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How has your flying been impacted?...self sufficiency in the COVID19 era


DXB

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For me - 

1. My plane went to the avionics shop just before things got bad, and I almost didn't get it back because my installer may have gotten worried about people coming from the big city to pick it up (can't say I blame him). Ultimately I got him to let me fetch it on the weekend when nobody was around.  

2. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have spent $$ on an avionics upgrade on the cusp of a major economic downturn (oh well). Now it's going to be a while before I can take the plane back to troubleshoot the inevitable bugs (overall the work seems good).  

3. Harder to stay instrument current?  The winter, my schedule,  and a couple prolonged stints in shops eroded my instrument currency down to the final days, having logged 0 approaches logged in 6 months. When I finally retrieved my plane in the middle of this COVID19 shut down, I figured my go-to CFI, who is an older gentleman, wouldn't be too enthused to spend time with me for an IPC (nor would I want him to).  Same consideration might apply to bugging someone to be my safety pilot under present circumstances.

4. I'm a healthcare worker, and if things get ugly here, there won't be much time for flying for a while anyway - partly why I really wanted to keep up my instrument currency and proficiency at the present moment. I'd been looking at sim options for logging, but I figured the proficiency-promoting value of actual IMC when flying approaches can't be replicated any other way.  

So yesterday and today, I took advantage of warmer temps + low ceilings and banged out 6 approaches in actual, including landing at KLNS yesterday eve just as conditions deteriorated down to near 200ft ceiling and 1/2 mi visibility (after botching the avionics setup and going missed on the first attempt in better conditions). The second attempt after getting vectored around unfolded flawlessly. I had good outs available if it hadn't gone smoothly, but yes it still probably wasn't wise for someone who was rusty to tackle ceilings/vis that low . 

I do now feel sharper and more self sufficient in the cockpit in IMC and in the system, which may be helpful in our present circumstances. 

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11 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

No more $100 hamburgers!

Whats the point of going somewhere if there is nothing to do once you get there!

Yeah that's a big one -  $100 hike in the woods by myself may be my go to in the near future.

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3 hours ago, DXB said:

Yeah that's a big one -  $100 hike in the woods by myself may be my go to in the near future.

Around here they're shutting down the woods too...so no hiking at national or state parks.  Certainly there at more trails than that though.

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My flying is shut down by annual, and the sudden need to replace my 2-1/2 year old ignition harness because the genius who did my last annual not only buggered up flight and gear rigging but left the harness loose at the 90° bends, which didn't need to be loosened . . . . They are running 7-10 days delivery, no one has them in stock right now . . . .

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I had a ton of flying planed over the last 3 weeks and other than some sunset flights none of it has happened....

Also I was supposed to be in annual on Monday but the shop is closed due to possible CV......so there you go

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ce43605a-ccbe-4471-bba7-4fc04db0d4ec

Edited by Jim Peace
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I had almost 12 work and family trips planned over these 2.5 months, work trips, visiting family, 2 college (and grad school) graduations, and post admission to college visit trips.  All cancelled.  But still able to fly, only currency flights rather than mission flights.  Its ok - life happens - happy to be alive and thankful to have a safe place to shelter the family.

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16 hours ago, DXB said:

 

So yesterday and today, I took advantage of warmer temps + low ceilings and banged out 6 approaches in actual, including landing at KLNS yesterday eve just as conditions deteriorated down to near 200ft ceiling and 1/2 mi visibility (after botching the avionics setup and going missed on the first attempt in better conditions). The second attempt after getting vectored around unfolded flawlessly. I had good outs available if it hadn't gone smoothly, but yes it still probably wasn't wise for someone who was rusty to tackle ceilings/vis that low . 

 

Maybe not super advisable to fly low ifr single pilot in a single engine when rusty...but so it is and hats off to you for getting it done.

I was thinking just this - that since I am currently not going to invite anyone into my airplane that isn't one of my sons living with me- and they are not pilots rated to be safety pilots, then the only way to stay legally current is actual approaches in actual.  So I am planning if the right kind of easy IFR day shows up - I usually want only MVFR if I am single pilot in IFR in a single engine, then I might well go fly 6 approaches.

