What do you find to be the greatest challenge?

[DTE]

Hi All,

Here's a question predominantly aimed at the private pilots who fly for the love of it.

I am interested in hearing what you find to be the greatest challenge in flying these days? It doesn't have to be a manipulative skill, it may be the ability to stay current. Personally, finding the time for private, non-commercial flying is the challenge for me.

And when I mention a challenge, it can be a positive thing in aviation. After all, this is a skill that we'll never perfect, but get a real kick out of on the odd occasion when we get close.

I look forward to hearing what's the challenge. :-)

Cheers,

Owen
Owen Zupp (http://www.owenzupp.com/_blog/Owen_Zupp)
My Aviation Blog

[BEagle]

I am interested in hearing what you find to be the greatest challenge in flying these days?

Maintaining any enthusiasm with the absurd nonsense of EASA about to ruin everyone's aviation lives. A totally unnecessary bureaucratic nonsense driven by the gravy train of the EU rulemakers.

[Pace]

Maintaining any enthusiasm with the absurd nonsense of EASA about to ruin everyone's aviation lives. A totally unnecessary bureaucratic nonsense driven by the gravy train of the EU rulemakers.

I would second BEagle on that

Pace

[gordon field]

Totally agree with BEagle.

[Billredshoes]

What do you find to be the greatest challenge?

Starting the AN2 in front of a large crowd then landing it after a Disply :ok:

[WorkingHard]

Beagle has it about right for those who live in cloud cuckoo eu-land

[Grassfield]

Totally agree with Beagle.

For the non-European residents let me just throw in a few of the areas making it increasingly difficult for aviators to enjoy their passion, now getting close to the limit of where people start questioning if it's worth to continue (despite lot's of money, time and energy invested by everyone):
- licensing rules (one example being the new language proficiency check at regular intervals. The check in itself is rather pathetic, where you often find yourself being better in English than the examiner himself but he cannot give you a high score because of his examination privileges... :ugh:)
- maintenance rules (done to death already on the forum)
- operating procedures at airports (security, handling, fees left and right, slots requirements, customs times, fuel/avgas availability etc etc)
- new local legislation to collect additional taxes making it extra complicated to use the destinations (eg Austria), or completely unpredictable if one has to pay or how much and this can be serious money (e.g. Italy)
- increasing prices of... Everything in aviation (partially linked to the constant stream of new rules/requirements). Needless to say this applies also to fuel.
- etc

Other than those minor issues ;) greatest challenge is typically finding the necessary time being torn between the usual constraints of family commitments, work commitments, weather and plane availability. If one flies a lot, $ typically becomes a challenge, at least for most of us ...

Despite all of this, I still love flying :cool:

[Genghis the Engineer]

Good to see you cropping up on Pprune Owen, I've enjoyed your writing in Global Aviator over the last couple of years.

I'm happy to rant about EASA with the best of them, but to be honest I've been fighting various aspects of bureaucracy in aviation for as long as I've been an adult, and this is just the latest layer. I quite agree that they are doing things which are barking mad, anti-safety, or just pointless - but I've encountered many other agencies doing the same. When I'm airborne, in a serviceable and well designed flying machine, on a flyable day the authority becomes completely irrelevant and I'm enjoying my flying as much as I ever have.

So, no, EASA is not my greatest challenge in flying.



For me my greatest challenge is preparation and discipline. I'm lucky enough to fly a lot of types (14 last year I think) and to very much enjoy my flying. I'm unlucky however in that I have to spend a lot of time doing other stuff on the ground. This means that far too often I approach an aeroplane with just a little less preparation than I'd have preferred, or have less time in the aeroplane than I'd like.

So, I need to force my time into ensuring I get enough and proper preparation done before each flight. And force myself to follow procedures and checks in the air as well as I know how, rather than as well as I might if I let myself enjoying the flying just a tiny bit too much.

G

[thing]

Apart from bureaucracy and money, two fixed items that won't go away, I would say that landing at a strange airfield, (strange as in I've never been there, not strange as in the runway is underground) is still my biggest challenge. Well it's not a challenge as such but it's the area of flying that exercises my brain the most and gives the most satisfaction after a correctly flown approach and landing.


So, I need to force my time into ensuring I get enough and proper preparation done before each flight. Ah I'm glad it's not just me then. Have you noticed that whatever time you turn up at the airfield, it could be three hours before you plan to take off, you still finish up with a 'Gotta get a move on' attitude as you're walking out to the a/c?

I still dream of walking casually out, strapping in with relaxation and leisurely going through the checks. Never seems to happen.

[dont overfil]

So many things I consider a challenge are often just in my head. When I get out and do it there's no problem.

I like to do my flight planning and plog the day before. It makes the day of the flight much more relaxed. I actually enjoy the planning, drawing the lines and making a plog even though I have all the gizmos available in the aeroplane.

D.O.

