How do you connect with local pilots?

Hank S said:
There are three planes at my airport. Only one has cranked the engine this decade . . . Nobody to hang out with or talk to. A nearby airport where I used to be based is good to hang out and talk to skydivers, but in the almost two years I was there I met three other pilots . . .
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Wow.

Maybe you need to move somewhere where there is a little more action.
 
RalphInCA said:
Wow.

Maybe you need to move somewhere where there is a little more action.
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It's five minutes from work and 20 mins from home. My previous Home was 45-50 minutes away, and a half hour from work. I'm on the waiting list at another field 20 from home, directly away from work. But for now, this is fine. Just need pilots . . .
 
Hank S said:
There are three planes at my airport. Only one has cranked the engine this decade . . . Nobody to hang out with or talk to. A nearby airport where I used to be based is good to hang out and talk to skydivers, but in the almost two years I was there I met three other pilots . . .
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Fences don't help either. I see people and planes through the cage from the observation area. With binoculars I can try to guess what kind of plane it is.
 
I moved from an airport just like Germanguy's: nobody flies anywhere except to Urbana 18 nauticals & back. So I moved to where the action is: Bolton. Except everyone gets in their plane and goes places. No interaction there either! Well that's not entirely true, hidden behind the hangar doors is a cast of characters, if you can get them to socialize. At least I get to hear airplane noise at my new place.
 
saha said:
Any reason in particular you're not down with mobile?
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I am not a professional pilot and I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer. I'm not going to bother with an additional device.

I have to admit that I allow people to text me when I have no power to prevent them from doing so. Or, actually, just one such person: my sensei in dojo insists on texting. Nobody in my extended family or work environment do that, fortunately.

In addition, I have LINE running just to keep tabs on an idol I follow (Karen Iwata). But it's not like _interact_ with her. I never have to deal with the pitiful excuse for a keyboard that tablets use. Another app just to set up burger runs? Please. E-mail or die.

It's easy to see why someone who's spending his life on his feet would be "down with mobile". They want a communication terminal that does not require a flat surface on which to operate. But I'm not one of those people.
 
PilotRPI said:
Social flight is very good if you are just looking for events. Our Facebook page that Cajun mentioned seems to be doing well. Someone posts a particular time and place for a meetup, and people can discuss below with replies who is going etc. Real easy to set up a poll if you want to RSVP for a restaurant. 50-75% of people that say yes actually make it as stuff pops up for people last minute. What I like most about our page is that the ****ole factor is really low there. We just meet up and have a good time because we like to fly. The egos aren't an issue like at some particular websites and forums where everything is somehow an argument...
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Downside of SocialFlight is that the person or organization sponsoring the event must enter the details into SocialFlight. I need to submit the 20 or so flyins and events for Colorado Pilots Association, but haven't had time to create the file for the bulk upload.
 
We have a Facebook group that covers Washington / Oregon / Idaho / British Columbia - "Flights Above the Pacific Northwest" / FATPNW. Started with about a dozen of us in 2012, now up to 5,700 members and counting. Easily gets 10 times the amount of daily traffic as POA. We organize a lot of fly-ins - some are small, some have over a hundred pilots show up. Some are planned months in advance, and sometimes it's just one guy playing hooky from work on a nice day that snowballs into a nice fly-in after he posts his plans. https://www.facebook.com/groups/FATPNW/

The guy who founded the group recently branched out and started:

Flights Above the Mountain Southwest for Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico https://www.facebook.com/groups/FATMSW/

Flights Above the Pacific Southwest for California, Nevada and Hawaii. https://www.facebook.com/groups/FATPSW/
 
I don't view meeting up with local pilots as an end in itself. I've done a handful of fly ins and meetups with POA and PB members, but only because I already knew them from the boards.

And I actually don't like flying with other pilots, whether or not I'm doing the flying.
 
Other than my hangar neighbors, I don't. I wanna fly, not hang out with pilots. Then again, I'm kind of an a--hole.
 
I go to the local rest area stop. If you go in the men's room stall #2 between 11:00am and 1:00pm and tap your foot, you will become intimately introduced to fellow pilots through the small hole in the stall.
 
Not to sound snarky, but I just talk to people at the airport.
 
Stealing from someone else's post elsewhere...

I just put a sign in the window of my van that says "Crew Bus". LOL
 
Stearman said:
Not to sound snarky, but I just talk to people at the airport.
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No you're not being snarky.... I always make it a point to introduce myself to people... and I have meet some pretty interesting people along the way not only in aviation but many other things...

One of those people called a few weeks after our encounter and wanted to talk to me about a job that took me away from what I thought was the greatest job I ever had... little did I know, that turned out to be the second..

You never know!!!
 
In the old days, (pre- 9/11) you would hang out at the airport, with your crush hat and epaulets, in a vain attempt to avoid going home to your family, and your adult responsibilities. The "shack" as we old timers called, really was a shack, and it was a bastion of swaggering, eagle eyed, 1,000 yard stare, masculinity. This is where you told dirty jokes, and lied about your sexual prowess. It's where you heard stories of aviation daring-do which you would then borrow and weave into your own stories, so your stories would be less girlie and more exciting.
Now they have FBO's and they allow women, so all of that is a mere memory, an almost forgotten part of aviation history. No more dirty jokes, no more stories of sexual prowess, and every time you try to tell a story about your adventures, some emasculating woman will say "BUKKSHOT! Don't you have to go home and hang some curtains?"
Now, you have to find "The Secret Hanger". The key to finding it is the overflowing trash barrel, filled with beer cans and beef jerky wrappers (I personally like the teriyaki flavor). Next, to make sure it's not a trap, check to see if it has girlie calendars and pinups on the walls, and at least one macho motorcycle or sports car inside (they don't have to be in running condition). If it's too clean, or the plane is too new, or doesn't have a propeller, or has a Cirrus parked in it, keep walking. That's not the hanger you are looking for.
If you think you are in the right spot, open the door, and announce yourself by holding a six pack in front of you and saying "I brought beer." This is the best way to elicit an invitation to come in. Other than the words, "Help yourself" and "I own the Cessna 172M three hangers over." Don't speak unless spoken to. Listen intently for about 3 months. Eventually someone will ask your opinion on something. Don't screw this up. You will never get another opportunity to speak again if you do.
This is the safest way to meet other pilots.
 
saha said:
I'm working on a mobile app for pilots and I'm wondering if you all have any thoughts on how you've successfully connected with local pilots in the past? Local discussion boards? Twitter? A lot of flight clubs and flight school websites I've seen don't have discussion boards, so wondering what's missing in this equation, if anything.
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You want to meet pilots? Open a brothel!
 
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