The Rut

Unit74

Unit74

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Messages
6,992
Display Name
Display name:
Unit74
I flew today. Didn’t really care if I went or not. Thought it was boring. It’s become about on par with driving a car to work. Flying has become just a modality to me. Problem is, if I don’t have an established purpose to fly, I really don’t want to go up and just burn gas. Been there, done that. What’s next. Flying is boring once the newness wears off.

I do this with other hobbies as well..... I have just found flying to be blah these days. I’d rather be sitting in a tree stand or whomping a 4 wheeler honestly.

Anyone else find themselves in a hobby rut?
 
Yep. I’ve only ridden my motorcycle twice this year. I usually put 6500 - 7000 miles/year on the bike. Lass the 500 so far.
 
If flying is exciting you are either doing something incredibly interesting (aerobatics?) or something has gone horrifically wrong. As a newbie pilot with a few years and 150 hours I think GA flying should be rather boring. It’s up to you to put purpose into it.

Skiing has been my hobby since I was four. Although I find myself skiing far less these days simply because I am too smart and self-aware to do the dumb stuff I did when I was much younger. In short, it’s become boring.

Yeah, hobby ruts exist. Sometimes you just need time away. Sometimes that time away means you never return to it.
 
When I fly, it is for money. Usually there are people needing to get somewhere. And I try to make flying as boring as possible for the passengers. Even taking people out to off airport landings, my job is to make it as boring as possible, but with fantastic scenery along the way.

Yes, 99% of the time flying is boring to me.

What I get paid for is the 1% of the time it is not boring.....
 
I don't fly for the heck of it, very often.

Seldom ride the bikes for the heck of it, either. If I have to invent reasons, I do.

But I find purpose. It's why I have these things in my stewardship.
  • Going back and forth from home Phx/Ensenada is a good start.
  • Catalina Island for a burger, and taking friends to the Island
  • Trips to wine country (there are a few areas here)
  • Trips to visit friends scattered across the Southwest US
  • Less frequently, use the plane to visit family in the STL area
  • Go up on a nice icky IMC day and challenge myself to fly crisp approaches and holds
Just go up and bore holes in the sky? No.
 
If I’m going to spend $150/hr, I’d like it to mean something.
Morgan3820 said:
So, is driving a F-350 dually fun?
Click to expand...


I’ve got a Ram3500, lifted, 35s and some other mods. Love driving it. The plane? Meh..... it’s a one trick pony.
 
I had the same issue with flying powered airplanes. I really enjoyed learning to fly, but once I was rated, I started to lose interest. I didn't generally have anywhere to go, and it seemed like half the time when I did, the weather didn't cooperate. Eventually, I just stopped.

Flying the hang glider, that's a different story. If you want to feel that you're one with the sky, try hang gliding.
 
FormerHangie said:
I had the same issue with flying powered airplanes. I really enjoyed learning to fly, but once I was rated, I started to lose interest. I didn't generally have anywhere to go, and it seemed like half the time when I did, the weather didn't cooperate. Eventually, I just stopped.

Flying the hang glider, that's a different story. If you want to feel that you're one with the sky, try hang gliding.
Click to expand...


Same same here. When training, I was all in. It had purpose. Now, I don’t fly for work, don’t have anywhere to go, don’t get a kick out of the thrill of flight. ItS just blah... been there, done that, got the certificate. What’s next. Helluva rut.....
 
Or try gliders and soaring. A lot of intellectual challenge to trying to stay up in the air and make distance on thermals alone.
 
Is your real passion the process of acquiring new hobbies?
 
iamtheari said:
Is your real passion the process of acquiring new hobbies?
Click to expand...


No. I’ve only really had two main Hobbies. I raced AMA off-road for decades. When I was too beat up, I started flying. Dabbled in others, but never went all in. I don’t want new hobbies. Just want to enjoy the ones I have.
 
Interesting topic. Wouldn’t call it a rut for me. I just have no desire usually to just fly, I want to go somewhere or take someone. I need an excuse. Don’t know why. It’s wierd. Training is a reason.
 
