Worst Flight I've Ever Flown - Many Mistakes

The green areas are taxi. I landed northbound (runway 31). Turned around, taxi back on the runway, exit other end, parking (second more round green area). So that red part in between the two green parts is the runway.
 
That far away outside loop was me trying to distance myself from everything and slow everything down and not be so behind the airplane. The straight in happened after another turn around. At no time did I start a descent - meaning this wasn't a "go around" per say it was more of a "fly around while you calm down". Felt so strange to be telling a pilot "I am not comfortable with this approach, things aren't lining up for me, I need to distance myself and try again." After what looks like in the drawing my second or third try at a normal downwind / base / final, I did a straight in. I knew that would give me time to get the flaps down, descend, etc. Just didn't feel good doing the three legs.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
You may all change your tune after seeing this. A picture is worth a thousand words, never thought I'd use Cloud Ahoy against me. Kind of hard to follow but you get the idea (chaos until straight in):

6962263748_c4b935d312_b.jpg
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kimberlyanne546 said:
The green areas are taxi. I landed northbound (runway 31). Turned around, taxi back on the runway, exit other end, parking (second more round green area). So that red part in between the two green parts is the runway.
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kimberlyanne546 said:
That far away outside loop was me trying to distance myself from everything and slow everything down and not be so behind the airplane. The straight in happened after another turn around. At no time did I start a descent - meaning this wasn't a "go around" per say it was more of a "fly around while you calm down". Felt so strange to be telling a pilot "I am not comfortable with this approach, things aren't lining up for me, I need to distance myself and try again." After what looks like in the drawing my second or third try at a normal downwind / base / final, I did a straight in. I knew that would give me time to get the flaps down, descend, etc. Just didn't feel good doing the three legs.
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Looks like a good scenic tour of the area.
 
jesse said:
Looks like a good scenic tour of the area.
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That's very nice. Looks like failure to me. Way worse than my story. You can see my attempts to get settled in and then who knows, I go away again. You and the last CFI that I flew with said the same thing (the young guy in the Citabria who gave me an intro to taildraggers) - RELAX.
 
patrick wentworth said:
Kimberly, as a first flight into Boonville you did fine. It is way waay different than Petaluma, tight little valley and small runway. I have been there a few times and it is a very different sight picture 50 vs 75 feet and 800 feet shorter than you are used to. Sounds like you did fine even if you had to "practice" getting it down.
A little closer to home is Healdsburg at 2770x60 and I would suggest some land and taxi back there for practice. It has that valley feel and is small enough to give you confidence with a shorter hop to home.

New airfields are a challenge and it will take some practice at new fields to get "how it should look". I know you fly with others a lot but perhaps a run to HES alone and doing a couple of landings then move up the road to O60 Cloverdale for a rest (bigger runway) ..or reverse that by starting at Cloverdale and work your way down to HES then back home would give you a bunch of variety in a short hop (less $$$).
We are lucky to have so many airports in a small radius -- lots of fun :)
Don't Sweat It. Just enjoy.

Patrick
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Thanks, I remember struggling with Healdsburg in my training. I think Skypark is closer and just as hard, but both Skypark and Healdburg have obstacles. If I go to Healdsburg I might as well land Cloverdale and Santa Rosa, whereas Skypark only has Shellville (which I've never been to).

Boonville:

Dimensions: 2838 x 50 ft.

Healdsburg:

Dimensions: 2707 x 60 ft.

Skypark:

Dimensions: 2480 x 40 ft.
 
Got curious and dug up old photos. This was me in the back of a Long EZ last year. Looks like he took a straight in! (The airport is really deserted, never seen or heard another plane there):

6338597633_1eef6f12f2_b.jpg
 
Oh and I almost forgot. I've never used the parking brake before, but we were on a slight hill and started to roll. I put it on and by the time we deplaned, unloaded some stuff, rearranged other stuff, then locked the doors and started using the tow bar to push the plane into one parking spot I had forgotten it was on. Both of us commented how hard it was to push but figured that was because we were used to pushing around 150's. Way later I went "D'oh!" and realized what I had done.
 
Jesse called correctly -- this was a scenic flight with a straight in after you completely cleared the area
:rofl:
Lemons to lemonaid :)
You are doing fine just keep the adventurous spirit and critical thought about your performance.
When I have a perfect flight with all the correct switch positions and calls ---
I will call you ...
I dare say most of us have few of those.


