That Burned Out Feeling... Seeking Advice!

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jlevs44

Filing Flight Plan
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Dec 24, 2014
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jlevs
Hey guys,

I'm seeking advice on this issue that I've been having.

I have been a certified private pilot for the last half year. Just for some other background information, I am also a full time college student at UC Berkeley.

From a young age I was really into aviation. I went to the airports when I was two just to watch the planes land. Now, at 19 years of age, I have my license, but my confidence and enthusiasm have steadily decreased since my first day of training.

I soloed very early on, at around 14-15 hours. I was learning everything in a timely manner and was very excited as I progressed through training. After around 38 hours, I finished my long cross country and was essentially ready for my test, except for the technical knowledge part.

I spend the next month implementing knowledge, but every day I flew, I did the same exact flight, and I would do this three to four times a week. I quickly burned through 38 more hours during this 3 month time span.

During these three months I got really burned out. I began performing in the air at a lower level than I had previously, which may explain the extra 38 hours. I felt that my instructor had poorly instructed me and I subsequently failed my stage 3 check. This was a real confidence shock to me. I took my pilot test a few weeks later and failed it twice in a row, which even shocked my confidence further.

When I step into a plane, I fly it pretty well nowadays, absolutely nailing my landings and I feel in control... but I for some reason now get a lot of anxiety during nights before flights. This has been causing me to lose some of my intrinsic motivation for flight, and I really want that back.

I still love flying, but I haven't been flying as much because of this anxiety. This has also caused me to reconsider going after instrument training.

Is this from flight training?
My instructor was one of those yelling ones. Whenever I missed only the smallest part of the maneuver, he would call me a failure. Then he would blame me for missing questions that he never instructed me in.

I have not told anyone at the academy about this because I have been afraid of their judgment.

What would you recommend that I do in order to regain my confidence and my enthusiasm for flying? Should I take a break?

Feel free to ask me for more details.
 
Give yourself some credit. You have a lot going on. Prioritize. If aviation isn't the most important thing right now? Give it a break. You have lots of time.
 
Go do a tailwheel/aerobatic course. It's fun and will give you confidence as now you can fly an airplane in any attitude. Also after you get checked out now you can go fly for an hour and it never gets boring. There are several aerobatic schools in the bay area. Don
 
I may shock the sensibilities of this community by saying this, but it is also possible that flying is not for you. Just because you were enamored of airplanes as a kid does not mean that the reality of flying will be equally inspiring over the long haul.

Fly with another instructor and/or do some fun flights with someone else in a non-instructional environment. Take a step back and think about why you want to fly. That should point the path ahead. And if your "goal" is to be an airline pilot and you find you don't really enjoy the technical process and just want to haul on a stick, then you might want to consider drastic changes.
 
That anxiety was there for me for a long time when I started. Would always feel uncomfortable before. I can tell you that it goes away with experience. Took me about 200hrs to get rid of it, and then I had a new version of it when I stepped up to twins. But that went too.

Keep at it and do challenge yourself - fly cross country, deal with weather, see new places. It's a great way to gain confidence.
 
Find an EAA chapter that is active and get involved with it. That will allow you to meet others that share your aviation habit and give you some opportunities to enjoy flying again.
 
jlevs44 said:
I soloed very early on, at around 14-15 hours. I was learning everything in a timely manner and was very excited as I progressed through training.

span.

... . I felt that my instructor had poorly instructed me and I subsequently failed my stage 3 check. This was a real confidence shock to me. I took my pilot test a few weeks later and failed it twice in a row, which even shocked my confidence further..
Click to expand...

For one soloing in 15hrs isn't "very early on" by any means. Based on all the guys Ive trained, average is around 10-15, so if anything your in the high time of the average.

Why were you shocked? You blew a state check and had issues with your instructor yet didn't change CFIs?

Now on to your CFI, you blame him for "poorly" instructing you? I could see that, if it wasn't for the fact that others were putting you through stage checks.

If we look beyond the phase checks, busting a checkride once could be blamed on any number, or combination of things, including a bad CFI... Busting the same ride twice, that was ALL you, sorry.

How did you bust the checkride twice?


