The Rut

PaulS said:
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.
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I can't afford to fly for "free" like that. I look at my checkbook before I fly and ask if I can actually afford to fill the tanks. I pretty much use OT as a "lets go fly" option.
 
steingar said:
When my Cherokee got boring I traded it for a Mooney. Isn’t boring anymore!
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Having owned an Archer and done some flying in a M20J, that would do nothing for me. It just gets there faster. In any case, both are sardine cans.
 
Unit74 said:
I can't afford to fly for "free" like that. I look at my checkbook before I fly and ask if I can actually afford to fill the tanks. I pretty much use OT as a "lets go fly" option.
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I suspect that is a big part of the problem. If finances are making flying stressful, you won't enjoy flying as much, and you might not ever realize why.

How about looking for a partner? Or forming a club? Or moving into a smaller house? (that might be a bit extreme).
 
JOhnH said:
I suspect that is a big part of the problem. If finances are making flying stressful, you won't enjoy flying as much, and you might not ever realize why.

How about looking for a partner? Or forming a club? Or moving into a smaller house? (that might be a bit extreme).
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Kinda sorta... I made a deal that any plane money would not come from any other sources, nor would shopping trips, vacations, dinner, etc be impacted. In other words, buy the plane, but you won't use "house" money to do it. Ironically, she is the one who told me to sell the Archer and get the Lance. I discussed selling it and she pretty much said, "uh... No." When she wants to go, she wants to go. Kinda like Im her uBer in the sky.... Branson, Dallas, Gulf Shores, Nawleans.......... BHS was the biggest problem though. She fell in love with that option.

Honestly, I can afford to do it. I just use money as a justification not to. Recently, I have been flying once a week just to get the plane hot. Don't want it to rot in place.
 
Anything that was once fun and exciting, but that you've since done over and over is going to be boring at some point; take sex with my wife for instance.
 
DaleB said:
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.
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Funny how flying from the right seat is just the same, but very different at first.
 
I forgot to add to my list - I often fly for a local organization, FlightsforLife, transporting blood / other stuff, for the Phx Blood bank, Vitalant.

Because you and I have these heavy-haulers, I can take more weight than many others. More than once, I've seen a blood drive coming from a city, broken up as two missions, eight boxes each, so that it doesn't overload a common 4x4 GA airplane.

I simply sign up for both missions, and take 'em in one trip. I also don't care as much as others if it's coming out of Flagstaff.

It's my way of giving back to the community, taking advantage of this capable birdie, and putting purpose to my flying.

Is there a similar opportunity for you, in your part of the continent?
 
No clue... GA seems kinda hit or miss here.

I'm going flying in 30 min though.... Need to get the plane hot.
 
Unit74 said:
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?
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I have flown lots of stuff... Mainly aerobatic, biplanes and tailwheel stuff. When I first started flying I bought a 172... I got bored fast. Sold it and bought a Decathlon and starting having fun. Then I went to biplanes and have had every variety of Pitts.... Several Christen Eagles and now have a Stearman. I just bought a IO-550 powered Bonanza. It is fast for going on a trip but extremely boring to fly. If the Bonanza was the only plane I would give up flying!
After all the years my 65hp J-3 Cub is my favorite. I fly it several times a week. You can’t beat it! It is the plane I will never sell. You don’t need anywhere to go, just go up and fly circles around the airport and it’s a blast. That Turbo Lance you have is about the most boring thing in the world! If that is the only plane I had I wouldn’t be excited about flying either.
It’s a great plane to use for travel but not flying for fun.
It is like cruising around in a School bus instead of cruising a 1969 hot rod Camero.
 
Count me as one that bought for the 10% mission (but count it as probably 60% of my flying) and not the other 90%. The problem was finding a real traveler for rent that would be able to do what we needed. I thought I’d be able to make the bigger plane work for the other 90% of the flying that would be done when we weren’t traveling, but it really isn’t that “fun” to fly. That 90% of routine, local flying has turned into a bit of a chore, as it’s used mainly to just keep the oil circulated and the plane exercised, as well as keeping me proficient. Many weekend days I’d prefer to sit around the house and just veg, as I fly 20 hrs or so during the week for work. However, at least every 2 weeks I force myself to take the plane out. I’ll run through a single engine drill, some steep turns, a practice approach or two, and then drop down on a local river and check out the boats, barges, locks and dams for a couple of hours and then return home...can’t really think of any place within 300 miles I’d like to visit on my own for a couple of hours. The good thing is that I ALWAYS feel better afterward that I went flying and a little exhilarated too. I wish I could feel that way beforehand...

