2021 Aviation Goals

[KLRDMD]

10 minutes ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

If you're a seaplane pilot with enough hours, go do your ATP SEL & SES in the same checkride with a longtime client of mine.  You pick: Husky or Beaver

http://www.ryanseaplanes.com/

No seaplane yet. Years ago I should have done the single and multi seaplane ratings when Sheble had a place in Arizona on the Colorado river. The multi was in a Beech 18 on floats, as I recall.

[Parker_Woodruff]

10 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

No seaplane yet. Years ago I should have done the single and multi seaplane ratings when Sheble had a place in Arizona on the Colorado river. The multi was in a Beech 18 on floats, as I recall.

Water flying is the most fun flying there is.  I got my SES in a J-3 and MES in a Grumman Widgeon.

[Mooneymite]

20 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

No seaplane yet. Years ago I should have done the single and multi seaplane ratings when Sheble had a place in Arizona on the Colorado river. The multi was in a Beech 18 on floats, as I recall.

I've been very discouraged about getting a seaplane rating because it is pretty much useless unless you own a seaplane.  There are no rentals near me.  It would just be a conversation piece on my ticket.

It's about like my flight engineer ticket....

Edited December 24, 2020 by Mooneymite

[Tim Jodice]

Buy in to a Baron with 3 other people 

[KLRDMD]

48 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

I've been very discouraged about getting a seaplane rating because it is pretty much useless unless you own a seaplane.  There are no rentals near me.  It would just be a conversation piece on my ticket.

It's about like my flight engineer ticket....

Same here and same for my ATP. Chances are I'll never use it, haven't yet. But I get to say I have one 

[Hank]

1 hour ago, Mooneymite said:

I've been very discouraged about getting a seaplane rating because it is pretty much useless unless you own a seaplane.  There are no rentals near me.  It would just be a conversation piece on my ticket.

I had the same thought! Now if my house was waterfront on the lake . . . . The same thing happened to my tailwheel endorsement. And my Commercial ticket, don't see ever getting a return on that investment, either.

[Mooneymite]

19 minutes ago, Hank said:

I had the same thought! Now if my house was waterfront on the lake . . . . The same thing happened to my tailwheel endorsement. And my Commercial ticket, don't see ever getting a return on that investment, either.

The best return on investment is probably an A&P with IA.

[Wayne Cease]

Flying I did quite well on my plans. 

I flew over 100 hours, and met my stretch goal by having my most hours in a year: 132.0. 

I got to visit Bob and do some back country flying with him in his 182.  That was part of my Big Cross Country Trip (link to POA).  I flew from Atlanta to Vale, OR, hitting some extra states along the way for my map.  After a few days in Vale I flew to Rapid City and my wife flew there commercial; she had no interest in back country flying.  We toured the sights there and then flew home.

I flew my most number of Angel Flight missions in a year, 15, and the most hours for them too, 65.4. 

The other traveling plans were tossed into the dumpster fire known as COVID.  COVID also canceled triathlons, along with other running events.  I did manage to bike over 1,000 miles this year.  Our downsizing move in 2019 got me closer to the Silver Comet trail and no commuting gave me the opportunity and time to ride early in the morning.  Instead of flying to Nashville in March as planned, we flew to Louisville, Memphis and Nashville in November. Not exactly how I would have imagined a 25th anniversary trip, but hey, it is 2020.  We also got in trips to visit our two younger daughters; the oldest lives in town.  The youngest moved to Charlotte in July, so I now have 3 landings at CLT, including one with a low ceiling.  The first in August and the airport was dead other than the FBO.  The third in October was vectors in IMC and breaking out to see a line of American jets waiting for the line of landing planes that I was at the end of to finish so they could depart.

While the COPA Migration event in October was off we still went to Amelia Island and had dinners with about a dozen other couples that also kept their hotel reservations. Then we did a week long trip stopping in Louisville, Memphis and Nashville for our 25th anniversary.  Not how I would have imagined a 25th anniversary trip before 2020. 

For 2021 

I plan to continue traveling.  We'll probably start the year with weekend trips. Not sure where as it will also still be cool to cold out. With COVID still shutting things down we can't plan on much more. I'll probably do some more Angel Flight missions in the first part of the year than travel.

If the vaccines do the job, then we may do the Northeast trip we were planning in 2020. Saratoga horse races in August and visiting family and friends in the northeast. Depending on that timeline we may even swing by Cincinnati for the tennis tournament there and to see some sights in Cincy.

We are also thinking of going to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October. My wife, SIL & BIL may all be retired by then.  We were hoping our daughter would get her next assignment in her rotation in Richardson, TX as that would be a nice stop for the Albuquerque trip, but she got Pueblo, CO.  So, maybe another trip, or we go north from ABQ to visit her and some friends in Denver.

I'll try again to top 100 hours, but it would be an even bigger stretch goal to top the total hours in 2020.
 

[GeeBee]

3 hours ago, Mooneymite said:

I've been very discouraged about getting a seaplane rating because it is pretty much useless unless you own a seaplane.  There are no rentals near me.  It would just be a conversation piece on my ticket.