Except maybe Jesse and Henning :)
See you around the valley
 
patrick wentworth said:
Jesse called correctly -- this was a scenic flight with a straight in after you completely cleared the area
:rofl:
Lemons to lemonaid :)
You are doing fine just keep the adventurous spirit and critical thought about your performance.
When I have a perfect flight with all the correct switch positions and calls ---
I will call you ...
I dare say most of us have few of those.


Except maybe Jesse and Henning :)
See you around the valley
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Send me a PM if you have an empty seat one of these days. KSTS is less than 10 minutes from my boyfriend's house. I can buy you lunch and you can show me a perfect approach to whatever airport.
 
patrick wentworth said:
Jesse called correctly -- this was a scenic flight with a straight in after you completely cleared the area
:rofl:
Lemons to lemonaid :)
You are doing fine just keep the adventurous spirit and critical thought about your performance.
When I have a perfect flight with all the correct switch positions and calls ---
I will call you ...
I dare say most of us have few of those.


Except maybe Jesse and Henning :)
See you around the valley
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Oh gosh this reminds me I may have missed a few position calls. Especially since now that you've seen my flight path, how do you announce THAT MESS on the CTAF???
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Oh gosh this reminds me I may have missed a few position calls. Especially since now that you've seen my flight path, how do you announce THAT MESS on the CTAF???
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Podunk Traffic, Blonde woman maneuvering in vicinity of airport, Podunk

Trust me..people will keep their distance.
 
jesse said:
Podunk Traffic, Blonde woman maneuvering in vicinity of airport, Podunk

Trust me..people will keep their distance.
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If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times..... I'm a brunette. I just pay the hairdresser to make me appear otherwise. Unless that hair color seeps into the brain.... ?
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
You may all change your tune after seeing this. A picture is worth a thousand words, never thought I'd use Cloud Ahoy against me. Kind of hard to follow but you get the idea (chaos until straight in):
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I can see why you didn't file a flight plan - that route would take several pages to describe.

 
YOu have already done several things right, that are totally to your credit:
1. Posted here to learn from your flight.
2. Done self critique, which is painful, but necessary for all of us.
3. Asked for help from your local connections and the planes owner.

Aviation is one of those fields like medicine (my other real life) where it seems to me that skills just atrophy like mad if one does not use them constantly.
Also, I fly helos, not fixed wing, but I also remember gnashing my teeth big time trying to fit the helo smoothly down into the pattern at small confined airstrips surrounded by trees. I would set up poorly, be much too fast, get frustrated (which only makes it MUCH worse....) and then end up going around and getting more frustrated.
I am also a low time pilot, and I routinely fly with my old CFI if it has been more than 4 weeks since I have flown. My skills just fade away, and then come back much quicker with him there to mentally ride me a little bit.
A good CFI is worth their weight in gold.
And...it gets better..-)))
 
You were hard on yourself. And, that is a good thing, because you will learn from it. You recognize the need for improvement and will take action to do so. Good for you!

This is similar to what I experienced with about 100 hours total time. With only about 20 recent hours in 30+ years all of which is in a new to me 182, I decided to take a 12hour plus round xc trip from Montana to California with my daughter as a passenger. All went well until on the way back, I had planned for a small airport out in nowhere Oregon for a fuel stop. Did not pay much attention to the details and approached, turned downwind, base, then final. But, I looked so high, with full flaps and slipping, after a few moments, I realized I was too high. So, go around, turn downwind, this time extending the leg. Turn base and final. Again, full flaps, slip, speed correct, and I am not getting down. Too high!

So, I go around a third time and have my Daughter get my sectional and point to where that airport is. It was sort of bumpy, so it is hard to read. Then I realized that I had read the length of the runway as the elevation. I was a few thousand feet high! So, I descended to the proper altitude and went in once more. This time the picture looked better. But, there was terrain and bumps to deal with. I landed hard and bounced more than ever, but made it in ok. Yes, I felt really bad and embarrassed. I have kept trying, and feel that I have improved with new airfields.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you are landing, unless you need something important, tell you passenger to be quiet and you too. Just concentrate on what needs to be done.

Keep the xc's going and you will improve too...
 
skidoo said:
You were hard on yourself. And, that is a good thing, because you will learn from it. You recognize the need for improvement and will take action to do so. Good for you!

