Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:33 pm
#1697961
I gave up in 2015. Sold my last aeroplane, the fourth owned either solo or duel. The increasing complexity of regulation, licensing and airspace all played a part as did cost. I only aquired my PPL to satisfy a boyhood curiosity about aerobatics, which i loved immediately. The journey lasted longer than I ever imagined it would, all the way to medals at Advanced level in domestic comps. The joy was already slowly ebbing away when a great freind lost his life in an Aerobatic machine at my home airfield. Six months later I was no longer an aeroplane owner or even in my own mind a pilot. I would not have missed the experience for the world, but there were a lot of factors which made me happy to stop, I am suprised to find I hardly ever miss it, but I often wonder how i found the time to fly the modest 60-70 hours I averaged, fettle the aeroplane(s) constantly, organise maintenance, spares....et al. Having dreaded the day I may need / be forced to stop, it has been a relief to do it as a conciuos choice and find it unpainful. It was not just regulation, but fear of accidentaly making an admin mistake and being uninsured as a result was certainly one factor among many.