FK50/Q400 first airline (Scandinavia), B744/A330 second airline (HKG/Worldwide), C208 interim fun job (Africa), C525 first biz jet job (EU/Africa), FAA ATP, G550/G650 biz jet job (current), FI hobby. Soon DTO (hopefully).

Last Edited by Yeager at 27 Aug 07:04
Socata Rally MS.893E
Portugal
I fly,because I like to fly.

Considering what I do (1 or 2 meetings in Scandinavia or Eastern Europe each month) and where I live (2h to closest international aerodome,and usually have to be there at 5am ), GA flying could also be a tremendous time saver,but at high cost- to be able to keep a schedule I would need IFR plane + IFR aerodrome at the other end. If I had a couple of millions in the bank, I would buy a MS760 Morane and enjoy it,but that’s not the reality. I might have a single business trip coming in the beginning of September to Helsinki, but it depends whether they forecast a legal weather for the days I need to go.
I like to do 1-2 longer trips (week to 10 days) each year, usually using grass fields . Gives me the chance to interact with aviation people and usually see some cool exotic planes. Unfortunately don’t have time for that this year, so this leaves bimbling around ,exploring places locally – plenty of microscopic strips I havent visited or friends who happen to have farm field which has been recently harvested. I like to take people along and there is no shortage of friends or friends of friends who like to come along.
Savannah is perfect for that kind of flying. It has always been important to me that I don’t have to think flying as “expensive”. The direct cost of flying vs not flying is about 30EUR per hour. The plane is paid and I do the maintenance myself. And in case I misjudge one of those harvested fields, I can even absorb the cost of propstrike :)
I think one of the best aspects of flying is that its a completely different world- no thoughts about politics, work, where to get money for X etc. I’m flying and only thinking about flying.

EETU, Estonia

GA_Pete wrote:

Despite my personal recognition of the US being almost the international hub of private GA, with regard for infrastructure and convenience and acceptance. I also wonder that possibly there could be, for me at least, a lack of differing, culture to experience.

The two go hand in hand, in as much as some things in the US are the same everywhere. The US is not in general a monoculture, values and ways of life vary quite a lot from place to place. Wyoming is not New Jersey in culture and physical geography varies a lot too. However for aviation specifically and other things run by the Federal Government the US is almost a monoculture, by design, and that is a huge advantage for GA in the US. As in the military the intent in the US is to eliminate cultural influence in aviation, because it’s better when run as a technology instead.

By comparison in Europe the multicultural, multigovernmental aspect introduces an unfathomable amount of BS and conflict to aviation and its a huge hassle to go anywhere unless you’re prepared to fly IFR (with its own set of hassles, anywhere) and to pay like a biz jet. Meanwhile it seems to me you miss the cultures in between points A and B by flying over them and distances on the Continent aren’t so far that speed matters very much unless it’s quick a weekend trip to a single, distant destination. The exception is if you happen to live on an island, where flying introduces a huge natural advantage.

For me the best kind of flying in Europe would be UL flying, remaining inconspicuous to authority as much as possible, flying around in a single country like Italy or France with occasional trips to neighboring countries if/when/where it can be done with a minimum of bureaucratic nonsense. For longer trips to experience multiple cultures, a motorcycle has been great in my regular European experience since 1988. Just my POV.

GA_Pete wrote:

If I could I’d have a Mustang and scream around the skies to as many destinations as I could.

If you mean a P-51, I wouldn’t recommend it. My friends who fly and maintain one apparently spent $800 on a DIY oil change last weekend. And the heads need to be retorqued every 25 hrs which means removing the cams If you mean the Cessna jet kind of Mustang, I could see that flying around in one of those might be fun because you could fly from the UK to say Switzerland or Italy for just a day or two. Then go somewhere else the next week. But to me these benefits have nothing to do with the enjoyment of piloting a plane, it’s just a very fast, albeit complex way to get from A to B. My version of that fantasy would involve somebody else to fly the plane.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 27 Aug 02:15

@Yeager an interesting profile for sure. What is your background?