I’d like to try tailwheel or get checked out on the FBO’s -152 again, just to try and spark some excitement, but honestly, it’s so darned hot now through September that it probably wouldn’t be that much fun, lol. Besides, why fly those planes when I have my twin and need to be flying it?

I’m probably going to put out an ad for a partner in a couple of years (I’ll be retiring from the military and we’ll be looking to settle in our forever home). The plane could use the additional exercise and I could use the decreased cash outflow. Have considered starting some instructing in it (time building for airline aspirants, not ME rating) as I’m an MEI, but not exactly sure I want to have to commit to anything, lol. Not even sure there’s really a true market for it either: right seat with an MEI in the left for $250/hr? Even sounds BORING.

REALLY looking forward to Oshkosh though! I’m taking my son this year and we’re camping at least 3 nights. Normally he could care less about the airplane, even though all trips we take are for his benefit. But, even he has started to tell me that he’s excited about Oshkosh. So that helps! Guess I should start working on my spot landings...
 
This thread is exactly why I havent given up my IT job for a career in aviation... even with the recent pay increases that now make aviation a possible career avenue that doesnt involve taking a 80% or more pay reduction for the next 5+ years (seeing pays now that start at 60% and increasing rapidly to a 20-30% reduction after 3-ish years).

My issue has been that Im stuck in a rut with IT which, though it was always more vocational than recreational, I used to enjoy doing. 8 years ago, I stopped doing the IT as a hobby on the side stuff seeing it as “work.” I did try to get back into it a 2 or 3 years ago and did have some fun but it was very much a flash in the pan... Now? Im bored, have been living off my savings for the past 12 months and cant find a job posting that sounds interesting to me.

Ive been toying with a career in aviation but Im so fearful that Ill take something that I enjoy doing (and I love doing the tailwheel, seaplane, etc type stuff) and turning it into a career and something that I no longer enjoy/want to do...

Its a problem I see with a lot of airline pilots, they dont fly GA anymore... Though whether this is out of boredom or because GA was just a means to an end is hard to say; very few of the current crop of pilots have “found” themselves in aviation careers by chance/matter of course... most have gone into it with the sole intention of flying airlines.
 
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.
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I call that the "just a little bit more" trap. And most of us have been there. We start out in those easy to fly training 172s and Cherokees, and soon after renting those becomes boring and we start to hanker for something just a little bit faster, a little roomier, a little bit more useful load, etc.

I went through that progression. Maybe now I'm regressing, with the taildragger. ;)
 
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For me, just flying has always been boring. It's not about the flying per say, it's about, where can you land?

I think flying any aircraft from point a to point b, concrete to concrete get's boring really fast. You can make it a little more fun if it's busy airspace, or IFR in actual, flying in the mountains (not over) with winds, etc.

But just flying... B-o-r-i-n-g!
 
Banjo33 said:
Count me as one that bought for the 10% mission (but count it as probably 60% of my flying) and not the other 90%. The problem was finding a real traveler for rent that would be able to do what we needed. I thought I’d be able to make the bigger plane work for the other 90% of the flying that would be done when we weren’t traveling, but it really isn’t that “fun” to fly. That 90% of routine, local flying has turned into a bit of a chore, as it’s used mainly to just keep the oil circulated and the plane exercised, as well as keeping me proficient. Many weekend days I’d prefer to sit around the house and just veg, as I fly 20 hrs or so during the week for work. However, at least every 2 weeks I force myself to take the plane out. I’ll run through a single engine drill, some steep turns, a practice approach or two, and then drop down on a local river and check out the boats, barges, locks and dams for a couple of hours and then return home...can’t really think of any place within 300 miles I’d like to visit on my own for a couple of hours. The good thing is that I ALWAYS feel better afterward that I went flying and a little exhilarated too. I wish I could feel that way beforehand....
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I can identify with some of this.
I don't fly for a living, but I've also found that unless I have a place to go and a reason to go there, I don't pull the twin out of the hangar any more. Fortunately, I still have enough personal and professional excuses to fly so the plane doesn't sit too long. And no matter what, I too always get out of the airplane after a flight with a smile on my face. It's still a great experience every time I leave the ground in any plane I am piloting.