Will I over burden the controller?  I hope not - but I see right now on flight aware that there is not one single airplane in the sky anywhere within 75 miles of this location (over in Burlington VT) - in this country - or 70 miles from this location if you let me count Montreal.

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I'm most fortunate!  My flying has not been impacted for my missions.  I'm mostly a local traveler these days, so no negative impacts.  Plane is in good shape, fuel is relatively inexpensive and our weather is incredibly gorgeous currently!  Yes, one could get the hamburger, and as previously mentioned............to go!  As a matter of fact, I just returned from a little flying jaunt around our beach coastal area.........lucky I am !

As I think of those heavily impacted by this horrible situation, both medically and financially, I am most thankful and grateful for my current situation.  I wish you all the very best. 

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A number of long flights have been canceled for me.  So it's just flying around the city.  Mae one lat trip to the beach to eat just before all the shutdowns.

Don't call me a conspiracy theorist but I think  most of this is blown out of proportion.  Yes there are some concerns associated with this and actions to be taken. 

I think it is a grand experiment to see just how far they can push the people of the world and the country in locking down their freedoms before the people push back.:ph34r:

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I went flying yesterday, mainly to keep the engine from going too long without operating.  KSAV was down to one guy working everything; Clearance Delivery, Ground and Tower.  I am guessing they couldn't comply with social distancing, and told the rest of the crew to stay home.  It took 15 minutes to get a VFR clearance out of the Class C.  There is a fair amount of airline and military traffic at this airport, in addition to GA.  I don't think the controllers are going to be too happy with this.

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We are a people of freedom.  We cherish it!  Is it possible we take it for granted, without really thinking about what it means to have our freedoms?  What's the saying about we don't know what we have until it's gone?  Is this situation a sample of what it feels like to be over controlled, to loose our freedoms?   Maybe.
 
Again, something good comes from something bad.  Is the good that comes from all this is that we will save countless number of lives by adhearing to the volunteer suggested self-quarantine, the social distancing?  Is the good that comes from this, once life returns to normal, is that we look at our freedoms with a little more respect, with a little more value? 
 
Yes, incredible financial devastation for so many, probably more than we even think and for longer than we really know.
Is it blown out of proportion?  I don't know.  I don't think anyone knows........... we've never been here before.
 
 
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12 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

We should have an illegal BBQ, camping beer bash at some back country airport. Screw the system!

I suggest Baghdad, AZ....

The virus couldn’t even find that place....

I feel you N201; these socialization constraints are *very* frustrating for everyone. I suspect most people definitely identify with the desire to rage against the machine. That our media has, in recent years, largely forgotten the vocation of relatively factual, clinical journalism and instead taken political sides and rather massive artistic license with sensationalizing or flatly synthesizing the facts doesn't help a bit in our ability to trust public messaging through those channels. All very frustrating.  We had our youngest daughter's college graduation canceled. She did 4 years at Truman University in Missouri and now will just get mailed a diploma for her BSRN work ... there are millions like her. One of those millions is her older sister. Her medical school graduation also canceled and she is crushed about it.... she understands...still crushed. Can you imagine going through the process of getting into medical school, working through those challenge and at the end of it all you an your whole class never graduating, ...just a diploma in the mail.  Des Moines Univ won't even be able to do a "redo" later because all the freshly minted "baby docs" will be in residency and won't be able to peel away. I don't know if most people can even conceptually put that in their mental" pipe and smoke it," , but I sure struggle trying.  In this world, who wouldn't want to take back a little control? This disease, the ever changing, constraining social protocols and the economic impact all profoundly s-uuuuu-c-k.  That said, in the historical sense, these things are (so far) relatively smaller potatoes so there is that context. That said, ... we could make it worse:  https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak - this event occurred under guidance to avoid large gatherings, but prior to outright bans. Now, with much stricter city/state/federal requirements in place, the repercussions of having an otherwise innocent and wholesome event getting out of the cage could go well beyond just the biological blowback.   With this nasty little virus, the problem is that if we throw off the social distancing protocols, we not only can have it blow up in our face - and really hurt ourselves and other people voluntarily involved with a gathering -  more insidiously, we lack the power to limit the damage to those involved. What of the people ...particularly older folks... I might expose if I am one of the almost half of the  mild or fully asymptomatic people who unwittingly become a viral Johnny Appleseed? What of the healthcare workers and their family's exposure if I or others I infect  get sick?  Check this out: https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections (you can filter for your state). The error bounding on the bottom two graphs presumably are primarily influenced by our mass population behavior vis-à-vis social distancing/sanitation and our mass population behavior influenced by our individual behavior. Little bits make a gob and wherever we go we end up taking others with us. Maintaining discipline here may be a bit like hand flying hard IMC...trust your instruments and resist going emotive or relying on your seat of the pants feelings for orientation because the stakes are pretty high. I'm not saying don't go, but would very much suggest being exquisitely considerate in whether and how we do things. 

