Sport Pilot Talk

Hey guys and girls just checking in and as the title infers trying to get a good idea about how you handle extended downtime due to weather. Since I got my license I've been up for only 2 hours in the last month. Most of this was due to weather and my schedule. It also looks like a winter weather mess here in Louisiana around Christmas and new year's, which is when I planned to get some stick time in. How do you guys generally handle extended downtime and still feel current? It's been two weeks and I already feel rusty...

The title implies, the reader infers. Anyway, I usually don't fly but once or twice a month all year long. My flying budget doesn't allow for more than that. That works for me, but might not be adequate for a new pilot. Seems like there should be enough good weather days to fly as often as needed even if only staying in the pattern and making takeoffs and landings.

Can't fly on weekdays after work ( as I do in summer ) since it gets dark early so I basically try to use weekends and get at least one flight every weekend - if I can't ... well , wait till another weekend.
That's about it - I am not sure what else can be done ...

Move to Florida, maybe?

Half Fast wrote:Move to Florida, maybe?

That's pretty drastic , you know...am still only in my 40s....

Warmi wrote:

Half Fast wrote:Move to Florida, maybe?

That's pretty drastic , you know...am still only in my 40s....

You may be surprised to learn this, but some of us were actually born here.

Half Fast wrote:

Warmi wrote:

Half Fast wrote:Move to Florida, maybe?

That's pretty drastic , you know...am still only in my 40s....

You may be surprised to learn this, but some of us were actually born here.

I believe you.. they say that anything can and eventually will happen

On a more serious note, Florida is quite lovely but for someone who grew up in cold and dark parts of northern/eastern Europe, Chicago humid weather is already more than enough - if I am going to move,it will be be somewhere north west ... but ...that's just me dreaming...

Warmi wrote:

Half Fast wrote:Move to Florida, maybe?

That's pretty drastic , you know...am still only in my 40s....

Hell, I'm a spring chicken I guess (36). I wish I could move, my wife has a lot of family in Florida (Orlando and Rockledge). Unfortunately, work which compounds my schedule but pays for my hobby, really keeps me in Louisiana and Texas.

foresterpoole wrote:
Hell, I'm a spring chicken I guess (36). I wish I could move, my wife has a lot of family in Florida (Orlando and Rockledge). Unfortunately, work which compounds my schedule but pays for my hobby, really keeps me in Louisiana and Texas.

Yep, I've got 20 years on you, you young whipper snapper. So stay offa my lawn!

I try to fly at least once a week, all year long.
That does get to be a challenge here in the northeast, but being retired helps. I can cherry pick my days.
Then you learn to live with the cold. The J3 is VERY short on creature comforts.
Like heat.
Or doors that seal at all.
I think I've only missed 3 weeks since November, and it's been a brutal, windy winter.

Winter? Winter?! Sheesh, it was in the mid 80s all weekend. I hope somebody shot that damn groundhog. Six more weeks of winter, he said...

Mine is supposedly a revenue-producing aircraft (I run a flight school). As such, it's supposed to fly all year 'round, to earn its keep. In fact, it flew exactly four hours in January, and (so far) four hours in February. What's wrong with my business plan?

drseti wrote:Mine is supposedly a revenue-producing aircraft (I run a flight school). As such, it's supposed to fly all year 'round, to earn its keep. In fact, it flew exactly four hours in January, and (so far) four hours in February. What's wrong with my business plan?

Speaking from a non business point of view doc...maybe send out flyers to your active students and renters with something like a winter incentive, weather permitting of course. Have a winter safety seminar, a rusty pilot course. Just saying. Oh and maybe FOOD, even coffe and cake, you don’t want to go broke....

drseti wrote: What's wrong with my business plan?

Uh, the plan is being executed in Pennsylvania instead of Florida, maybe?

drseti wrote:Mine is supposedly a revenue-producing aircraft (I run a flight school). As such, it's supposed to fly all year 'round, to earn its keep. In fact, it flew exactly four hours in January, and (so far) four hours in February. What's wrong with my business plan?

Offer another option for students. Instead of the "college course" format where the student does ground and flight simultaneously, offer an option to students to do their ground school in the winter, pass the written, then do flight training in spring, summer, and fall. Also, make sure your routine maintenance and annuals fall in the winter. Offer a reduced maintenance rate and rate for annuals during winter months and take your vacations during winter.

EDIT: Offer reduced rental rate during winter months.