Anxiety On Cross Country Stops

Sinistar

Sinistar

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Brad
Maybe the thread title isn't the best but here goes.

I have found that just about every time I have flown somewhere (cross country) and plan a extended full stop that I have had varying degrees of anxiety about getting going again. Sometimes enough that the stop (eg. restaurant, visiting, driving around) is a bit hard to really relax into and enjoy. When you see this on you tube videos, read forums or talk to friends they don't seem to mention it. The passengers really don't have a clue unless they are also a pilot. So is it just me?

I should note that quick stop on a cross country for gas or bathroom stop has never botherd me. It is the stops that seem to have open ended times such as food, meeting people to visit or leaving the airport to explore.

So when you guys and gals do your hamburger runs or overnight trips are you completely relaxed or do you also find yourself growing anxious about the return flight, checking wx, worrying about being back in time, etc?
 
Maybe a little, but I think it gets less and less with more experience. My first big cross country after my IFR ticket, we were gone for a week. I spent the whole week of vacation monitoring conditions on our route, watching forecast, and trying to decide if we would have to cut our trip short to get home.
 
I think there always a certain amount of anxiety. Your bird is at an unknown airport, will there be a maintenance issue, will the weather cooperate, is there something I've overlooked?

For me.. I generally have an attitude the trip is the adventure, otherwise I'd fly commercial. Taking this view makes the "unknowns" part of the joy, instead of anxiety.
 
There's never a story to tell about a flight where everything went right.

But to answer your question Brad, yeah, I get a little nervous when I have to park my plane for a weekend and leave it at the airport because my plane and the conditions around it are no longer under my control. Will someone try to break into it? Will someone run into it? etc.
 
Sinistar said:
Maybe the thread title isn't the best but here goes.

I have found that just about every time I have flown somewhere (cross country) and plan a extended full stop that I have had varying degrees of anxiety about getting going again. Sometimes enough that the stop (eg. restaurant, visiting, driving around) is a bit hard to really relax into and enjoy. When you see this on you tube videos, read forums or talk to friends they don't seem to mention it. The passengers really don't have a clue unless they are also a pilot. So is it just me?

I should note that quick stop on a cross country for gas or bathroom stop has never botherd me. It is the stops that seem to have open ended times such as food, meeting people to visit or leaving the airport to explore.

So when you guys and gals do your hamburger runs or overnight trips are you completely relaxed or do you also find yourself growing anxious about the return flight, checking wx, worrying about being back in time, etc?
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I always ‘what if the airplane breaks.’ If I can’t deal with gettin stuck there for awhile I don’t go. So no, I don’t worry about it while I’m there.
 
I think I know the feeling, especially compared to a trip where you're driving. My mind is always a bit preoccupied when I have a cross country flight in the next 24 hours.

NordicDave said:
For me.. I generally have an attitude the trip is the adventure, otherwise I'd fly commercial. Taking this view makes the "unknowns" part of the joy, instead of anxiety.
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True enough, although it can be a harder sell to your passengers sometimes.
 
I've only done hamburger type runs, no over nighters thus far. I'll have concerns about weather while I'm eating/exploring the area, but that's because I live in the south east and during the summer thunderstorms pop up out of no where all the time.
 
You are launching into the air in a 40-50 year old metal thing with 1940-1950s technology..... I will just stop there.
 
eman1200 said:
Anxious, nope. Worried, nope. Check weather, yup.
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i'll second that. the only issue I've ever had on a XC was a flat nose wheel tire during the pre-flight for the return trip. rental plane and ended up having to rent a car to drive home.
 
Not sure I understand what you mean...what is it that you are worried about? The weather changing? Or being back in time for...???
 
Anxious? Worried? Sounds like you don't have a viable plan B and/or you are unwilling to execute it. That's a dangerous mindset.
 
A lot of theta anxiety can come from not knowing what to expect. A bit of fear of the unknown perhaps dealing with new locations and unknown variables.

That subsides with experience.

Single best thing I have ever done in GA was a flight from Florida to California as a relatively noob pilot. That trip built an extreme about of confidence in dealing with a ton of variables. Get out and go fly!
 
Well I have the same anxiety as you do in your scenario.

The essence of it is the fact that you can't make that final decision because of the extended nature of the stop.

I think it has something to do with the concept of letting your mind move on to something else. When you don't know the departure time, you can't plan the flight. When you can't plan the flight, something in the back of your mind says, "there's this very important thing I have to do, but I can't do it".

It is this nagging thought that causes the anxiety. Our mind wants to resolve this important decision and planning process but it can't do it until we set the departure time.

