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I hate flying more and more, but it's not age related, except that perhaps I am less tolerant. It will not stop me from flying somewhere if I want to get there badly enough.
So how many posters here still fly, and at what age? How many have given it up completely, and at what age and for what reason(s)?
I traveled for work but infrequently in the last 5 years of work. I'm 66. I swore I would give up flying completely when I retired (about 10 years and 5 months ago). I really didn't like it. I did give it up and don't miss it but even if I didn't, I could not fly now due to leg issues. I could not walk through an airport, stand on line or sit like that for any length of time. I try to drive to different states by car since I've been retired. Have been to Delaware (a few times), West Virginia (twice), Maryland (a few times), New York, Michigan, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky since retired. My sister wants to move to Texas (been there 3 times for work) so that may be a future road trip.
The difference with being older is I can't drive for 9 - 13 hours straight anymore. Have to split up the trips with an overnight or two if I decide to go farther.
Also, I prefer to drive with photography equipment.
I gave up flying about 6 years ago when a medical issue which, if I had tried, probably would have stopped me from getting a third class medical certificate. I didn't want to get rejected because if I want to do daytime sport piloting (very limited) I guess one doesn't need a medical but you need to certify you haven't been turned down either.
I noted at 62 I didn't have the night vision depth perception I used to have and as far as flying in IFR conditions I last did that about 10 years ago.
Shooting an ILS down to 250' in rain with a 15 mph crosswind isn't good for the stress levels and I just don't think, actually I know, I wouldn't handle it like I did when I was 30.
And then there are the costs.... flying a small plane as a hobby makes boats look cheap and my retirement budget just won't handle it.
Flying commercial doesn't bother me at all as long as I get a window seat because I like to keep track of where I am.
I gave up flying about 6 years ago when a medical issue which, if I had tried, probably would have stopped me from getting a third class medical certificate. I didn't want to get rejected because if I want to do daytime sport piloting (very limited) I guess one doesn't need a medical but you need to certify you haven't been turned down either.
I noted at 62 I didn't have the night vision depth perception I used to have and as far as flying in IFR conditions I last did that about 10 years ago.
Shooting an ILS down to 250' in rain with a 15 mph crosswind isn't good for the stress levels and I just don't think, actually I know, I wouldn't handle it like I did when I was 30.
And then there are the costs.... flying a small plane as a hobby makes boats look cheap and my retirement budget just won't handle it.
nicet4,
If you had not failed an FAA medical exam, you can get BasicMed which does not have all the restrictions like sport pilots. Since the FAA has your record, I don't think that you have to do anything to certify that you haven't been turned down.
I am 65 and my husband is 70. We don't have issues with night visions but have not done any night flights in the last few years simply because there were no needs and the higher risks associated with night flying. We try to stay IFR current just in case that we need to fly by instruments but the last time we filed IFR and shot some approaches were also few years ago in our long trip from NY to FL then to PR and several Caribbean islands.
I love flying instruments but my husband does not like having to communicate with ATC (we always split our duties with one flies the plane while the other handles communications). His hearing is good for daily communications but as he gets older, he finds it is harder to get all the words the first time especially when dealing with rapid firing NY air traffic controllers!
I could have obtained a BasicMed this year but decided to go for a regular 3rd class medical just in the case we have to fly to Canada. Mexico and the Bahamas have recognized BasicMed but it may take some negotiations for Canada to do the same. I also think that trying to maintain a regular medical certificate is a good incentive to stay fit and healthy. I hope to continue flying my little plane for at least another 20 years.
Regarding cost of owning and flying a plane, we have reduced the annual cost significantly by building an experimental plane. With the repairman certificate my husband can do our annual condition inspection. Parts and avionics for experimental planes are significantly cheaper than for certified planes. Then there are also LSAs (light sport aircrafts) with prices comparable or sometimes lower than some cars.
Of course, one also has the option to join a flying club or co-own a plane with several other pilots.
We're still putting my 92-year-old mom on short (less than 2 hour) flights and she has actually been able to navigate the Atlanta airport (with some handicapped help, of course). I doubt I'll be willing to do that at 92.
