[FormerFF]

This was inspired by the Please Take Your Landings Seriously! thread. How much flying do you think is needed to maintain a reasonable level of proficiency? Obviously, proficiency is a relative thing, you need to be at a much higher level to fly the Owens than you do most of our eastern sites. Still, you need to fly a certain amount to safely launch and land in soarable conditions.

I'm struggling with finding the time to go flying these days. I thought it would get better as my daughters got older, but am finding the opposite is true. They're very involved in activities, especially in the after school hours, and both my wife and I spend a fair bit of time ferrying them about. Throw an average 10 hour work day on top of that, add a little yard maintenance and home repair in, and I'm probably down to one day a month.

The Eastern weather is another factor. It seems like there are periods fall through spring where conditions are only flyable one day per week, so there's a 2 in 7 chance that the flyable day will be on the weekend. On top of that, not all flyable days are soarable, particularly for those of us who have limited flight time. To make things worse, there are weather patterns that set up where the flyable, and especially soarable, days are in the middle of the week for a few weeks in a row. Add all this up and I'm down to 7 or 8 days a year. Is this enough to maintain proficiency? I'm beginning to think the answer is no.

What do you think?

[CAL]

that would be hard to answer, because when i got back into the sport i have always been able to get a least one day week in.

it's funny there are times when i feel on my game and other days feel like what is wrong with me.

i would think one day a month would be ok if you pick your conditions well, i know you fly a falcon so that helps,

how do you feel when you get back on your glider after not flying for several weeks?

[CAL]

if i did not think that i could stay proficient at it, i would make time to stay proficient i would not want to give it all up

that's just my opinion because of my love for the sport,

so if my life depended on staying proficient i would take the time

but i did give it up for 30 years after my children married off, so i know your dilemma

i wish i would have taken the time (once a month to stay current) during those days

[FormerFF]

[CHassan]

I know guys who come out once or twice a year. Have solid launches, smoke everybody in flight, then come in to a no stepper in front of the cooler.

Then there is the other extreme. Guys who don't fly for a week, come out and scare the hell out of you on launch, beat the tug back to the field, and pound craters just outside of the 14 acre LZ.

So the correct answer is .....................

[slimchance]

I would say once a week to stay confident. I haven’t flown in 3 weeks until yesterday. I am not happy with my landing. When I say “confidence“, its not confidence that I can fly, or handle the conditions, but imo, its confidence in the flair timing and proper motion up and back. If you flair early the confidence to HOLD the flair and not take it back.

Tim

[pjwings]

[ChattaroyMan]

I'd say once a month during flying months - if you also have time to contemplate your flying, get/keep equipment ready/organized, etc. I'm trying to average 1 per week for the entire year (more in summer - less in winter). So far I'm behind schedule. What you might do on your 'down' time is to start searching around on Google Earth and county assessor records for who owns possible new foot launched flying sites that are nearer to your home. That has made a marked difference in my flying time. Nearest decent site used to be 60+ miles from my home and I had to drive N-S through Spokane (not fun). Now there's a site I helped develop that is 32 miles away and only 2 stop signs (no lights) and a 60 mph highway between it and me. I'm plugging away at 6-10 more sites that are closer (why work on one at a time!).

If I couldn't fly often I don't think I'd want to juggle towing + foot launching and be switching between the two. I personally need to feel pretty darn comfortable/familiar with what I'm doing to maintain/gain proficiency. One of the reasons I sold my Falcon and now concentrating on getting wired into the Sport (as opposed to switching between the two).

Another avenue you might try is finding other pilots in your area that are in the same boat. Maybe combine efforts on multiple family outings. Flying hangs can be a very hard thing to allot time to effectively. I was out of it for 29 years for that reason. Those were 29 years I yearned to be up in a hang. Finally couldn't take it any longer!

One more thing a high airtime pilot in our area does - goes to work @ 6 AM. If conditions look good he takes 1/2 of a vacation day and gets off @ 10 AM and heads to a hill. His May stats are pretty darn impressive! (Wonder Boy).

[jyoder111]

Flying once a month is only 12 or so launches and landings in a year. Add a few training hill days here and there and you can double or triple that number pretty easily.
Since launching and landing is the part of flying that is affected most by how current you are (IMHO), seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't understand why pilots don't get out and huff it up and down the hill more often.

Jesse

[BBJCaptain]

[old newbie]

!0 hours more then NMERider

I am definitely going to need to quit my job!

