Jujupilote wrote:
I have several male friends, with good wages, about 30, single, who don’t go out much, seldom mix with people apart from work (when they don’t work at home). Perfect candidates for flying.
Their life is work+TV+social media or video games + keeping in touch with a few friends
I don’t know how they don’t get crazy.
That’s what the digital stuff brought to us : empty lives. People literally wasting their lives because doing something is more work than sitting in your sofa.
This is a huge trend not only with young people but also with others who simply can’t be bothered anymore with social interaction. I’ve been at that stage at times, where I did not want to mix with others anymore as the hassle was simply too great, only arguments, only negativism and trying to convince me of their new found beliefs (e.g. Tesla, Veganism just to name two which stick out) or keep just throwing spite at me “how can you eat fat as you are” e.t.c.
Social media only amplify this as the spite and toxic behaviour gets worse when you are not in the reach of a person who might do a Will Smith on you if it gets too much.
I recently confronted a guy I know. Kind, very nice guy in general but he behaves absolutely toxic when he gets some female attention. His answer was,"I am not crazy! Give one finger of the hand and you are enslaved, if you don’t do what they want you get “me too”d and ruined for life. Thanks, but no thanks." I know several other males who think similarily. So maybe that is why they resort to video games and stay to themselves as you describe. Not that I blame them. I am glad myself that I don’t have to play the mating game anymore. No fun today.
As for the issue of smartphones and computers I think you are pointing out a huge problem in today’s life: Digital addiction. I see people in my immediate vicinity who will panic if they forget their phone at home and who will simply stop interacting at all while stationary and stare on their screens day and night. Scary. I’ve made a concious effort to stop this for myself, but find I also display addictive behaviour at times. But at least I am aware of it and try to change it, others simply grow agressive if you just try to address them while they stare at the latest news or influencer b.s.
I found this extremely disturbing during the recent Ukraine crisis where some people got into a total anxiety crisis while being overwhelmed with negative news, 24/7.
Flying is something which gives a lot of satisfaction but none of it is instantaneous. However, I’ve been trying to steer some people onto YT channels of people who are fun to watch flying and I find they do motivate me to get back into it. It’s not all bleak in the digital world, but like with every thing you need to be able to use it wisely, something which mankind has been unable to do ever since the invention of the hammer during the stone age.
Jujupilote wrote:
I just checked a few US airports. Avgas prices barely increased.
I don’t get it.
They will go up eventually when the increased price of oil makes it way through the supply chain. Inventory versus sales is relatively high in relation to car gas, maybe even at the wholesale level, and for sure many Avgas retailers don’t raise the price until they have to pay more for their next delivery. For now however, Avgas is substantially cheaper for me than car gas, so it’s a shame I’m doing some stuff on the plane this month instead of flying. C’est la vie.
It makes flying trips in the US very tempting….
I now have the excellent excuse of avoiding commercial air transport, so am hoping my flying hours for recreation will actually go up. If there wasn’t such a devotion towards the Warrior in the UK, I might have put it back on the N reg so it could stretch its legs to North America. (the ferry tank kit is available to be fitted :))
I feel like nothing was done to prevent the coming collapse of GA.
TOTAL avgas price is now 2.89€/L.
Let’s take an example :
the other day we did the classic navigation LFPN-full stop at LFOL-LFPN (58nm=107km one way) in a 108hp DR400.
We flew low level, full-rich, logged 2 hours and burnt 48L of avgas, worth 139€ today. It makes for 22,5L/100km.
I dug up this post I put
This guy burnt 24.5MPG, ie 9.6L/100km, less than half we did.
With these advances, we would have burnt 20L, worth 58€.
→ The hourly rental cost would be 40€ lower !!!!!
I feel like everybody in my dad’s generation thought GA would always prevail and nothing was done to prepare for the coming era of high energy cost and lower purchasing power.
I am starting to think I will stop flying altogether well before my health force me to.
Well there are things you can do to increase MPG. Of course new technology helps, so choosing something with a Rotax burning typically less than 15 liters per hour (~4GPH) is a good way to reduce costs. But even an old Lycosaurus can learn to burn less. I don’t need to rush. I reduce speed to 150 knots true, fly LOP and “earn” an incredible 9 GPH fuel burn in my Comanche. Including taxi and climb I see more or less 10 GPH over all.
In fact, the rising energy costs make part of the actual inflation. So presumably wages will start to increase soon.
UdoR wrote:
even an old Lycosaurus can learn to burn less. I don’t need to rush
Same here. And I love to fly 
Why should I have the pedal to the metal and double the noise and fuel consumption. A typical 19"/2000RPM, LOP on my dual electronic ignition O-360 carbed Lycosaurus ship returns 130TAS at 4Kft (43%) and 145TAS at 8Kft. Burning 5.5USG/h or 21lt MOGAS, for the whole flight.
Slowing down to most Rotax powered aircraft speeds will equal their consumption.
Using modern instrumentation to kill old myths such as no leaning below 5’000ft and so on, sure helps the environment and my wallet 
Slowing down to most Rotax powered aircraft speeds will equal their consumption.
Exactly; for a given size airframe a Rotax does no more MPG
TOTAL avgas price is now 2.89€/L.
It will come back down.
POH numbers for economy cruise are easy to reproduce, even a tired old Lyco becomes super efficient at 40% power !
I am sure it’s impossible to see 176KIAS in Mooney M20J with 18GPH at sea level, even with well rigged control surfaces, polished airframe skin and new engine, in the other hand, 130KTAS with 6.5USG at 8kft is doable even with twisted wings full of bugs and dents while the engine is 400h past it’s 2000h TBO
PS: I have yet to see 130TAS at 25L/h in two or four seats Rotax that you can buy under 200k$
I don’t know about other countries but I’m sure the UK is heading for a personal debt crises, with many people conned by banks into investments which will crash – and they’ll find they’ve sold their home by “equity release”.
