I fly 2-3 times a month, what else can I do?
Posted by DisregardLogan@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 35 comments
I know flying this little is very, very bad for your skills. However, I’m flying so little primarily because of a few reasons:
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I’m in highschool. I can’t take time out of my school day to fly without consequence.
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I play two sports, one of which I’m planning on dropping so I can focus on flying a bit more.
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I live in the Northern US, so weather is very, very poor. If the ceiling is too low, the winds can get up to 25-30 kts on an average day.
-
I do not pay or manage the payment for my flying, that’s done by my parents. I try to not stress their funding more than I need to.
Here’s what I’ve been doing to compensate for my lack of flying time:
-
Chair flying twice a day
-
Reviewing sectionals and mock-planning XCs
-
Listening to LiveATC at various airports
-
Simulator flying
-
Mock FAA tests and reviews on Sporty’s
-
Filing mock XC VFR logs
-
Textbook reviews
-
Occasional ground sessions with my CFI
In short, I just want to know if I could possibly be doing anything else to make up for my lack of flying time. I’m planning on picking up lessons x2 a week once the summer rolls around, but for now, I’ve just been tuckering down with ground stuff.
BrianBash@reddit
Do what u/Classic_Ad_9985 said. Wait until summer. Save money. Hit the skies hard over summer when your schedule opens up.
Did you take your written yet?
DisregardLogan@reddit (OP)
I haven’t, no. I still have yet to talk to my CFI about it.
BrianBash@reddit
Get the written done, you'll make your CFI a happy person. Use whatever test prep and ground school you'd like, I've always used King's. Cheesy but they worked for me. Watch the videos, do the exercises, lock yourself in a room for 3 days at the end and attack the question bank and do the practice 3 practice exams for your endorsement. Schedule your written at a local testing facility which can be found here: https://faa.psiexams.com/faa/login
You don't need your CFI for any of this. Get after it!
DisregardLogan@reddit (OP)
This is really helpful, thank you 🙏
Square_Ad8756@reddit
If you think you can knock out a few ratings in the next couple of years try to get those written exams out of the way while taking a break from flying. I wish I had knocked out at least my private and instrument written before I got started.
BrianBash@reddit
I’m always a haggler for it. People delay the written. Every. Single. Time.
Square_Ad8756@reddit
Yeah for CFI I got the written out of the way first. Trying to fly while studying for the written is really hard, especially when you are also working and have kids…
PLIKITYPLAK@reddit
2 to 3 times a week is the sweet spot for getting your rating in the least amount of hours. Anything less than that then yeah, it's going to take some time and more total hours.
DisregardLogan@reddit (OP)
I can't legally get my license or a checkride until Oct. 3rd so I figured just grinding it out during the summer twice a week would put me around that time.
OneSea3243@reddit
Playing devils advocate to stop flying now and continue when you have the time to schedule at least 2-3 times a week to progress enough as skills degrade this early on. Potentially saving thousands of dollars here
PerceptionOrnery1269@reddit
On the contrary, OP could drop sports and fly 4-5 hours/week and get things done sooner. I think all of us working towards ratings would love to free hours. Take advantage of it.
OP, you're effectively getting paid to fly but not to play sports. You only have to get your ratings once; you could always join sports in college later.
PerceptionOrnery1269@reddit
Edit: Caveat to my above comment based on others comments. OP, are you worried about stressing their finances? In that case, I still think you should balance out your schedule as well how how/when you fly. But if they're willing to pay for it, then I'd take advantage of it.
DisregardLogan@reddit (OP)
I talked to my dad about it and he told me to not worry about it (which honestly isn't very convincing) so I'm not too sure where to go from that. I guess it changes nothing
DisregardLogan@reddit (OP)
That could be possible but I think it would be relatively agonising not being able to take the little time I could flying. My main highlight of my week is usually looking forward to the times I do get to fly.
Funny-University-296@reddit
My man I flew twice in January, twice in February and twice in March because of weather. Wasted 3k and didn't really progress. In hindsight it would have been better to just wait until the weather got better. IMO if you're not flying a few times a week just hold off until you can. Flying once a week is pointless
EHP42@reddit
I heavily disagree. It definitely depends on the person, but if you're good enough at retaining info/proficiency, then rare flying is better than no flying. If your primary concern is money, then yes, hold off until you can maximize your flight time to minimize retraining due to gaps in flight time.
/u/DisregardLogan we don't know enough about your progress to judge, but you should be honest with yourself. If you feel like you aren't progressing because of your sparse schedule, then you should reassess, and potentially hold off on wasting money flying until you can buckle down and send it often enough to actually learn, but if you're like me, and even relatively long gaps in training don't degrade your skills that much, and you continue to progress, then keep doing what you're doing (especially the ground stuff like chair flying and reviewing your checklists). But truly, for your own and your parents' wallet's sake, be honest about it.
PerceptionOrnery1269@reddit
To be fair, I would say that flying 20-30 knot winds isn't good for any real proficiency. In this case it would make sense for OP to hold off and maximize flight time/retraining, in addition to the schedule you mentioned.
EHP42@reddit
I dunno, as long as it's not that windy on the ground at a direct cross wind, it can be helpful to fly with some serious wind. I ended up doing my checkride in 20-25 kt constant wind at altitude, with updrafts and downdrafts aplenty. Only reason I felt confident enough to do it was because I got some practice with similar winds during my training, though they weren't as bad as during my checkride.
