Taking a Break From Flying After Ten Years

piloto206

piloto206

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piloto206
After being a pilot for ten years and logging 400 hours I am ready to take a break for awhile. I’m very torn about this, but the thrill of being a private pilot is fading and it’s become so hard to recapture what I once felt. Flying has become more of a chore than something I enjoy doing. The last three times I went flying was to do the bare minimum to stay current. Three touch n go’s at my home airport. I haven’t done any night flying or IFR in 5 years.

I really used to love flying. I started as a student pilot in 2002 when I was 26 years old, got my private pilot’s license in 2003, and got my instrument rating in 2004. I decided not pursue a career in the airlines and instead got my 4 year degree and decent paying job. I let my instrument rating lapse and decided to just fly for fun.

However it seems like I barely have the time anymore. I’m married and work full time. Right now, at age 36 the thrill I used to feel is gone and doing a BFR every 2 years and renewing my medical every 3 years seems more like an inconvenience.

I’m sure part of it is the high cost to rent a Cessna 172. The hourly cost wet is almost 100% more than what it was ten years ago. Last summer I flew to another airport with a friend to have breakfast. When I got back to my FBO the cost was over $230. I remember thinking how that would get me a roundtrip flight somewhere on a commercial airline, or a weekend getaway with my wife. It’s getting harder for me to justify the cost.

I just feel really bad about quitting general aviation, even if it’s not forever. I put so much time and money into it over the years. I wonder if I stop for a few years if I will ever come back. Does anyone relate to what I’m going through? Has anyone quit flying and then started again later?

B)
 
I quit after earning the PP, flying a few trips, then wondering what else there was to do besides burn holes in the sky at $100/hour...

Five years later I showed up at an airport, learned what a BFR was. 5 hours later I was flying solo to/from anywhere. Big deal.

I decided to finish the IR, then Comm, then CFI. Then I bought an antique Chief. I fly dual 2-3x a week in a very nice LSA and fly my Chief whenever I can.
 
I left it for mostly financial reasons for eight years. You can always come back.

Rentals and they're always-something-different broken feel had really grown tiring. When I came back it was to join a co-ownership.

Now at least the broken stuff is the same and if I feel like fixing it we all chat, or worst-case you just whip out the checkbook to heal your personal maintenance pet-peeve. ;)
 
Try other airplanes. If all of those 400 hrs were spent in a cessna 172 or similar....im suprised it took this long to get bored.
 
If you're bored, you're bored. If you still love being up in the air but not the rest of the experience, consider learning to fly a different airplane or a glider, or take an aerobatics lesson.

But lots of people find new interests. When you come back to it, just be ready to spend the time to get sharp again.
 
Buy a boat. Life goes on. You will be happy.
 
Get your wife involved in the flying. She may be hestitant but if you guys can go places together (and she feels confident in the right seat) maybe it'll be fun again. I've considered giving it up myself. (have the signoff for the 'ride but somewhere it just doesn't feel right) I decided to see if I can get the scheduling of the DPE and me at the same time it's meant to be.

When I first started I was warned of A.I.D.S. (Aviation Induced Divorce syndrome) maybe you're seeing the effects of flying when you say "Bye honey - off to the airport"
 
So you joined POA today to tell us you were quiting flying,mmm ok so you are searching out kindred souls who have been down the path you are starting, not a bad idea. If ya don't have it in you you don't have it in you its that simple.

I'd suggest hanging out here on POA for a bit chat, talk planes, talk flying, meet some POAers and perhaps the flame will reignite. If not you have still met some good people. Welcome to POA!
 
Discover what you love to do and go do it.

No need to rationalize it to anyone. No need for guilt.

Life is a banquet don't walk away hungry.
 
I'm always thinking about quiting. More so everyday. I've been flying for almost 30 years now. In order to keep flying interesting, I give myself challenges, such as landing at all the public and private (open to the public) airports in Nebraska, and then landing in a 50 states. It works for me. I completed my biggest challenge, which was to fly to Alaska. The memories from that trip will remain the rest of our lifes.