This is similar to what I experienced with about 100 hours total time. With only about 20 recent hours in 30+ years all of which is in a new to me 182, I decided to take a 12hour plus round xc trip from Montana to California with my daughter as a passenger. All went well until on the way back, I had planned for a small airport out in nowhere Oregon for a fuel stop. Did not pay much attention to the details and approached, turned downwind, base, then final. But, I looked so high, with full flaps and slipping, after a few moments, I realized I was too high. So, go around, turn downwind, this time extending the leg. Turn base and final. Again, full flaps, slip, speed correct, and I am not getting down. Too high!

So, I go around a third time and have my Daughter get my sectional and point to where that airport is. It was sort of bumpy, so it is hard to read. Then I realized that I had read the length of the runway as the elevation. I was a few thousand feet high! So, I descended to the proper altitude and went in once more. This time the picture looked better. But, there was terrain and bumps to deal with. I landed hard and bounced more than ever, but made it in ok. Yes, I felt really bad and embarrassed. I have kept trying, and feel that I have improved with new airfields.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you are landing, unless you need something important, tell you passenger to be quiet and you too. Just concentrate on what needs to be done.

Keep the xc's going and you will improve too...
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Thanks. Just sent two emails to possible pilots who fly out of my airport and might be interested in splitting XC time / costs.
 
Kim,

You can dissect it, analyze it, think about it,........

It all boils down to the fact that you made it work, you and your passenger went away safe and you LEARNED.

I flew to a short narrow strip yesterday that is 53NM from my home field to do landings on a small strip in preparation for an upcoming Cessna 140 get together which will be on a small strip.

The strip was not all that small, 2,500 X 48. Once I tuned myself in to the approach I could land it like it was nothing, but the small size made me come in too high TWICE. I probably could have stuck it in there either time, no problem, but the strip was just short enough that I wanted to set right down on the very end of the runway.

Like your situation, there was no one around to watch. I had plenty of fuel and plenty of time. What the heck, I'll just go around. When I finally set it down on the very end of the runway I could see that it was uphill to about the middle and then downhill after the middle.

It was a little embarrassing to do TWO go arounds, but I got the practice I wanted in approaching a small field, didn't bend anything and had a new experience. I ended up logging a couple hours of XC time, so all's well.

For you it was a positive, because it all worked out and you learned something. Not a bad day's work.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I honestly think it was the plane and the short runway. I've done a few XC's now and was never uncomfortable with the pattern work (then again, they were to huge towered airports). In fact, after spending almost 6 hours and 500nm XC on my last flight, I thought I was doing a lot better. That was in the little 150.
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From now on, make every landing a short field landing; if you are not solidly on the runway in the first one-third, go around. No exceptions (you can log the extra time). Runway length is irrelevant if you can put it down before the 500 foot mark.

Bob Gardner
 
bobmrg said:
From now on, make every landing a short field landing; if you are not solidly on the runway in the first one-third, go around. No exceptions (you can log the extra time). Runway length is irrelevant if you can put it down before the 500 foot mark.

Bob Gardner
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+1...
 
bobmrg said:
From now on, make every landing a short field landing; if you are not solidly on the runway in the first one-third, go around. No exceptions (you can log the extra time). Runway length is irrelevant if you can put it down before the 500 foot mark.

Bob Gardner
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:thumbsup: I would only change if you are not solidly on the runway in the first one-third, to: If you are not on the ground between the numbers and the end of the second stripe.
 
I see this whole thing differently. First, it's clear based on her past few posts that Kim isn't very good. It's also clear (to me, anyway) that she has regressed, since the performances she has documented wouldn't produce a passing score on a PPL check-ride, nor even sign-off for solo. Yet in spite of her demonstrated ineptitude, she holds a valid PPL and hasn't damaged the hardware. So far, so good; no harm, no foul.

So what are we to make of all this? Is she a failure or an accident in search of a scene, or is she simply perceptive about her shortcomings and open to sharing them in hopes of learning how to get better? Is she better or worse than all the other newbs, and if so by how much? How has she managed the skill degradation that has obviously occurred?

My answers are:

1. I'm sorry to hear that she's struggling but not surprised. It happens to most pilots in similar circumstances, but most don't write about it and few people (other than instructors) ever see it first-hand. Rather than fret about it, she needs to develop a plan to re-sharpen her skills.

2. She's not as far away as she probably thinks. She needs someone to work with her to identify the issues and find some different ways to approach them that make sense to her and "stick" in her learning process. Some flying will probably be necessary, but more review and discussion will be equally (maybe more) helpful.

Having been out of the nest for a while, she's obviously learned a lot, and now has a better idea of knowing what she doesn't know. Some of the things that have happened are much different than those she experienced during training, and she now has a better idea about what to expect. She needs a resource to help her deal with those issues.