Banjo33 said:
I’d like to try tailwheel or get checked out on the FBO’s -152 again, just to try and spark some excitement, but honestly, it’s so darned hot now through September that it probably wouldn’t be that much fun, lol. Besides, why fly those planes when I have my twin and need to be flying it?...
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Highly recommend you try out a tailwheel. Learning to fly a tailwheel has rejuvenated my attitude to flying for fun. It's not difficult to learn to fly a tailwheel airplane. However, it is a challenge (for me, at least) to fly a tailwheel really proficiently. I think I will still be learning 200 hours from now, and maybe another 200 after that too.
 
apr911 said:
Ive been toying with a career in aviation but Im so fearful that Ill take something that I enjoy doing (and I love doing the tailwheel, seaplane, etc type stuff) and turning it into a career and something that I no longer enjoy/want to do...
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I suggest going to Alaska (unless you are too used to living the soft life...:lol::lol:) Sure, you might fly 1000 hours in a year and that becomes a job after a while. But for me it is the enjoyment of helping tourist enjoy their northern experience, like taking tourist on a once in a lifetime sightseeing trip or bear viewing trip. I really enjoy interacting with the people.

Or taking supplies to a village. One village had not had a flight in for a week because of weather. I loaded the plane with milk, formula, diapers, cigarettes and coffee and the people actually cheered when they saw the coffee. After that everytime they would see me they would at least greet me. It is hard to be accepted by the eskimo people, but once accepted you are in.

In Kotzebue there was an elderly lady that lived by herself in a small village outside of Kotz. Everyother weekend she would come to town to visit her great grand children and go shopping. On Monday she would be on my flight to go home. I always greeted her by name, and asked her how her visit was. Then I would make sure I got everything she was taking back. I would spend about 10 minutes with her and find out how she was doing. One time, she gave me a small Styrofoam container and said, ''Here, I thought you might like a hot lunch.'' Now it was eskimo food. From the smell of it I guessed it was either seal or walrus. Now that stuff kills white people, but I thanked her and told her I will eat it when I get back. To be offered native eskimo food is an honor.

Now the flying, like I said there were several years I broke 1000 hours, and that does become tedious. Then the weather changes and it becomes a whole new game. Now a lot of the villages have weather cams and at least an awos, so taking off and seeing what the weather is like is becoming less and less of a problem. And then there is night time flying. Totally different. I have flown on cloudy nights where there is no visbility until you see the lights of the village. Then sometimes a full moon lights up the ground so bright I wondered if I could really log it as night time.

If Alaska sounds like it could be too much, try air ambulance. I didn't get paid to fly, I got paid to wait. I would consider the month a busy one if I broke 30 hours. It is still all (legal) weather flying, day and night trips but I was home every night. In the several years I did air ambulance I did one over night and that was because of a mechanical problem.
 
Rgbeard said:
Unit74 - I emailed the Prez at FlightsForLife and he said we've got an Oklahoma group that handles Arkansas.

It would be REALLY nice to have a volunteer pilot based in the Little Rock area.

Check out the website: www.flightsforlife.org
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Interesting organization! Don’t see it listed on the website, do you all have a group in Mississippi too?
 
Zeldman said:
I suggest going to Alaska (unless you are too used to living the soft life...:lol::lol:) Sure, you might fly 1000 hours in a year and that becomes a job after a while. But for me it is the enjoyment of helping tourist enjoy their northern experience, like taking tourist on a once in a lifetime sightseeing trip or bear viewing trip. I really enjoy interacting with the people.
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I have what I call my "Grand Circle Tour of Alaska" plotted out. 10-ish legs covering ~2200 NM leaving from and returning to Anchorage, traveling to all the national parks not accessible by road, along with a few other stops (Wales, where they probably actually can see Russia from their backyards, Barrow and Northern most point in the US + Arctic Ocean and the Arctic Circle sign on the Dalton Highway). One day I'll make the trip :)

Definitely sounds like a more rewarding/fulfilling aviation career than flying for an airline. Only problem is that its in Alaska... lol. I've been trying to plot my escape back to the south ever since moving back to the mid-atlantic region from TX & SoCal, just dont have the tolerance for the cold, except in short stints (especially this year after losing a good chunk of body fat/weight) and the mid-atlantic doesnt get nearly as cold as Alaska.