Something else that helps is to own your aircraft. If I had to rent an aircraft I would never fly. The pride of ownership can not be underestimated. The plane is sitting in the hanger waiting for me with full tanks. The wife and I always take the plane for vacations. The best vacations are the ones were the destination is not planned. Take off from my home base and climb out, start turning and just level the wings and then fly that way till you need fuel.
 
AdamZ said:
So you joined POA today to tell us you were quiting flying,mmm ok so you are searching out kindred souls who have been down the path you are starting, not a bad idea. If ya don't have it in you you don't have it in you its that simple.
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Obviously looking for some support to not quit flying.

I know you are probably paying $120 or more per hour for a 172 and restricting your flying to daytime and cavu is probably not challenging or exciting in any way. Fix that.

Fly a glider. Fly a TW airplane.. Take an acro lesson.. Get an instructor and go fly when it's raining and 500OVC.
 
Thanks for your responses. It’s great to get all the feedback. I joined this forum because this recent decision has been eating me alive inside. I have never felt this uncertain before. I truly love flying. I can’t imagine staying away from aviation forever, but I think I need a break. I’m definitely not feeling what I used to feel. The FBOs have completely different energy than 10 years ago when I first started. There used to be plenty of FBOs at general aviation airports and full-time instructors. Now there are less instructors and most of them have another job somewhere else.

I think right now is a tough time for private pilots like me who are not aircraft owners and work all the time. I hardly ever fly cross country anymore because of the high cost to rent. I feel constrained by the requirements of the FBO which say I have to fly at least every 60 days or else I have to go up with an instructor (which would cost more money). That means I have to squeeze my flying time into a very small window.

The last time I flew was in late February. My wife and I recently got back from 2 weeks in Australia. Even while on my vacation I was stressing about staying current and how I would fit that into my busy schedule when I got back to the U.S. My BFR is coming up again in June and I am just not feeling it. I need a break. I would like to come back to flying in 2 years or so. From your experience is that realistic? How much would I forget in that time? I let my instrument rating lapse 5 years ago and I hardly remember anything about flying ILS approaches...
 
I don't know man, my club's membership went from 300 to 350 last year, we added two more airplanes and two more instructors
 
I'd be interested to know the number of "dormant" pilots, and would be willing to bet it's a bigger number than most of us (active pilots) think. You're far enough along that getting back won't be a big deal if/when you get ready. I'd also be surprised if even the most hard-core pilots don't gulp just a bit at the gas pumps this year.

piloto206 said:
Thanks for your responses. It’s great to get all the feedback. I joined this forum because this recent decision has been eating me alive inside. I have never felt this uncertain before. I truly love flying. I can’t imagine staying away from aviation forever, but I think I need a break. I’m definitely not feeling what I used to feel. The FBOs have completely different energy than 10 years ago when I first started. There used to be plenty of FBOs at general aviation airports and full-time instructors. Now there are less instructors and most of them have another job somewhere else.

I think right now is a tough time for private pilots like me who are not aircraft owners and work all the time. I hardly ever fly cross country anymore because of the high cost to rent. I feel constrained by the requirements of the FBO which say I have to fly at least every 60 days or else I have to go up with an instructor (which would cost more money). That means I have to squeeze my flying time into a very small window.

The last time I flew was in late February. My wife and I recently got back from 2 weeks in Australia. Even while on my vacation I was stressing about staying current and how I would fit that into my busy schedule when I got back to the U.S. My BFR is coming up again in June and I am just not feeling it. I need a break. I would like to come back to flying in 2 years or so. From your experience is that realistic? How much would I forget in that time? I let my instrument rating lapse 5 years ago and I hardly remember anything about flying ILS approaches...
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I don't mean to sound harsh but why is this assertion that "I got a wife and a decent paying job and such a busy schedule" has to be so mutually exclusive to pursuing your flying? Why are you trotting so fast on that hamster wheel? My definition of a "decent paying job" is one that affords me the time and money to do what I WANT to do. Doesn't sound to me like that's what you're doing. Furthermore, you just got back from 2 weeks in Australia with the wife... But 100/hr twice a month is killing ya?! Sounds like a mismatch in interests and priorities to me.

