Thu Sep 03, 2020 4:55 pm
#1794259
I wasn't quite sure what to put as the title, but it pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now when it comes to my flying. I'd love to know if others have felt similar and what advice they would give.
Next week it will be exactly 1 year since I passed my NPPL and I'm looking back at what I've achieved since then and...well...it's pretty cr@p to be honest - and I'm just not sure where to go next.
We had a miserable, waterlogged winter where my local airfields were shut for months on end, only for Coronavirus to deliver a kick in the nuts when things were supposed to be kicking off.
In 12 months, my log book shows a whopping 10.5 hours of flying total.
I'm renting from the club where I learnt and the bit I'm struggling with most is keeping up with club currency. I'm now out of the 30 day requirements not for a lack of trying, but because since my last flight I had a week's holiday, then the flight I'd booked on my return was too windy...and then trying to squeeze another flight in within the 30 day window, I hit upon further poor conditions. Of those 10.5 hours, 2 of those were check flights with an instructor; the rest are spread over 7 flights....just over once a month when taking Covid stoppages into account.
Reading the forums, I'm starting to think: what next? And, what is the point from hereon in of keeping this up?
As a renter, the nearest airfield to me is 50 minutes' drive (Headcorn). Slowly but surely, the number of airfields I can fly to are diminishing. I'd had a plan this year to fly up to Monewden and visit my family, but then they closed down over the summer.
When I think about my flights, I think: I've got to drive an hour just to get to an aircraft and then - where can I actually go? As a renter, you can't easily fly further afield and explore, as you need to get the aircraft back for the next person. And - I hate to say it - I'm getting a bit bored of bimbling over the same places in the South-East all the time.
The fact it's so awkward making time for flying means I've gone out of 'club currency' 3 times since I got my licence. It almost feels like I'm back to my lessons, where you have to over-book freqency to account for cancellations or poor weather. There's no opportunity just to 'jump in and fly'; club aircraft are booked up quite a way ahead of time and the airfields I fly from - unless I want a 90 minute drive - all close 6pm.
Looking ahead, I'm sure that owning an aicraft share would open up options. I'd like to convert to a taildragger, but again, I'm not sure what the point would be in the short-term: what clubs are there in the South-East where you can learn and then rent one? From what I can see, there aren't many taildragger conversion courses nearby - and I'm worried I'd just be making my life even harder as a renter in the short-term, until I can afford to buy a share; I'd do the conversion, but then have no club to rent from and so I wouldn't be able to build up the hours.
I'm sure this sounds like a right old whinge (and, to be frank, it was sort of meant to be and it's nice to get it off my chest), but I'm assuming others have found themselves in this position.
We're now heading into the late stages of the summer and the weather is already turning damper, colder and more blowy. I'm out of currency, so need some time with an instructor to approve me for further rentals, but I'd like to have a purpose over the next 6 months to re-instil in me a feeling that learning to fly was worthwhile and useful.
The utopia is that I own a share in a plane based at a farm strip locally, where in order to get airborne I don't have to plan weeks ahead, drive an hour to get to the aircraft, ensure I fly at least once every 30 days (although I would - and this would make it easier) and I'm not clock-watching to ensure I get it back in under 2 hours.
Rant over. Going to have a nice cup of tea now. Sorry.
Next week it will be exactly 1 year since I passed my NPPL and I'm looking back at what I've achieved since then and...well...it's pretty cr@p to be honest - and I'm just not sure where to go next.
We had a miserable, waterlogged winter where my local airfields were shut for months on end, only for Coronavirus to deliver a kick in the nuts when things were supposed to be kicking off.
In 12 months, my log book shows a whopping 10.5 hours of flying total.
I'm renting from the club where I learnt and the bit I'm struggling with most is keeping up with club currency. I'm now out of the 30 day requirements not for a lack of trying, but because since my last flight I had a week's holiday, then the flight I'd booked on my return was too windy...and then trying to squeeze another flight in within the 30 day window, I hit upon further poor conditions. Of those 10.5 hours, 2 of those were check flights with an instructor; the rest are spread over 7 flights....just over once a month when taking Covid stoppages into account.
Reading the forums, I'm starting to think: what next? And, what is the point from hereon in of keeping this up?
As a renter, the nearest airfield to me is 50 minutes' drive (Headcorn). Slowly but surely, the number of airfields I can fly to are diminishing. I'd had a plan this year to fly up to Monewden and visit my family, but then they closed down over the summer.
When I think about my flights, I think: I've got to drive an hour just to get to an aircraft and then - where can I actually go? As a renter, you can't easily fly further afield and explore, as you need to get the aircraft back for the next person. And - I hate to say it - I'm getting a bit bored of bimbling over the same places in the South-East all the time.
The fact it's so awkward making time for flying means I've gone out of 'club currency' 3 times since I got my licence. It almost feels like I'm back to my lessons, where you have to over-book freqency to account for cancellations or poor weather. There's no opportunity just to 'jump in and fly'; club aircraft are booked up quite a way ahead of time and the airfields I fly from - unless I want a 90 minute drive - all close 6pm.
Looking ahead, I'm sure that owning an aicraft share would open up options. I'd like to convert to a taildragger, but again, I'm not sure what the point would be in the short-term: what clubs are there in the South-East where you can learn and then rent one? From what I can see, there aren't many taildragger conversion courses nearby - and I'm worried I'd just be making my life even harder as a renter in the short-term, until I can afford to buy a share; I'd do the conversion, but then have no club to rent from and so I wouldn't be able to build up the hours.
I'm sure this sounds like a right old whinge (and, to be frank, it was sort of meant to be and it's nice to get it off my chest), but I'm assuming others have found themselves in this position.
We're now heading into the late stages of the summer and the weather is already turning damper, colder and more blowy. I'm out of currency, so need some time with an instructor to approve me for further rentals, but I'd like to have a purpose over the next 6 months to re-instil in me a feeling that learning to fly was worthwhile and useful.
The utopia is that I own a share in a plane based at a farm strip locally, where in order to get airborne I don't have to plan weeks ahead, drive an hour to get to the aircraft, ensure I fly at least once every 30 days (although I would - and this would make it easier) and I'm not clock-watching to ensure I get it back in under 2 hours.
Rant over. Going to have a nice cup of tea now. Sorry.