[EDMJ]

Understanding new rules and regulations. I caught myself getting a kick out of interpreting something correctly and complying with it a while ago, and was horrified. Many years ago, it was a good landing or challenging navigation which gave me a kick.

[Ultra long hauler]

To be able to land my new plane.

###Ultra Long Hauler###

[Roff]

Finding the bloody field
Some are hidden away nicely... Especially at night

[DTE]

Hi All,

Thanks for the answers so far. I have been posing the same question all over the place over recent weeks, via the internet and in person. It's been very interesting, with some common themes starting to emerge.

Cost and time are two very frequent answers, while procedures and weather are two more favourites. All are very valid for the own reasons. Interestingly, manipulative skills don't rate very highly at all as a major challenge.

Hi 'Ghengis the Engineer', thanks for the feedback on my writing with GA. Writing can be a rather solitary endeavour, so it's great to have some interaction. (That's a big reason why I started my aviation blog (Owen Zupp (http://www.owenzupp.com/_blog/Owen_Zupp)); sharing aviation and its stories for the fun of it)

Please keep the answers coming, it's very interesting to hear everyone's point of view.

Cheers

Owen
Owen Zupp (http://www.owenzupp.com/_blog/Owen_Zupp)
My Aviation Blog

[fwjc]

Straight and level flight.

[Echo Romeo]

I started the annual inspection on my aircraft today, at -5 in the hangar that was quite a challenge:\

[GWYN]

As ever, BEagle hits the nail on the head for me.

[ArcticChiller]

Hey folks!

The greatest challenge?
I got my ppl and seaplane rating in Seattle and I am used to flying in America/Canada. There, the greatest challenges were landing floatplanes in 'one-way' fjords and glassy water and getting the voice right on the radioes (not a native speaker). Now back in Switzerland the challenge is to validate my FAA license. The weather was bad most of the time and now my instructor called me, next lesson in May (waiting list). Seriously what's wrong with aviation in Europe?

Having only 100h TT my challenges are more about licensing than about actually beeing a pilot. I bet it would be safer if I could fly already in Europe. I am sitting at home instead, (hopefully not) forgetting things I've learned.

But I am looking forward to a time holding a Swiss PPL and flying in the alps. I miss the actual challenges of being a pilot!

Cheers
Florian

PS: I did the FAA PPL because I am a US citizen as well and will probably do most of my flying there.

[IFMU]

My greatest challenge? Getting my wife in the airplane. She hates flying, but my two boys love it. I joined the local club with the arrow, got the IFR ticket so we could travel as a family, then my flying would not all be selfish like soaring in my 1-35 and tugging.

-- IFMU

[AdamFrisch]

Arctic - if Switzerland prohibits you from flying on your FAA license, why don't you just pop over to Germany and do a JAA conversion there? I'm sure the Swiss won't stop you from flying on that.

[peterh337]

EASA is definitely the biggest cloud on the horizon, threatening to wipe out large chunks of the private IFR community. One pilot I know is selling his TB already and getting out of flying because he can't stand the thought of yet more paper collecting.

PRNAV (if it expands to enroute airspace) will kill off a lot of IFR GA due to the pointless and expensive upgrades.

Apart from the above, taxiing is the most dangerous part of flying, along with getting lost on taxiways :)

[proudprivate]

EASA, who is sucking the lifeblood out of the entire European aviation community while they are pursuing their ambitions of self-aggrandissement and freeriding at the taxpayer's expense without contributing anything whatsoever to aviation safety.

The economic crisis, which will weigh upon fundamental freedoms through
a) stupid political decisions such as the Italian aircraft tax, increased landing fees and licensing fees (e.g. UK CAA)
b) increased intolerance from a misguided envious society in general

[AdamFrisch]

Well, it's not just EASA. FAA's user fee's bill has just been introduced by the Obama administration and even though it will get less traction in an election year, believe me, one day it will be reality. These things don't go quietly into the night - they will keep coming back and coming back until they get it through. $100 per flight for the use of the "system" (doesn't matter if it's IFR or VFR) is the proposal. At the moment, piston powered aircraft are exempt, but you and me both know that won't last longer than an election. The loot is far to juicy for them to ignore.

It's scary how right Milton Freedman was all along: "You think governments run on virtue and not on greed?"

My prediction of the future is grim - we will pay taxes through the nose, but then pay user fee's and spot taxes for everything. Want to pave the street outside your house? Pay. No longer part of the tax service. Want to drive a car? Gas tax, user tax, road tax etc. Want a pension? Pay a higher tax rate. Etc, etc.

[ArcticChiller]

Adam, unfortunately I can't just pop over to Germany due to my job. Just for the record, it would be cheaper for me to go to Florida to convert to JAA. All inclusive. That's ridiculous.
A first class medical in Seattle cost 100 USD. My second class medical (only private privileges) in Switzerland was 1000 Swiss Francs. I had to visit three doctors because it was my initial medical.
But I still love aviation. :}

Edit:
If I want a German EASA license I need a German medical as well. You need all licenses from the same country.