Treating flying as a seasonal hobby

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nhorvath@reddit

Long Island here. I like flying in the winter because republic is much less busy.

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That is a reasonable approach, but you have to be very proficiency focused when you resume in the spring. You should be proficiency focused all the time, but I see a lot of flying club pilots that think that just because they took winters off flying without incident for 25 years means that they just have innately ingrained skills. They don't. Just a matter of time.

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JJohnston015@reddit

We do the same but opposite here in the desert southwest US. We curtail our flying in the summers when density altitude makes it harder.

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vtjohnhurt@reddit

I've flown just May-Oct for 16 years, and my proficiency metrics improved every year. I found that the effort made to recover proficiency in May carried through the rest of the season, so I was more proficient from one Oct to the next. There are a lot of metric in gliding and I was also flying tailwheel airplane. I would skip the 'winter pattern work'.

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Prefect_99@reddit

Good winter days can be had.

You don't say if you own, rent etc.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

Yes, of course. But for me, flying is more fun when it's nicer out and you can go to a fly-in or an outdoor restaurant on a small field somewhere.

I'm in a club, added that to my post.

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Prefect_99@reddit

So what would be the saving?

If you pay your dues annually, just fly less but fly when you want? Pick times when hotels/motels are cheaper if you're going anywhere?

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

The savings would be from flying less. We charge by tach, so I can do a couple pattern work sessions for an hour or so of time. That's compared to the 5-7 tach hours I usually fly in a month.

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Prefect_99@reddit

So just fly less, season seems irrelevant to me.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

The idea is that I'd shift the majority of my flying spending to the seasons during which I enjoy it more.

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LastSprinkles@reddit

Makes sense it does mean you'll be less current at the start of the season. So long as you're aware of that and maybe take some precaution (maybe go up with an instructor once every season - probably not a bad idea in any event) it is probably a smart way to go about it. Spend your money on what you enjoy the most rather than spreading it around.

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rcbif@reddit

That's basically what glider clubs do. We have spring re-fresher flights.

Was pretty agonizing for me though not flying for so long, so got my ASEL add-on and bought an airplane so now I can fly when I wish and weather allows (this past winter was awful for flying).

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ltcterry@reddit

This is quite normal in gliding. A small core of instructors will stay legal/proficient over the winter to do “spring checkouts” for members who need currency flights at the beginning of the season.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

That's what inspired the thought, actually. Plus plenty of people's hobbies are seasonal by nature.

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Mispelled-This@reddit

WX is rough between Xmas and Easter, so that’s when I do my annual. First flight back, I bring a CFI friend just to be safe. It’s not really needed at this point, but I knock out a BFR and IPC too while i have him. That’s arguably excessive, but it means I never have to stress about deadlines.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

Like that a lot.

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Motriek@reddit

As a Floridian the summer rains block out 1pm to 5 or even 9pm from June into November, making most XC's into overnights. That said we have either dangerous convective or sunshine here, with few good opportunities for approaches to minimums, so I have to fly during a thunderstorm safe in a nearby shcool's ATD.

That said it's nothing like your December-February icing blackout. Suggest you either get current every March, sim, find someone renting a FIKI Cirrus, or someone training multi-engine that's FIKI equipped.

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SSMDive@reddit

So this is really common in skydiving in the NE. People just quit when it gets cold and come back in the Spring. And the fatality and incident not surprisingly are higher in the Spring when a bunch of non-current people show up and start going again.

Highest fatality weekend in FL for SCUBA? First lobster mini weekend. A bunch of divers who have not gotten wet other than taking a shower suddenly jump overboard and start hunting... And every single time someone dies.

So yes, it is logical to stop when the conditions are not going to be good, but you really should work with a CFI when you get back. How much time you need will vary depending on how experienced you were, how long you took off, and if you had your head in the game at all while being gone.

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yowzer73@reddit

Plenty of other good comments, but one suggestion for you that I don't see.

Obviously I'd get with a CFI first if I went too long without any flying at all.

If you do this, set a specific time limit and don't ever break it. If you don't do that, you'll normalize the deviance to the point that it won't matter. "Eh, I'm sure I'm good, a CFI costs money."

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rbuckfly@reddit

I definitely fly less in the hottest part of summer (Texas based). I still maintain the FAR mins though (takeoff/landings).

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fillikirch@reddit

I am usually taking the winters off aswell (at most flying once a month) since i am mostly towing during gliding season and i can confirm, what the others have already said: Get a decent sim setup. Keeps your skills sharp especially if you are flying on an online network with other traffic and it is quite nice while waiting for the few winter days, where its actually worth going out.

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Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit

It's pretty common, especially if based at a grass strip that is prone to waterlogging, so you can't fly anyway, even if it's sunny.

You can take winter off, and when spring comes up, do some reading, chair flying and go up with an instructor to scrape off any rust that has built up.

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Impossible_Sky9384@reddit

When I lived in the NE this was pretty natural for me just due to the WX and not flying a FIKI aircraft. You could get a simple at-home sim to keep the mental framework sharp. It helped me a bunch when I had a delay in my medical.

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Prefect_99@reddit

I definitely find SIM flying keeps my brain sharp. I hadn't flown real world for 2 months but was fine with a hard IMC trip. Without it I am sure ky currency would attrit much faster.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

Definitely, it absolutely happens naturally to some extent anyway. I think this would mostly be about giving myself the mental permission to stress about that a lot less.

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fishmousse@reddit

Making a XC to a new airport makes sure all your skills remain sharp, including towered/non towered comms, flight planning, finding and approaching an airport etc. Also lets you go through a full takeoff/climb/cruise/descent checklist, which is not always possible in the pattern.

If the weather is good enough for pattern work, it’s probably good enough for a short 51nm XC. I think keeping those skills honed over the winter is worth it.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I'm based out of a C and there are a couple
non-towered airports very nearby that I could do the occasional pattern work at while still using most of my XC skills.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Hobbyist here, struggling a bit with costs lately.

One thought I had: Taking winters off, or just doing a couple pattern work sessions for those months but no XCs. That would help me replenish the coffers for the nicer months up here in the Northeast.

Wanted to run this past y'all for thoughts. Obviously I'd get with a CFI first if I went too long without any flying at all.

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