If you figure out a way of resolving this, I would like to hear it!
 
eman1200 said:
Anxious, nope. Worried, nope. Check weather, yup.
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^that.
I get really weather focused and that kinda keeps me from relaxing. I don’t have my IFR yet so I am limited to what I can return in. I’ve already gotten stuck somewhere for 7 hours past when I wanted to leave. Not terrible but with a longer trip I get nervene about that. If weather starts changing I start really looking at the maps seemingly every few min, even though they don’t update that often. With time and the IFR I think thatbwill get better
 
I totally hear ya.
While my passengers enjoy the burger and fries, I'll be barely nibbling at my food, and looking out the window at the clouds wondering what kinds of things might get me "stuck here".

(Too many memories of that awkward "uh, can't come into work today" phone call, I guess. Got stuck on Long Island for four days once...)

An overnight trip actually is better in this regard. Because it forces you to set flight concerns aside until the morning, I actually find it easier to relax.
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. I fly about 2 hours to visit my parents once a month and every time I go i check to make sure the master switch is off at least 10 times.
 
benyflyguy said:
^that.
I get really weather focused and that kinda keeps me from relaxing. I don’t have my IFR yet so I am limited to what I can return in. I’ve already gotten stuck somewhere for 7 hours past when I wanted to leave. Not terrible but with a longer trip I get nervene about that. If weather starts changing I start really looking at the maps seemingly every few min, even though they don’t update that often. With time and the IFR I think thatbwill get better
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Might be a "glass half full vs glass half empty" thing...some of my best adventures have been after I've been stuck somewhere.
 
yetti said:
You are launching into the air in a 40-50 year old metal thing with 1940-1950s technology..... I will just stop there.
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LOL.
You think the newer airframes fly with different physics?
 
The only time I get nervous is when the weather's low and I have no available information to know how low. It's hard to judge how much space there is between tree tops and cloud base. If I have cell service and weather apps it's just a matter of processing information.
 
Sinistar said:
...So when you guys and gals do your hamburger runs or overnight trips are you completely relaxed or do you also find yourself growing anxious about the return flight, checking wx, worrying about being back in time, etc?
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Sounds like the foundation of get-home-itis. A disease that is occasionally fatal.
Enjoy the moment (that's why most of us fly, isn't it?), accept what you can't control (including the weather), manage your passengers expectations accordingly.

Pilots are the only people I know that get sunburned on the underside of their chins, we spend so much time looking up at the sky.
 
Trevor3431 said:
I know exactly what you are talking about. I fly about 2 hours to visit my parents once a month and every time I go i check to make sure the master switch is off at least 10 times.
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That's not anxiety, that's OCD!

Hint: leave the beacon switch in the "on" position as a default. Hard for you or anyone else to not notice. Ask me how I know...
 
Your anxiety should decline as you make more trips. One thing you must realize is that any long trip in a light single could result in a delay going away or coming home. Time to spare, go by air. It happens even if IFR rated.

I've taken our little Grumman as far as Florida and back. Stuff happens occasionally. Flat tire, failed magneto coil, leaky brake line, #2 nav gone T/U, missing exhaust manifold nut over the years... mostly easy to fix stuff. Wx stranded us in Maine one time in late summer. Our return day was not fit to fly in a small plane. We spent an extra day on vacation and returned the next day. Been forced down by afternoon thundershowers down south...normal many days in the summer. So we stopped overnight and continued home the next day. Stay flexible, stay safe. Having an IR is a big plus. It takes all the worry out of flying in MVFR conditions.

And yes, it is not unusual to experience some level of anxiety when faced with new challenges. I see it in the athletes I coach and students I have taught. It subsides with experience where it is recognized that positive outcomes are achievable, and the challenges are not as unpleasant as feared.
 
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Depends on the weather, but generally, no, no anxiety like that. I sometimes get anxious parking my car/truck/motorcycle somewhere I'm not sure about, though. My most anxious was a motorcycle camping trip to Rock Island off the tip of WI's Door County. On the ferry ride to Washington Island, I found a sheet metal screw in my brand new rear tire. Everything was closed for the 4th of July weekend. Left the bike parked at the Rock Island ferry and just had to hope it was still holding air upon my return a few days later (it was). Luckily, there was enough fermented distraction around the campfire to be able to enjoy myself a bit, but it was always at the back of my mind. I found a cup of soap-water before I headed home and was able to verify the screw had not punctured the tire. All good.

I'm not rich by any stretch, but I now have a few different credit cards with stupid limits, so I always have some comfort in the fact that I can, if needed, throw enough money at most problems to make them go away at least temporarily. Those problems that money won't fix, I should have planned for better.

Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
 
Well Brad already knows this story, but my last XC was in Duluth with 2 Pax and a 4.5 hrs layover where they seem to enjoy every tiny bit of eating, roaming around and watching seagulls where i was checking on WX the entire freaking time and calling the briefer 3 times. while coming back, i flew lower than i normally do due to a cloud deck, and it ended up being awesome to see the fall colors at 2300 AGL. as my pax kept pointing me to the various colorful trees under us, the thread here on choosing to land on evergreen vs pine trees (or something similar to that effect) came to mind, and when she was pointing out how those open pastures/farm are still lush green surrounded by yellow and red trees... all i could think was.. yupp...seen that way before you did since thats where am gonna land if the fan stops.

i relax much more when there are no pax
 
eman1200 said:
I get anxious when I CAN'T take a cross country. like now. can't go anywhere, AAAAAAHHHHHHH!
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I just came out of an 11 month "annual". I've clocked 26 hours in the last month. Making up for lost time.
 
"What if I can't get home in time for work (or kids to school or whatever) on Monday?" - that is, ultimately, the issue that causes a lot of the anxiety. You might think you're focused on "what if the weather for the return isn't good enough" but really you're focused on "what if I have to stay an extra day" which turns into "what if I miss work on Monday" which turns into "will that project be delayed because I'm not there" which turns into....

I'm fortunate now to be in a place where I don't have to get the kids home for school and (being a software contractor) I can work from wherever I happen to be (as long as there's a broadband connection). But that doesn't keep the mind from running away with the "what if" scenarios...
 
Always have a plan B. When we traveled while I was still working I always had plenty of vacation to take time off if needed. I would take unpaid leave if I had to. My bride and I always looked at our travels as an adventure. If the trip went off without a hitch, great. Prior to obtaining my IR, if we got stuck it made for a more interesting adventure. Worst case scenario, rent a car, get to an airport with commercial service and fly home. Never force the issue to get home.

I planned a Saturday date night (afternoon) lunch run to Williamsburg VA with my bride and our American Mastiff. The restaurant (Charly's) allows dogs at their outside tables. Off we went, about an hour flight and almost 3.5 by car. When I landed my nose wheel went flat but I managed to clear the runway. The guy in the shop was at lunch so we decided on lunch, then checked back in. My bride and our Mastiff spent the entire time in the repair shop office while I helped get the tire changed.

Plan B was a rental car or sending Mary and the dog home on a part 135 charter that was dead heading home from the Carolinas to our home base. We had a great lunch, the tire got fixed, we all loaded up and headed home.

It's not the destination, honestly, its all about the journey!
 
Time to spare ,go by air. I fly up and down the east coast twice a year,and usually a couple of long cross countries. I always figure I’m going to get stuck somewhere during the trip. So I plan stops that I won’t mind being stuck at,also make sure maintenance is available. Even being IFR current,sometimes you just can’t go.
 
tawood said:
Not sure I understand what you mean...what is it that you are worried about? The weather changing? Or being back in time for...???
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I guess for me its just a few things:

#1 Crosswinds at my return point. I am not a crosswind guru and my home airport only has one runway. Fortunately, I have 2 decent options within 30 miles of my home so they are always my backup. Yet I know it would be a PITA to have to divert. The good news is that my wife is pilot and would immediately understand.

#2 Clouds. Pretty explanatory. Not being instrument rated I do not want venture into them until I am properly trained. So I find myself watching ceilings more closely if they were a bit low to start with. In this case my same nearby divert points for winds would not be an option so this means probably just leaving the plane and getting a ride home.

#3 Overnight storage summer storms (Hail / High Winds) or winter (frost/snow). Pretty much sums it up. I know how to tie it down pretty good. But that won't stop hail or extremely high winds. Back at our hangar, it is made of huge steel I-beams everywhere and galvanized steel. I swear it would survive a F5 right after Hurricane.

#4 Back In Time. This is actually a distant 4th for me. I know if I have to wait I have to wait or abort or divert. Since I haven't been flying around for work or on work days its really just family stuff.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Maybe a little, but I think it gets less and less with more experience. My first big cross country after my IFR ticket, we were gone for a week. I spent the whole week of vacation monitoring conditions on our route, watching forecast, and trying to decide if we would have to cut our trip short to get home.
Click to expand...

Aahhh...well, I have done the same thing. I have 1100 hrs, and 350 XC, but sometimes I feel like I have 1100 hrs one hour at a time. Haven’t flown to much XC in the last 10 years. Like someone said earlier, the more you do it, the more comfortable you will get. Nothing like experience to breed additional confidence. I need to get back to more XC flying like I did in my youth. Ahhh to be young again!
 
Matthew K said:
I've only done hamburger type runs, no over nighters thus far. I'll have concerns about weather while I'm eating/exploring the area, but that's because I live in the south east and during the summer thunderstorms pop up out of no where all the time.
Click to expand...

