Every weekend and soem weekdays if I can.

Been averaging 50 hrs per year for the last 20 years including up to 20 in the USA on hols.
But last years weather - the worst I can remember in the UK- resulted in the least hours I've flown for years.

Flying clubs
 

One thing I've found is if you find the right flying club, it can reduce the costs a lot. One club I belong to is a glider club. Towing makes up a good percentage of my flying hours each year. I love towing, it's proficiency flying with a mission behind it. It's free flying, once I pay the $20USD/month fee to be in the club. On another thread unpaid towing was both praised and bashed. I'm one to praise it. When I fly an airplane that I have to pay for, I fly it to use it and not to work the rust out of basic flying skills. That rust is worked out in towing. The glider flying is good cheap flying too. Lots of fun to boot. This year I will earn my commercial glider ticket and I can fly rides for my club. Again, not paid, but it's free flying and darn good for proficiency. I also belong to a couple of power clubs. My EAA chapter houses a club with a 1946 C140. Lots of A&P's, and IA's in the club. Reduced cost of maintenance, storage, etc plus an economical airplane to fly makes for low direct costs. The last club I'm in has a 1967 PA28R-180. I'm using it for my instrument training. With the fixed costs, it breaks even with a straight rental if I fly about 3 hours a month. Fly it more than that, it is very economical in comparison to renting. I'm not sure if I will ever own my own airplane, not counting the one I'm building, because it doesn't make financial sense for the amount of flying I do. For those of us that don't fly the big hours, a club brings the utilization rate up so the financial benefits mentioned by Bose-X are realized, and shared by the membership.

-- IFMU

cheers IFMU .. good post.

G-EMMA,

Sorry but it doesn't seem to be working on them flying boys in blue (the one's who launched the bikini the other day). Plenty of the rascals buzzing around when I was doing a cross-country earlier in the week.

Plan B?
;)

Sky-Hawk-N isn't so far of the mark. I have noticed over recent years in the club house more scaremongering than flying talk. I get the impression that some people will use any excuse not to fly and heaven knows we have plenty of excuses these days, consequently when I occasionally go flying with some of the more recently and not so recent PPLs these days I am amazed as to what they consider to be on the limits and all based on what they have been told/shown by the armchair flyers. When you demonstate steep turns or unusual atitudes with their consent of course your labeled as dodgy or worse dangerous. There seems to be a decided lack of fun in a lot of peoples flying these days.
Me I just fly when I can afford it.

I have to smile at the guys here who say that their costs reduce because they fly more ... how does that work then ? Just because you amortize your fixed costs across more hours per year, you're still spending more in total by flying more, with increased fuel and maintenance costs - not to mention decreasing the aircraft's value with increased hours.

"Good news, darling : although I've spent £20K on flying this year instead of £10K, my hourly costs now look really good. I'd suggest a holiday to celebrate, but unfortunately we're skint ..." :)

Oh yes, the original question ... around 150 a year.

It's female logic. "Look dear. I've just saved £100 by buying this dress at the sale"

Plan C?
 

How about this - our windsock got badly mauled in the winds and so we now have two more, one up & one ready. One suggestion was to put up both, with holding wires so anyone looking down would see the wind coming from two different directions.

Taking that a stage further, if you could get to all of the windsocks & set them up with holding wires, or maybe fans inside, to keep them out. Then everyone would look at the windsock, say to themselves: "It doesn't feel that windy but I'd better play safe...".

Job done!

PS. Yes I know there are the guys who carry their own wind strength meters, but at least we'll know who they are now.

Come down to UH at Kemble, you won't be saying there is no fun left in flying at the end of a day there!:ok:

FullyFlapped - I was thinking the same thing!! How funny.

I guess more value for money but not cheaper if you don't have that much to fly all the time.

All good posts tho ... Cheers all

S

One of the other beautiful thing about flying clubs. Many people are not active flyers yet are still willing to pay fixed costs to be part of the club. Hard to figure out, but not uncommon.

-- IFMU

Foxmoth
UH is a place where I have promised myself to visit when time permits.
I don't mean to be negative and I agree with IMFU that the more club members usually the better whether they fly or not.

0.5 hours per annum.

It takes me about an hour every two years to re-validate my licence. I'd fly more if there were facilities at holiday destinations like (Corfu and Lanzarote) but otherwise all the hassle to get to an airfield somewhere near Wolverhampton or Maidenhead just doesn't seem worth it.

twistedenginestarter, how do you keep your licence current though?

I thought it was 3 take offs and landings every 90 days? (may not be correct)

Currency
 

That's the requirement for carriage of passengers.

MM

p.s.good to meet you at the presentation night.:)

I did about 60 hrs last year, 24 Helicopter and the rest fixed wing. To answer the question asked, about once a week in the summer and once a fortnight in the winter. Where possible each flight is a "land away" rather than a local.

Cheers again for all the posts ... enjoy reading them

Phororhacos - When you say "land away" .. does that mean that you land away but fly back to your local? or do you make alternative arrangements to get the aircraft back to it's base?

As much as money, work shifts, and weather allow. Annual average around 15-25 hrs SEP and motorgliders, plus 50-80 hrs gliders.
I wish it was more!
:{:{:{

Not as often as I'd like to!

Due to work I'm restricted to weekends and days off. Unfortunately that leaves me at the mercy of the weather, which for the past few weeks has been thoroughly mince.

I have only flown twice this year... and that's being booked in every weekend.

I decided to give up work for a year back in November and get loads of flying,motorcycling and mountains done.
Unfortunately our poor weather this year has put a damper on all three.
Ive only flown about 20 hours so far this year (even with no work to stop me) and like Phororacus I try to make the flight a land away somewhere in order to keep all of my skills up to speed in anticipation of future flying adventures later in the year.

I know some folk who just bang about the circuit because, due to lack of hours dont have the confidence to do anything other than sticking within shouting distance of their chosen club especially when the only slot they have booked provides marginal weather.

Lets hope we get a break soon.

Normally 150-200hrs a year. But I have the 'pleasure' of flying a para dropper occasionally so this pushes the hours up a bit in summer.

round about 100 hours last year although only just flown again since October mainly due to the UK weather :{

About 55 hrs a month in the day job - gets a bit dull sometimes.

Like to keep the SEP current by flying about 1hr every couple of months. Miss the freedom of light aircraft flying, glide approaches, low level flying, tight circuits rather than a vectored 19nm final...

Hope to fly SEPs more when I can afford it.

Vabsie wrote...Phororhacos - When you say "land away" .. does that mean that you land away but fly back to your local? or do you make alternative arrangements to get the aircraft back to it's base?

Sorry it has taken me so long to answer. I mean land at another airfield then fly back (lighter by a landing fee and heavier by a toasted sandwich).

Ideally I share the flight with another pilot. Each flies one leg (twice as long in the air for the same cost).:)

Flying mostly commercially usually between 200 and 400 hrs per year

Pace