10+

[spiderweb]

For me it has been over a decade since I started flying. What are your thoughts and feelings towards aviation these days? Have they changed much since you started?

 

[frfly172]

Changed? There is no comparison to flying now and flying in the 70s. Came back to flying in the 90s after taking a long time off. Glad I came back ,now may be a lot harder.

 

[Geico266]

I've been flying for 12 years, a lot has changed. When I started flying Garmin had just come out with a handheld GPS called the "Pilot III". They were not recommended by CFI's. Most deemed them as "unreliable".

Experimental avionics today is more advanced (so I've been told) than most airliners, and the space shuttle. Relatively cheap too.

 

[bbchien]

"Then more years!" Ten more Years!"

Flying has gone to heck in a handbasket mostly because we failed to train enough Condoleeza Rice-types so that they understood aviation as more than a "rich man's security threat".

I'm also afraid we are going to have to be more selective about who we train into aviation- the record for ADIZ incursion(s), despite the inherent ridiculousness, is regarded by our culture as a threat and everytime one of us blows it again on our collective behalf, it gets worse.

Until we get more reasonable government, I don't see this getting any better.

So enjoy the next ten years. They are the only 10 you may get.

 

[spiderweb]

All of this is interesting.

I've noted the technology changes, and the changes in how the government approaches security.

But I still feel the same thrill as I line up and push that throttle forward, or nail an approach, or climb up above a blanket of clouds into smooth air.

I love flying just as much as the first day I took my discovery flight.

 

[LDJones]

I've been flying for 12 years, a lot has changed. When I started flying Garmin had just come out with a handheld GPS called the "Pilot III". They were not recommended by CFI's. Most deemed them as "unreliable".

Experimental avionics today is more advanced (so I've been told) than most airliners, and the space shuttle. Relatively cheap too.

Huh? I had a Lowrance AirMap 500 in 1998 and recommended them to all my students! Later upgraded to the Garmin 295....that color was amazing!

In 35 years it's changed a lot. It was nice being able to pop into the FSDO and write any exam at no cost. The face-to-face weather briefing at the FSS were also very educational, if not overly conservative. $1 avgas was nice, too.

 

[azure]

Huh? I had a Lowrance AirMap 500 in 1998 and recommended them to all my students! Later upgraded to the Garmin 295....that color was amazing!

I remember the 195 (or was it 196 -- it was BW) -- Maverick had one and had to use it once "in anger"... and when I started seriously thinking about getting my instrument ticket, I looked forward to getting a 296 lol!

The face-to-face weather briefing at the FSS were also very educational, if not overly conservative. $1 avgas was nice, too.

I had a face-to-face briefing two years ago at PTK. It was during operation Good Cheer. You're right, as a routine way to get information, it's a thing of the past. But I do like briefing with the iPad and ForeFlight.

I don't remember $1 avgas, but $2.30 avgas was sure nice too!

 

[azure]

All of this is interesting.

I've noted the technology changes, and the changes in how the government approaches security.

But I still feel the same thrill as I line up and push that throttle forward, or nail an approach, or climb up above a blanket of clouds into smooth air.

I love flying just as much as the first day I took my discovery flight.

Ben, I feel similarly, for the moment anyway. But I just got my IR earlier this year, and the thrill of nailing an approach in actual hasn't had a chance to go away yet. I don't know if I'll still feel the same way in 3 years when oil is $160 a barrel and avgas is up to $10/gal (or worse).

 

[spiderweb]

Ben, I feel similarly, for the moment anyway. But I just got my IR earlier this year, and the thrill of nailing an approach in actual hasn't had a chance to go away yet. I don't know if I'll still feel the same way in 3 years when oil is $160 a barrel and avgas is up to $10/gal (or worse).

If it means anything, I got my IR in 2005, and 8 years later it feels just as satisfying to precisely fly an approach to minimums.

 

[ClimbnSink]

Suckers. You get the gov't you deserve. Flying future is fine for those unconcerned with all the petty rules.