Someone once said, the best safety item you can carry is a credit card! I have the say concerns, but realize a lot of storm activity dies down as the sun sets. Less turbulence as well.
 
kath said:
I totally hear ya.
While my passengers enjoy the burger and fries, I'll be barely nibbling at my food, and looking out the window at the clouds wondering what kinds of things might get me "stuck here".
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EXACTLY!!! On my last cross country as we arrived at the airport to meet friends at the restaurant I had to fly through some rain (I'm okay with that). But the freezing level was just right above us. I flew along the edge until it the shortest distance to the airport. I then canceled FF to talk to the Tower. He said Ceilings 11K and visibility 6 miles. So I turned into the rain ready to reverse course if it started freezing to the windshield. Nada. But then as we came out of it, there was about 10 seconds of snowflakes. We landed. My friends wife meeting us said "Hey its been snowing here." On the inside I am like (I know!). So while they ate and chatted I was looking to see if snowed again, etc. Finally I just stepped out and called the briefer...all was good...took my time and grabbed the friend that flew with me. That event is what made me think about it. Basically I enjoyed about 70% of that lunch run but the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes my head was into wx vs chatting it up.

kath said:
An overnight trip actually is better in this regard. Because it forces you to set flight concerns aside until the morning, I actually find it easier to relax.
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Totally agree. I have done at least 2 overnight cross countries. In each case when we get there its like...I'm here. No more flying today. Relax!!! But the next day I start watching the weather checking to see if we need to leave early or can stay until Sunday. At that point I mainly worry about hail as we only go in the summer. We have had no luck finding a hangar at that specific airport or I think we would be totally relaxed.
 
Sinistar said:
I guess for me its just a few things:

#1 Crosswinds at my return point. I am not a crosswind guru and my home airport only has one runway. Fortunately, I have 2 decent options within 30 miles of my home so they are always my backup. Yet I know it would be a PITA to have to divert. The good news is that my wife is pilot and would immediately understand.

#2 Clouds. Pretty explanatory. Not being instrument rated I do not want venture into them until I am properly trained. So I find myself watching ceilings more closely if they were a bit low to start with. In this case my same nearby divert points for winds would not be an option so this means probably just leaving the plane and getting a ride home.

#3 Overnight storage summer storms (Hail / High Winds) or winter (frost/snow). Pretty much sums it up. I know how to tie it down pretty good. But that won't stop hail or extremely high winds. Back at our hangar, it is made of huge steel I-beams everywhere and galvanized steel. I swear it would survive a F5 right after Hurricane.

#4 Back In Time. This is actually a distant 4th for me. I know if I have to wait I have to wait or abort or divert. Since I haven't been flying around for work or on work days its really just family stuff.
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#1 and #2 are a function of getting better at reading and interpreting weather information. For a 24 to 36 hour trip, you should be able to determine with a fair degree of accuracy what the wind and clouds will be like at both ends. Watch forecasts over consecutive days for both ends to determine if that front that was originally supposed to come through on Monday is now supposed to arrive on Sunday morning, etc. etc.

#3 is an easy one - call ahead to the airport you're flying to and inquire about the cost of an overnight hangar instead of a tiedown.

And overall, I think it's a matter of gaining more experience and not pushing it on days when you're not sure what the weather is doing.
 
Mr.T said:
"What if I can't get home in time for work (or kids to school or whatever) on Monday?" - that is, ultimately, the issue that causes a lot of the anxiety. You might think you're focused on "what if the weather for the return isn't good enough" but really you're focused on "what if I have to stay an extra day" which turns into "what if I miss work on Monday" which turns into "will that project be delayed because I'm not there" which turns into....
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Very good point!!!
 
Well it would seem I am not alone.

Maybe its safe to say pilots with less hours and/or less experiences are a bit more likely to get anxious or nervous or apprehensive or whatever it is. As I experience these things I will learn to understand I can not control them.

A few have mentioned get-there-its. Maybe that is it but I think its more of general nervousness of things not going according to plans if too much time is taken.
 
Mr.T said:
#3 is an easy one - call ahead to the airport you're flying to and inquire about the cost of an overnight hangar instead of a tiedown.
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I wish!

At the airport we are mostly likely to overnight there is a FBO. We have called twice. On both occasions they have said that if we can arrive before they close Friday at 5pm we can park the plane inside. That is kinda-good but what if we're running late. But then they complicate it more saying they don't want to open the hangar until Monday morning. We pressed a bit and they said they could come out Sunday afternoon at a fixed time. However, if we need to leave Saturday night or Sunday morning we can't get at the plane. So we just never use it. I don't think that hangar challenge is typical as most of the bigger FBO's are much more accommodating. But I am not giving them my business if they don't have more options. Heck, usually someone up there wants a Saturday flight too and even that wouldn't be possible.

I think I need to purposely fly to a normal FBO and overnight the plane in their hangar to have more normal experience :)
 
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