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I’m just curious ... how’s the pandemic affecting your logbook? Personally, I’ve flown very little since March. I tend to fly for social reasons - visit friends and family, see museums, go to concerts, etc. - and almost all of that has ground to a halt. I used to average twice a week. Now I’m...

The Christmas lights at Garvan Woodland Gardens are fantastic! Perfect for kids, but adults would be impressed too. It’s also great for walking during the day. The old bathhouses are cool. One is owned by the national parks service with free admission. Another has art exhibits on the weekends...

If your one and only option is to borrow money, then I think it would be a terrible, ridiculous, awful idea to buy a plane. I'm very much in the "pay cash for toys" crowd. That makes toys more fun because you're not stressed about the money. Personally, I saved up several years until I could...

It is here in rural Texas! They ride horses and everything.

I remember my dad watching some scare journalism in the 1980s ("60 Minutes," maybe?) about how ultralights were death traps. That was his takeaway. I don't know much about them. Seems like with lower speeds and the ability to land almost anywhere if the engine fails, they'd be pretty safe...

I'm in North Texas, just east of Dallas. It's not that I can't find potential fly-ins and places to go. There are fly-ins pretty much every weekend this time of year. It's that flying in general has lost its appeal. I still like having the option of taking my own plane for regional trips, but...

I got my PPL five years ago and bought a Cherokee three years ago. I've flown religiously, once or twice a week, and absolutely loved it ... until recently. Since the start of the year, I've only flown a handful of times. Tonight is a great example. Beautiful weather. Perfect night for flying...

I think you already know this, but there’s no such thing as a normal financial month when you own a plane. The expenses will be all over the map depending on how much you fly and what breaks. I fly an old Cherokee 180. Great plane for a first-time owner. Simple, affordable and reasonably...

Owning a plane is sort of like getting your pilot's license. I tell people that anybody can do it, but it's not necessarily a good fit right at this moment for everybody. You have to be at a point where your finances, time and motivation all line up. So take steps to get to that point if you're...

Yeah, it's definitely more rural out this direction! Another place you might want to look: Heath, next to Rockwall on Lake Ray Hubbard. It's closer to Dallas. A bit more suburban. More upscale. They've got a lot of nice houses on big lots. Not quite "acreage" in most cases, more like 1-acre...

McKinney used to be a distinct city, but today it's become very suburban. It's mile after mile of cookie-cutter houses on tiny lots. You can still find acreage north of McKinney, but it's expensive because the Dallas sprawl is rapidly growing in that direction. I would suggest looking into the...

Wow, sounds like quite an adventure! No, it's not typical. And I'm surprised your instructor would send you out when the weather was "a little iffy." My CFI required really good, calm weather for my solo cross country - thank goodness! I was nervous enough even with clear skies and light winds...

I've watched all the King Schools instrument rating videos and feel pretty overwhelmed about taking the written exam. It's like drinking from a firehose. I know I can do it, but I've got a whole lot of practice tests and more studying before I'm confident I have all the material down. In the...

Y'all sure can be melodramatic! "Final nails" ... "killing GA" ... jeez! If we're facing aviation Armageddon, somebody should tell the 10 or 12 pilots I heard buzzing around my tiny slice of East Texas last night at sunset. Guess I'm too busy burning avgas to worry about this kind of stuff :)...

I just started working on my instrument rating. Bought the King Schools videos and love what I'm learning so far. I've also heard a home simulator can be useful for instrument training, so I bought X Plane and a yoke. (I know I can't log the time ... don't worry.) So far, I've just flown the...

I don't see a problem with it. I've been a private pilot for three years and just added my UAS certificate to do commercial drone work (I have a video production business). And there's a lot of overlap between operating a drone properly and flying an airplane. You have to know airspace. You...

My Cherokee's first annual is coming up in February. Are there any "while you're in there" type upgrades that you'd recommend to do when the plane's opened up? Example: I've been needing some new carpet. Since the seats, etc, will be out for the annual, it makes sense to go ahead and put down...

That's tragic! So heartbreaking for the families. I stopped for fuel in Commerce, about 40 miles east of T31 Aero Country, right around when this collision happened. Commerce shares the same CTAF frequency (122.9), and I heard several planes at T31 when I was there. Pilots there were making...

Some interesting responses! I'm in my mid-30s, own a Cherokee and am addicted to flying. I've been up three times this week. Since it's another sunny day, let's call it four times after this afternoon. So with any luck, there will be at least one GA pilot buzzing around for the next 40 years :)...

After buying my first plane several months ago, and finally completing the paperwork to the FAA's satisfaction, I received my registration in the mail today. Yipee!! Until ... I noticed the FAA misspelled my last name on the registration. Ugh. My application was correct. All their...