I'm slightly younger than you, but not by much. Started flying right about the same year as you. Got my IR/CPL/CFI between 2004/05. I ended up going military. Just like you, I did a gut check and realized airline work pays chump change and is too fickle for my taste. And according to my peers I have the benefit of ready access to turbine time without the "indignity" of prison sentences at regional airlines and compensation that makes most women turn their nose at men. So that should tell you how I feel about airline work. It's russian roulette. Rock star living for the never-furloughed, and 3-strikes-you're-out for the rest who didn't get the right date of hire seniority number. Eff that noise. Autopilot flying is boring.

I had a wife too at the time. In the same time you've been in aviation I've managed to buy a rat trap C-150 and then sell it. Now on my second purchase, a piper warrior. Planning on selling that too and getting a peppy 2 seater experimental. I'm also divorced because my exwife found me "cheap and boring". You know what the bottom line on that was? I was "cheap", not because I wouldn't spend the fruits of my daily toil, but because I wouldn't spend it on what SHE wanted. You know what she wanted? "Australia" every other month, if I may be pointed with you. I wanted a lazy sunday afternoon at home after a nice job/walk with my significant other while having an watered down but cozy magic carpet sitting at the airport for us to go discover new places and have first and only dibs on. That was a bore to her. Her friends didn't care much for ratty prop jobs that can't cross the country in 5 hours. To my exwife, flying was about getting to a destination (with her entourage of 7 drunkard friends of course), for me flying was THE destination. Such is the disadvantage of this pursuit over others such as golfing, hunting, shopping (ugh) or boating. To each their own.

My point is that if I had not had the access to military aviation, I would have made damn sure my daytime occupation would allow me both the TIME and RESOURCES to afford private ownership. If I could not participate in aviation to my heart's content, either as a daytime occupation or alternatively as a recreational pursuit afforded by the daytime occupation I "tolerate" in order to afford aviation, then I've failed in my life endeavor. Because in my book, life is not about feeling busy all your dog tired life in order to finance OTHER PEOPLE'S cares and pursuits, even if they call themselves your "wife/kids". I'm sorry, I don't think appeasing others when one is not content with one's lot is all that genuine, while trying to instilling the idea onto others that life is worth pursuing. Google Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Papa needs to feel his individual life is worthwhile before he can tell his son life is worth pursuing. Living vicariously is for chumps. That's living scared.

You need a gut check. I'm not gonna tell you what to tell that wife of yours, but I'd sit down with her and settle what's killing you about your current occupation. You sound tired. Like you're spinning faster for something (or someone) and the fact you don't get to fly to your heart's content is chapping you. Your return on investment is low right now in life. Change that.

I'm not telling you getting divorced is the only construct in which you can afford aviation, but my friend, you need someone who is going to support your self-actualization just as I would expect you to support theirs. If a compromise cannot be reached, then y'all aren't meant to be together. If your fear of being alone is of higher value than pursuing your self-actualization, then stick with other people's priorities and lay on the bed you make for yourself. I know I would never attempt a life partnership again with someone who didn't respect, support and encourage my passions, just as I would do for them. Much luck and tailwinds to you. Don't lose your human sensibilities, it's the only reason we wake up in the morning for. After all, we all have a death sentence, if not for those seemingly selfish sensibilities, why the eff would you wake up for anyways?
 
I can't even afford basic car repairs or groceries sometimes. I'm not married, though.

My question to you:

Do you do anything else aviation related? Meaning, when I can't afford to fly I do the following:

Attend an EAA monthly meeting or event / discussion

Hang out at an airport and watch the planes land / listen to the CTAF on my radio

Hangar fly with other pilots

Fly somewhere (right seat) with a pilot, act as a safety pilot or pilot buddy, buy them lunch

Watch aviation related videos

Attend WINGS seminars

. . . . You get the idea. I've found there are plenty of ways to "stay in the game" for me - without paying $100 per hour.

