One bit I have found out that demotivates like not much else is if one has unrealstic expectations on what can be reasonably done with the skills, equipment and outside factors one has to deal with.
If you keep planning trips which are outside of what you can realistically do and have to cancel them over and over again, it will be a source of huge frustration. Actually, I know people who gave up flying in recent years because none of the trips they planned ever worked out.
I have told myself that this year I will stop this and do stuff which I can realistically do, move from one day to the next and will not impact my schedule. Basically, daytrips to airpors within 2 hours of flying which an be scheduled a day or two before and moved to the next day off without any consequences. And just profit of good weather whenever it pops up and go and fly around the alps or to usual 100$ burger runs.
I have totally given up on longer trips which need weeks of preparations, as they never happen in the end for a kazillion of reasons, most of the time weather, but also other stuff one can never predict accurately such as work comitments or other stuff which ALWAYS comes in the way of things you like to do. And particularly I will no longer participate or organize flyouts or other such things, as preparing them and then cancelling is a waste of time.
Much better to fly when you can and where you can fly to without having to organize slot, handling, overflight permits, charts, e.t.c. months in advance and then cancel it all again the day before or at the day.
One of the most common comments/questions that come up in conversations between pilots at meet-ups, when discussing somebody who seems to do a lot of flying is “what does he do for a living?” And in some cases nobody has any idea…
Very early on in the history of EuroGA we had a thread on peoples’ occupations… clearly most of the people who do the most flying are either working for themselves or are retired.
One bit I have found out that demotivates like not much else is if one has unrealstic expectations on what can be reasonably done with the skills, equipment
That applies to chasing after women too 
I have totally given up on longer trips which need weeks of preparations, as they never happen in the end for a kazillion of reasons, most of the time weather, but also other stuff one can never predict accurately such as work comitments or other stuff which ALWAYS comes in the way of things you like to do.
Didn’t you just say that you know your work schedule 2 months in advance? I wish I did that, I always have to assume the next catastrophe in one of the companies is around the corner requiring a change of plans. Your schedule sounds just perfect for longer trips. I have always made my longer trips work, sometimes with a bit of flexibility (the flyout to France went to Poland) but all worked and it was on time, including two flights to Africa. Your aircraft has a similar mission capability as mine, I see no reason for such a fatalist attitude…
In spring/summer I can fly on 100% of the days in Europe. Not always at the exact time I planned and the exact route but I can fly on every single day. So you could you in your M20.
Achim,
we have a schedule which is set about 1 month before, but is fixed once that is done, days off are 1 or maximum 2 in a row. In order to get the combination of a day off and flying weather has proven very disappointing in 2014 and not much better the year before. I hope the IR will change that at least to some extent.
Longer trips need a buffer zone of at least 2-3 days before and after a trip, which means, if I have a week holiday I would have to accept that most probably I´ll spend until Tuesday to fly outbound and come back latest Friday to be sure to be back for work on Monday (even tough I hardly have such schedules). And that time is too valuable to waste, I need my vaccation time and not sitting at home for the week wondering if and when I can fly. So we usually book well ahead, because if you don´t book ahead, you can´t get any decent deals on airline tickets anymore. With the weather we have in this alpine region and 90% of vaccation flights going over the Alps, the dispatch reliability is practically 10% at most, the IR won´t change that with a non turbo SEP.
So honestly, I´d rather go for daytrips which I can do or not or if there is a stable weather situation once every few months I would maybe consider doing two or three days. But organize fly ins or so? Nope. 3 years in a row I had all the work and had to cancel.
In spring/summer I can fly on 100% of the days in Europe.
Europe is big. Maybe that is true where you live,but not here. I´d say 1 out of 10 days and that this one will tick all the boxes, day off, wx good and staying good for some days is pretty remote. South of the alps, that may well be true or also in the flatlands of Germany.
In spring/summer I can fly on 100% of the days in Europe.
I certainly could not. For a Eurocontrol IFR (high altitude) departure, I get a 75% despatch date for a random future date. 95% despatch rate if I have a 2-day departure slot.
Technically, in warm temps, one can fly at low level even through a CB (the very bottom bit of it) and provided one stays well below Va one should not get killed, but that isn’t a realistic mission profile IMHO.
I certainly could not. For a Eurocontrol IFR (high altitude) departure
Who says it has to be IFR? In the warmer half of the year, there is always an opportunity to fly, maybe not 800NM in a straight line but you always can move. Requires a bit of flexibility which I think is the nicest thing about GA travel. If I want to go on schedule, I prefer Airbus over Cessna.