 

[Ted]

I'm at a bit over 6 years. Not much has changed in that time period, and I haven't found any of it too hard or overly burdensome.

 

[nddons]

I got my PPL on 12/7/2005. I don't think GA has changed exponentially since then (I learned in a Symphony with dual 430s), except that ForeFlight has been a game changer. I kind of worry about pilotage and dead reckoning skills for future pilots.

For me, GA changed enormously when I got my IR on 9/30/2010. It has made me a more precise pilot, and enjoyed learning the system and it's capabilities.

 

[Bob Noel]

I started in 1987.

Quite a lot has changed, some for the better, some worse (much worse).

You all can figure out where DHS, TSA, etc etc fits in.

 

[alfadog]

I got my PPL in 1976 and then quit until 2010. Flying is a blast, no complaints here.

 

[Jay Honeck]

All of this is interesting.

I've noted the technology changes, and the changes in how the government approaches security.

But I still feel the same thrill as I line up and push that throttle forward, or nail an approach, or climb up above a blanket of clouds into smooth air.

I love flying just as much as the first day I took my discovery flight.

Same here! I'm in my 21st year of aviating, and -- although EVERYTHING has changed for the better, as far as navigation and on-board weather information is concerned -- some things (like the cost of fuel, government intrusiveness, etc.) are worse.

But the flying itself never changes. If I ever get bored with launching myself bodily through the sky, shoot me -- cuz I'll be brain dead already. :wink2:

Flying was *starting* to become a bit dry and routine, flying the same truck straight and level for 11 years (although it never got "boring", per se) -- but when we bought the RV last June I went right back to being thrilled every time we fly.

With this plane I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning when I'm driving to the airport, and the rush of pushing in the throttle and climbing out like a homesick angel never gets dull! And the joy of putting "green over blue" with aerobatics has created a whole new passion, and I can't imagine it ever getting dull.

As long as I can physically do it, I will fly. One way or another! Congrats on the anniversary!

 

[spiderweb]

Same here! I'm in my 21st year of aviating, and -- although EVERYTHING has changed for the better, as far as navigation and on-board weather information is concerned -- some things (like the cost of fuel, government intrusiveness, etc.) are worse.

But the flying itself never changes. If I ever get bored with launching myself bodily through the sky, shoot me -- cuz I'll be brain dead already. :wink2:

Flying was *starting* to become a bit dry and routine, flying the same truck straight and level for 11 years (although it never got "boring", per se) -- but when we bought the RV last June I went right back to being thrilled every time we fly.

With this plane I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning when I'm driving to the airport, and the rush of pushing in the throttle and climbing out like a homesick angel never gets dull! And the joy of putting "green over blue" with aerobatics has created a whole new passion, and I can't imagine it ever getting dull.

As long as I can physically do it, I will fly. One way or another! Congrats on the anniversary!

Sounds great, Jay!

 

[frfly172]

Think the garmin handhelds started with the 150 ,then 160 ,190,195,then the color 96 series, I started with the large screen 155 and traded up with the new models ,ended up with the 496.

 

[Marauder]

Think the garmin handhelds started with the 150 ,then 160 ,190,195,then the color 96 series, I started with the large screen 155 and traded up with the new models ,ended up with the 496.

The first Garmin portable was the GPS 55, non moving map: http://youtu.be/A8WI9lEtirY

The 95XL was a moving map version that led to the string of XXX models.

 

[N2124v]

I've got a Garmin GPS 100 with a yellow tag and everything, including a rack, to install it! It was state of the art a decade ago.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

For me it has been over a decade since I started flying. What are your thoughts and feelings towards aviation these days? Have they changed much since you started?

Still love the flying. Some things have been better ($1.90 avgas), some have been worse (anyone remember "enhanced class B"?), and whether my growing cynicism is due to my advancing age or whether the future really doesn't look as bright, I'm not sure.

