What's Flying Like in Retirement?

[Clip4]

Retirement does not exist on a ranch or farm so I will never be affected, but wouldn't a good question be what do you want out of life? If you like doing meaningful things with interesting people look in to Lighthawk.org which does environmental flights. They will keep you busy.

What bunk. A farm or ranch is a business. The land value has a very good capital gain. Like any business it can be sold and the owner retire. Unlike most businesses, a farm can very easily be rented and the owner can retire on the rental income and social security.

 

[Clip4]

I wish there were statistics to see how often this really happens. Liability only rates aren't terribly expensive, so I suspect it's pretty minimal.

That said, I wouldn't instruct without insurance.

View attachment 79922

$100,000 isn’t much coverage when you get sued for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering.

 

[CharlieD3]

What bunk. A farm or ranch is a business. The land value has a very good capital gain. Like any business it can be sold and the owner retire. Unlike most businesses, a farm can very easily be rented and the owner can retire on the rental income and social security.

You ain't never been a farmer/rancher. Those are legacy businesses. In most cases you don't just sell the "empire" you (or your great-grandaddy) built.

You fight like hell to keep the corporate giants out of it, and pass it on. Even if your kids have little interest, it might get "sold" to a brother or other relative that IS interested, and in either case, you often stay on the place, and help out... you retire when the dirt hits your coffin up there on the hill overlooking "the home place."

You may know a lot about being a "CFI dash whatever" but you don't know farmers/ranchers that can only be taken off their place on a gurney, or in the back of a long black Cadillac...

I've known and worked with too many of 'em to let you and your lack of common sense knowledge try to tell me otherwise.

 

[Shuswap BC]

That sounds greasy.

This is actually common to do, my company technically owns my plane, vehicle etc. I use them to get places for work, so its the logical way of doing it.

 

[Morgan3820]

Retirement does not exist on a ranch or farm so I will never be affected, but wouldn't a good question be what do you want out of life? If you like doing meaningful things with interesting people look in to Lighthawk.org which does environmental flights. They will keep you busy.

I did look up Lighthawk.org. They want 1000hrs. PIC. I can do angel flights at 500 hrs PIC? Besides they sound like treehugger wackos.

 

[Clip4]

You ain't never been a farmer/rancher. Those are legacy businesses. In most cases you don't just sell the "empire" you (or your great-grandaddy) built.

You fight like hell to keep the corporate giants out of it, and pass it on. Even if your kids have little interest, it might get "sold" to a brother or other relative that IS interested, and in either case, you often stay on the place, and help out... you retire when the dirt hits your coffin up there on the hill overlooking "the home place."

You may know a lot about being a "CFI dash whatever" but you don't know farmers/ranchers that can only be taken off their place on a gurney, or in the back of a long black Cadillac...

I've known and worked with too many of 'em to let you and your lack of common sense knowledge try to tell me otherwise.

Can’t argue with a handful of fools that think their retirement belongs to their children. Then the flip is the kids that sell the farm as soon as the headstone is set.

 

[dbahn]

Can’t argue with a handful of fools that think their retirement belongs to their children. Then the flip is the kids that sell the farm as soon as the headstone is set.

. . . or need to sell the farm to pay for the headstone, terminal medical costs, and in some states estate taxes.

(Can apply to many businesses besides farming, but farming tends to be cash poor and asset rich.)

 

[N1120A]

$465 a year for $1m is very good.

 

[Crashnburn]

. . . or need to sell the farm to pay for the headstone, terminal medical costs, and in some states estate taxes.

(Can apply to many businesses besides farming, but farming tends to be cash poor and asset rich.)

Absolutely. The land my mother left us was worth at least 2x the cash in her retirement account.

 

[Crashnburn]

Considering 40 hours a week is a part-time job in Silicon Valley, I have to keep learning just to stay current, I need to work out several times a week to maintain my health, and I have two houses worth of expenses and honey do's, I'm waiting until I retire from high-tech to pursue a second career in aviation.

 

[Clip4]

. . . or need to sell the farm to pay for the headstone, terminal medical costs, and in some states estate taxes.

(Can apply to many businesses besides farming, but farming tends to be cash poor and asset rich.)

Thats what non revocable trusts are for.

 

[NoHeat]

$465 a year for $1m is very good.

But it’s only $100k per person injured or killed.

Worst case: both the CFI and student have dependents, and they both die in a crash. Dependents of student successfully sue the estate of the CFI for many millions, impoverishing the CFI’s dependents, due to only $100 k coverage.

Best case: both are retired & single. $100k looks better then.

 

[Clip4]

But it’s only $100k per person injured or killed.

