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How long have you been flying, and the biggest changes over that time?

It’s just occurred to me that I started just over 20 years ago.

The main change I notice is the ease of getting preflight information, because mobile data is available practically everywhere, and there are many more sources for weather. Flying itself, and the vast majority of airspace and airports, is exactly the same.

Satnav also works a lot better. I always had GPS in some form, but some of the contraptions I was using back then – example example – look hilarious today.

Then, the IR in 2006 completely transformed the procedures for flying across Europe.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I’ve also been flying for 20 years - but because of a 17 year break I started earlier than you, in 1983. :)

As you say, the main difference is the ease of getting preflight information.

But also, something that still doesn’t cease to amaze me, is the accuracy of flight planning software now that it can get forecast winds for the exact route and level you’re planning to fly. In the 1980s, you got an average wind over a large area for selected levels or the average wind along some predefined routes — again for selected levels. You never arrived over the waypoints when you were supposed to. Today I can plan a flight in SkyDemon, fly for two hours and the arrival time is usually correct to the minute.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I have been flying for 37 years, the big significant ‘positive’ changes are just as Peter suggests, one can now access the weather without having to use a FAX machine and you can now find your way around Europe with GPS rather that doing endless VOR tracking and cross cuts. Flight planning and flight plans are now much simpler now you dont have to use a FAX or Minitel !

Unfortunately, just about everything else is significantly worse.

Peter wrote:

Flying itself, and the vast majority of airspace and airports, is exactly the same.

During that time many of the airports in the UK have disappeared and most of the ones that are left with hard runways, have either priced out GA or have become a real hassle.

I am coming up on 53 years. I remember when my instructor said using a VOR was cheating.

KUZA, United States

Almost 35 years now. As already said: GPS and preflight info has been the biggest game changers during that time. But also some others:

- Mobile Phones: One of the major challenges with off field landings with gliders in the early days was getting to a telephone to call the colleagues to pick me up. (and yes: GPS also helps there as you don’t need to describe where you are by using mm-scales on the shell road maps you carried with you.
- Airspace structure: At least in Germany (can’t judge how other countries have been) the airspace structure 35 years ago has been dominated by quite complex military airspaces that have been a nightmare to navigate around (again: w/o GPS). Compared to that, today is a dream.
- Webcams (might be part of preflight info): The opportunity to actually see how it looks like at destination rather than having to read a meter from an airport 50km away and the guessing ….

Germany

Almost 23 years and the biggest positive changes are

- GPS; the very first units came out when I learned to fly, but it took a while for them to become affordable and usable. Anyone remember Garmin 96 ?? (not slagging it off, it got me to many places in the middle of nowhere in Africa, etc)
- preflight planning via internet, especially wx briefing to an amazing degree of certainty; this has made flying vastly simpler and safer
- ForeFlight (at least in the US) which effectively puts a glass cockpit combined with a dispatcher into your cockpit

Negative changes:
- disappearance of airports
- red tape (that’s mainly a European thing, though)
- the high-viz craze (UK and to a lesser extent continental Europe)
- the ‘security’ madness (again mostly a European issue)
- traffic on the way to the airport ! Arrghhhh…..

The actual flying bit has become easier (as others have noted) due to the improvement in flight planning software and GPS, and an inexpensive smartphone making (for me) a great GPS navigator that can be used for other stuff too. Yes, I’ve noticed how much better winds aloft forecasts/reports have got – Skydemon pretty much estimated to the minute when I’d get back on Saturday on a 2 hr flight (in a slow plane which is more strongly affected by winds than a faster aircraft).

The bullshit quotient has gone up, though, at most airfields with hard surfaced runways. I could avoid them entirely, except if you actually want to go somewhere and have reasonable ground transport options, you’re kind of stuck with them. (Although Enterprise at least will deliver you a rental car if you’re not too far away). Why are we letting the yellow jacketed jobsworths triumph? They must be hurting the airport’s business.

Andreas IOM

I solo’d first in 1980 and really started flying around 2002. The main changes in my activity have been in mandatory position reporting (transponder and ADS-B) and iPad based moving map and GPS. Other than that not much. Basically it’s easier to avoid getting lost but the flying is the same. US airspace is better organized now but it doesn’t make a lot of difference for my flying. The homebuilt aircraft scene is less innovative today which is a shame, but the designs like the RV etc that ‘made the cut’ out of that period continue to thrive.

Flying 30 years!
Biggest change for me is situation awareness.
Weather, traffic, environment, synthetic vision, electronic charts, GSR56 Sat/Voice/Text
Now we have everything anytime in our cockpit

EDMA, Germany

Started 1983 with gliders then make a pause between 1991 and 2006 and then restarted flying with PPL course.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia
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