 

Just my $.02 

 

Stephen

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22 minutes ago, Stephen said:

I feel you N201; these socialization constraints are *very* frustrating for everyone. I suspect most people definitely identify with the desire to rage against the machine. That our media has, in recent years, largely forgotten the vocation of relatively factual, clinical journalism and instead taken political sides and rather massive artistic license with sensationalizing or flatly synthesizing the facts doesn't help a bit in our ability to trust public messaging through those channels. All very frustrating.  We had our youngest daughter's college graduation canceled. She did 4 years at Truman University in Missouri and now will just get mailed a diploma for her BSRN work ... there are millions like her. One of those millions is her older sister. Her medical school graduation also canceled and she is crushed about it.... she understands...still crushed. Can you imagine going through the process of getting into medical school, working through those challenge and at the end of it all you an your whole class never graduating, ...just a diploma in the mail.  Des Moines Univ won't even be able to do a "redo" later because all the freshly minted "baby docs" will be in residency and won't be able to peel away. I don't know if most people can even conceptually put that in their mental" pipe and smoke it," , but I sure struggle trying.  In this world, who wouldn't want to take back a little control? This disease, the ever changing, constraining social protocols and the economic impact all profoundly s-uuuuu-c-k.    Of course... we could make it worse:  https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak - this event occurred under guidance to avoid large gatherings, but prior to outright bans. Now, with much stricter city/state/federal requirements in place, the repercussions of having an otherwise innocent and wholesome event getting out of the cage could go well beyond just the biological blowback.   With this nasty little virus, the problem is that if we throw off the social distancing protocols, we not only can have it blow up in our face - and really hurt ourselves and other people voluntarily involved with a gathering -  more insidiously, we lack the power to limit the damage to those involved. What of the people ...particularly older folks... I might expose if I am one of the almost half of the  mild or fully asymptomatic people who unwittingly become a viral Johnny Appleseed? What of the healthcare workers and their family's exposure if I or others I infect  get sick?  Check this out: https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections (you can filter for your state). The error bounding on the bottom two graphs presumably are primarily influenced by our mass population behavior vis-à-vis social distancing/sanitation and our mass population behavior influenced by our individual behavior. Little bits make a gob and wherever we go we end up taking others with us. Maintaining discipline here may be a bit like hand flying hard IMC...trust your instruments and resist going emotive or relying on your seat of the pants feelings for orientation because the stakes are pretty high. I'm not saying don't go, but would very much suggest being exquisitely considerate in whether and how we do things. 

 

Just my $.02 

Stephen

That model website is pretty illustrative of the issues at play. I think the wide confidence intervals on those predictions are driven by ambiguities in all of the input data, not just human behavior, as well as flawed assumptions of the model.  One issue that I think is sorely missing from the public discourse on these models:

https://medium.com/@wpegden/a-call-to-honesty-in-pandemic-modeling-5c156686a64b

“Public health depends on public trust. If we claim now that our models show that 2 months of mitigations will cut deaths by 90%, why will anyone believe us 2 months from now when the story has to change?“    I would like to think this viewpoint wrong, but I see no reason to dismiss it; to the contrary, I think it should be driving policy in the near future.  The best social restrictions may be ones that let the virus burn through the population at a steady rate until herd immunity emerges.  Measures that allow us to maintain just enough resources to take care of the sick are what we need, not ones that suppresses transmission entirely, smashing our economy with it.  

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