Worst case: both the CFI and student have dependents, and they both die in a crash. Dependents of student successfully sue the estate of the CFI for many millions, impoverishing the CFI’s dependents, due to only $100 k coverage.

Best case: both are retired & single. $100k looks better then.

When you look at aviation insurance, they will sell you a lot of insurance to replace stuff and are really stingy at paying for people.

 

[Mooney Fan]

As retirement draws nearer, I'm giving some thought to what kind of flying makes sense. I have a 185 and fly it IFR cross country in order to find small strips in the middle of nowhere. All of my family lives within 10 miles of me, so "fly to see the grandchildren" isn't my mission.

ISTM that retirement reduces time pressures, allowing me to fly slower and exclusively VFR. If that's the case, I could downsize to a smaller, slower, cheaper airplane, allowing me to fly more and to a later age. At the same time, mechanics are getting harder and harder to find. Owner maintenance is a lot easier on a simpler airplane.

Have you continued flying in retirement? How has your flying changed? Am I being unrealistic when I think I could keep flying and fly for a lot less if I traded the 185 on an owner-maintained RV-12, Kitfox, etc.? Assume I know what I'm doing, maintenance-wise.

Been there done that... with a 13 year hiatus in between

I came home one day in Oct 2004 and put my flight bag in the closet and didn't look back for 14 years. I retired in July 2016 and started flying again in 2017, bought a VFR Cherokee in 2018 and 150 hours later it still fits the bill. Like you mentioned, I also no longer had the need for an IFR capable plane as I could always wait out weather with no job to get back to, or the boys hoops games etc. It's my river cruiser and breakfast hopper. I also give time to PAWS flying rescue dogs. Flying a well maintained Cherokee is about as inexpensive as it comes in the certified class.

 

[Rcmutz]

I retired back in 2015. Worked part time and now have basically gone to consulting. Wife just recently retired. Had plans to maybe move up to a Bonanza, maybe a Comanche to do some long XC flying with the wife. She just recently retired, but living where the kids and grandkids are, she spends a lot of time with them. She also is not into long XC’s so the Tiger is just about perfect for those 1 day, 4-5 hr XC flights. Like someone said, I do try to fly through the week once a week to keep the rust off the cylinders, leaving the weekends free for the working family members.

 

[MBDiagMan]

I am 70 and retired four years ago. Added a Mooney to the fleet and get to spend a good bit of time at the airport. Most any nice weather day I start by getting in the air at sunrise and fly around the lake and buzz my daughters lake house in the Summer when they're there. We take the Mooney to Galveston and spend time at the beach house and to the Austin area to see one of the other daughters. My son in law is a pilot and does a good bit of business flying in his Baron and I occasionally go with him. It’s wonderful to be able to have the time to fly. The only bad thing is thinking about the day when I lose my medical. It will be hard to give it up.

I say FLY! Enjoy yourself! There’s no reason not to.

 

[Snowmass]

$100,000/seat liability insurance is a cruel joke. I accidentally hit the rear wheel of a SUV at 5 MPH with my Prelude (facts not in dispute). Two years later I was sued for $500,000 and State Farm settled for $200,000. The occupant claimed a back injury even though she had seen a physician for back problems twice before the accident. Can you imagine what an airplane accident indemnification might be?

Nobody is a PAX in my plane if not a close family member unless I had $10,000,000 per seat.

 

[Doc Holliday]

$100,000/seat liability insurance is a cruel joke. I accidentally hit the rear wheel of a SUV at 5 MPH with my Prelude (facts not in dispute). Two years later I was sued for $500,000 and State Farm settled for $200,000. The occupant claimed a back injury even though she had seen a physician for back problems twice before the accident. Can you imagine what an airplane accident indemnification might be?

Nobody is a PAX in my plane if not a close family member unless I had $10,000,000 per seat.

High liability insurance limits place a bigger target on your back. With $10mil per seat, you are guaranteed a lawsuit. Lawyers go after deep pockets.

 

[Clip4]

High liability insurance limits place a bigger target on your back. With $10mil per seat, you are guaranteed a lawsuit. Lawyers go after deep pockets.

The ability to collect a reward places the target on your back, you should know this Doc.

 

[Snowmass]

High liability insurance limits place a bigger target on your back. With $10mil per seat, you are guaranteed a lawsuit. Lawyers go after deep pockets.

I have plenty of assets I could lose so I am already a target but if the insurance company covers the loss I do not lose my assets, right? But with no pax I am much safer. So that's the only way I fly.

 

[Snowmass]

I did look up Lighthawk.org. They want 1000hrs. PIC. I can do angel flights at 500 hrs PIC? Besides they sound like treehugger wackos.

