@Mooney_Driver Only my opinion but I think if I were you I would keep the plane, letting others fly it, if it’s not costing you a lot. Maybe things will look note positive to you in time, you’ll get bored, get a BFR and do some more flying. However reading your comments, you seem to be searching for a scape goat to justify what you want to do emotionally – which is stop flying as a result of family concerns and Swiss social pressure. I don’t think it’s particularly safe to fly with that lack of commitment and confidence, you aren’t going to move away from Switzerland, and spreading hyperbole about “massive” this and that, engines being likely to blow up at any minute, potential medical issues without anything specific being a factor, a hundred dead pilot friends and so on is not going anywhere healthy IMHO.
I also agree with @JasonC and @Silvaire put it very well too. Many people are killed every day on roads through no fault of their own, but we don‘t stop driving. As pilots we have a large degree of responsibility to manage the risks, and if we don‘t feel comfortable with our own ability to do that then we should indeed not fly. But let‘s not get paranoid about what we can‘t control.
chflyer wrote:
As pilots we have a large degree of responsibility to manage the risks, and if we don‘t feel comfortable with our own ability to do that then we should indeed not fly. But let‘s not get paranoid about what we can‘t control.
Couldn’t agree more. There is a time for everything. When we start to worry too much about things we can’t control, it’s time to quit, but it’s never a time to grow bitter. An old saying say it’s better to light a light than to curse the darkness. There is still a whole bunch you can do for the community and for the “spirit of aviation”.
Let’s look at some of the quoted accidents.
Stefan who crashed in the Alps in 2016 most likely crashed because of the “6500” shown on the official French SIA chart, which he probably thought was the SSA (it was the TA; the transition altitude which is a strange thing to show on a VFR chart) so he descended from FL130 to 6500ft and hit a mountain. The BEA report ignored this possibility (they knew about it). Of course he was flying at least partly in IMC (having cancelled IFR)…
Jonathan who crashed in the Alps in 2019 crashed because he was flying too low when he turned into the pass; why he was doing that is unknown. It could be a map reading / briefing error, a misread of some numbers on a map displayed on a moving map app, a strong desire to not go high due to the baby being carried, etc. Plus a likely lack of experience in engine management for higher altitudes. We will know more in due course. The wx was reportedly excellent and this really should not have happened in VMC.
The Acclaim Ultra one, I have not heard of. Was there a thread here about it?
It is virtually impossible that Peter’s Zurich engine failure was due to mismagement. Even if you lean just right to detonate, the worst that happens this quickly is a hole in the piston. Pre-ignition makes the hole even faster. But you don’t get a broken crankshaft, or conrod, etc. These catastrophic failures are extremely rare. And in most of them one is in a position to do a reasonable forced landing.
The Commanche at St. Johns was indeed a huge bit of good luck, on top of the very rare bit of bad luck.
I don’t think there are more of these accidents happening today than in the past. I think we are seeing more people post about things which didn’t work out for them. Traditionally, pilots say nothing openly about bad things, for various reasons, the main one being they want to sell the plane in a well lubricated transaction. The people who have posted about their events are committed owners who are not chucking it in anytime soon and who believe that there is value in others learning from it. This is highly admirable.
Car engines seem to fail rarely, but that’s because they spend most of their time at very low power – some 20-30% of max rated. Car engines driven really hard (rally cars etc) fall apart really fast. And they do fail. I got an alternator failure on a Toyota and after a short while the battery ran out and the engine stopped – as it will do on any car. I work above a car repair place (a main dealer) and you should see how many broken engines they are fixing. Every day they are repairing some engine. One reason we don’t hear much about broken car engines is this: they are very expensive, so if the car is more than a few years old, an engine failure writes it off and it is scrapped. All engines I see being worked on are warranty jobs. “Car” engines in planes do fail, another one, and used to fail a lot more until Diamond spent a lot of effort on them, with huge expense and hassle placed on the owners.
I think sometimes it is about rethinking the whole rationale about your involvement with flying. I’ve had the same debate with some friends (mostly high achievers in life) who are frankly over thinking everything and having unrealistic expectations. Perhaps you need to sell the expensive aircraft, forget about it being a family activity (let’s face it – it’s a massive faff in all respects) and just enjoy the occasional flight yourself just for the pleasure of being airborne amongst the clouds and away from life for an hour. You’ll go back to the family a happier and refreshed dad! You can rent a high end aircraft (or twin as I do) for the occasional fun trip with family that is done without any agenda on weather days that suit. All the best with it!
…or you go the other way and get a more capable aircraft with more redundancy (as Jason and I have done) so that a failure is less of an issue.
I get some kind of failure on most flights, and have had numerous engines fail, but it’s never felt dangerous or threatening, just a PITA at worst.
Timothy wrote:
I get some kind of failure on most flights
Timothy, can elaborate on this? With some examples?
Thanks!
The most recent PITA was gear that had an unsafe light when up, but there is a litany of little things – engine probes, fuel gauge senders, cockpit lights etc
Interesting thought processes from all above.
Having the “luxury” of flying jets professionally has brought about an unexpected safety awareness (a.k.a fear) when flying piston singles.
Things that didn’t bother me in the past have suddenly become limiting such as:
- VFR at night over water and forest (i.e most of Sweden).
- IFR to minimums
- Long stretches over water
I also ride motorcycles… So there is no real logic to my feelings, but if I can avoid any of the three above I’m pretty happy.
Age perhaps has something to do with this, as well as the luxury of choosing what to do – I can easily avoid the type of flying that I don’t like.
I had an engine failure in a Diesel Diamond DA40 a few years ago where the outcome was successful due mostly to luck and much less to competence. I have no issues flying them after this happened, but I’m more aware of the risks of failure than I used to be.
@ M_D
I think in the end it boils down to being confident enough, and having the desire to do what you want to do. If you don’t want to fly because you think the risks are too high then that’s it.
@Mooney_Driver this is quite a saddening post. As a Swiss-based pilot I can relate to the external pressure you are feeling.
We are unwelcome in Switzerland and the worst is to come with the new CO2 law. If nothing is changed by the federal council (unlikely) every landing will cost a CHF 500 CO2 tax (yes five hundred, that’s 450 EUR or 400 pounds give or take), over and above all other expenses.
So the point will become moot anyway and we will all be doing what I suggest to you below.
Apart from that. is flying dangerous? You bet it is.
I too have lost extremely competent pilot friends. On top of the sadness, it scared the hell out of me. But hold on. I know even more people who died while doing things from biking to riding in a car, barbecueing etc… Ah and since we are in Switzerland – suicide. But shhhhhh….
This said, I support your thinking and the implied conclusion.
Sadly, I believe you should stop flying because you have valid reasons to do so. And sell the Mooney.
Take care of your family, come say hello here and, whenever you have spare time again, get yourself a nice flight sim setup.
In a couple of years, I might join you agains my will.
For now, I am still obsessed with aviation and flying and still get mostly positive feelings from starting the gas guzzling monster in the front.
Yes, it tried to kill me a couple of times, a bit like a thoroughbred gone nuts. But I still love its growl and the adrenalin from lift off or a challenging crosswind landing. I am very grateful for the privilege of flying out of beautiful Switzerland. Probably one of the nicest places on earth to overfly.
It seems in your case, it is not fun anymore. Your life man! Just go do something else, but keep in touch.