I'm turning 70 very shortly and have a trip to India coming up in a few months. I'm not looking forward to the flight, but until teleportation is invented it has to be the airline route. Had a choice between a direct and a non-direct flight and chose the non-direct flight, even though it added a couple of hours to the trip. I try to get up as much as possible on the plane but I need that layover to do some HEAVY walking in the airport. I'll be the one in the Paris airport power-walking like a maniac with my carry-on bobbing behind me like Mary's little lamb.
I'm turning 70 very shortly and have a trip to India coming up in a few months. I'm not looking forward to the flight, but until teleportation is invented it has to be the airline route. Had a choice between a direct and a non-direct flight and chose the non-direct flight, even though it added a couple of hours to the trip. I try to get up as much as possible on the plane but I need that layover to do some HEAVY walking in the airport. I'll be the one in the Paris airport power-walking like a maniac with my carry-on bobbing behind me like Mary's little lamb.
I'm exactly the same as you about walking in airports, whether it be between flights or just waiting for the first flight! In large airports with the conveyor belts, I never ride them but always walk beside them.
The main problem with connecting flights, as I see it, is that if the first flight is late enough you might miss the second one, resulting in a lot of hassles and a late arrival. I once missed the wake of my last surviving aunt that way, although fortunately I was still able to attend the funeral the following day.
I have been flying since the age of four and now at 57 my health is pretty good but I am much slower in getting around.
There have been so many changes over the years and the days of empty planes and reclining seats and plenty of room are gone............and lack of food on coast to coast travel.
The planes now are full along with the overheads and those trying to bring everything but the kitchen sink in with them. Compassion and courtesy of passengers for the most part have vanished.
I still fly but arrive at the airport way in advance of my flight and take my time getting through the TSA and getting to the gate. I plan my layovers for no less than two hours due to delays and the size of some of the airports I fly into with the distance between terminals. I now stay on the plane until most everyone has gotten off to keep from getting trampled by those racing to the front and getting smacked by those taking their oversized carry on's from the overhead........
The main problem with connecting flights, as I see it, is that if the first flight is late enough you might miss the second one, resulting in a lot of hassles and a late arrival. I once missed the wake of my last surviving aunt that way, although fortunately I was still able to attend the funeral the following day.
Since I fly out of a small airport, a lot of my flights are connecting flights and I am pretty careful about scheduling my connections. I view between 2-4 hour layovers as preferable to tight scheduling. I generally fly in the early mornings so that I am not looking at a "last connection out" scenario
We're headed to Washington DC in October to see the museums before the Empire falls (lol), and we have a flight from here to San Francisco with a 2.5 hour layover and then a direct from SFO to Dulles. If something happens to those flights there are 3 other paired choices which still get me in before midnight.
Living in the upper left corner of the contiguous US, my other choices are very long car trips or extremely long (and rather expensive) train trips, so I can't see giving up flying. I also have Global Entry (hence also TSA Trusted Traveler) and my status gets me the executive lounge for two airlines. I also pay for Economy Plus, although this trip I used miles to upgrade from regular economy to first class for the SFO-IAD segments.
Finding the right connections frequently means not taking the cheapest fare, but it isn't usually that much more expensive to get the right connections (flights to Europe frequently being the exception). I think I ended up paying something like $200 more RT total for the two of us to get the connections that leave us the most options.
It wasn't age-related issues that made me quit flying. It was the security hassles, the delays, the drunk co-passengers, but most of all the cramped and crowded seating. Also, sitting next to someone with an "emotional support" slobbering and panting shih tzu wasn't my cuppa.
For reasons that will remain forever cloudy, before I quit flying I was repeatedly pulled over for extra screening. Being groped and wanded wasn't "horrible" but it was damn sure unnecessary, intrusive, and inconvenient.
That hassle might have been tolerable if only the actual flights were passably pleasant.
DH is a intrepid traveler who is reconsidering after a seatmate on a DFW to DEN flight threw up on his feet.
Those would be among my reasons too. Maybe my age-related reason to quit flying would be my impatience at being treated like cattle being herded into a corral, something like that. I know it doesn't matter, DH and I are just two people (he won't fly either), but I feel like it's my little protest at the airline industry at the way they treat their consumers, and the TSA security? Well, I just see no reason to subject myself to that.
A passenger throwing up on your husband's shoes? Double yuck, that'd make anyone think twice about flying. But I guess he was lucky the other guy didn't throw up in his lap, followed by the flight attendants tossing both of them off the flight for being "disruptive" and smelling bad.
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