“On side note, I am astonished by the number of VFR cafes, ahem VFR strips, that have closed or were sold due to lack of interest from their owners? maybe it’s CV19 related? most have been operating a “food model” and this seems to have died with corona restrictions?”
Insurance cover may have affected strip access. I hear talk about a based aircraft being damaged on landing, the owner claimed on his insurance, and the insurance company subsequently sued the strip owner, who did not have cover, with the legal expenses ruining him.
That, however, is always a liability. If one runs a strip and allows visitors, one needs insurance.
Prob99 country dependent though.
Packing it up is still not in my book yet, though I intend to cut my cost of flying by a factor 3 and fly more hours with less hassle skipping most of the below!
GA_Pete wrote:
Significant cost to attain the IR and keep it valid.
Significant cost to fly regularly to remain current.
(For me a factor of 10 over simple local VFR)
Less likely to be a club hired aircraft.
Often a more expensive aircraft. In every sphere.
Additional subscription to a suitable tablet software (many use Skydemon for VFR which means a copy of Garmin Pilot or Foreflight) I have understood that Foreflight is ok for VFR but not for me.
Additional subscription to Jepp for database updates.
Additional subscription for effective WX data (unless happy with less dispatch which is crap if you’ve come this far)
Investment in O2 (unless happy with less dispatch which is crap if you’ve come this far)
Some kind of portable Cellular data, (It’s easy and robust ti hotspot from phone but can be a faff so Sim enabled tablet, or portable wifi (which I prefer)
Fuel in the norm at £2 a litre.
IFR capable destination fees are through the roof at many places vs a VFR small airfield.
Vref wrote:
Packing it up is still not in my book yet, though I intend to cut my cost of flying by a factor 3 and fly more hours with less hassle skipping most of the below!
It appears many are on a similar track and I guess the current raise of Microlights is connected as sign for transitioning from cruise travel GA to Sunday coffee table round?
That trend, certified → uncertified, is very much older than CV19. Here is a classic 
It is closely related to escaping from the “airport political” scene to the “fresh air” of a “farm strip”. That isn’t always a good escape though; often you are swapping airport politics for having to brown-nose the farm strip owner the whole time, and no flying in the winter months because the place is water-logged.
Something more specific happened in the last 3 years. In simple terms, CV19 has pushed a lot of experienced pilots (who “achieved quite a lot”, and felt they were running out of challenges, not least because – on my observation – their flying didn’t focus sufficiently on the “social” aspect) off the edge.
Some went down to UL etc but most of them just packed it up totally.
I will remain certified. TMG..no issues with flight planning and access to bigger airfields/ports…Still doing almost 100Kts..6 hours endurance in very comfy seats…I like cutting the engine deliberately from time to time. Only X eind landings van be huge challenge..
no issues with flight planning and access to bigger airfields/ports
Are you sure? I was told no for a visit in TMG while ago due to wing span, the biggest two parking spots were reserved to DC3 and Catalina
I would still try explaining I would fold my wings after landing to 10.5m and can even taxi like that if needed. Which airfield would argument against that :-)
Peter wrote:
Something more specific happened in the last 3 years. In simple terms, CV19 has pushed a lot of experienced pilots (who “achieved quite a lot”, and felt they were running out of challenges, not least because – on my observation – their flying didn’t focus sufficiently on the “social” aspect) off the edge.
It’s still very country specific.. Locally (in the Baltics) the interest in private flight has never been so high, we have 3 new airstrips opened in the last 3 years, the national fleet is increasing ca 10% per year. When I started 9 years ago I had to buy a plane,as there were no reasonable place to rent, today I have choice of at least 7 planes, starting from CTLS or Zenair to various Cessnas or RV10 at the higher end.
OK; that’s wonderful.
And it supports my point about the barriers to enjoying GA. If these are lowered – as they have been where you are – then the hassle/reward ratio improves, and any specific level of hassle (e.g. covid) becomes less important. IOW, covid prob99 pushed a lot fewer pilots over the edge where you are.
On top of that, perhaps you didn’t get the crazy lockdowns which we got here in the west. There is also a lot less pragmatism in life here, compared to the ex-Soviet Bloc countries. Here, half the population is trying to rip off the other half. Health & safety everywhere. 10k spent on safety stickers…