Steve Forslund

[tom emery]

For me, three times a week.

[FormerFF]

[old newbie]

It sounds like you have given it up, 2 hours a year? A two drive is not that bad, I know my friends and I will drive 4-5 hours one way for a good forecast at a good site for one day, easier if you are going for the weekend. Unless you are living at a consistent site with easy logistics it take a commitment of time. Sounds like you need a couple of flying vacations.

Steve Forslund

.[/quote]

I' pulled out my log, here's here's what I have

2007: 88 training hill flights, 4 aerotow tandems, 3 mountain foot launches, skunked once
2008: 20 hill flights, 13 mountain foot launches, skunked once
2009: 9 mountain foot launches, total time 1:30
2010: 14 mountain foot launches, total time 2:00, skunked once
2011: 4 mountain foot launches, 8 aerotow tandems, solo time 1:32, dual time 2:20, skunked once.
2012: zero flight time

That's 54 mountain flights in five years.

Part (most?) of the issue is the time involved. The closest place for me to fly is LMFP, which is 2:15 away, assuming no stops or traffic. Henson's is more like 3 hrs. If I got my H3 and had my landings wired, I could fly with Ben DeGaris, which is about 1:45 from my house. Any flying day is pretty much all day.

I could add to my flight count by showing up for a morning hill session. That involves leaving my house at 5:30 to be there at 7:45. This would be good flare timing practice, but would be no help at all when coming into an active LZ, and if there is any lift, the LZ will be active, either from thermals or from rotor coming off of the foothills.

The other problem is that the window for me to fly in lift is pretty narrow, just like any other lower intermediate pilot. If the wind's more than about 15, I'm not too confident about launching, and if the thermals are strong, the LZ's too hot for me to make a safe approach.

I don't really want to give this up, but I'm beginning to think I'm becoming a hazard to myself. Free time seems to be increasingly difficult to come by, and my wife's not too impressed with me being gone all day. I can think of some kind of lame solution, like finishing my AT rating and just coming up for evening AT sledders, and if I luck into a glassoff, so much the better. I don't know how satisfying that would be.[/quote]

[jjcote]

In the past five years I've managed:
2008: 18 days, 31 flights, 17 hours
2009: 13 days, 21 flights, 15 hours
2010: 15 days, 17 flights, 21 hours
2011: 18 days, 18 flights, 22 hours
2012: 6 days, 6 flights, 10 hours (so far)

I make an effort to fly at least once a month, though I miss sometimes in the winter. I'd say that there are several people who fly more days than I do around here (New England), but they are outnumbered by the ones who fly less. Unfortunately, my flying opportunities are going to be hampered for a while by my new job, so it's weekends only (when the weather and the rest of my schedule cooperate) for the time being.

[fly,surf,&ski]

I personally tell people HG is a MINIMUM of a 5 year commitment at first. And what I mean by commitment is that means pretty much all you do with your available free time. Weekends, vacations, before and after work if possible.

IMO you need hundreds and hundreds of hours <EDIT:and tons of launches and landings> under your belt before you can slow down, and even then when you do slow down you need to reevaluate the conditions you fly, the sites you fly, and the type of glider you fly.....

I can personally go months without flying and feel 100% confident on my Airwave Pulse in the right conditions.(I don't fly when it's blowing 30 ANYMORE) It almost amazes me how comfortable I feel on my Pulse even when I have not flown for a while. For me it really is like riding a bike, but I have also been flying since I was 15 and I am now 37.

That being said if I went to the Owens Valley and launched a high performance glider @ high noon, yes I would more than likely feel uncomfortable to say the least. I would have to gradually work up to that level again....

BTW I say the same thing about getting proficient at my current favorite sport surfing too..

my2cents

[Nicos]

It's gotta depend on how good you are at launching and landing, the sites flown, the risks you normally take, and the conditions.

I feel I need to re-learn things again after 3 weeks, but maybe that's just me and my life-long battle against intermediate syndrome.

[FormerFF]

[$!><]

[day dreamer]

Former, you make a good effort of taking a week off, and going to some good H-2 site or sites. Get a couple sweet memorable flights in there, you will be amazed at how you will manage to squeeze a flight or two or three in there after a while. That Falcon will give you some memories AND CONFIDENCE that will have you thanking that wing as you are zipping up the bag brother. Come out to the West Coast man! We will all help you get your balls in the air you know this man!