Losing interest - thinking of selling

I won’t try to tell you what to do with yourself, but for the love of god don’t let the plane sit and rot into aluminum oxide.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Exceptionally intelligent people often lose interest in things once they master them. They constantly need new challenges. I had an older student (30s) in my Aircraft Systems class one semester, who was getting 100% on all the assignments and exams. I asked him what he had done before he came to us, and found he had been a surgeon. He aced all the flight training, including IFR, multi and taildragger, and went to the US and got his A&P. Saw a helicopter there and did that, too. Dropped off the radar; don't know where he went after that. Maybe he's a rocket scientist by now....
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Maybe he is a rocket surgeon now...
 
He made me understand my wife a little better. She has a history of mastering a job or a career or a hobby, then getting bored with it and goes on to master something else.
 
This is not advice about how to make it fun again, this is practical advice if you choose to sell.

While flying is fun, for many pilots it is just a way to get around. Since you have the plane, keep in mind that there are some things that are easier to do while owning a plane than while renting.

If you don't have it yet (and your plane is equipped for it) get your IFR rating before selling your plane. Many partnerships exclude pilots who do not have IR because of insurance. If you decide to get back into flying, an IR can give you more options even if you never fly in IMC.
If you are still on the fence, try to fly to the next hour threshold 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1200, 1500, etc. Having the hours to get a commercial, may give you options if you want to take a side gig or retirement job. 500/750 are common FO minimums (though less can be found), 1200 is 135 PIC minimum, and 1500 is ATP.

Sell your plane is not equivalent to not flying at all, so consider putting some time into maximizing the value that access to a plane offers.

If you just find yourself flying less, and know some pilots around you, consider forming a partnership or club so you can reduce the costs, keep the plane flying, and still have access to it when you want it.
 
A lot of good suggestions already.
Based upon my 39 year ownership of an Archer, you may find that your current aircraft is worth keeping despite your mood swings and checks a lot of boxes, and not just for the short term. But if it’s boredom with your plane, you may not have explored the different limits of your flight envelope. When you do, there is always a learning curve that can increase enjoyment and stimulation:

1)Getting your IR is one of them. Increasing your ability to use your plane can increase a lot, and with it flying it to higher standards, which in an of itself, will provide challenges.

2) when you plan flights to high density altitude locations or long cross counties, you learn limits of safe capability. Add that to a growing or changing family makeup, the challenges of weight and balance become a study in itself as to how to manage baggage and fuel trade offs to get to your destinations with reserves.

3) Updating your panel with or without glass coupled with GPS and GPSS with autopilot can change the character of your plane such that it flies the same but feels very different and rejuvenating. Add fuel flow and/or engine monitor, or maybe a stormscope like mine, It feels like a real transportation machine.

4)Plan those great cross country trips that sometimes can only be accomplished with your aircraft. It can pack amazingly different experiences on the same trip by flying through the Bahamas, or flying to Alaska, or trips to the national parks. Just the planning for these can refresh your spirit.

5) If aerobatics are required to get your adrenaline flowing, join a good aerobatic school and get into competitive aerobatics, as I did. You don’t need to change your plane for that, fly theirs. I used my Archer to get to the school and competitions.

I’ve gone through so many changes in perceived mission, and moods when I was not flying a lot, that I’m glad I never pulled the trigger on that Saratoga or got out of aviation. As an empty nester now, I have a great plane for this stage of life, possibly like yours.
 
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If I were just flying for the heck of it, I'd be flying a gyro or glider. Aerobatics is nice, but too hard on the body.
 
Set a challenge for yourself, like a new rating. I’m nine stars away from landing in all the United States. Also keeping a list of all the aviation museums I’ve flown to.
 
frfly172 said:
Set a challenge for yourself, like a new rating. I’m nine stars away from landing in all the United States. Also keeping a list of all the aviation museums I’ve flown to.
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And how do you plan on landing in Hawaii? :D I know.... rent a plane there and do it...
 
TexasAviation said:
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 that appeal is more about time savings than about "gee, this is really fun and exciting" like it used to be.

I'm also super excited about a new business venture I'm launching. That's what I think about when I wake up in the morning. Not aviation. It's definitely a change in interest as opposed to a lack of destinations and things to do, if that makes sense.
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It's pretty common for someone to lose interest in many of their existing activities when a new something comes along. If you're very focused on your new business venture, then it's not surprising that aviation is not as appealing as it has been. Once you get your venture up and going, you may find that aviation again piques your interest. Of course, that might be five years from now, so selling your airplane and flying with a club may be the better option for the time being. If you have to attend to ownership needs when you'd rather be working with your business, then aviation is going to start leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

I'd give it a couple of months before I put the Cherokee up for sale.
 
TexasAviation said:
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. But I'm sitting here on the ground feeling "meh" about flying when a year ago there was 100% chance I'd be up in my plane.

I guess I'm just getting bored with it. Never thought I'd say that.

Have y'all ever gone through a phase like that? I've got the plane, the time, the money ... just not the interest. It's bizarre.

If I don't start flying more, I'll want to sell my plane. Doesn't make any financial sense (and isn't good for the plane) to let it sit so long between flights. Makes more sense to rent from the local flying club than to own if this is my new norm. But I also don't want to sell and then regret it when the flying bug bites me again.
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Have you ever flown aerobatics (obviously not in the Cherokee)? Might be worth a lesson / demo flight in an acro machine...no better way to enjoy a local flight in my opinion.
 
To the OP: what you need is a new challenge. Get a tailwheel plane, work on the next rating such as instrument or commercial, move to a complex, etc.
 
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