How many days a year do you fly?
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How many days a year do you fly?
Hi all. This is my first post on here so bare with me whilstI struggle to find my feet. I’ve just obtained my PPL and trying to build up myhours. Quick question for you all, how many days a year do you fly/flew? I’mtrying to work out costings and trying to work what I’m paying per day I fly. Alot of people talk about how many hours they flew over the last 12 months but Ican’t seem to find out on average how many individual days people fly/flew.Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
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Welcome Newpilot, Yes, an hour a week is excellent, you'll maintain skills, and build more skill, without stepping backward. weather will interrupt this sometimes, but the average is good. Expect that at least 1/4 of this amount of flying should be practicing emergencies, and circuits to build and reinforce those skills.
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Me too, about 50 days of the year.
Usually at the weekend.
Latterly I started to switch to flying a couple of times a week for half and hour or so doing touch and goes - some days I did fifteen minutes and fitted in three T&G's.
Some days I would do a couple of hours, if going to another island fr example.
Last month I did about 20 hours including a 13 hour trip but that was unusual.
There are very few days when one cannot fly here - maybe due to visibility a couple of dozen, very high winds gusts over a but 30kts with an unfortunate direction twenty or so. Then of course they have to be the days you were planning to fly anyway.
I understand in the UK this effect, plus sodden grass strips, winter periods etc do restrict people.
Usually at the weekend.
Latterly I started to switch to flying a couple of times a week for half and hour or so doing touch and goes - some days I did fifteen minutes and fitted in three T&G's.
Some days I would do a couple of hours, if going to another island fr example.
Last month I did about 20 hours including a 13 hour trip but that was unusual.
There are very few days when one cannot fly here - maybe due to visibility a couple of dozen, very high winds gusts over a but 30kts with an unfortunate direction twenty or so. Then of course they have to be the days you were planning to fly anyway.
I understand in the UK this effect, plus sodden grass strips, winter periods etc do restrict people.
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After getting my PPL, I also tried to fly 1 hour per week. Thought that's harder in winter. It's good for keeping your skills current.
Now, 16 years later, I fly much few days, but more hours when do I fly. You eventually get bored of the local area and need to go further (which is good), and therefore need to fly longer on any given trip. So you end up with fewer days but same number of hours overall.
Now, 16 years later, I fly much few days, but more hours when do I fly. You eventually get bored of the local area and need to go further (which is good), and therefore need to fly longer on any given trip. So you end up with fewer days but same number of hours overall.
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I fly about 100 hours a year, all recreational. In addition, I do some mentor flying with other pilots in their aircraft. I am comfortable with that amount of flying, as seem to be the insurers of my flying.
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once a week (50 hrs a year) is the aim,achievability (diary and weather) means I don't always hit it each week but make up for it with longer flights when I do.
And once a month I make sure it is a XC of some sort,landing somewhere for the famous £150 cup of coffee
And once a month I make sure it is a XC of some sort,landing somewhere for the famous £150 cup of coffee
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Never knew I was such a nerd.....
Having wondered how much flying I usually did, I went through my logbooks and loaded everything into a graph of "Moving Annual Total" - I used to do this to plot customers turnover - you take your first years total, then knock off month one and add month 13, and plot, and repeat, and so on - dead easy using Excell. So you see graphically if your flying year total is increasing/decreasing over the years, month by month.
It's interesting (to me, nerdy) as you can see how changes affect the amount of flying per year - job changes, move to grass field rather than tarmac etc. I can see the best thing I ever did was retire, so that I'm no longer dependant on good weather at weekends. I'm finally getting back to the hours per year when I first got my licence and went b*lls out to build hours.
It's interesting (to me, nerdy) as you can see how changes affect the amount of flying per year - job changes, move to grass field rather than tarmac etc. I can see the best thing I ever did was retire, so that I'm no longer dependant on good weather at weekends. I'm finally getting back to the hours per year when I first got my licence and went b*lls out to build hours.
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I think a lot depends on the quality of the flying you are doing. Better to fly 50 hours a year and stretch yourself, long distance trips, short grass stripping, IR work etc than 100 hours going to the same place and doing the same things. As for myself according to Logbook Aero (which calculates all of these things for you ) I've averaged 59 point something hours a year for the last five years, not counting 12 months I had off for medical reasons.
I would agree with Dublin Pilot, I fly less now in terms of actual days at the airfield but when I do fly it's usually a two or three hour trip somewhere.
I would agree with Dublin Pilot, I fly less now in terms of actual days at the airfield but when I do fly it's usually a two or three hour trip somewhere.
Last edited by thing; 7th May 2017 at 08:50.
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I don't fly enough... but it's almost always somewhere. If possible, including a practice instrument approach either there or back at base. Only in emergency (getting close to currency limits) would I just do a local flight or circuits
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I would agree with thing, it is as much what you do in your flights as how many hours - if you do an aeros course you will get ten times the handling in a 20 min aeros trip as in an hours sightseeing, and though hourly it may cost more the fact that you need to fly less can make it a cheaper way to fly!
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How many minutes a week do I fly?
Last Sunday I drove to the gliding club with another pilot. He had two winch launches, and flew about 40 minutes altogether.
As at my advanced age I now require an instructor (who must be willing to sit in the front of the K13...not easy to climb out but I have worked out a system).
Sunday was the only day last week with potential, I spent the day talking to visitors and retrieving gliders with the golf buggy. At last Instructor George had a free moment. As he had been flying students all day he knew exactly where the thermals were, over the business park. So I did the takeoff, and George and I took turns flying over the business park, rather fun. After 12 minutes I had enough, so I flew downwind, approach, and landed no problem.
Very satisfying. Work it out, in general, glider pilots get more practice per minute than power pilots. A minute can contain a lot of flying,
sometimes more than hours and hours.
As a well known stunt pilot at Booker remarked, every airtow is formation flying, every glider landing is an emergency! (you can't go round if you get it wrong)
As at my advanced age I now require an instructor (who must be willing to sit in the front of the K13...not easy to climb out but I have worked out a system).
Sunday was the only day last week with potential, I spent the day talking to visitors and retrieving gliders with the golf buggy. At last Instructor George had a free moment. As he had been flying students all day he knew exactly where the thermals were, over the business park. So I did the takeoff, and George and I took turns flying over the business park, rather fun. After 12 minutes I had enough, so I flew downwind, approach, and landed no problem.
Very satisfying. Work it out, in general, glider pilots get more practice per minute than power pilots. A minute can contain a lot of flying,
sometimes more than hours and hours.
As a well known stunt pilot at Booker remarked, every airtow is formation flying, every glider landing is an emergency! (you can't go round if you get it wrong)
