That New Car Smell

bret · #1 06-17-2016, 06:04 AM

How fast does it wear off, my question is for those that have just finished their build and are now flying. How long before the excitement wore off and now the plane is in the hanger and just eh, maybe I'll go fly today. I have always had a boat and now thinking of selling it to finance the panel, but what if I do, and then the plane excitement wears off, and then I want to go boating again? anyone been there? the vessel in question here is a 32' twin FI BB......my other passion.......

ChiefPilot · #2 06-17-2016, 06:29 AM

I'm at 3.5 years and ~620hr on the hobbs/570tach. My Glastron hasn't seen the water since I finished N164BL.

Daytime "tour" flights, sunset/nighttime flights, casual formation flying with friends, precision formation flying with the Rat Racers, mock aerial combat, casual and IAC aerobatics, cross countries in VFR & IFR weather, and much more.

BCP Boys · #3 06-17-2016, 06:43 AM

I didn't build my -7 but one day I will build one however, I've had my -7 for 2 years and 4 months, 230 hours since I've owned it, and I wake up pretty much every day thinking.... Hmmm how can get my work done today and go fly? Unless someone really is not a "aviator" I can't imagine the newness ever wears off. The only thing that I a guilty of is I have taken a liking to slower planes like Cubs, Champs, Just SuperStols, etc. but that doesn't make me want to fly my RV any less

catmandu · #4 06-17-2016, 06:48 AM

My Mastercraft has not touched the water for the two summers I have owned my RV.

bkthomps · #5 06-17-2016, 06:48 AM

Buy a second home somewhere to give you a flying mission on regular basis

Boats get old so much quicker to me

vic syracuse · #6 06-17-2016, 07:13 AM

We thought about a second home on the beach. It is so tempting. Then we realized we would be going to the same place all of the time, and we would have the stresses/costs of a second home. Been there done that for work. We have found it much more relaxing to be able to go lots of places, and being able to change plans when the weather isn't cooperative in a particular location.

We have also found that the airplane gets used more when you live with it, as opposed to it being at an airport.

Vic

Bill Boyd · #7 06-17-2016, 07:15 AM

I live in what many would call an aviator's heaven on earth - very functional, charted grass strip bisecting the family farm with a spacious new house on what the appraisers assure me is the most beautiful building site in the county. The 6A sits in a hangar about 100 yards from my back door. With 930 hours on her, she's holding up well, and at 60 years young, I am, too.

That said, I don't take her up for an around-the-patch as often as I used to. Weather and my schedule can mean unintentional lulls of six weeks or more between flights. I averaged about 50 hours a year until the house fire; hardly 20 hours in the past year. I don't own a boat, but was raised on the water and spent more hours trolling the Chesapeake Bay for bluefish as a kid than I care to recall. There are no other leisure pursuits that vie for my time besides being a husband, father and step-dad. I have a half-built RV-10 kit that I have scarcely touched since I bought it in that condition in December, except to inventory contents and arrange safe storage. True, I've been busy getting the new basement converted to an airplane factory, but even that has been at a deliberate half-speed so that my family does not complain about my absence, physically or emotionally.

Would I consider selling the 6A to raise funds to finish the 10 faster? No way! Even though she's a hangar queen most weeks, there is something I just can't stand about having her down for maintenance and unavailable to fly if the urge strikes. The new smell wore off a long time ago. I no longer get torqued if the paint chips after 18 years, or the wheel pants chatter a bit, or the occasional tank rivet weeps a brown mogas stain. She's long in the tooth but she's a good, reliable mount and I can fly her like wearing a second skin. It's just that our relationship has changed. She has shown me the local landscape so many times, I don't have to fly over it again to have it vivid in memory. Cross-countries only happen when child care is available and Lorri and I can clear our schedules. The plane and I know what each other is thinking without having to have long pilot-to-plane talks, so to speak. She has become like the college friend who lives hundreds of miles away and only calls on birthdays and Christmas - you pick back up effortlessly where you left off, trust them with your deepest secrets - but the relationship is decidedly low-maintenance.

That's just me, but I'm being honest. My low yearly hours aren't from having to drive a half hour to some airport, or from high costs of ownership and operation. They may result in part from not being based in a community of aviators who share my passion and would let me borrow their expertise and inspiration. Aviation connects me with VAF and other pilots, but it can still be a lonely and sometimes intimidating pursuit if you are based at home. Upsides and downsides.

Sounds like it's time to host another fly-in and garner some camaraderie.

scard · #8 06-17-2016, 07:22 AM

It doesn't wear off. We had a 32' sailboat that was very much like a second home ($). We sold it the same year we finished the plane in '07, right before the crash. We've been giving ourselves high fives ever since.

Saber25 · #9 06-17-2016, 07:23 AM

For some of us flying is right next to other daily physiological needs. Flying my RV4 the past 27 years has never gotten old despite also having a Pitts S1S for that added salt, pepper and spice. If I got tired of flying the 4 I'd be tired of breathing.

Cheers, Hans

Bill Boyd · #10 06-17-2016, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vic syracuse

We thought about a second home on the beach. It is so tempting. Then we realized we would be going to the same place all of the time, and we would have the stresses/costs of a second home. Been there done that for work. We have found it much more relaxing to be able to go lots of places, and being able to change plans when the weather isn't cooperative in a particular location.

We have also found that the airplane gets used more when you live with it, as opposed to it being at an airport.

Vic

Interesting take, Vic. Lorri and I have always planned on finding some Outer Banks real estate that would hopefully pay for itself in rental income and give us a place of our own to visit many times a year. The only problem with the mountains of home is that they are situated so many driving hours away from the ocean, and we were both born with Chesapeake mud between our toes. We anticipate burning up the airways between 12VA and our "happy place." The RV-10 is just a way to do that in more comfort and style, and take the now 12 year old and one of his buddies along some day.

That said, I can see your point about monotony and flexibility with only one versus limitless intended destinations. And I'm sure owning a beach rental has some serious downsides I haven't experienced yet.