@GA_Pete your profile is empty. Where is your base? What do you fly? Etc.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

I fly for “often” and for two separate reasons. 1. For a living. 2. For fun on my own airplane.

1. Not as much flying as one might think. Private Jets (commercial pilot) I only fly as much as the client/owner requires, and in my case that´s about 75H a year on a high performance jet (8-12 legs per year) – yes, ridiculous, but just the way it is. I do it because it pays the bills and it´s not all that bad watching the planet from 47000 feet.

2. Much more appreciated, 4-6 times per month during the 6 months that I am at home (where my own airplane is) and on top of that 2 longer (2 × 5H trips) trips per year = around 50 hours a year.

Last Edited by Yeager at 26 Aug 22:16
Socata Rally MS.893E
Portugal

Why and how often do we fly?
Well, usually I/we fly about every 2 to 3 weeks. Sometimes just to run the engine, which if I’m honest can be a bit of a chore. Sometimes we combine the engine run with a meal someplace.

For me the aircraft is another means of transport but with the added benefit of still enjoying all of the factors, which for some, driving still has, but definitely not for me.
I fell out of love with driving long time ago.

This year we’ve flown almost every week.
We also fly because we love the freedom of making our own agenda to travel, where and when we want.
We love the diversity we can experience, of flying to different places in europe. We love the speed at which we can arrive at our destination, to begin enjoying what it has to offer.
Despite my personal recognition of the US being almost the international hub of private GA, with regard for infrastructure and convenience and acceptance. I also wonder that possibly there could be, for me at least, a lack of differing, culture to experience.
Not to say its not there, but its not perhaps like visiting France, Spain, Germany and Holland all in a few months.
I would like to spend time in the US and enjoy lot’s of what it has to offer but it probably won’t happen.
I totally understand people who fly for the love of flight and would fly for an hour in the still evening air just to enjoy it, but it’s not me.
If I could I’d have a Mustang and scream around the skies to as many destinations as I could.

United Kingdom

Silvaire wrote:

I could say I’ve been flying since 1979, when I soloed as a teenager

Had my first solo in 1982 in Belgium flying gliders. I was 16 A great time. I don’t think my interest has changed. I got my PPL 10 years later. Did some (token more or less) longer trips in C-172s (a nice one with 6 cyl, CS and autopilot), but didn’t find any “magic” in it. Did some acro in a C-152 Aerobat, which was fun, until some moron in the club crashed it into the hangar. More or less stopped flying for several years (family and kids also put a damper) until mid 2000 when I tried UL, then tail wheel (Cub), and started towing gliders in a Piper Pawnee. Then the pieces finally fell in place again. Flying was fun again, like I remembered with gliders or with the C-152. More acro, STOL, gliders also, experimental and instructing. Found out to my surprise that I liked instructing also

I’m definitely a stick and rudder man. The feeling when the aircraft becomes an extension of your body is magical. Easily done in a glider and a single seater/tandem, or a STOL/bush plane, and also in a UL, not so much in a C-172, but I guess not impossible? A light C-172 with 180 HP is not a bad bush plane for one or two people.

I’m glad a live in Scandinavia also. Lots of space and lots of nice places to fly. Lots of freedom to fly, few or none restrictions and little nonsense (relatively speaking). The only bad thing is the weather and the fuel situation. Can’t do anything with the weather, but the fuel situation seems to be solving itself now, and will probably become more like it was before, hopefully, too early to say as of yet. NLF and Avinor have teamed up just now regarding fuel, we will see how it goes. It will for sure require voluntarily work by us involved, or there will be nothing IMO.

At the same time there have to be challenges. But, there seems to be more than enough of them. STOL flying alone has enough to fill a lifetime, and I’m only at the novice stage, and I’m not getting younger

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway
83 Posts
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