It's about like my flight engineer ticket....

Now come on. You never know when there will be a need for a mercy flight to haul some rubber dog doo-doo out of Hong Kong in an L-1011.

 

[lamont337]

2020 main goal involved a regional airline and was starting to take shape in March but... well you know. Added Instrument and MEI. Should pass 900 hours for the past 12 months, which isn't bad considering we were shut down for nearly 2 months. 85 of that was in the Mooney, mostly with my brother in the left seat working on his instrument ticket. Might hit 1800 total.

2021 goals:

• fly a little less actually. Or at least less instruction and more King Air time . Off to Flight Safety in March.
• Tail wheel when time allows
• Help remaining students finish current ratings, including my brother

I feel very fortunate to still be working, mainly instructing, while so many others in the industry are playing the waiting game. Like many I'll be glad to put 2020 in the rear view mirror.

 

 

 

[Mooneymite]

46 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

Now come on. You never know when there will be a need for a mercy flight to haul some rubber dog doo-doo out of Hong Kong in an L-1011.

 

Ha!  Except for turning off 2 of the packs for start and turning them back on after start, I never figured out what the L-1011 flight engineer was supposed to do....   Oh, yeah.  Now I remember:  go down and check the circuit breakers in the lower galley and talk to the galley slave.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Mooneymite

[tmo]

Two words: Instrument Rating.

I am getting discouraged with the ATPL theory course, which is pretty much the European equivalent of the single IR written from the FAA, so I might revisit the FAA route when we come for the Summit.

[mike_elliott]

Fly commercial to and from training clients without a mask on, you know, like back in the old days.

[kortopates]

43 minutes ago, mike_elliott said:

Fly commercial to and from training clients without a mask on, you know, like back in the old days.

Yeah and just flying with my students without a mask will be a nice change!

[kortopates]

20 hours ago, Mooneymite said:

The best return on investment is probably an A&P with IA.

Indeed, but its got to be more work and time than private through ATP combined!!

[PDXBravo]

2020:

• 221.4 hours and 27 instrument approaches in the Bravo
• 3 transcontinental round-trip flights

2021:

• Fly the North Atlantic Route to visit family in Germany 

[Seth]

Bump

[WrightFlyer]

I've been lurking for the past few months as I contemplate a Mooney purchase this year.  This site has been a wealth of information as I get closer to pulling the trigger.

2020 Goals:

• Returning to flying wasn't even on my mind - then COVID hit and a I began new role with some regular travel.  

2021 Goals:

• Complete my Class 3 Medical
• Complete BFR/IPC
• Buy a Mooney (J or K?)
• Less lurking and more engaging on MS

  

[Andy95W]

Welcome, glad to have you.  Good luck with 2021!

[jlunseth]

ATP-SE I want to at least take the written later this year.

[AerostarDriver]

In general, do less hanger flying and do more flying.

However, I plan on finishing up my CFI in my E, flying out my 500 hours total time in order to participate in the Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh in 2022, (I do not have high hopes for 2021).

As far as the goals for my airplane, I intend on doing the following:

• Replace fiberglass with foam as part of SB-208
• Replace carpet as the years have not treated it well
• Replace my JPI 700 and non-stock engine instruments with a CGR-30P or equivalent

[Jerry 5TJ]

2021 Hopes

Finish up the few students I’ve been working with during CoVid. 
 

Fly my own plane around the country to visit people and places as we did pre-pandemic.  
 

Get a SES rating in a Republic SeaBee this summer — for no reason other than fun.  

[carusoam]

22 hours ago, WrightFlyer said:

I've been lurking for the past few months as I contemplate a Mooney purchase this year.  This site has been a wealth of information as I get closer to pulling the trigger.

2020 Goals:

• Returning to flying wasn't even on my mind - then COVID hit and a I began new role with some regular travel.  

2021 Goals:

• Complete my Class 3 Medical
• Complete BFR/IPC
• Buy a Mooney (J or K?)
• Less lurking and more engaging on MS

  

Welcome aboard, Mr. Wright!

Got any questions, to help guide you through your goals?

MS has a few people in your neighborhood...

Best regards,

-a-

[David Lloyd]

Get some color in a few more states.  Couple of G5 in the panel.  A working clock.

Got a plan now for DE, RI, NH, ME and MA.  One trip, one day.

Got a plan for my next NM trip, Two day trip to get NE, WY, ND, ID, WA and OR.

1/24, the clock is in panel. Wire next trip.

[WrightFlyer]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

Welcome aboard, Mr. Wright!

Got any questions, to help guide you through your goals?

MS has a few people in your neighborhood...

Best regards,

-a-

Thanks for the warm welcome!  

I'll start a new thread with specifics on my background and mission plus the research I've done so far.  It would be great to have this group pressure test my assumptions and highlight what I might be missing. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a dumb question, but there are lazy questions.  I like to ask informed, researched questions.   

I'm talking to one of my fellow Marylanders @Seth later today, I'll save my dumb questions for him!