Perhaps if you joined your local EAA chapter or other pilot group, it would open up some opportunities for you....
 
wabower said:
I'd be interested to know the number of "dormant" pilots, and would be willing to bet it's a bigger number than most of us (active pilots) think.
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I agree. I've occasionally tried to look up pilots I knew years ago on the FAA database and a large proportion of them have way out of date medicals (1980s and 90s). That would mean they didn't continue flying much past the time I knew them.
 
Everskyward said:
I agree. I've occasionally tried to look up pilots I knew years ago on the FAA database and a large proportion of them have way out of date medicals (1980s and 90s). That would mean they didn't continue flying much past the time I knew them.
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Do you think they came back via LSA? How would you be able to find out?
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Do you think they came back via LSA? How would you be able to find out?
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Not likely since LSA hasn't been around very long. I don't know how you would find out, though. :dunno:

Besides, I don't think most were forced out due to medical reasons. I think they went on to something else and didn't renew their medicals. Of course I have no way to prove that one way or another either.
 
Hindsight2020 NAILED IT.

Nothing to add, just keep re-reading his post.
 
Anthony said:
Hindsight2020 NAILED IT.

Nothing to add, just keep re-reading his post.
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Wow, I just read it. Interesting read. Granted, we don't know a lot about the OP or his marriage - but lots of good points made in that post about life in general, not just marriage. Perhaps one of the MANY reasons I'm not married yet. I hate the idea of divorce.
 
denverpilot said:
I left it for mostly financial reasons for eight years. You can always come back.
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I haven't flown since April '06 due to financial reasons. I've kept the medical up though. Hopefully soon.
 
Like many, I have left aviation a few times due to life getting in the way and expenses and such. However I never got bored it was due to not having time or the money or new life responsibilities usualy. Only recently was I able to finaly give getting my PPL a chance.

If your flying and renting a 172 all the time maybe consider flying something a bitmore interesting or try sailplanes. Its something new to learn and it can be very exciting. Also its a quick add on to a PPL. I never got bored in a sailplane. Or if your near the coast in Washington, consider Paragliding or Hangliding... Or maybe just trydifferent forms of flying a few times with a lesson or two to switch things up.

What about joining a flying club or partnership so that you can cut your costs a bit when you fly. However when you dont fly you will still be paying.. Or maybe its time to just try something new for a bit.

When I could not afford to fly, I took up rock climbing. It gave me the same thrill and mental challenge as did flying the sailplanes. Its the closest substitute I have found so far. I also switched to Hangliders which I like quite a bit as well, but in overly strong thermals, I find myself getting freaked out so I sort of shelved it and persued the PPL for the time being.

Maybe take a step back and think of a new activity that would be exciting to you and give it a try. Then if over time you miss the flying you can come back, if not, then heck you have a new hobby you like...
 
Man, some of you are awfully harsh on the wife/wives.

If I hadn't paid for a few winter cruises, I'd have been able to pay for flight training years ago. If I hadn't needed to pay for new windows in the house, shoes for the kids, college for the kids (what scholarships didn't cover), various remodeling projects, pay the mortgage, then pay the mortgage on a bigger house, yadda yadda yadda...

The flip side is, if I'd devoted every penny and every hour to flight training 10 or 20 years ago, we wouldn't have been nearly as happy during those years. The flying would have been a constant source of friction. How, exactly, would that be different from my wife spending all the money we had without regard for what I wanted? So the OP took a couple of weeks in Australia. If that was a joint decision, based on what they both wanted, then so be it. For most of us our hobbies -- and that's what this is for me, and for the OP -- have to take a back seat to the rest of our lives and to our families. I waited decades to start flying... but seven people are happy, healthy, well cared for and much better off for it instead of having left a trail of bitterness and divorce. So cut the guy a break for wanting to stay happily married.