3. Rest equals rust. After flying regularly and with purpose and intensity, the post-checkride period is typically marked by a significantly lower level of activity. Flying an airplane is a perishable skill that deteriorates with disuse. Continued practice and dedication is necessary. The pro ball-players say "you can't make the club in the tub."

4. It's interesting to see how these situations resolve themselves. A local guy finished his PPL and flew with the same rental fleet for a while until they disbanded their fleet. When he sought to check out with another group, the anticipated "check out" turned into more of a comprehensive "remedial retraining" than he expected, but that he appreciated as he progressed. Whether or not he knew he needed the remedial training, it has been very beneficial and has made him a much better pilot.

By using whatever method she finds most acceptable, I expect the same results from Kim.
 
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wabower said:
I see this whole thing differently. First, it's clear based on her past few posts that Kim isn't very good. It's also clear (to me, anyway) that she has regressed, since the performances she has documented wouldn't produce a passing score on a PPL check-ride, nor even sign-off for solo. Yet in spite of her demonstrated ineptitude, she holds a valid PPL and hasn't damaged the hardware. So far, so good; no harm, no foul.

So what are we to make of all this? Is she a failure or an accident in search of a scene, or is she simply perceptive about her shortcomings and open to sharing them in hopes of learning how to get better? Is she better or worse than all the other newbs, and if so by how much? How has she managed the skill degradation that has obviously occurred?

My answers are:

1. I'm sorry to hear that she's struggling but not surprised. It happens to most pilots in similar circumstances, but most don't write about it and few people (other than instructors) ever see it first-hand. Rather than fret about it, she needs to develop a plan to re-sharpen her skills.

2. She's not as far away as she probably thinks. She needs someone to work with her to identify the issues and find some different ways to approach them that make sense to her and "stick" in her learning process. Some flying will probably be necessary, but more review and discussion will be equally (maybe more) helpful.

Having been out of the nest for a while, she's obviously learned a lot, and now has a better idea of knowing what she doesn't know. Some of the things that have happened are much different than those she experienced during training, and she now has a better idea about what to expect. She needs a resource to help her deal with those issues.

3. It's interesting to see how these situations resolve themselves. A local guy finished his PPL and flew with the same rental fleet for a while until they disbanded their fleet. When he sought to check out with another group, the anticipated "check out" turned into more of a comprehensive "remedial retraining" than he expected, but that he appreciated as he progressed. Whether or not he knew he needed the remedial training, it has been very beneficial and has made him a much better pilot.

By using whatever method she finds most acceptable, I expect the same results from Kim.
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Yes, when I did my two checkouts (which are almost like checkrides) the CFI brought a lot of things to light. Not sure if I "passed" but she did sign me off, however not without comment about what I needed to work on. Seems I should take her or another one up again.

On the bright side, I now have TWO potential pilots to split time with. Trouble is, they have as little experience as me, and I think they would tolerate my shortcomings rather than try to help. And in fact I may discover they too have shortcomings.
 
Very few golfers who can't break 90 get any better listening to advice from other high-handicap players. Find somebody who knows something about game.

kimberlyanne546 said:
Yes, when I did my two checkouts (which are almost like checkrides) the CFI brought a lot of things to light. Not sure if I "passed" but she did sign me off, however not without comment about what I needed to work on. Seems I should take her or another one up again.

On the bright side, I now have TWO potential pilots to split time with. Trouble is, they have as little experience as me, and I think they would tolerate my shortcomings rather than try to help. And in fact I may discover they too have shortcomings.
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You made the flight, you brought the plane back, you were not injured, the plane was flyable. But out of all of that, the thing that makes you a pilot is you reviewed the entire thing. You are fully aware of, and thought of methods to correct your errors (hire a CFI). As far as I'm concerned, your right at the top on the pilots scale.

I read or heard somewhere, it might have been a Sporty's video, about an instructor who had a student who was perfect, he never made any mistakes. This got the instructor worried to the point where he forced mistakes on the student just so he might learn from them, such as bouncing it on landing and such.

As far as your not improving that night, it is because you were focused on screwing up. It's like typing a letter on a real typewriter. You start off fine, then you find yourself using whiteout often enough that you decide that this will just be the draft. Miraculously, as soon as that decision was reached, and you no longer care about your mistakes, you don't make any more mistakes.

The same goes for flying. Mistakes repeat themselves because that is what you are focused on. When you make a mistake, do a quick mental review of it, then forget it. Or put another way, stay ahead of your mistakes as in staying ahead of the airplane.

