Go somewhere else, do something different!
You got your private pilot certificate two years ago, and so far the 75 hours you've put in your logbook since then read like a bad novel: Page after page of the same tired, old plot. You feign interest in additional ratings, but really you just like to fly for fun. But the fun is wearing thin, and your proficiency is suffering.
You've heard the saying: There are pilots who have 1,000 hours and pilots who have one hour 1,000 times. Which are you?
For tips on how to avoid flying the same hour over and over, we turned to a group of pilots whose logbooks look, by their covers, just like yours. But inside those logs the Colorado Chapter 99s — women who belong to The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots — have written many stories. None of their ideas require super piloting skills or the latest equipment, and many take no more than an hour or two. All are within your reach, and all will help you on your quest for 1,000 distinctly different hours.
Deb Price started a personal record book to keep track of "firsts" after obtaining her private pilot certificate. "The idea of the record book is to give me motivation to push my personal envelope. It encourages me to do things like take a longer trip than I have before, or land on a little shorter runway than before." Price keeps track of the shortest runway she's landed on, as well as the longest, widest, and narrowest — in addition to the airports with the highest and lowest elevations, and those farthest away on each compass point.
Some pilots take the record book a step further, diligently keeping track of all the new places they've been. Cheryle Sullivan is a private pilot with a goal to land in every state — and all of the Canadian provinces. "I have a large laminated U.S. map on the wall of my office and underline every town where I have landed," says Sullivan. New pilots can start with their home state, filling in every airport until they've exhausted the possibilities — and their airplane's performance limitations.
Now, Price is moving on to her commercial certificate and flight instructor ratings, and she's added Angel Flight missions and Young Eagles flights to stretch her personal boundaries, since these flights often require her to go places she might not choose. "I flew to Farmington, New Mexico, and picked up two passengers and took them to Jeffco Airport [in Broomfield, Colorado]. It was the longest day of flying I've done yet, and I probably wouldn't have chosen Farmington [as a destination] on my own. So it helped extend my personal boundaries."
Volunteering offers personal rewards that go beyond improved piloting skills, but Price does appreciate the extra polish. "These flights emphasize smooth flying and good planning to ensure the passengers are happy."
Flying buddies Linda Horn and Nancy Reinhardt choose a different method for selecting new places to fly in Horn's Piper Cherokee 180/140 — a 140 with a 180-horsepower engine. "We have about six different places in the Front Range [of Colorado] that have restaurants on or close to the field, and we try to visit one of them at least once a month." But in addition to the local flying, Horn and Reinhardt also use The Ninety-Nines international organization schedule of fly-outs to encourage them to fly to more distant places. "Last year we went to Calgary, which was our first flying trip outside the United States. AOPA was a huge help at getting everything ready for crossing the border." This fall, the two are planning on a trip to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where the Women Air Service Pilots (WASP) trained.
Speaking of new places, Donna Miller has stretched her wings across the globe — and she got an early start. Miller learned to fly while working as a civilian for the United States Air Force at an aero club in Osan, South Korea. "I was able to fly at other aero clubs, so I took advantage of that and flew a Cessna 172 in the Philippines and in Hawaii." After moving back to Colorado, she soon tired of flying from Denver to Pueblo for lunch in order to build time toward an airline career. She and pilot-friend Rick Farrell decided they could pool their money in search of greater adventure. "Instead of 10 more local flights, we'd fly to the Arctic Circle! It was a great chance to plan and execute a fun flight," says Miller.
The foreign bug bites hard. Miller recently completed an air rally in Germany with friend and retired airline captain Nancy Aldrich in a Cessna 210. Along the way, Miller learned much about airspace rules, landing fees, and the price of avgas outside the United States. "Just because you go on vacation to a foreign country, it doesn't mean you have to put your flying skills to rest. It's actually a great opportunity to learn something new about aviation."
But not everyone can make it to foreign shores — and pilots can hone their skills just as easily by injecting a little practice into local flights. Joye Baker, a private pilot, flies often with her husband, John, to the same airports in Colorado. The pair stays current, however, by doing airwork along the way. "Just this morning I was doing slow flight with turns, power-off and power-on stalls, slips, 360-degree turns, and then we were off to Longmont to make touch and goes before heading home to Tri-County."
And even flight instructors need to find time to practice, lest skills turn to rust. Natalie Corrao works as a flight instructor. "I have not trained as much in the past year," says Corrao, "so I try to take an hour each month to practice stalls and make sure I get some time under the hood." Corrao also finds time to fly searches for the Civil Air Patrol. "I am hoping this will help my flying skills stay fresh," says Corrao.
While several of the pilots interviewed mentioned flying often with the same partners, there's a lot to be said for branching out your aviation friendships as a way to stay fresh. Corrao tries to find other pilots who want to take trips. "Every pilot has something to teach, even if it is what not to do when flying," she says.
Price agrees. "I learn something every time I fly with someone else."
