Thanks for that refreshing post @roznet… and welcome 
You describe a new found enthusiasm for the hobby and that is very nice. Bravo, and try to keep that as long as you can!
A couple of hours ago I landed on my home field. Just returned from a loiter tour we made with one of my friend in his RV-8, and myself in my own steed. Now this is something guys on my field do pretty often, and could be called the pinnacle of decadence… each one owning his own airplane, and going for sightseeing or travel, alone in his ride, in a multi-airplane loose formation. But I digress… on these kind of flights, this friend of mine, who’s 55 and learned flying 4 1/2 years ago, raves out loud about his joy of flying, how nice everything is, look at that, look at this, fantastic, and more, during basically the whole flight. Every day, every time. I tell you what guys, this kind of guy is highly contagious
Of course, reading the negative thread about flying, one has to realise that most here are pretty old, and have been practising aviation for quite a long time. As with everything in life, novelty wears off after a while, and it is easy to become bitter, or disillusioned.
The cure is to realise how privileged we are, and to try new things within the hobby, mountain rating, floats, aerobatics, new fields, new countries, etc, etc.
@Dan I have to agree that there is a lot of fun to be had in trying new things with flying. Be it grass strip flying, aeros, helicopters etc… Maybe even microlights, if I’m allowed to say that here. Without trying these things you never know if you might like them or not.
There are many subdivisions of GA and I find most people are scathing of everything except what they do. IE microlight pilots think SEP pilots waste too much money on fuelling their lycomings. IFR SEP pilots think grass strip dwellers are subhuman and helicopter pilots think they’re god. Then you get airline pilots who bemoan the GA amateurs as a whole.
Then you get airline pilots who bemoan the GA amateurs as a whole.
@Dan is a professional who play IFR pavement with rate one turns who got bored and now play amateur VFR grass upside down, the best of the two worlds as he found his flying happiness
Dan wrote:
Of course, reading the negative thread about flying, one has to realise that most here are pretty old, and have been practising aviation for quite a long time. As with everything in life, novelty wears off after a while, and it is easy to become bitter, or disillusioned.
The cure is to realise how privileged we are, and to try new things within the hobby, mountain rating, floats, aerobatics, new fields, new countries, etc, etc.
I totally agree with this. I am also a somewhat “old” pilot I guess, having been at it for nearly a quarter century. I find two things keep me flying: 1) discovering new places that I would otherwise never visit; 2) sharing my flying with friends, coworkers, and family who don’t get to do this every day and find it quite a novelty. I’ve also considered at some point learning to fly a gyro for something different.
Costs of airports can be changed, think of what achieved AOPA in Spain. It was medium three digits even in remote locations, now you can stay three nights on international airports and still pay two digits
IO390 wrote:
There are many subdivisions of GA and I find most people are scathing of everything except what they do. IE microlight pilots think SEP pilots waste too much money on fuelling their lycomings. IFR SEP pilots think grass strip dwellers are subhuman and helicopter pilots think they’re god. Then you get airline pilots who bemoan the GA amateurs as a whole.
Pilots are their own worst enemy in many ways. This is perhaps emphasized on forums were people tend to have a bit “stronger opinions” I fly and own UL, experimental and certified aircraft, and my observation is that by far the most single minded persons are private GA pilot. People with only PPL and who doesn’t fly all that much are the worst (generally speaking), but I also think this is mostly due to ignorance. Most people with a bit stronger interest in flying, simply don’t care what they fly, as long as the flying is fun and there is a nice community.