Myself, I think you had a great flight.........you learned.

-John
 
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wabower said:
Very few golfers who can't break 90 get any better listening to advice from other high-handicap players. Find somebody who knows something about game.
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Totally agree, but there is something to be learned in flying with less-experienced pilots as well.

I split time and fly with two different pilots regularly, one is a high time commercial pilot and the other guy is a low time instrument student. I learn alot flying with both guys. Well, I learn alot from the high time guy, but flying with the low time guy definitely reinforces what I already know. Flying approaches and etc.. I am following along with him and trying to stay ahead of him and the airplane, too. He asks questions and makes mistakes I have not made in a long time which keeps me on my toes.
 
John Baker said:
You made the flight, you brought the plane back, you were not injured, the plane was flyable. But out of all of that, the thing that makes you a pilot is you reviewed the entire thing. You are fully aware of, and thought of methods to correct your errors (hire a CFI). As far as I'm concerned, your right at the top on the pilots scale.

I read or heard somewhere, it might have been a Sporty's video, about an instructor who had a student who was perfect, he never made any mistakes. This got him worried to the point where he forced mistakes on the student just so he might learn from them, such as bouncing it on landing and such.

As far as your not improving that night, it is because you were focused on screwing up. It's like typing a letter on a real typewriter. You start off fine, then you find yourself using whiteout often enough that you decide that this will just be the draft. Miraculously, as soon as that decision was reached, and you no longer care about your mistakes, you don't make any more mistakes.

The same goes for flying. Mistakes repeat themselves because that is what you are focused on. When you make a mistake, do a quick mental review of it, then forget it. Or put another way, stay ahead of your mistakes as in staying ahead of the airplane.

Myself, I think you had a great flight.........you learned.

-John
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A couple of notes on this:

1. I do not think the two or three CFI's that I have had so far are "right" for me. I met a GREAT CFI who I really like, but he is at another airport. He gave a presentation on safety / fatal accidents / the causes - and I talked to him in private after the show. He seemed like the kind of person I would want if I get back and do more ratings. Problem is he flies out of another airport whose planes are more expensive. Not sure if they have 172's there. After posting this I decided to email him today to see if we could meet to discuss my concerns this weekend. Ground only but it is better than nothing. Perhaps I will realize that paying a few more dollars to go somewhere else in a similar plane is "good enough" and I don't have to fly my exact 172 to see the benefits. I have no plans of switching airports or schools since I get the best prices and service in the area.

2. That day I was feeling spontaneous and did not file a flight plan, get flight following, or even check out the airport information. I figured we should just go, I've been there before as a passenger, what could possibly go wrong. I did of course check out the information in flight but felt behind the plane. What this means, of course, is that I'm not ready to do things on the fly and a little planning might have helped me get better set up for the approach that day (and saved me money). I hate to say this but many pilots in person and on POA do often say "don't worry" or "relax" or "just go and figure it out in the air." Many say I plan too much and so I am trying to get away from that. Seems my best flights were when I had a plan. Need to go back to that.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Many say I plan too much and so I am trying to get away from that. Seems my best flights were when I had a plan. Need to go back to that.
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IMHO this is nearly impossible for a beginning pilot to do. Sure, relaxing is important, but that relaxation should come from a sense of preparedness, not lax attitude. I don't want to bore you with old war stories, but when on active duty and a call came in, we didn't rush out to our A/C and launch. We met as a crew, briefed and got all to information possible organized and departed. I guess what I'm trying to say is Do what makes you feel most prepared. The time will come when you can see a sunny sky and launch to a nearby airport with what seems now minimal planning. But all the previous flight experience you have earned will prepare you for that day. Keep it up, you'll get there.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
IMHO this is nearly impossible for a beginning pilot to do. Sure, relaxing is important, but that relaxation should come from a sense of preparedness, not lax attitude. I don't want to bore you with old war stories, but when on active duty and a call came in, we didn't rush out to our A/C and launch. We met as a crew, briefed and got all to information possible organized and departed. I guess what I'm trying to say is Do what makes you feel most prepared. The time will come when you can see a sunny sky and launch to a nearby airport with what seems now minimal planning. But all the previous flight experience you have earned will prepare you for that day. Keep it up, you'll get there.
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My wife would disagree.:idea:
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I forgot to close my flight plan on New Year's Day and they called me. I have that voicemail to this day. By the time I called back it was over an hour later, they told me the Class Charlie (Monterey) confirmed my landing and I was OK. So they called me first, then the tower, then stopped there. If it had been untowered it may not have been that simple. Yikes. I do not remember if I've opened a flight plan / activated since then (I've certainly filed). I have only flown one cross country (San Luis Obispo) and then this Booneville one. I meant to file a flight plan, but didn't, because we were going to do a Bay Tour first which would be hard to estimate to a briefer.
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I use them occasionally still. Scariest was a flight to Carlsbad NM. Landed on Saturday afternoon, closed FP, visited family. Sunday, called in for brief for return leg and FSS indicated I still have an "open" flight plan. I told them I closed it, had the call time on the mobile phone, then asked," Why wasn't I called or anyone looking for me then?" .... long silence on other end.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Sadly, I can relate. My ever-suffering wife describes my behavior in air museums as "counting rivets" because of my attention to details on the displayed planes. Poor girl.
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Ditto, the BF gave me crap after our first few flights, asking why all this planning etc. I ignored it for the most part and gave him his own clipboard (copy of my kneeboard) for the flight there and back on our long XC together. He helped time way points, etc and I think it made him see why planning works.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Ditto, the BF gave me crap after our first few flights, asking why all this planning etc. I ignored it for the most part and gave him his own clipboard (copy of my kneeboard) for the flight there and back on our long XC together. He helped time way points, etc and I think it made him see why planning works.
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Yes!! Exactly the way I got my wife started. She began navigating, then moved to the radios, then I started her out working the flaps and gear, then handling the controls. She can land the Comanche 250, but hasn't tried any others yet.
 