But boy oh boy, do I still love pushing the throttle forward, pulling the yoke back, tucking the gear into the wells, and leaving daily life behind.

 

[Bill]

But boy oh boy, do I still love pushing the throttle forward, pulling the yoke back, tucking the gear into the wells, and leaving daily life behind.

I went local flying Saturday, and on my last leg I flew over one of the largest malls in TN. I'm not one for idle chitchat on tower's freq, but the channel was clear. I clicked the mic and said "I'd much reather be up here flying than down there at the mall on this fine Saturday." Tower: *click* "Amen, brother"

 

[tmyers]

I remember the 195 (or was it 196 -- it was BW) -- Maverick had one and had to use it once "in anger"... and when I started seriously thinking about getting my instrument ticket, I looked forward to getting a 296 lol!


I had a face-to-face briefing two years ago at PTK. It was during operation Good Cheer. You're right, as a routine way to get information, it's a thing of the past. But I do like briefing with the iPad and ForeFlight.

I don't remember $1 avgas, but $2.30 avgas was sure nice too!

I still have a Garmin 195 in the storage cabinet at the hangar. Loved that thing.

I do not remember the price of Avgas but I do remember renting a Club Arrow II for $33/hour WET!! The gas couldn't have been much more than a dollar.

 

[Ted]

Biggest threats to the future seem to be fuel prices and cost of parts that will continue to cost people out. One interesting thing was an article from Mike Bush I read. He wrote it about 10 years ago, and said the rule of thumb on aircraft total cost was fuel cost x4. These days it's more like fuel cost x2 because fuel has gone up.

Still, I look at the travel we did for Thanksgiving this weekend and see the plane as a decent cost, but I would certainly be happier if fuel cost even $1/gallon less and I was able to do more of my own work.

 

[timwinters]

July 20, 2002. I wrote a check for a '57 172, looked at it, scratched my head, and said "gee, I guess I should learn how to fly, eh?". Had my PPL a few months later, and an IR in 2005 (I think...maybe 2004) and have really enjoyed the ride.

Changes? The typical technological advances, just like all other fields have experienced. On the government front, I haven't experienced anything too onerous during the last decade. A benefit, I guess, of living in fly-over middle America.

Oh, and I threw the cigarettes away on July 20, 2002 also.

 

[bnt83]

I've been flying for 12 years, a lot has changed. When I started flying Garmin had just come out with a handheld GPS called the "Pilot III". They were not recommended by CFI's. Most deemed them as "unreliable".

Experimental avionics today is more advanced (so I've been told) than most airliners, and the space shuttle. Relatively cheap too.

We had a non-aviation Garmin III in a 1962 Cessna 150

 

[Geico266]

We had a non-aviation Garmin III in a 1962 Cessna 150

Yep! That was the street version!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Biggest threats to the future seem to be fuel prices and cost of parts that will continue to cost people out. One interesting thing was an article from Mike Bush I read. He wrote it about 10 years ago, and said the rule of thumb on aircraft total cost was fuel cost x4. These days it's more like fuel cost x2 because fuel has gone up.

Funny... 10 years ago I remember people talking about how fuel x2 was a good rule of thumb but fuel x3 might be more appropriate, especially if you flew fewer hours, due to insurance and parts costs rising.

Then, fuel rocketed up and we're back down in the multiplier again! I've never heard anyone say x4.

 

[timwinters]

I've never heard anyone say x4.

you don't fly a twin!

 

[Ted]

Funny... 10 years ago I remember people talking about how fuel x2 was a good rule of thumb but fuel x3 might be more appropriate, especially if you flew fewer hours, due to insurance and parts costs rising.

Then, fuel rocketed up and we're back down in the multiplier again! I've never heard anyone say x4.

Who knows where his came from. But the fuel x2 has proven pretty accurate for us overall. I haven't really found twins to be worse in this regard, but I think something like a Cherokee/172 would be lower since there's less to break on them.