I am the chief instructor for ULs at the club. Of the other UL instructors, one is also an FI (ATPL), one is CRI, and one have LAPL. The main (top) examiner/instructor in the aera for ULs is a newly retired fighter pilot with experience also on several other military planes and lots of instructing. As a kind of retirement gift from the Air Force he got checked out on the F-35 He is also a glider instructor and was the first person in Norway that got an electric plane. An electric single seat motorglider (self launched glider). A super easy going person with focus on airplanes/aviation and a good community. The chief instructor for PPL at the club has an RV-4, tons of hours, and he is also an examiner for aerobatics. He used to work for the CAA for many years, but is now in the air force. He is probably one of the best pilots I know. We have flown some formation together. The previous examiner for PPL in the area (Captain in Norwegian), pretty much started the UL activity at another close by location on a small grass strip. Then there is another Norwegian Captain who pops by my home from time to time trying to get me to speed up my home building (experimentals) He just finished an extreme STOL plane that takes off and lands within a couple of seconds. Then there’s the ATPL pilot that wanted to fly ULs to tow gliders. He got his UL license by me, started towing, and has now become the leader of the gliding club
Then there is a whole bunch (the majority) of PPL pilots who think anything but a C-172 is dangerous/difficult. Which probably is correct for them taking into account currency, total hours and experience with flying in general. They think UL flying essentially is a bunch of cowboys who:
It remains to be seen who “wins” this battle. I’m not exactly shivering in my pants
Dan wrote:
Of course, reading the negative thread about flying, one has to realise that most here are pretty old, and have been practising aviation for quite a long time. As with everything in life, novelty wears off after a while, and it is easy to become bitter, or disillusioned.
The novelty never has worn off, even today. Yes, I have to admit that I am pretty bitter about life in general these days and maybe even close to a burn out, but flying (or talking about it, sharing experiences and knowledge) still gives me great satisfaction. Be it actually flying my own plane (which due to massive time constraints I have not been able to do) or recently discovering the 737 in the sim, be it helping people buy their airplanes.
At the same time I am hugely protective of flying and hence get quite irritated if I see that what for me is the main reason of being – travel – has become really massively restricted practically everywhere I am interested in going to.
Dan wrote:
I’m retired pro, never got bored on the line whatsoever, and always was in love with the magic of flight. Bacillus Aviaticus Mordicus that probably never will let loose
I am almost retired from 40 years of aviation, never as a pro – pilot but several places of interest. Handling, dispatch, now meteorology for the last 20 years. It never does get old. I’d go back to load-sheeting any day if given the chance. Best time i’ve ever had.
Maybe I should shut up about it, but I still hope that with enough insistence the kinds of things we have been exposed to may be reversed. If I read that Spain has become better again in terms of outpricing, maybe we can achieve the same in Croatia and other places. AOPA has done great stuff in Greece and also in Spain and Bulgaria, where large airports will allow ops with acceptable tarifs to members, so maybe that is where the chance lies.
Looking at AOPA USA, it is clear that what they have over there has not been achieved without a fight and constant political lobbying. It simply saddens me that here in Europe, the problems we have particularly where airports and infrastructure are concerned, have simply been accepted and even are defended in some fora, which I can’t simply understand.
For me, it is touch and go right now, if I can not get the time to reaktivate my SEP within this summer, I am out. Currently it does not look like i will be able to, as the demand on my time is more than 24 hours a day, so I am always playing catch up, but I’ll try my damnest to get it done.
To the OP: indeed, lots of things in GA are much easier today. The whole planning and navigation task is really easy.
And flying itself is obviously the same as always. Both VFR and IFR has not changed procedurally in the 22 years I’ve been flying.
There is a lot to be pretty happy about
What has changed is the matrix of “accessible” airports, and this is very much dependent on where one is based and where one flies to. On mainland Europe, one is mostly inside the schengen “club” and that has simplified flying a lot. The UK was always outside and, for Brits, France is much less accessible today; that issue (something inside French police; nobody really knows why) started c. 2011 and has gradually got worse. Brits are a big factor in GA because it is one of three biggest communities (Germany, France, UK). But, for everyone: Greece has also got some negative changes due to Fraport’s takeover. And similar elsewhere, all discussed here… compared to 20 years ago countless airports have gone from say €20 to say €200 and this affects everyone. But if you have got into GA only in the last few years then you won’t have seen these changes.
I don’t think one gets “bitter and disillusioned” but rather one looks for different reasons to fly. For example I’ve been to over 200 airports so I don’t fly to XYZ just to fly there. I’ve known people who flew to EGKK just to get it in their logbook (£500; today more like £2000)! For me, today, flying is more about the social side, although I never get bored with crossing the Alps and seeing the amazing scenery south of there – the Adriatic, Greece, etc.
Peter wrote:
Both VFR and IFR has not changed procedurally in the 22 years I’ve been flying.
If you compare IFR with the past century, the big, big, difference is RNAV. Previously you had to fly between VORs (or NDBs, even), not all of which had co-located DMEs so you were frequently in the dark about when you would pass the next waypoint. (Particularly as wind forecasts were both less accurate and less detailed.)