While Henning can be a bit loopy (I don't think many would recommend an experimental amphibian to a relatively low time pile as their first ownership experience...) his point is quite valid. Kimberly would be flying more were she an airplane owner.
 
For the last time if I can't fly one month I can't pay hangar fees one month. And the BF doesn't have room at his house for my Civic let alone an airplane. Would have no way to pay for it or keep it, it seems like you people don't understand what being "poor" is. Stop suggesting I own a plane.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
For the last time if I can't fly one month I can't pay hangar fees one month. And the BF doesn't have room at his house for my Civic let alone an airplane. Would have no way to pay for it or keep it, it seems like you people don't understand what being "poor" is. Stop suggesting I own a plane.
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Isn't it curious? Often when people talk about buying one, most of what they hear from the peanut gallery is often how incredibly expensive it will be to own and maintain, let alone fly. :dunno:
 
I can relate to your frustration of not making that perfect flight. take it easy and learn from your mistakes. The time will come when you will make a flawless flight from engine start to shutdown, in weather, at night, with ice, tons of heavy traffic in the terminal area and it will feel like you just made a hole in one. Best feeling ever!!!


Cheers!
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
For the last time if I can't fly one month I can't pay hangar fees one month. And the BF doesn't have room at his house for my Civic let alone an airplane. Would have no way to pay for it or keep it, it seems like you people don't understand what being "poor" is. Stop suggesting I own a plane.
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I understand your limitations and sympathize. I've spent far more of my life poor than not, and neither I nor anyone who knows me would describe me as "rich". That said, there is a truth to what Henning (and I) said. You'd fly more if you weren't renting. Since you are renting, you must expect this sort of thing. It takes quite a bit of currency for some of us to remain up to snuff.
 
steingar said:
I understand your limitations and sympathize. I've spent far more of my life poor than not, and neither I nor anyone who knows me would describe me as "rich". That said, there is a truth to what Henning (and I) said. You'd fly more if you weren't renting. Since you are renting, you must expect this sort of thing. It takes quite a bit of currency for some of us to remain up to snuff.
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And truth be known, many owners don't fly all that much because either they've sunk most of their disposable income in the fixed ownership costs, or the plane is down for weeks on end for maintenance, and the result is the same: skills get rusty.

Though my experience has been a bit luckier. I've managed to log over 250 hours in my plane since I bought it two years ago.
 
azure said:
And truth be known, many owners don't fly all that much because either they've sunk most of their disposable income in the fixed ownership costs, or the plane is down for weeks on end for maintenance, and the result is the same: skills get rusty.

Though my experience has been a bit luckier. I've managed to log over 250 hours in my plane since I bought it two years ago.
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Exactly right. Even if a tie down or hangar was only $200 and insurance was only $100 that is $300 per month. Solo in my 150 I could get 3 hours which is a 1 hour flight almost every weekend.

So renting is for me.
 
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