Just recently met a guy when doing my seaplane rating that does the Alaska piloting thing in the summers and Florida Seaplane CFI thing in winters... Maybe that's something to consider... Still need to build hours though; my 350 hours and SE only doesnt exactly have employers banging on the door.
 
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apr911 said:
...

Its a problem I see with a lot of airline pilots, they dont fly GA anymore... Though whether this is out of boredom or because GA was just a means to an end is hard to say; very few of the current crop of pilots have “found” themselves in aviation careers by chance/matter of course... most have gone into it with the sole intention of flying airlines.
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I can’t speak for the civilian airline pilots, but I work with 70 military instructor pilots, at least 30% are airlines pilots, and only 3 of us fly GA.
 
apr911 said:
Ive been toying with a career in aviation but Im so fearful that Ill take something that I enjoy doing (and I love doing the tailwheel, seaplane, etc type stuff) and turning it into a career and something that I no longer enjoy/want to do...
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There aren't a lot of airline guys that fly GA, but that's not necessarily because airline flying killed their passion for GA. Many came from the military and never flew GA to begin with, while others used GA as merely a means to become a professional pilot. In my experience, a lot of guys that loved flying GA when they came up through the ranks still love it.

Just speaking for myself, being an airline pilot did exactly the opposite of what you're afraid of - it promotes the itch to do go out and fly some GA. Not to fly from point A to B, but to go up and have a little fun, and do it on my terms. Tailwheel, aerobatics, little local fly-ins - none of that stuff intersects with the routine of an airline gig. Last summer I took ten days off and got my SES up in Minnesota because, why the hell not?

Anyway, there are dozens of reasons not to quit your day job to go fly for an airline, but I feel the whole "it'll kill my passion for flying!" angle is overblown. I think the OP is reminding all of us that any hobby can get a little stale if you don't go out and find interesting things to do with it from time to time.
 
One of my partners is a FO on a 787, but flies the Mooney all the time, has a place on Hilton Head and uses the plane to zip over to the island.
 
SkyDog58 said:
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.
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To go for a $100 crab cake, the direct operating cost of my Bonanza isn't any higher than what I paid with the warrior. It's just that I spend less time in the air going to the same destinations. For me the 'too much airplane to fly for fun problem' would probably start at a meridian.
 
weilke said:
To go for a $100 crab cake, the direct operating cost of my Bonanza isn't any higher than what I paid with the warrior. It's just that I spend less time in the air going to the same destinations. For me the 'too much airplane to fly for fun problem' would probably start at a meridian.
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We routinely fly to places in our Bonanza that we probably wouldn't have when we had the 172. For a lunch or breakfast run, we usually keep it around an hour each way. That would be around 125 miles in the 172 and almost 200 miles in the Bonanza.
 
apr911 said:
I have what I call my "Grand Circle Tour of Alaska" plotted out. 10-ish legs covering ~2200 NM leaving from and returning to Anchorage, traveling to all the national parks not accessible by road, along with a few other stops (Wales, where they probably actually can see Russia from their backyards, Barrow and Northern most point in the US + Arctic Ocean and the Arctic Circle sign on the Dalton Highway). One day I'll make the trip :)

Definitely sounds like a more rewarding/fulfilling aviation career than flying for an airline. Only problem is that its in Alaska... lol. I've been trying to plot my escape back to the south ever since moving back to the mid-atlantic region from TX & SoCal, just dont have the tolerance for the cold, except in short stints (especially this year after losing a good chunk of body fat/weight) and the mid-atlantic doesnt get nearly as cold as Alaska.

Just recently met a guy when doing my seaplane rating that does the Alaska piloting thing in the summers and Florida Seaplane CFI thing in winters... Maybe that's something to consider... Still need to build hours though; my 350 hours and SE only doesnt exactly have employers banging on the door.
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https://www.aceaircargo.com/jobs/?search_keywords=&selected_category=flight-operations

This is a good place to fly for!
 
apr911 said:
Just recently met a guy when doing my seaplane rating that does the Alaska piloting thing in the summers and Florida Seaplane CFI thing in winters... Maybe that's something to consider
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Even I have had just about enough of Alaskan winters. I prefer going back in summers now.

And get that Grand Circle Tour going.!! I hope you have the Kobuk Sand dunes in your plan.

https://www.nps.gov/kova/index.htm
 
kayoh190 said:
Tailwheel, aerobatics, little local fly-ins - none of that stuff intersects with the routine of an airline gig. Last summer I took ten days off and got my SES up in Minnesota because, why the hell not?