No-Program-5539@reddit
Wait until you have time, or accept the fact that your progress will be very slow going.
Even 2x a week really isn’t very much.
No-Program-5539@reddit
I should add, chair flying and all the extra studying is great. It certainly will help, but it can only take you so far. At the end of the day you need time in the plane frequently to make good progress.
CaptainWaders@reddit
That’s exactly what I was gonna say. At some point doing all of this cross country planning without actually flying out to see if you’re planning is correct with wind calculations and everything is kind of a waste of time.
MixGlad6126@reddit
From my experience stay in your sports. Maybe focus on one if you want to play college/pro. Many people don’t get the chance to play at a high level, but the better you get, the more that translates into CRM and ADM in professional flight. As someone else said, you don’t get to play sports at a high level later in your life, but you can always fly. I was able to balance both in college and graduate on time (difficult but doable). Very, very worth it for my ability to work with all types of people and deal with stress effectively once I translated it to my flying career.
Miserable-Bit5939@reddit
Since you’re in high school, I’d say don’t stress about this too much. Enjoy your high school days, save up money, get a job in the summer if you want to so that you don’t have always have to rely on your parents to fund your flight training. At the end of the day, it’s up to you. It’s your training and your life
throwaway5757_@reddit
Don’t quit sports. Enjoy high school while you can. There will be plenty of time later in life. You can always fly later in life, you can’t play high school sports later in life.
PK808370@reddit
This idea that you have to fly 35 times a week to get anything out of it is nuts. You’re not in a race.
Also, your work outside the plane is great! Similar to what I did. I got my private helicopter license in 40 hours, flying 1 time a week (helicopter was my first, so, 40 is min). I did my written before I ever got in an aircraft. I studied on my own every day and went through things in my head all the time. I also had a phenomenal instructor and our training area was basically on the airport.
If you feel you’re learning and not losing too much, keep at it. If you’re constantly frustrated, wait until you can fly more. Don’t take a bunch of folks on Reddit saying you’ll never learn unless you camp in the aircraft at face value.
CamelloVolador@reddit
I think you’re doing well considering you have a lot in your plate. I would keep at it and when you have the chance to ramp up your availability, you’ll be more prepared than most.
RichTowel69@reddit
I don’t think that’s that bad, but i am a low time pilot. I got my PPL over the course of longer than a year. I flew every day before my checkride for a week.
bhalter80@reddit
You’ll be fine I did 58 hours in 16 months to my PPL because of funding and New England weather
ComprehensiveStep709@reddit
You fly more than I do and I’m an airline pilot! I bet your landings are better than
Classic_Ad_9985@reddit
Stop flying, save your money, crank it out over the summer. Big trust on the NE summer it’ll be solid
Curious-Owl6098@reddit
I fly about that much. Maybe a bit more: but I’m usually in the air fit 2-3 hours +. I’ve been progressing well. The hour building is what’s taking so long. Fir me. Granted I’m past private pilot so I have some sort of a base of baste flying skills. Basically the only solution is to get more money. Depending on your total time it might be worth it to stop flying and save.
pattern_altitude@reddit
You're doing more than I did. I did my PPL through high school and finished in just about 60 hours over about a year and a half. That included a break of about 3 months, but I flew once a week at most with the exception of school holidays. It is slow going... agonizingly slow, at times, especially when the weather cancellations ramp up. I had a lot of extracurricular involvement, and it definitely curtailed my ability to fly -- effectively Saturdays only, with the occasional weekday since my instructor took Sundays off. It's still doable, even within a pretty average time frame, if you're committed to it and you retain the information well.
Tavpilot@reddit
I went 1 time a week, that’s all I could afford. I got it done in 1 year and 4 months, it’ll take time just stay committed every single day matters.
bluejayfreeloader@reddit
I'd have a conversation with your parents about funding your flight school. Maybe you have already? If you ramp up lessons, will it stress them out financially? What's their max budget? See if you can push the boundaries without causing stress.
You need to make a call on the sports. Dropping one is good, but maybe drop both? Can you do them when the weather is bad? Can you fly in the morning and do a sport in the afternoon on weekends?
Weather cancelations suck. If you can free up time and money, book 5 to 6 days a week. You'll likely get cancelled and only fly 2 to 3 times a week. At least you have the bookings in and can be flying when skies are clear.
If you still have downtime, I'd start making friends in aviation. Go to events and what not. Offer to help out for free to gain exposure. What with other students at your flight school.
I'm new to flying as well, so take my advice with a grain of salt :)
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I know flying this little is very, very bad for your skills. However, I’m flying so little primarily because of a few reasons:
I’m in highschool. I can’t take time out of my school day to fly without consequence.
I play two sports, one of which I’m planning on dropping so I can focus on flying a bit more.
I live in the Northern US, so weather is very, very poor. If the ceiling is too low, the winds can get up to 25-30 kts on an average day.
I do not pay or manage the payment for my flying, that’s done by my parents. I try to not stress their funding more than I need to.
Here’s what I’ve been doing to compensate for my lack of flying time:
Chair flying twice a day
Reviewing sectionals and mock-planning XCs
Listening to LiveATC at various airports
Simulator flying
Mock FAA tests and reviews on Sporty’s
Filing mock XC VFR logs
Textbook reviews
Occasional ground sessions with my CFI
In short, I just want to know if I could possibly be doing anything else to make up for my lack of flying time. I’m planning on picking up lessons x2 a week once the summer rolls around, but for now, I’ve just been tuckering down with ground stuff.
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