Destination unknown?

James331

James331

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James331
Anyone else prefer to just go for a flight based on time, no destination before hand?

Example, today I had a some time before work so I decided to go up. I confirmed 2hrs fuel (low level flying), take off with zero destination in mind, buzz around, see a speed boat by the boarder, decide to do a turn around a point on him (legal altitude of course), he drops off step [insert sinister laugh], keep buzzing down the water, see a nice little cove circle and few times, why not, land and shut down, hang out for a bit and go back to the airport.


Shy of a few flights where I had a destination before hand, seems like 80% of my personal flying I just make it up as I go based on the timer/fuel.

Don't know if it's because of work flying where I go where other need to go, but the make it up as you go along really is a lot more fun, plus with iPhones now doesn't take but a second to check a NOTAM or pull up a last minute plate if needed.


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not as often as I should. I typically like to have a destination and almost always have a plan. a couple of times the plan was 'eh, fly around the lake for a bit, skirt around the delta, under the bravo, around the monster towers, then head back home. I would try landing at a random lake for shts and giggles, but I don't think the tires are floaty enough. I do like buzzing boats on the lake though.
 
It might be fun, but if anything goes wrong, you're screwed.

When I fly, someone on the ground, somewhere, knows where I'm going, what route I'm taking, and when I should land.
 
Chances are if something goes really wrong you're screwed anyways.

Got the 406GPS eprib, 21.5 ELT, flares, don't fly in extream wx, etc, but really saftey is an illusion, there are some thing you can do, but ultimately I don't live my life based on the illusion of saftey, it's not a thing that exists in the real world, and I won't stop living just to fool myself that it means living longer.

Based on what I've seen, it's not my sky diving, flying, etc that has the high risk, it's driving through intersections, changing lanes etc.

I do mitigate the large risks based on the ways I've seen people get hurt or die.




When a light turns green I still look both ways just like at a stop sign.

I eat right and am active, try to only eat locally grown/shot/caught food

I don't eat pills, do hard drugs and obviously don't some cigs

I don't get shots for everything under the sun, I'm cool with being sick for a week, but I do get shots for stuff which will kill/disable me, but only after doing my due diligence on what's in that needle and the background of the provider.

I live in the country, not a cesspool/city

Proficient with my firearms

Im medically trained

I'm mechanically inclined

Most importantly I have enough common sense and logic.
 
James331 said:
Chances are if something goes really wrong you're screwed anyways.

Got the 406GPS eprib, 21.5 ELT, flares, don't fly in extream wx, etc, but really saftey is an illusion, there are some thing you can do, but ultimately I don't live my life based on the illusion of saftey, it's not a thing that exists in the real world, and I won't stop living just to fool myself that it means living longer.
Click to expand...

I wonder, does having a set of floats under you and being near landable bodies of water favorably change the risk profile much?
 
asicer said:
I wonder, does having a set of floats under you and being near landable bodies of water favorably change the risk profile much?
Click to expand...

I think so, also for a forced landing in a plowed field, landing a float plane wheels up in most surface conditions will normally only result in a little damage to the bottom of the floats, highly unlikely to flip and you'll stop in nothing flat.
 
My only rule when flying is that I can only fly one direction for an hour. Then I need to turn, wave to someone on the ground, check out those antelope, land at that airport over there. I have always ended up getting to my final destination. Although it did take me 12 days to fly from Michigan to Wisconsin once. I ended up going through Idaho. And landed in Mexico and Cuba (Missouri) and Oshkosh (Nebraska).
 
asicer said:
I wonder, does having a set of floats under you and being near landable bodies of water favorably change the risk profile much?
Click to expand...

For CERTAIN hazards, yes.

For others, no.

You can really tell who has no experience searching for a downed aircraft. 406s are DAMN hard to DF, and the satellites may have some trouble with all those trees. Or if you flip and get submerged.

Having someone know where you are going is a reasonable precaution, not the "illusion of safety." Quite the opposite actually. It's a way to mitigate the risk of all that equipment you've never actually used not working as expected. Like, if it's at the bottom of a lake and you aren't.
 
also have 21.5 ELT.

My 406 is GPS enchanced and is a epirb, it lives right by the pilots door, if anything happened involving water it'd probably be out and on the surface faster than I would.

Kinda like this one.

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Stand next to a chart, spit in your hand, slap it with the other hand, go where the splat lands. Or throw a dart at the chart with your eyes closed.
 
Yeah but the last time it did that I got in trouble for buzzing this lake in TX...
 
More often than not this describes my flights...:yes: Just get in the plane and go...:goofy::goofy::goofy:
 
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