For the OP... anything you do can be a drag if it starts to be more of a hassle than a joy. If you love flying, take a short break and think it through. The flying you do NOW isn't bringing you the joy it once did. OK, that sucks. Now the question to answer is -- why not? And once you have that question answered, the next one is -- what would make it better? Maybe the answer is that you are too worried about the cost to enjoy it. Maybe you just feel like it's pointless to just fly around with no purpose, no destination. I don't know, that's what you have to figure out. In the end you may need to quit for a while... you may just need to redirect your efforts. Maybe you need something "cheap but yours" (LSA, ultralight, Ercoupe or whatever). Maybe you need to volunteer for some charitable work or flying puppies around or something, so you actually have a mission instead of just a requirement.

A long time ago I got some really good advice from my wife. She got tired of listening to me gripe and grouse about my lousy job and my crappy bosses. She said, "Listen, either quit or figure out how to deal with it, because this is getting really old." So I took a week off, painted the garage and thought about it. What I figured out is way too long to post here, but I've used it countless times since then and have been WAY less stressed and happier ever since. So much so that if I ever get the time I'm thinking of writing a book about it. But I can tell you this... it is, as they say, difficult to figure out how to drain the swamp when you're up to your azz in alligators. Step back and think about it for a while.
 
What Dale said. I don't understand why so many people seem to put aviation on such a pedestal. If you'd been an avid fisherman for 10 years and you were no longer deriving the same joy from it, would you sign up for a web forum to try and rationalize not going fishing anymore? If you get right to the root of it all, a lot of GA really boils down to transportation. My suggestion is to enjoy the things you enjoy more, whatever they are and don't fly until you truly want to.

I enjoy flying the most when I can use it as a means of getting someplace I want to go, to do something I want to do when I get there. A good example, ADDICTEDTOCLIMBING are you listening, was last October when we took the family Cessna to West Virginia with some friends to a POA weekend flyin and spent a beautiful fall day rock climbing with my wife and daughter.

I like flying airplanes, but I like to do lots of other things too. I often think of running to the airport on a nice evening to go for a ride, but I usually end up going mt. biking instead because I enjoy that too and it doesn't cost me $100 for fuel. To me spending time and money on something you have no real need to do, that's not bringing you joy is quite insane and you're stressing about it. I'll make you a deal; the next time you feel like you have to go to the airport and spend a couple hundred bucks for no real reason just make the check out to me and drop it in the mail. You'll be out the couple hundred bucks but at least I saved you a few hours you would have spent going to the airport and doing touch and goes.
 
Another thought.

Maybe it's time to get upside down.

Or experience soaring.

Or utterly destroy the budget with one of those hovering flying contraptions. ;)

Sometimes it's about doing something new... to see the same joy as in the old.
 
Hindsight-
Very interesting feedback and a very substantive post. However I have to say our married lives are very different. My wife has gone flying with me many times and has always been supportive of my passion for aviation, she’s definitely not high maintenance. We saved for months for our Australia trip and split the costs. We both wanted to go equally and I actually planned much of the trip. As far as the aircraft rental, the cost is not the biggest factor, and I can afford it. The question is, am I still getting the most I can get out of it? Lately the answer has been no.

Kimberly-
Thanks for your suggestions about aviation related activities like the WINGS seminars. I've always liked the ones where you get to meet an air traffic controller :)

Dale and Pilot117-
I appreciate your realistic perspective on my situation. Thanks for having my back. For at least the past two years most of my flights have been touch n go’s to stay current or a short flight over the city show off to a friend or co-worker, not for the love of flying. That is the honest truth.

When I first started flying people around after I got my PPL, they were really excited and enjoyed the novelty of flying. Most people were happy to pay half the cost. Not lately. The last guy I took flying asked me how long we were going to be up in the air. He spent a lot of the flight texting and posting on Facebook. I took my wife’s niece and nephew flying and they were playing video games for most of the flight. I guess in this age of instant gratification flying around in a Cessna 172 is considered pretty boring. I can’t remember the last time someone offered to pay me part of the rental cost. I'm sure that's part of my disillusionment that when I try to share flying with someone they don't really appreciate it.
 