The reason Lighthawk requires more hours and a test flight is because the flying is often very low altitude in very rough terrain. It can be very risky. Treehuggers yes, but not very wacko, Most of my flights have been in Central America carrying scientists and forest guards looking for illegal timber cutting or mining. I have also tracked radio collared jaguars and parrots. Another passenger was a writer for National Geographic wanting pix of a rare tree in Guatemala that only seldom blooms. He was also doing an infra red film of people actually being bitten by vampire bats. and another time I was involved in a manatee survey in the Mexican jungle. The people you meet are quite interesting.

 

[chemgeek]

For some of us retirement means not understanding when you actually had time to work. But seriously, retirement means more flexibility in planning flying adventures and trips. The skies are a lot emptier on weekdays...now if I can just get my plane out of the avionics upgrade shop...

 

[N1120A]

I am 70 and retired four years ago. Added a Mooney to the fleet and get to spend a good bit of time at the airport. Most any nice weather day I start by getting in the air at sunrise and fly around the lake and buzz my daughters lake house in the Summer when they're there. We take the Mooney to Galveston and spend time at the beach house and to the Austin area to see one of the other daughters. My son in law is a pilot and does a good bit of business flying in his Baron and I occasionally go with him. It’s wonderful to be able to have the time to fly. The only bad thing is thinking about the day when I lose my medical. It will be hard to give it up.

I say FLY! Enjoy yourself! There’s no reason not to.

Time for BasicMed.

 

[Ghery]

My wife and I are retired. "Work" is a four letter word. I am still active in some standards work, and the travel for that makes for some good trips, we were in Barcelona in September and I went to meetings in Shanghai in October. Singapore last April was nice, too. But, going to Hawaii a couple times a year and doing as little as we can get away with is even better.

 

[Southpaw]

What bunk. A farm or ranch is a business. The land value has a very good capital gain. Like any business it can be sold and the owner retire. Unlike most businesses, a farm can very easily be rented and the owner can retire on the rental income and social security.

Thats what I'm doing . Just bought an C172 with my SS checks saved.
Works for me.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Considering 40 hours a week is a part-time job in Silicon Valley, I have to keep learning just to stay current, I need to work out several times a week to maintain my health, and I have two houses worth of expenses and honey do's, I'm waiting until I retire from high-tech to pursue a second career in aviation.

In my personal experience, you can never retire from a tech job, especially if you own a large stake in the company.

 

[Southpaw]

Considering 40 hours a week is a part-time job in Silicon Valley, I have to keep learning just to stay current, I need to work out several times a week to maintain my health, and I have two houses worth of expenses and honey do's, I'm waiting until I retire from high-tech to pursue a second career in aviation.

Waiting to retire is a poor plan . I'm 79 and just getting started on my PPL. (Passed the FAA medical ! )
Should have stayed with it back on the 70's when I first started .
Just bought a 172 to play with

 

[Clip4]

In my personal experience, you can never retire from a tech job, especially if you own a large stake in the company.

Sell the large stake in the company, problem solved.

 

[MBDiagMan]

In my personal experience, you can never retire from a tech job, especially if you own a large stake in the company.

I did. You have to start the planning in your twenties or thirties though.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Time for BasicMed.

In my case I just can’t see that in my future. My flight surgeon knows me well medically. When the time comes when he says it’s time to give away the headset it will be gone. If he doesn’t think I’m good to fly I won’t fly. That’s just me.

 

[Flyhound]

I retired from full time work as an employee in 2010. I continued working full time as a consultant until 2014 and then slowly started reducing the number of hours I work each year. I'm down to about 1 week per month now and that suits me just fine. My consulting income more than pays all of the aviation expenses for owning a Maule MX7-180C. That includes hangaring, insurance, maintenance and new toys I buy for the plane. I put about 130 hours per year on my bird and I feel like I've already gone to heaven. I'm instrument rated, but way out of currency now because I only fly for fun. Flying on instruments without an autopilot is too much like work for me. I can't yet imagine life without flying although I know that time will come. If expenses were too high, I'd just trade down to a smaller plane/engine to reduce capital outlay and operating costs. Anything to stay in the game. I have other hobbies and interests, but nothin nearly as satisfying as flying.

 

[Hang 4]

I retired in April from a pretty intense Management Consulting job. Went from 4 -5 days on the road every week to having not been on a commercial flight since last day of work. Got my instrument rating, sold my house, moved to a condo in FL. On the waitlist for a hangar at FIN (Flagler). Fly pretty much the same amount, just spread out a bit more from just weekends. Honestly seems like I am as busy as I was when working.