With the weather we have in this alpine region and 90% of vaccation flights going over the Alps, the dispatch reliability is practically 10% at most, the IR won´t change that with a non turbo SEP.
Sorry, this is absolutely not correct. Not even in February and not for Zurich.
So we usually book well ahead, because if you don´t book ahead, you can´t get any decent deals on airline tickets anymore.
I have always been of the opinion that piston GA is virtually useless for travel and should not be seen as an alternative to airline travel. As I mentioned, my Tour de France went to Poland. That’s what I meant when I say “a bit of flexibility”. If you have that, GA can be great for leisure travel, if you don’t then take the airline and use your aircraft for traffic patterns and the occasional 100 CHF burger.
I have always been of the opinion that piston GA is virtually useless for travel
You must be writing that with a massive tongue in cheek, Achim.
The fly-in to Mali Losinj was crap and poinless, therefore. Let’s face it, one can get there by airline, by flying to Pula (which itself can mean significant travelling – 3hrs for me in the UK) and then getting a boat to Losinj.
Same for many other really nice destinations.
One would never bother to do those by airline.
Airlines have their place, for a different kind of trip/holiday.
Well I didn’t book a hotel in advance and if the weather was not right, I would simply not have gone to Losinj. Such loose plans work well with GA. Losinj is great by GA (2:15 for me) but there are equally good places in Croatia with airline service. If I want to get somewhere, small GA is the wrong answer in 90% of the cases but flying itself is also worth it. Hell, I flew to HurghadaHurghada in my Cessna twice which means 25h of flying while I have 4-9 charter flights a week for 200€ from the airport and all I have to do is board the metro next to my house
Who says it has to be IFR? In the warmer half of the year, there is always an opportunity to fly
I think that is very much location dependent.
Certainly in Ireland, VFR, even during the summer, we would not have anything like 75% dispatch rate for a longer trip. Too many fronts make their way past here. As for directions, it’s always going to be South East to get to Europe from here ;)
Achim,
>>Not even in February and not for Zurich.
That is an average for a departure and return flight on a given day planned in a schedule with a deadline 1 month before. For that, 10% is about what I’d give it VFR, maybe 40-50% light IFR (no de-icing and max alt 15000 ft). If you are totally flexible, that is you can go fly whenever the weather suits you, it is naturally higher.
February is not over, but I can give you some figures for this winter.
In November, there were 19 days IMC plus 2 days unsuitable due to wind.
In December, there were 16 days IMC plus 4 days unsuitable due to wind.
In January, there were 21 days IMC plus 1 day unsuitable due to wind.
February: so far, 13 days IMC of 20. of which several with snow.
Of my off days in those 4 months, 3 coincided with a VMC and suitable day.
Of the IMC days, most had mod (ocnl sev) icing in the low stratus so they would have been unsuitable even IFR.
Now, this is one factor, the homebase. Next one over here are in 90% of the cases, can I cross the alps? The usual setting there is, either it is nice south of the alps and crappy on the Northside, or it is the opposite. So yea, if you look at flatlands where flying can work just fine with an overcast at 2000 ft AMSL then I agree with you. Why do you think I am looking forward to moving south once I am retired?
While I was at it, I did a post-mortem as Peter calls it on the longer off periods I had in 2014 for VFR conditions.I actually had not even planned them due to foresight, but I went and checked them in our statistics.
In April, start and end 3 days of my off period were either IMC or Alps unflyable.
In August, start of my off period would have blocked me for 5 days. Inbound would have meant to leave 3 days early. Off time was 10 days.
In October, both start and end 3 days were not flyable on the route.
I am currently working on a statistic on VFR dispatchability in Switzerland throughout the year, but it will take a few more weeks to complete (depending on how much time I get for it). The preliminaries for 2014 however pretty much confirm what I said before, which is no surprise as I had 3 flyouts and 5 trips cancelled.
That is why I am telling myself that I will do better in 2015 by not even counting on going on long trips but rather have a few destinations fully planned which I can implement on single or dual days off and which don’t require much preparation to just do. Or simply go and fly for fun on those days which are 50/50, rather than waiting for the elusive 10 day stable weather period which does not exist, let alone is not predictable 1-2 months in advance so I could plan vaccations or longer off periods.
Well, I am gonna be busy enough regaining my IR for the moment anyhow.
