Hi All,
Firstly I think that I may be one of these pilots who you are all talking about. I passed about 18 months ago and am close to giving up. I never thought I would, but there you go. And like some of the posters on this very thread have stated, I thought that people who gave up once they had passed ought to be flogged - but now I am potentially one of them.
Where did it all go wrong? Let's start at the beginning.
When I first passed my PPL, I thought great! I am a pilot and I'm am ace! I took up friends and family, and then after meeting another newly qualified PPL, we went flying together - visiting different airfields and stretching the barrier further and further. I loved it.
Then after about a year, things changed. My girlfriend and I moved house, and so my finances were stretched - a common occurrence in aviation I believe. But the major factors in my potential decision (I am about 85% made up in my mind) are as follows - in order of importance to me.
1. The difficulty in keeping current.
At my flying club, the currency requirements are to fly every four weeks, no matter how many hours flown the prevous month. Even if you've done say ten hours one month, but then not flown for a while, then you do a check flight - simple as that. With my job, I can't take time of whenever I feel like it, and so I book in advance. 70% of the time, on my pre-booked day, the weather is !!!!!e and so I re-book, but the four weeks is up, and so I've got to go for another check flight with an instructor. Meanwhile, my friend is going through exactly the same thing, and so we haven't flown together for over six months. I am now at the stage of not having flown for five weeks - even though I've been booked in numerous times.
2. Weather
I need say no more.
3. Distance to airfield.
I am a member of three flying clubs (with all of the annual fees etc). One is half an hour away, but is the most expensive. For one hour, they charge £112 + £10 (insurance) + £6 (per landing) and then another £25 if I fly with an instructor. Another airfield only charges £75 with no extras - but the planes are bangers. Gaffer tape jobs some of them! At the third, the price is about £95, but it takes 2 hours to get there - and so if the weather is rubbish, then it’s a four hour round trip totally wasted.
4. Nerves
The less I fly, the more nervous I feel when I fly. For over £100 an hour (which could be spent on all sorts of useful things for the house) I fly around the local area just to keep current. Without my partner in crime, I never venture very far, and so when I'm up there, I think to myself, 'is this really worth it?' The answer is usually 'yes' when on short final, but invariably changes to 'no' on the long drive home, with a severely depleted wallet.
Because I fly so irregularly, and for such a short duration in time, I do not feel that confident at flying. This is probably a hard thing for a student to understand. When you are training, an instructor is always on hand to speak to you - even if you're about to fly off on a solo navex. The buck doesn't stop with you as a student, and you’re usually flying often enough to get over the feeling of unfamiliarity. This all changes after passing. You're on your own and you'd better get used to it.
5. Poor time-keeping by flying clubs.
Every club I have flown to have had poor timekeeping - in fact, in my opinion, it's a problem that is endemic in general aviation as a whole. You turn up (on the one nice day of the summer) and the aircraft is out flying. "Oh they'll be back in an hour," someone tells you, and so you sit and wait for ages, watching the clouds thicken, and the time tick steadily onwards, and then it arrives - two hours late, and it's raining.
6. The elitist attitude of some flyers.
One story sums it up. I head about this from a friend.
At a busy general aviation airfield, the weather was pretty poor. Even for pilots with an IMC, it was proving difficult to land at. So imagine the clubhouse, filled with Mr Elite and Mr Uppity. They are chatting loudly.
"I wouldn't be out in this Mr Uppity."
"No," agreed his pal.
And then they overheard the radio crackling away, and were aghast that a pilot was actually making an approach in his C172.
"Idiot!" said Mr uppity.
"Yes." agreed his pal. "Imbecile!"
But they both watched the aircraft land safely and taxi in. As the young pilot climbed out of his aircraft, the pair started talking loudly together berating the young pilot for such a foolhardy landing. "He should be stripped of his licence!" Mr Elite stated, "and I might just report the young upstart!”
No one else in the clubhouse said anything though, most didn't dare interrupt the gruesome twosome, and so in walks our young pilot.
"Hello," he said. "Any chance of a cuppa?"
And that's when he received the berating of his life. After listening in shock to what was being thrust at him, he turned to Mr Elite. "How do you know I haven't got an Instrument Rating?"
Mr Elite guffawed and said something along the lines of 'how could you possibly have an IR! You’re only just out of school."
"Actually," said the young man. "I do have an IR, and not only that, I have an ATPL. I fly 737's for a living."
Which, of course, shut up Mr Elite and Mr Uppity?
And rightly so!
7. Lack of funds.
Though I could just about afford to keep flying, it would be just above the legal currency requirements - which in my opining, is nowhere near safe enough. And like I've said elsewhere, flying so little means that it’s not as much fun because it's all a little scary.
So there you go. My reasons. Thank you for being patient.
Regards