What's it like to fly where you are?
Carrying on from the interesting discussion which emerged on the Avgas price thread, many of us fly in different environments. Each have their own pluses and minuses. Where some pilots might feel "taken care of" by a system, others might prefer a less regimented environment, and the "do your own thing" which can result. What's it like for you where you fly?
For me,
I keep both my planes at home on property I bought in 1989. I come and go as I please, day and night. That's nice in the freedom sense, though unless I tell someone I'm flying, if I get in trouble, I'm on my own. Since getting married 16 years ago, there is someone who takes an interest in where I am, and will turn on the runway lights for me (yes, it's my wife!). But, if the grass is long, it's my 2 hours job to cut it, and a snowfall can mean 4 hours on the tractor blowing the snow, so "free" yes, but at a cost of devotion to the runway. I keep auto fuel here for one plane, and some Avgas for the other, and I have built a hangar, though it will only hold one of the planes.
The nearest controlled airspace is at Toronto, 50 miles south, so I can fly great distances without talking to anyone. Indeed, one of my planes had no comm for years, I really did not need it. With a bit of creative routing, I have flown a 1500 mile trip across southern Canada, without talking to anyone (some planes I have ferried had no comm either).
ATC, when you talk to them are generally very helpful, but never "in your face". SEP GA IFR is not so common around here, unless conditions require. VFR is easy. Nearly no airports I would visit have manned communications, just unicom between pilots, if they have radios at all. Landing fees are uncommon, other than at large or busy airports. An expensive landing fee for my 150, would be $30. If I flew into Toronto YYZ, it'd be $200, 'cause they just don't want GA there anymore. There are dozens of private grass runways, and flying from one to the next to drop in and say Hi is fairly common. The odd one has an X, so we stay out of those. I have certainly had people drop in here, just for the exercise, and say Hi, and a few who have been trapped by impending weather enroute.
I have five lakes within ten minutes flight to land into with my amphibian, and literally thousands beyond that. Indeed, one friend has dug a 2000' pond beside his runway, for his floatplane. There are a few of those. There are a few lakes marked "do not land" on the charts, so we respect that.
But, with that freedom, comes the very great burden of knowing that if you have trouble in some remote place, you have big trouble, 'cause there is little or no help around. You can be stranded at a remote grass runway, just 'cause no one is around, but even more so, at a lake with no road in. I have certainly flown help in to others, and have flown in to cut up and remove a wrecked plane, and fly it out in pieces. Or, you hire a helicopter at $3000 per hour to try to sling your plane out. A $20,000 bill for that service is not unknown, if the plane had to be taken apart, and taken out in pieces. So careful where you go, and how you prepare. Having a bunch of mates with planes is great, if your cell phone will work to cal them to come and help you!
I have been lucky enough to fly every Canadian province and continental US state, a few European countries, and Africa too. Norway was my favourite European, though they do have restrictions on where you can land, which seem out of place for such an open country.
Where do you fly, and what's it like there?