Anyway, there are dozens of reasons not to quit your day job to go fly for an airline, but I feel the whole "it'll kill my passion for flying!" angle is overblown. I think the OP is reminding all of us that any hobby can get a little stale if you don't go out and find interesting things to do with it from time to time.
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True, there are a lot more ways to add variety and fun to the routine of flying than it is for programming and systems/network administration & security.

If I could afford it, I'd probably end up owning 3 planes:
A Bellanca Viking for the "I wanna go some where" days
A Bellanca Citabria for the "I wanna putts around the pattern, do some acro or just get my tailwheel on" days
A single engine seaplane for the "I wanna be on the water" days... though if I could really afford 3 planes, I probably could end up in Grumman Goose or Widgeon (or the Goose/Widgeon hybrid composite Gweduck)... Pretty much any of the Grumman Waterfowls (an Albatross sounds fun but might be a bit too big though) which is more or less my dream plane.


Eric Stoltz said:
https://www.aceaircargo.com/jobs/?search_keywords=&selected_category=flight-operations

This is a good place to fly for!
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Like how their first officers need a commercial with 200 hours total time... Did I read that right?

Zeldman said:
Even I have had just about enough of Alaskan winters. I prefer going back in summers now.

And get that Grand Circle Tour going.!! I hope you have the Kobuk Sand dunes in your plan.

https://www.nps.gov/kova/index.htm
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Kobuk is on the list. Dont want to hijack the thread so I sent you a PM with my list of "destinations." The tour needs a plane (or someone willing to lend me a plane for a reasonable rate but overnights are killers), lots more practice with unpaved strips (and probably some general bush flying experience too) and enough time to get it done but I'll figure it out eventually.
 
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Rgbeard said:
Unit74 - I emailed the Prez at FlightsForLife and he said we've got an Oklahoma group that handles Arkansas.

It would be REALLY nice to have a volunteer pilot based in the Little Rock area.

Check out the website: www.flightsforlife.org
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I'll be quite frank about it. I can't afford to fly for something like that. Not that I don't want to per se, I simply do not have the money to burn on an uncompensated flight. I already fly on the edge of affordability.
 
Unit74 said:
I'll be quite frank about it. I can't afford to fly for something like that. Not that I don't want to per se, I simply do not have the money to burn on an uncompensated flight. I already fly on the edge of affordability.
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You could always start a go fund me thingy and con others into paying for it. I guess others do it all the time.
 
apr911 said:
Kobuk is on the list. Dont want to hijack the thread so I sent you a PM with my list of "destinations." The tour needs a plane (or someone willing to lend me a plane for a reasonable rate but overnights are killers), lots more practice with unpaved strips (and probably some general bush flying experience too) and enough time to get it done but I'll figure it out eventually.
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You should hijack my thread instead. I'm interested in seeing what you have planned so I can expand my own horizons as I plan a similar but probably less ambitious trip.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/north-to-alaska.118929/
 
SkyDog58 said:
You could always start a go fund me thingy and con others into paying for it. I guess others do it all the time.
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I would not even considered that. I'm probably making it sound worse than it is. I guess I am getting tired of spending upwards of $1200/mo for something I am bored with.
 
Unit74 said:
Didn’t really care if I went or not. Thought it was boring.
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I know what you are talking about, ultimately it's a hobby, no one is forcing you to go (that has worked for me).. I went a *long* time without flying, about 5 years.. eventually what got me back into it was
-set a goal to get IR
-made missions for myself like various ski trips, weekend getaways, etc. Places that are too far by car and not convenient going commercial, like Sedona for example
-and if I got bored or found myself buzzing along in the plane feeling like what an airline pilot may feel like, I just won't go for a few weeks, until I start to miss it again..

Flying as a recreational hobby is an odd sort of thing, crazy expensive, and not very practical (if we're being honest), so your heart definitely has to be in it

good luck, hopefully you work yourself out of your rut!
 
I've been in the rut. Mine started because no one wanted to go places with me. Same with the motorcycle. It's not as much fun riding by yourself 100% of the time. Sac said it was the same for him with sex.

For me it just kind of worked itself out on its own. I just started picking places at random, flying there with the intent to see the town. The flight wasn't the goal - the town was.
 
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