From your age and school I'm guessing you've had quite a bit handed to you, flying doesn't care about bravado or how much money your folks have, if the skills arnt there, they arnt there. Id also suggest you take some personal responsibility for your failure(s).

Id say the last thing you need is a booster, maybe a mirror.
 
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James, you are jumping to conclusions that are not justified by the information we have at this point.
Jlev's listen to the Peril Get a different instructor by taking some aerobatics in a conventional gear airplane.
You just need a change. Even a few hours of trying for that mythical perfect loop will give you a new feel for flying. Then if you still don;t care, take a break.

cheers
 
Go out and fly for fun to a destination where there is a restaurant or some sights you'd like to see. Don't fly that same old route all the time. If you don't make it fun it can't be fun. Change it up and lay off any instruction for a while.
 
Find some flying friends,do some 100 dollar Hamburg flights, take a few cross country's,fly for fun.
 
That same exact flight you flew every time you went out for three months? Never do it again.

Go fly anywhere else, with a friend. Go somewhere with a restaurant, even if the food is nothing special your friend will think the flight there and back is.
 
At 320ish hours I'm still anxious on every flight. I've come to grips with the fact that it's probably just the way it is for me. These guys are right though, I know when flying isn't giving me the same thrill anymore, an unusual flight can rekindle my interest... flying to the beach or a new airport or just testing out a new aviation app.
 
I'll second the recommendation you go do some TW time or aerobatics or maybe better would be a sailplane rating.

If you've never flown in a glider, you have not tasted true freedom of flight the way it should be.

Or just take an intermission. You have a lot on your plate.
 
Go take a nice scenic flight. From Oakland or Concord, one of my faves is a picnic at Angwin/Parrett (2o3). If weather permits (and the Easter Bunny comes along for the ride), go to Half Moon Bay to remind yourself why you fly. Or, maybe go drool over the pretty DC-3 in Hangar 7 at OAK, or pop up to Sonoma Valley (0q3) to watch the Stearman give rides.

Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Yeah, I know, easy to say while at Cal, not so easy to do. Visit the Student Health Center if you need to. Anxieties are not at all unusual with a full load of Cal classes, particularly if you're hanging around Mining Circle a lot.

Yes, your flight training might have been a factor, though no one here can really be sure. There are many moving parts here, not the least of which is a transition to a notoriously demanding university. If it concerns you, use a different instructor and/or a different flight school. There are at least two at Oakland, another at Hayward, and two more at Concord.

Lots of things change when you go to a top university for the first time. You'll find most of the students coasted through high school and nearly everyone was top in their class. Now, you (and everyone else) get to work hard for the first time. Everyone gets sleep deprived and has to learn how to manage that appropriately (and quite a number do not). All of the sudden, you eat differently. That slice of Blondie's every day for lunch may not work so well (BTDT). I learned I was lactose intolerant by hanging out at Cafe Med.

Oh, and Gob Ears.
 
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jlevs44 said:
Just for some other background information, I am also a full time college student at UC Berkeley.
Click to expand...
Hey, I learned how to fly when I was a full time student at UC Berkeley too. Many, many years ago. :D

They had a flying club at the time based at Oakland but I heard that they had disbanded at least 10 years ago.

Other that that, from what you post it seems that you are not even close to being on the same page with your instructor so if you decide to fly again I would definitely find someone else. Maybe even a new school.
 
I saw the magic words "stage 3 check" in that original post. That probably means you're flying at a boring as hell, Part 141 school, plodding through a syllabus and haven't done anything fun in an airplane... oh... ever.

Go get a glider ride, or an aerobatic ride, or something different. And I'm in agreement that (since you didn't say) if you're looking at doing it as a career, you'd better learn how to get through the slog of school, and procedures, and paperwork, and ... yadda... it's a job... if you go further down the path to do it professionally.

Lemme guess... Part 141... you put a big chunk of money on a student loan to fly, too...? Ouch... paying interest on that is going to hurt for a very very long time.

Soul searching required... decide what made you interested in the first place... was it the flying, or something else?

Go bounce around in a glider or an aerobatic ship at least once... and see if it puts a smile back on your face.
 
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