Bose has indeed deleted
everything he posted. A little extreme, perhaps. But anyway, to get this thread back on some sort of track....
I spent the first couple of winters after I got my PPL fretting about how little flying I managed to do. I think it's inevitable really in this country - short days, poor weather. I finally realised it doesn't have to be a problem. Do other things in the winter, and save the flying money. Once spring comes along, all you'll need is a short flight with an instructor to get current again. It's not that big a deal
Use the winter to plan what to do with your 20 hours a year, if that's all you can afford in time and/or money. Some ideas....
1) Instead of a short flight every week over the same area, do a longer one every couple of weeks, and go to a different airfield each time. In most areas of the country, there are an awful lot of airfields an hour or so from your starting point.
2) Get a flying buddy and do the above, flying one leg each. Half the cost, half the work, twice the fun, and you can do it twice as often.
3) Get a new rating - IMC, night, taildragger etc. Do it because you want to, not necessarily because you'll use it.
4) Take a weekend away flying, or a few days. If you can, and are confident enough, go to Ireland or the continent. But even just flying around the mainland UK will do. There's something very different about touring, never knowing where you'll end up staying. It becomes an adventure!
5) Fly something new - helicopter, microlight, seaplane, glider. Just try it to see what it's like.
6) Enter a competition - Dawn to Dusk, Top Nav, one of the air rallies. Or see if you can't get to navigate for someone in an air race (I must try that one sometime!)
I'm sure some other people can think of loads more.
Just remember, whatever some people on here might think, flying 20 hours a year doesn't make you a bad pilot, or mean that you're doomed to boredom and giving up. It just means you need to make every hour count. But you do that already, don't you?
