An aviation thread!

WacoFan

WacoFan

Bigly
So many threads about "airspace" and "avionics" and new items or engines for turbine contraptions - I want a thread dealing with actual aviation. Preferably a gas fueled, may instructing or pipeline or any other activities. Specifically, to the extent you are aware - how is the economy impacting your flying? I say this because one of my favorite things is sitting on my patio drinking my coffee and watching the planes in the pattern at the little airport I live incredibly close to. There was a small but pretty active flight school and the airport wasn't busy but was...steady. It is absolutely deader than a doornail now. Like days between seeing any traffic. Makes me wonder what y'all are seeing and how low end GA types are living.
 
WacoFan said:
So many threads about "airspace" and "avionics" and new items or engines for turbine contraptions - I want a thread dealing with actual aviation. Preferably a gas fueled, may instructing or pipeline or any other activities. Specifically, to the extent you are aware - how is the economy impacting your flying? I say this because one of my favorite things is sitting on my patio drinking my coffee and watching the planes in the pattern at the little airport I live incredibly close to. There was a small but pretty active flight school and the airport wasn't busy but was...steady. It is absolutely deader than a doornail now. Like days between seeing any traffic. Makes me wonder what y'all are seeing and how low end GA types are living.
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Fuel prices are absolutely soul crushing right now.
 
Wardogg said:
Fuel prices are absolutely soul crushing right now.
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for 100LL? yeah theyre high but inflation adjusted not atrocious. when i was learning to fly I think I was paying 6.50-7/gal in 2011ish when gasoline prices spiked, local drome hitting $7 past month. youre def not finding the occasional $4/gal spots in the middle of nowhere midwest like you used to.

I’d like to hear from a CFI right now. I can’t imagine Joe the plumber is learning how to fly for fun anymore, seems like all the students I hear about either trying to learn how to drive a cirrus for a business depreciation or kids that only want to go to the airlines.
 
The young and talented think: If I pay $250,000-500,000 to be an airline pilot, I'll be replaced by AI.

Can't say I blame them.

Everything is slower, even some of the corpies.
 
bp said:
for 100LL? yeah theyre high but inflation adjusted not atrocious. when i was learning to fly I think I was paying 6.50-7/gal in 2011ish when gasoline prices spiked, local drome hitting $7 past month. youre def not finding the occasional $4/gal spots in the middle of nowhere midwest like you used to.

I’d like to hear from a CFI right now. I can’t imagine Joe the plumber is learning how to fly for fun anymore, seems like all the students I hear about either trying to learn how to drive a cirrus for a business depreciation or kids that only want to go to the airlines.
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It definitely varies. I’m seeing prices in places I go around 8 and bump into some around 5.

DropTank said:
The young and talented think: If I pay $250,000-500,000 to be an airline pilot, I'll be replaced by AI.

Can't say I blame them.

Everything is slower, even some of the corpies.
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My son is one of them. Not long ago he was all gung-ho to become a career pilot. Today he’s not so sure. For that exact reason. And I honestly don’t know what to tell him, other than freight trains still have 2 people in the cab and that thing operates in two directions on one plane of motion and doesn’t care about weather. Until they replace them I think we’ll be fine.


I wish someone would tell my bosses to slow downdown I’ve been as busy these last three months as ever. And although management doesn’t agree, we are 3 pilots behind as it is.
 
Wardogg said:
My son is one of them. Not long ago he was all gung-ho to become a career pilot. Today he’s not so sure. For that exact reason. And I honestly don’t know what to tell him, other than freight trains still have 2 people in the cab and that thing operates in two directions on one plane of motion and doesn’t care about weather. Until they replace them I think we’ll be fine.
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Worst story I heard was a kid in college, with honors, etc etc, that just kinda gave up in the last semester
Just shut down saying "what's the point?"

And I'm with you, I have absolutely NO IDEA what to tell them.
 
bp said:
for 100LL? yeah theyre high but inflation adjusted not atrocious. when i was learning to fly I think I was paying 6.50-7/gal in 2011ish when gasoline prices spiked, local drome hitting $7 past month. youre def not finding the occasional $4/gal spots in the middle of nowhere midwest like you used to.

I’d like to hear from a CFI right now. I can’t imagine Joe the plumber is learning how to fly for fun anymore, seems like all the students I hear about either trying to learn how to drive a cirrus for a business depreciation or kids that only want to go to the airlines.
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My pay has not "inflation adjusted"
 
Every time I go rent my too expensive cirrus at my local spot the pattern is full of 172s and 152s doing smash and gos and RNAVs.
 
My airport is busy enough with Cirri but also more modest GA airframes. Our flying club is popular and aims to keep costs as low as possible. A few Part 61 flight schools have opened over the past ~5 years, all flying old Cessnas or Pipers. There's a waiting list for hangers, as there always has been and presumably always will be. It's a class D close to the more affluent side of a major metro area.

All that being said, the accelerated ab-initio part 141 school on the field definitely appears less busy.

I met a guy who was doing pipeline control in east Texas (he was based out of Arkansas), so that's at least still a thing people do.
 
The flight school at my home airport in MD and the schools at CDW/MMU seem to be going gangbusters. American Flyers and ATP planes are frickin' everywhere.
 
The VFR traffic the last month has been the most I’ve ever seen. It has made work an absolute • show because they all decide to do manuevers right smack in the middle of STARS at hard IFR altitudes. The other day was the first time I’ve ever gone into a hold because of VFR traffic just because the workload from dodging them was too much.
 
Yeah our flight schools are doing fine, I have no idea where these people are getting money to burn on ATP and American flyers because most of them are never going to burn jet-a
 
NovemberEcho said:
The VFR traffic the last month has been the most I’ve ever seen. It has made work an absolute • show because they all decide to do manuevers right smack in the middle of STARS at hard IFR altitudes. The other day was the first time I’ve ever gone into a hold because of VFR traffic just because the workload from dodging them was too much.
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Hate hearing this. I’m holding out for when people are desperate to sell their planes because they just aren’t flying .
 
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