Hope to get more time Hang Gliding, been focused on PP and Instrument last two years to the detriment of my Hang Gliding proficiency. Can get to Hang Gliding site in 30 min now vs 2.5 hours before - air vs car.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

This thread is a bit over 4 years old.

Have any of you retired since? What’s become of your flying?

I am aiming for the end of spring. I could reduce costs by doing owner assisted annuals.

I’ve also heard that some people say “I wish I had spent more in retirement when I was younger”. What say the wise ones??

 

[David Loftus]

I retired from Silicon Valley at the end of 2019. Bought a DA40 Lycoming with just under 1000 hours. Seriously considered SR22T, TTx, and other higher performance, $$$, and maintenance planes. I’m blessed that I can afford a lot more plane than I bought. But I love the simplicity of the DA40, do my own oil changes and simple stuff. Some days I would like another 40kts airspeed and a couple hundred pounds useful load, but this plane does everything I need. I have plenty of time to fly around to national parks and fly Angel Flight missions.

 

[Silvaire]

I retired three years ago. My advice is don't make any big plans, just ease into. It's a big lifestyle change and you may find that your desires and routines don't necessarily end up being what you thought they would. Give yourself a year or so to figure it out and unwind from an entire lifetime of hustling.

 

[Eldorado]

Retired 20 yrs ago. Fly once a month on 2-3 day trips to see kids, visit relatives, sight see, or just to get out of town. Couple trips a year to San Juan islands, New England, Florida for 10 days usually. If I haven’t flown in 2 weeks, will fly to nearby airports for cheap fuel/practice IFR approaches with friends. Fly a 172 since I’m in no hurry, and I enjoy the journey as much as the destination. the plane gets me out of the house, and the old routine. thank heaven my wife likes to fly more than I do.

 

[Mooney Fan]

I retired 8 years ago at 56. Bought a plane in 2018 and have flown about 500 hours or so since then. Started with a Cherokee, then went to a C-140 and now a C-150.

Just bumping through time going nowhere fast. A herd of turtles makes better way lol...

As for your new found time, it will pass quicker now. Years down the road you will look back and remember the 'good things' about your job and start wondering, why did I leave? We tend to forget the bad and remember the good. Doesn't take long for me to snap back to reality and realize indeed why I left. And yes, everyday is like Saturday.

Tailwinds to you.

 

[MooneyDriver78]

If you don’t have any hobbies or are just a type A personality, you might not like it.
I loved it from the first moment except I had nightmares about being called back to work, fortunately they stopped.

 

[Pugs]

We retired last March at 60 and moved from MD to the lakes region of central NH and I don't regret a second of the decision.

Flying-wise I got lucky and found a club with an Archer that mirrors the great club I was in in MD. I'm now the treasurer since like most clubs they're short of volunteers and I have the time. Budget-wise I still budget to flying what I did when working albeit I slightly under executed last year at 80 hours due to all the new house stuff mostly. This year will be some longer trips.

As Mooney Driver points out. You need to have things to do. I have the new house (and a nice workshop) but also I have fishing and hunting, an old truck (my great grandfathers 52 F1) that I'l start the restoration on this spring (still have to move it from KY) I shoot sporting clays on Thursday's with the retiree crowd, we have a puppy on the way (can't rush nature) and I still play with model planes, reload, cast bullets, tie flies.... All the things I never had time for when I was working. My wife has several trips planned and looking forward to those (Ireland again and a Christmas market cruise on the Rhine)

One of the mental challenges has been taking money out of investments. I've always treated that as a one-way street and it's taken about a year to mentally calibrate that it's why we saved and invested for nearly 40 years. It's helps that the balances have gone up in the last year despite taking big chunks out to fund the construction loan over runs. Fidelity has also done a great job modeling it out for us and getting my wife (and I guess me) to understand money isn't an issue.

 

[Rcmutz]

“One of the mental challenges has been taking money out of investments. I've always treated that as a one-way street and it's taken about a year to mentally calibrate that it's why we saved and invested for nearly 40 years.”

The above is one of the biggest challenges When you retire. I posted on this thread back in 2019 just before Covid hit. The next 3 years took a large bite out of my retirement plans to travel, etc. just now starting to make use of those 40 years of retirement savings. With the Grandkids 10 mins away, there is not much need to fly to see them. The wife has not been a big fan of small aircraft flying over the years, but will do one day 4-5 hrs of flight if we are going somewhere interesting. Keep saying every year I’m going to get my IFR currency again and then end up putting it off. I need to get off the pot and get it done. The Tiger is a great $100 hamburger and XC plane. Need to start making more 3-4 day trip plans. A lot to see 300-400 miles around Columbus, Ohio.