I have a similar story, earned my cert. in 2014 and flew a good bit till 2016, then almost nothing since. I met with my instructor last Thursday, I am committed to get current then I’ll see where it goes. I think I want to buy a safe, flyable, but a project airplane. I love to “fix” things. (Yes I know that I can’t do a lot of things) I will fly next Thursday for the first time in a while. I hope you get the desire back.
 
A turbo Lance is for going places, not really an airplane for going nowhere in particular. Maybe the kind of flying you want to do might suggest selling the Lance and getting something different now?

I got the Husky just for that reason; expand the range of flying skills, fly a much simpler airplane, have some fun again.

@pigpenracing flies mostly for fun, and I notice he's continually looking for another airplane to try out.
 
I fell into the same trap when I had my Bonanza. The amount of time I flew the plane dwindled as the years went on and it went down to nothing for the last couple of years I owned it. I grew tired of spending so much money on gas to go bore holes in the sky for little reason so I just quit.

What got me back on track was starting to instruct and making friends with some really good guys who have lots of toys they let me play with. If I want to go fly a fast, twitchy experimental I can do that. If I want to fly a big tire cub or a cub on floats the next day, I can do that. If I want to pack 5 friends in a plane and head to Florida, I can do that.

Ultimately, I’ve found the challenge of maintaining proficiency in a variety of planes and different kinds of flying disciplines the thing that keeps me motivated to go out and have fun. Perhaps a different plane or type of flying might be what you need to do too.
 
Even though it’s totally in conflict with what I wrote above, I started to research gyrocopters over the winter. It’s the opposite of having a purpose to fly. Might build one.
 
The funny thing is that since I got my instrument rating I look at our club 182 as more for utility and less for “fun”. I still love to fly but going up just to go up seems a bit more of a chore. I would have never predicted that.
Don’t get me wrong I love going up in the junk and look forward. But on a CAVU day -unless there is a plan I don’t think I would go up for fun. Again never predicted that. I love flying. But now I’m more trained on how to make flight as boring as possible- boring is good.
 
Unit74 said:
Anyone else find themselves in a hobby rut?
Click to expand...
Yep. I too don't generally like just flying for the sake of burning gas. It starts to feel like you're flying because you feel like you have to. I've more or less decided I'm not going to do that any more. I fly when I feel like it's actually going to be fun, or when I actually have a "mission", so to speak.
  • Young Eagles. I fly a lot of those, it's never boring.
  • Fall color flight with my wife, a family member, or a friend
  • Shuttling a family member or one of our grandkids somewhere
  • Taking a friend or family member up when it't still new and exciting for them
  • Going somewhere completely new, just to say I've been there. Helps to have an interesting airport or a restaurant on-site or within walking distance.
  • Low-level (for me) river following, which IS fun.
  • Air work practice. I used to do stalls and turns around a point often; now not so much. I want to do them more.
  • I worked up a list of every "gate guardian" or fighter-on-a-stick in the state. There aren't many, but I want to go visit them all.
Once in a while I go fly from the right seat. It's challenging. The first time was scary as hell, I strongly recommend you do it with an instructor until you figure it out. I'm thinking about getting a Sport Pilot CFI certificate, partly because there are so few of them it's a bit of a novelty. Plus, it would reset the flight review clock.
 
GRG55 said:
A turbo Lance is for going places, not really an airplane for going nowhere in particular. Maybe the kind of flying you want to do might suggest selling the Lance and getting something different now?
Click to expand...
mondtster said:
I fell into the same trap when I had my Bonanza. The amount of time I flew the plane dwindled as the years went on and it went down to nothing for the last couple of years I owned it. I grew tired of spending so much money on gas to go bore holes in the sky for little reason so I just quit.
Click to expand...