 

[Everskyward]

For me it has been over a decade since I started flying. What are your thoughts and feelings towards aviation these days? Have they changed much since you started?

I learned to fly in 1977 and I think that the biggest change, by far, has been the avionics technology.

 

[Clark1961]

I learned to fly in 1977 and I think that the biggest change, by far, has been the avionics technology.

The changes in the laws of physics required by the RVs didn't bother you?

 

[Everskyward]

The changes in the laws of physics required by the RVs didn't bother you?

I haven't gotten the chance to test that theory yet. I have only flown an RV for a few minutes in cruise and we didn't do any zoom climbs.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Who knows where his came from. But the fuel x2 has proven pretty accurate for us overall. I haven't really found twins to be worse in this regard, but I think something like a Cherokee/172 would be lower since there's less to break on them.

Yeah, but they can be expensive too. Our old Archer (the one we sold) was in the $50-$60/hr range just for maintenance (8,000-hr airframe). The 182 had a $15,000 surprise one summer, and that was before we re-did the engine. Overall, we put more than the value of the airframe into maintenance in the last 5 years we had her.

 

[Ted]

Yeah, but they can be expensive too. Our old Archer (the one we sold) was in the $50-$60/hr range just for maintenance (8,000-hr airframe). The 182 had a $15,000 surprise one summer, and that was before we re-did the engine. Overall, we put more than the value of the airframe into maintenance in the last 5 years we had her.

I think for old airframes with low values that is a common number.

 

[Jay Honeck]

We had a non-aviation Garmin III in a 1962 Cessna 150

Heh. Our first GPS was a Magellan model made for BOATING.

I still remember laboriously entering the lat/long of every airport in SE Wisconsin... And the moving "map" was wire frame.

I'm glad those days are gone.

 

[John Baker]

The FAA bureaucracy and finances finally did me in, I had to give it up entirely.

-John

 

[Dav8or]

I started flying in 1998. I did not own an airplane until 2010, so I can't comment too much on the changes in ownership. The biggest changes I have seen have been the cost of fuel, which I believe has out paced inflation and the character and feeling one gets at GA airports these days. KOAK, Oakland North field used to be much more vibrant with lots of transient planes, a much fuller ramp and you could walk wherever. Now it seems repressed and more like prison camp with nothing but high prices on the other side of the barbed wire.

Flying out to smaller and more remote fields in Nor Cal also reflects a decline and feeling of hopelessness. Less planes in the pattern, closed restaurants, greater numbers of rotting planes on the ramp and loads of unused tie downs. There are two airports in my logbook that I visited that now no longer exist. I expect lots more to come by what I observe.

There have been changes for the better though, I see that in two areas. One in the cockpit and the other in the garages of America. The revolution in avionics with the digital age is long over due and it is really nice to see it being embraced by pilots. It's really changing the way we fly and IMO, that is a great thing. The old ways were cutting edge for the 1960-70s, but it's a bunch of crap that needs to go at this point. We still have a ways to go in the cockpit IMO, but we're much closer now.

The level of sophistication, uniform construction and overall availability of the EAB planes is really a bright spot. The planes are getting better and more capable, the kits easier to finish and lots more are showing up on the used market. Many kits now have lots of flight hours on them and the record of reliability and handling is better known. More and more pilots of certified planes are turning to the EAB plane because they offer value and are less scary than they once were. This is a good thing, because the production of certified planes has been pretty much forced down a bureaucratic rabbit hole... again.

So things have changed, some for the better, but sadly, most for the worse IMO and this is reflected in under utilized and nearly abandoned airports across America.

 

[Brad Z]

I soloed in 10/93 and got my ticket in 1/94. Back then, I remember getting exciting renting the 172 on the line with DME. A year later, I got a hold of a Garmin 45 Boating GPS that would only work up to 99kts. I had to slow down to get a fix

Technology has certainly improved. I don't love the security changes that have evolved over the last two decades, but I play the game because I enjoy flying.