Do you feel you have no more interesting challenges?

I have done Florida in my PA28-181 – last in April 2017

Ft.Lauderdale – Stella Maris – T&C (day 1); T&C – PR – St.Croxley (day 2); St.Croxley – Barbados (day 3)

Under 13 hours in the air, ten hours faster than the first time I did it in 2012. On the way down lots of into the wind so was really pleased with the flight time.

2012 – was my first solo since my PPL check ride in 2011 – no planes here to rent so I bought one in New Jersey and flew it down here (well not first solo I did three solo touch and goes at the airport in NO first) – first leg to NJ through the corner of the Washington DC zone, 600 ft over Kitty Hawk. It took six days for the whole trip.

The 2017 trip was more fun – the airplane was in the US for three years getting rebuilt – during that time a couple of BFR’s but no other flying – first solo in three years.

The trip is quite straightforward – long legs over water of a few hundred miles in places – somewhat scenic:) the Caribbean is a good place to do long trips, raft GPS PLB, jacket etc needed of course in case you have to go swimming.

Have done a few longish trips in the past year – up to Tortola, the St Barths for the annual – did the special landing training on St Barths, very scary – good thing it is 400 miles away and the training wears off after six months an good excuse not to have to land there:)

Colin wrote:

Canary Islands as there are 9 airports there.

Madeira, while you are in the area?

I have a few aviation ambitions left although I have been flying for 29 years.
1. Change continents during a flight.
2. Canary Islands as there are 9 airports there. Ambition 1 would be fulfilled as well going via Morocco.
3. Iceland.
4. Venice. Still haven’t been there.
5. Croatia through the eastern Alps and Austria.
6. Florida to Barbados.

Peter wrote:

How do you keep flying interesting over many years?

To answer your question I would say: I do not know. It is something which comes natural for me.
I do what I can do and what I can afford to do.
The real challenge for me is to get a compromise with available time, money, family, work, etc. When all this is mixed together and the result is a green light to go I get the maximum satisfaction when I fly to get to a place where I can meet people and sightsee the local place beauties.
Although the mission seems to be the same, every flight is different. It is in this difference that I find my satisfaction to keep flying interesting over many years.
As people to meet and places to see are potentially infinite, I suspect (or hope) that my interest in flying will never end.

It is not by case that one of the best aphorisms I like is that of the Lebanon poet Kahlil Gibran: “The significance of man is not what he attains, but rather in what he longs to attain.”

We have onboard instruments to measure speed, engine hours , miles, altitude, RPM’s, course, etc. but we do not have an instrument which measure the satisfaction we get in a flight which is worth to be flown. That interior satisfaction which remains after having flown without a stop for 7 hours or 200 miles over the sea or an ordinary flight in quiet sunday of December . That sense of contentment and inner tranquility that you carry around for a few days before the ordinary things blur your mind again. Here, I would need an instrument that shows me how much satisfaction I may have accumulated in a certain type of flight and, based on that, to calculate how many days I can be mentally immune from the disturbances of ordinary life. I could even plan my flights to predict the days of mental immunity to accumulate. For example, a weekend flight to Croatia could give me two days of immunity while a rally in Dubai would be worth at least a couple of weeks…. Over time I realized that the medium (the plane) and the end (to feel good about themselves) merged into a single indissoluble entity.

My dear friends sorry….these are just thoughts and words in IMC (Instrumental “Mental” Conditions).

Moreover, I do not know why, but doing all this with my ultralight gives me a sense of adventure; sense that I do not perceive when I fly together my friends who have much more qualified airplanes like Cirrus, Tecnam Twins, etc.
p.s.
hope my English is clear enough…

I think it’s important to not keep flying to the same places. That is something that a lot of people do. We all have our favourite airfields, but we must make a point of not going back too often, and instead visit new places.

It’s also important not to keep doing short trips that you never leave the destination airport (eg have lunch at the airport restaurant and the fly home again). Again this is something that a lot of people do.

I enjoy flying to look at landscape. I’m not looking for challenges. As long as I enjoy it, and am medically legal, I’ll continue.
As far as pollution is considered, when our rulers/utrawealthy/celebrities show an example, I’ll feel guilty.

Peter wrote:

Indeed; I think this has happened to quite a number of people who otherwise had practically unlimited time and money (yes there is a lot of them around). They climbed to the top of the GA food chain and then gave up.

Oh well…this happens with everything in life and I believe is a matter of personal attitude…this idea of needing to keep on climbing up whatever chain…for me it is a matter of enjoying the climb and not necessarily getting all the way there, and keep on looking for ways to enjoy the path!

However, unlike other activities, I think flying and aviation are complex and far-reaching enough that you can find different ways of keeping on climbing and never reach the top!

Personally, I have been enjoying air-rallies initially and then mountain flying and mixed VFR/IFR trips in general (including transcontinental USA, transatlantic, and, with some useful advise from Tim (thx!) , Spitzbergen).

I currently mostly enjoy:
-Flying to places with the family and friends (the family/friends part being as important as the trip and the flying)
-Promoting GA

I still have a lot to climb up both of those ladders which come with challenges of their own!

Timothy wrote:

it seemed a waste that everyone would have to repeat the work.

This is really pilot (or perhaps business) deformation: always trying to find maximum efficiency