I know a couple of other pilots who "over bought" and it resulted in them flying far less. These guys loved to fly and would fly the wings off of smaller, less expensive aircraft. They looked for every excuse to go flying whether it be $100 burger runs, a pancake breakfast, or to just punch holes in the sky. But after they bought their larger, roomier, faster travelling plane, they practically quit flying. They took a couple of initial long cross country flights but after that, they barely flew. They bought these planes that were ideal for just a small percentage of the flying that they wanted to do (long cross country flights with the family) but that were perhaps too much for the type of flying that they typically did. Hopping in a less expensive to fly two or four seater to just punch holes or to hop over to a neighboring airport for their pancake breakfast is one thing. Pulling a Bonanza, Lance, etc. out of the hangar to do the same flight is a bit different.
 
Hmmm, you might just be over it, too bad, hope it doesn't happen to me. As other's have suggested, maybe try finding a purpose to fly. A turbo Lance would be a good angel flights airplane, or maybe puppy rescue. That would give you a mission if you were so inclined. Are you a member of a local flying org like an EAA chapter. We have a good one around here, loads of like minded pilots.
 
PaulS said:
Hmmm, you might just be over it, too bad, hope it doesn't happen to me. As other's have suggested, maybe try finding a purpose to fly. A turbo Lance would be a good angel flights airplane, or maybe puppy rescue.
Click to expand...

Puppy rescue...Unit74???
 
I do silly stuff like getting a glider rating or this to keep from getting bored
 
SkyDog58 said:
I know a couple of other pilots who "over bought" and it resulted in them flying far less. These guys loved to fly and would fly the wings off of smaller, less expensive aircraft. They looked for every excuse to go flying whether it be $100 burger runs, a pancake breakfast, or to just punch holes in the sky. But after they bought their larger, roomier, faster travelling plane, they practically quit flying. They took a couple of initial long cross country flights but after that, they barely flew. They bought these planes that were ideal for just a small percentage of the flying that they wanted to do (long cross country flights with the family) but that were perhaps too much for the type of flying that they typically did. Hopping in a less expensive to fly two or four seater to just punch holes or to hop over to a neighboring airport for their pancake breakfast is one thing. Pulling a Bonanza, Lance, etc. out of the hangar to do the same flight is a bit different.
Click to expand...

Agreed, also seen it happen often with boats. If you have to think about the cost ($150/hr) everytime you use something, you are going to use it less often.
 
I get bored flying circles for no reason too. The only thing that keeps flying interesting is actually going somewhere that I want to go to. Visiting family members that I enjoy seeing (as opposed to the other kind), short vacations with Leslie etc...

I hardly ever go up just to go up any more.
 
To the OP....I second that emotion. I thought about adding boredom to the "what's hard about flying thread." I mostly fly to keep my battery charged and to go get fuel. I planned to fly more in retirement but my wife prefers to drive (have me drive) everywhere we go.
 
Not to be a broken record... but... tailwheel.

No seriously... I know exactly how you feel, I was bored as could be, I was at a point where I could step into any (tricycle gear) GA single and grease every landing, exactly where I wanted it, with very little effort. I was no longer challenged, and these planes are so stable that flying them really isn't a challenge either. Then I started tailwheel, and hundreds of hours later in the exact same plane I still haven't "mastered" it, and probably never will, but rather just strive to be as close as I can, and flying is fun again. I now have way more tailwheel hours than tricycle and every now and then I think "ugh I should have gotten a 206", and then I'll go fly a tricycle gear plane and be bored again and reaffirm my choice.

I have no multi time (yet), but maybe that's another way to make it interesting.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I know a couple of other pilots who "over bought" and it resulted in them flying far less. These guys loved to fly and would fly the wings off of smaller, less expensive aircraft. They looked for every excuse to go flying whether it be $100 burger runs, a pancake breakfast, or to just punch holes in the sky. But after they bought their larger, roomier, faster travelling plane, they practically quit flying. They took a couple of initial long cross country flights but after that, they barely flew. They bought these planes that were ideal for just a small percentage of the flying that they wanted to do (long cross country flights with the family) but that were perhaps too much for the type of flying that they typically did. Hopping in a less expensive to fly two or four seater to just punch holes or to hop over to a neighboring airport for their pancake breakfast is one thing. Pulling a Bonanza, Lance, etc. out of the hangar to do the same flight is a bit different.
Click to expand...

Werd....:yeahthat:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top