On the flip side, what if you always fly with someone else? If you normally fly with family, friends, or other pilots, fly solo. Doing it all by yourself has its rewards — and its comeuppance, if you forget something that a flying buddy normally takes care of.
And speaking of forgetting, there are those of us who could use some brushing up on the basics. If you normally fly by GPS, turn the magic box off and fly the VORs — or get out a pencil and the sectional chart and do some old-fashioned pilotage. We've all seen a GPS receiver report loss of coverage, so it pays to know the nav that doesn't rely on satellites. In fact, dump the electrons altogether and concoct a cross-country flight that takes you on a scavenger hunt of checkpoints — from quarries that dot the Northeast to oil fields strewn like black pearls across the south-central states, to fields of green across California's Central Valley. Not only will you sharpen rusty skills, you'll also get your eyes out the window — where they belong.
Cross-country flights can also take different forms — like air races. The Colorado Ninety-Nines used to sponsor the Mile High Air Derby, which ran from an airport in the Denver metro area to points south and west, such as Taos or Farmington, New Mexico. Now, many participate in the annual Jackpot Classic, which departs from Jeffco Airport near Denver along a 528-sm route to Jackpot/Hayden Field in northern Nevada. Unfortunately, some have found that the overnight at Cactus Pete's Casino is a great opportunity to spend any cash won during the race.
While you're navigating without benefit of a moving map (or at least a direct-to bearing), mix it up a little and make it easier on yourself. If you normally fly under the airspace, ask for a clearance up higher — through Class B. Or vice versa, if you're usually an IFR flier.
The point is to break out of your mold and keep yourself from forming artificial boundaries that constrict your flying. Miller concludes, "It's in your attitude. If you're enthusiastic enough to learn to fly, it's that same enthusiasm that can take you anywhere."
E-mail the author at [email protected].
Putting It Into Practice
Everything old is new again
BY ELIZABETH A. TENNYSON
I don't keep a personal record book, nor do I have a pin-pierced map on my wall, though maybe I should. But like the adventurous pilots Julie Boatman talked to, I do have a goal: Do at least one thing that tangibly improves my flying and stretches my limits every year.
You could argue that one skill-stretching exercise per year is not much, and you'd be right. But let's face it, it can be hard to find the time and resources to devote to a big aviation project more often than that. Besides, the planning and preparation for these aviation adventures can take longer and be just as educational as the execution.
That was certainly the case when I participated in a cross-country air race. Never before have I reviewed and analyzed charts in such detail — a necessity if you don't want to get up close and personal with a tower jutting skyward from the vast emptiness of the Great Plains. That experience gave me a whole new take on weather, too, and a deeper respect for the forecasters and briefers who do their best to account for the effects of everything from microclimates to the jet stream. Then there was the learning curve associated with taking a flatland pilot through the mountains. I could never have learned so much so quickly if I'd stayed in my routine — nor would the lessons have been so memorable.
My list of future aviation projects is long and varied — touring Australia by light airplane, getting glider and seaplane ratings, polishing stick-and-rudder skills with a tailwheel endorsement, and training in aerobatics all are on that list.
Of course, I know that these grand schemes are no substitute for making every hour count, so I looked back through my logbook to see if I could spot any trends. With a handful of notable exceptions, most of my flights in the past year have been in the local area, including stops at a number of nearby airports. I've also spent a fair amount of my flight time shooting practice approaches and flying holding patterns. What's more, temporary flight restrictions and other security-related rules enacted since last year's terrorist attacks have made me a little nervous about accidentally straying into restricted airspace that's constantly changing and doesn't appear on my charts — graphical depictions from AOPA Online notwithstanding. The upshot: I've filed a lot more IFR flight plans than I did a year ago.
None of this is bad, but it does leave some holes in my proficiency. Like many pilots I've been to most airports within a couple of hours' flight of my home base but don't often branch out to someplace new. What's more, it takes a lot to get me out to the practice area to do steep turns, stalls, and slow flight on my own. I am guilty of mainly saving those exercises for flight reviews and aircraft checkouts. And, as I mentioned, I hardly ever fly strictly VFR anymore.
So taking a lead from The Ninety-Nines, I decided to make a flight that would incorporate many of the missing elements and ensure that these hours, at least, would not be mere repeats of those I've flown before. I would go VFR to an airport I'd never visited, do some maneuvers on the way, and even voluntarily turn off the GPS and practice some old-fashioned pilotage. It would be almost like being a student pilot again.
What did I learn? Exactly what you might expect: Stalls aren't as scary as they were when I was a student; navigating by pilotage still works, and it's a great way to get your eyes and head out of the cockpit; and flying VFR is liberating, not to mention a great way to save time and simplify routing. More important than what I learned is what I remembered: Getting out and trying something a little different is a whole lot more fun than flying that same hour again. And in the end, the convenience of flying for transportation is nice, but having fun is what really keeps me coming back for more.
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