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piloto206 said:
After being a pilot for ten years and logging 400 hours I am ready to take a break for awhile. I’m very torn about this, but the thrill of being a private pilot is fading and it’s become so hard to recapture what I once felt. Flying has become more of a chore than something I enjoy doing. The last three times I went flying was to do the bare minimum to stay current. Three touch n go’s at my home airport. I haven’t done any night flying or IFR in 5 years.

I really used to love flying. I started as a student pilot in 2002 when I was 26 years old, got my private pilot’s license in 2003, and got my instrument rating in 2004. I decided not pursue a career in the airlines and instead got my 4 year degree and decent paying job. I let my instrument rating lapse and decided to just fly for fun.

However it seems like I barely have the time anymore. I’m married and work full time. Right now, at age 36 the thrill I used to feel is gone and doing a BFR every 2 years and renewing my medical every 3 years seems more like an inconvenience.

I’m sure part of it is the high cost to rent a Cessna 172. The hourly cost wet is almost 100% more than what it was ten years ago. Last summer I flew to another airport with a friend to have breakfast. When I got back to my FBO the cost was over $230. I remember thinking how that would get me a roundtrip flight somewhere on a commercial airline, or a weekend getaway with my wife. It’s getting harder for me to justify the cost.

I just feel really bad about quitting general aviation, even if it’s not forever. I put so much time and money into it over the years. I wonder if I stop for a few years if I will ever come back. Does anyone relate to what I’m going through? Has anyone quit flying and then started again later?

B)
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I would make this suggestion.

keep your medical up each 2 years, and take the BFR each 2 years also. IF you can keep that a priority you'll be back and when the urge strikes you are ready to go. 3 landings you will be legal.
 
Tom-D said:
I would make this suggestion.

keep your medical up each 2 years, and take the BFR each 2 years also. IF you can keep that a priority you'll be back and when the urge strikes you are ready to go. 3 landings you will be legal.
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Why two years on the medical? He's been flying 10 years, he could easily be under age 40.

"A third-class medical certificate is valid for the remainder of the month of issue; plus

24 calendar months for operations requiring a third class medical certificate, if the airman is age 40 or over on or before the date of the examination, or
60 calendar months for operations requiring a third class medical certificate if the airman has not reached age 40 on or before the date of examination."

I get one more 60 month one. ;)
 
piloto206 said:
After being a pilot for ten years and logging 400 hours I am ready to take a break for awhile. I’m very torn about this, but the thrill of being a private pilot is fading and it’s become so hard to recapture what I once felt. Flying has become more of a chore than something I enjoy doing. The last three times I went flying was to do the bare minimum to stay current. Three touch n go’s at my home airport. I haven’t done any night flying or IFR in 5 years.

I really used to love flying. I started as a student pilot in 2002 when I was 26 years old, got my private pilot’s license in 2003, and got my instrument rating in 2004. I decided not pursue a career in the airlines and instead got my 4 year degree and decent paying job. I let my instrument rating lapse and decided to just fly for fun.

However it seems like I barely have the time anymore. I’m married and work full time. Right now, at age 36 the thrill I used to feel is gone and doing a BFR every 2 years and renewing my medical every 3 years seems more like an inconvenience.

I’m sure part of it is the high cost to rent a Cessna 172. The hourly cost wet is almost 100% more than what it was ten years ago. Last summer I flew to another airport with a friend to have breakfast. When I got back to my FBO the cost was over $230. I remember thinking how that would get me a roundtrip flight somewhere on a commercial airline, or a weekend getaway with my wife. It’s getting harder for me to justify the cost.

I just feel really bad about quitting general aviation, even if it’s not forever. I put so much time and money into it over the years. I wonder if I stop for a few years if I will ever come back. Does anyone relate to what I’m going through? Has anyone quit flying and then started again later?

