cliffy Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 On 9/8/2022 at 5:25 PM, A64Pilot said: But for the experienced higher time person, the basic stick and rudder doesn’t deteriorate, I believe it’s because it doesn’t require thought, as we age our mental processes slow down, up to a point we can compensate for that with our superior skills and less brash behavior, but there is a time where we can’t and we have to shed tasks Some of us shed them proactively (as in IMC flying, night SE over mountains) and others wait a bit too long. I won't list my creds here but just to say I've got 60 years into this flying game from big iron on down. 55 years as a licensed wrench bender on airplanes. Still active in both arenas I have stayed with my M20D FOR 25 YEARS NOW and have no intention of changing airplanes at this stage in my flying "career" . I know it well. No sense in trying to learn something new for a 10% speed increase when now every day is Saturday!!! I can agree with Parker vis a v older pilots to a degree. Annual flight review (or more) at less than 50 hrs/yr should be done after 75 yrs old at least -maybe 70. I've got no problem with that. But it should include "train to proficiency" or fail. It should have teeth in it. Maybe the call to "not able" has to be done. I've interviewed several Instructors who have complained about BiAs with pilots less than competent knowing full well that they will drop below competency in the next 3 to 6 months. I've done hundreds 'of 121 Check Rides as a Check Airman and it didn't happen very often (Thank God) but I've had to fail a few and they went out to pasture in years gone bye. But low flight time affects many way younger than 80. Ask any shop how many airplanes they annual with less than 50 hrs since the last annual. Recency of experience to is the biggest factor in safety in flying for any age group. After that comes more airplane than you can safely handle with your experience level. 25 hrs instruction time in a new hot rod just doesn't cut it in many cases. I could go on but I won't. Suffice to say I've seen many useless smoking holes in 60 years 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 There is some sunshine still… There are methods to delay age related cognitive issues… And improve cognitive issues that may have gotten damaged along the way… It isn’t all doom and gloom… Unless sedentary is the route you want to go… Its nice to have an O2 meter… while sitting in the plane… The odd part is… getting O2 to the whole brain requires some exercise…. I have had the good fortune to work with people getting over brain injuries… Eating right and exercise takes on a whole new meaning… and it works to some extent… Go to the gym early… you will see all the ordinary people intentionally delaying the aging process… Some people are more lucky… than others… Hanging out around MS is great exercise for the brain…. Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertGary1 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 Good timing as Aopa just sent out a notice of membership fee increases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted September 14, 2022 Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 Yep, got the same increase. Fewer members. Paid for basic this time. When I first joined in the early 90s near 900,000 member in AOPA - now I think is closer to 600,000… -Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted September 14, 2022 Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 51 minutes ago, hammdo said: Yep, got the same increase. Fewer members. Paid for basic this time. When I first joined in the early 90s near 900,000 member in AOPA - now I think is closer to 600,000… -Don While I'm certain their many missteps have contributed to their membership decline let's not forget that the pilot population has experience a considerable decline in the last 30 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted September 14, 2022 Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 3 minutes ago, steingar said: While I'm certain their many missteps have contributed to their membership decline let's not forget that the pilot population has experience a considerable decline in the last 30 years. The increase in price is a sign of the times, and as prices continue to rise, people will start shedding things like AOPA membership first. So say in a year or so when it’s an even lower number it may not reflect pilot population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted September 14, 2022 Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 I often wonder how much AOPA gets from the players in the industry (i.e. Garmin, Avidyne, etc.). Lord knows they got a lot from us…Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted September 14, 2022 Report Share Posted September 14, 2022 3 hours ago, RobertGary1 said: Good timing as Aopa just sent out a notice of membership fee increases. I live very close to AOPA headquarters. It’s hard to say that the organization is run efficiently after seeing some of the things that I’ve seen. You would think that they were a very profitable corporation rather than a not for profit advocacy group. It looks very much like a club for well heeled pilots except for the folks enjoying the amenities are the employees who’s lifestyle is financed by the members. Not sure if the N number of the jet is still blocked, but doing so was not a victory for organizational transparency. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbp Posted September 20, 2022 Report Share Posted September 20, 2022 On 9/3/2022 at 12:24 PM, RobertGary1 said: If you call AOPA to ask an aviation or medical question today you'll simply be told you need to "upgrade" your membership. -Robert I did exactly this, and the medical folks were completely useless. they just repeated what was on the FAA website 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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