B)
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You bet, most sensible people unless the have a job for GA quit flying. When at some point they have a job for GA that makes any type of sense like making that 3 hr drive to grandma and grandpa's house into a 45 minute flight, or get to the beach house, or avoid the airlines and fly business on your own schedule, whatever, just something that adds value. Face it, once you know how to fly, the thrill of 'flying' diminishes to mundane, I need at least one something about GA to thrill me and one thing to work for me before I can typically justify flying.
 
Bottom line for alot of us is the costs for recreational flying are just becoming unmanageable. Whether it's training, ownership, rentals, insurance, medicals, BFR's/IPC's no matter what, this is really really draining on your pocketbook. Sometimes the ability to justify the expense against the outcomes isn't there.

The number of GA aircraft rotting away on tiedowns and in hangars is growing larger every year. A new 172 is close to 300K, our 30-40 year old aircraft are insanely expensive to maintain, fuel, well, 'nuff said about that....

Yeah, the OP has his reasons, and I believe that none of us should criticize or comment harshly on his personal life, that's not fair. Tread lightly on those tracks, don't be so fast to judge.

Sometimes we just fall away from a hobby, a vocation, it happens. I bet all of you have driven to the field at some time, said nope, I really just do not feel like flying, and drove away. Nothing to criticize about that.
 
DutchessFlier said:
Bottom line for alot of us is the costs for recreational flying are just becoming unmanageable.
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That is not altogether true, it depends on your equipment requirements. For pure recreational flying, the Pt 103 world is a hard value to beat. Since you have a pilot's license already, with a lapsed medical you can get something like the Eipper Quicksilver MX2 or GT 500 and fly 2. If you look around used you can buy some for <$5000 and they have $25hr operating costs. My first foray into flying was with one of their original Quicksilvers when I was 16. New in the box were all the parts and materials for $2500 including the upgrade 25hp 2 cyl Chrysler engine! Assembly was required.:D Now you can buy them from dealers and get proper training. There was a few pages of flight training in the back of the manual.
 
piloto,

It seems to me that maybe you do need a break. I wasn't flying at your age because I just flat couldn't afford it. I'll be 63 next month and got my PPL just before last Christmas after getting my youngest graduated from college a year earlier. It's much more enjoyable for me now, because when I started again about a year ago, I had the money to fly a plane, learn to fly it and have money stuck back for repairs/engine/more ratings. That has made it much more enjoyable vs. feeling guilty for spending money that the young family might need more than for my flying.

The good news for you is that when in later life you maybe get enough money to buy a plane and get back into it, you won't have to start over from scratch to get your cert as I did. All you'll have to do is get a medical and go spend a little time flying dual and get back into it.

Most likely there is something in your life that is just not matching up real well with flying. You probably don't even realize what it is.

I expect that over time, the fire will relight and in a time of your life that will make flying exciting again. Live a clean life and take care of yourself, so you'll be in good enough health to get a medical. In fact, taking care of your health is not a bad thing regardless of what you plan to do in life.

Best of luck to you,
 
Piloto, the rules got you down. Staying current and keeping a medical and such is a hassle. Stop worrying about it, I'm not saying fly illegal. Consider where you live/work schedule. Example if you live in the Northeast and drive a UPS truck for a living trying to stay current in December is a frustrating waste of time, wait until May get current fly through August then stop until spring.
Also flying for the sake of flying is more fun in sailplanes, cubs, helicopters(if you can$.) C-172s and such are about the worst compromises for an amusing flying machine(haters note the word 'amusing') I used to fly helicopters and airplanes, jump through all the flaming hoops and stay current, sucks the fun out of it. Now I fly sailplanes, take a FR every two years, make sure I have three recent if I want to take a passenger. When the WX sucks I go sailing or ride my motorcycle. Heck I even stepped it up(or down) a notch and started flying paragliders. I'd buy an ultralight but covered space is at a premium in New England, might have to get a backpack fan or powered parachute one of these days. Lots of stuff to fly for short money that is more amusing then the usual GA stuff.
 
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