What age is a good time to stop flying

[dan3111]

Hi there

 

This bound to be a hot topic .

 

I starting flying back in 1988 at the age of 15 so yes 40 now and have loved every minute of it , it was sure interesting back then . We flew scouts difters truster 40 to 55 knot across the board not matter what you flew and training cost 60 dollars a bout , 1 dollar a minute :) . Ga used to put there noses up to us when we flew in to the airfield with a mk3 scout and never talked much to us .But from the age of 17 I have all ways owned my own aircraft ever before I owned a car or had a car lience . This i have noticed since then I have pretty much always have been the youngest in my area to own or built there own aircraft .

 

So the sport has got totally out of hand with cost so only the ones got into it early years back or have paid there houses off so have spending money to burn . So inturn the hole pilot fleet is getting older as a hole , and the standard aircraft is getting faster up to 130 knots now . So speed takes more skill and faster reaction time to fly and a lot harder to out land in a engine failure . At the moment I think the max raa pilot age in 75 which in some cases that great and would fly with them any day but in some cases you role your eyes if you see some people drive a car at that age .Also a lot of those GA pilots that turned there noses up at us back in the elary day have moved across to raa after not passing there medical . You do wounder if thinks don,t change in some way I will turn 75 and there not many younger then me owning there own aircraft if you can see my point .We are fast getting to GA cost aircraft and a dear running cost to go with it . So inturn we are not getting younger pilots into the sport

 

Cheers dan

 

 

[maddog63]

Dan,

 

As long as you are a safe flyer, and taking your point about affordability, have the financial means to do so, there shouldn't be an age limit. If love flying, keep going, many people are learning in their 50's and 60's.

 

Mick

 

 

[rgmwa]

I think you should continue to fly as long as you:

 

a) want to

 

b) are healthy enough to pass a medical

 

c) can afford to

 

No mention of calendar age there. I was 59 when I got my licence (obviously a slow learner ).

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

maybe when you taxi out in your car instead of the aircraft.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Hey Dan...you need to change your Avatar dude..its out of date now...must be old timers hitting you already

 

 

[AVOCET]

I think in my case and have had a bit of time to contemplate the " hangin up the headset syndrome "

 

Ive decideded when i carnt climb up on the wing , stand on one leg singin " those magnificent men ,"and check the oil, ect , then alas, it'll be time .

 

Mike

 

 

[DWF]

I think in my case and have had a bit of time to contemplate the " hangin up the headset syndrome "Ive decideded when i carnt climb up on the wing , stand on one leg singin " those magnificent men ,"and check the oil, ect , then alas, it'll be time .

 

Mike

 

 

No Mike. I think it is just time to get a ladder and/or low wing aircraft. (See post #3).

 

 

 

DWF

 

 

[AVOCET]

No Mike. I think it is just time to get a ladder and/or low wing aircraft. (See post #3).

 

 

 

DWF

Do i have to design and build it!

 

 

[DWF]

Do i have to design and build it!

The ladder or the aircraft?

 

Have a go at both (before you get too old).

 

 

 

DWF

 

 

[Geoff13]

I am 55 and have had my licence since August :)

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

I will give up flying when I can afford to sit in the back of a corporate jet sipping scotch (aka not anytime soon)!

 

 

[M61A1]

I think you should continue to fly as long as you:a) want to

 

b) are healthy enough to pass a medical

 

c) can afford to

 

No mention of calendar age there. I was 59 when I got my licence (obviously a slow learner ).

 

rgmwa

Agree in general, but would add, that you need to be honest with yourself about your abilities and self assess. I see plenty of drivers around here, that pass a medical, but really should have handed their licence in some years ago.

 

 

[dutchroll]

Naturally there is no specific age - it's like asking "how long is a piece of string?" At 40 you have plenty of flying years left if you want to make it that way.

 

However it depends what sort of flying you're talking about. I know a string of airline guys who have pressed on well past nominal retirement age and have been forced to stop flying after repeated licence failures, rather than some of their peers who bowed out several years earlier on a high with an impeccable record. It is sometimes emotionally devastating to them. It might seem undemanding, but the simulator checking and licence testing aspects are rigorous and unforgiving, and don't normally involve an uneventful sector from A to B on autopilot.

 

You can't stop the ageing process of the body and the brain. When whatever type of flying you do is getting too hard and you're making more and more mistakes, or getting more and more frustrated, then that's the time to turn your attention elsewhere. I think the same principle goes for any hobby or occupation. Listen to your body, not your ego, and be critical of your own performance. Then you'll know when to stop. ;)

 

 

[robinsm]

Age has nothing to do with it, I turn 65 next year. When I feel I am no longer safe for myself or my passengers, then I will stop. I have asked my instructor and friends to let me know if they think I cant cut it any more and then I will consider it.

 

Chap I know was stopped by CASA in his 80s. (they wanted a check pilot in with him. )( This a man who held world aerobatic championship records.) He is no longer with us (passed on through cancer) but he used to sneak out in the evening and do a few quick circuits comprising loops, barrell rolls, inverted flying etc in his tiger moth or Stompe aircraft. (note in hos 80s he was a safer and better pilot than some half his age.) Its how you are physically not age. I know some 40 years old that make me shudder when I see them climbing into the cockpit...lol

 

 

[poteroo]

Q: When do you quit?

 

A: When you 'fail' a flight review - which you were absolutely sure that you'd aced.

 

(all other factors aside, eg medicals)

 

 

[dazza 38]

I am 55 and have had my licence since August :)

I am 55 and have had my licence since August :)

Congratulations on your PPL /RPL.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Had a really dud landing today but I haven no thought of giving it up, I just think about where I went wrong. Was too high on final and should have gone round but I slipped it in. Was tired after a days flying. My wife's box of wine in the back affected the CofG. It isn't old age I was just as useless 40 years ago. I will try again next week.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Had a really dud landing today but I haven no thought of giving it up, I just think about where I went wrong. Was too high on final and should have gone round but I slipped it in. Was tired after a days flying. My wife's box of wine in the back affected the CofG. It isn't old age I was just as useless 40 years ago. I will try again next week.

Good on you, i'm sure next weeks flight will be great, every body has had a bad day, even the ace of the base. It is normal.

 

 

[Aldo]

Dan

 

If mathematics and English have anything to do with it maybe you should give it away now, hole and whole have two totally different meanings. 1988 to now is 26 years and 15 + 26 = 41 so think you should have at least 20 to 30 years (so long as you are healthy) left in the flying game.

 

Like everything else in this world aviation including sport/recreational changes with what the majority want, I for one am happy that I'm able to have a rec aircraft that is able to do 3 miles a minute if I choose, I'm also happy that I'm able to have a drifter that is able to do 1 mile a minute just depends on what turns your crank and what you are using it for.

 

One thing that I think should be the same for all is training, we all share the same airspace and I don't think rec aviation training is up to the standard.

 

Aldo

 

 

[spacesailor]

I,m headed for my mid 70,s, Just did a road trip around the block, some 11,000 klms. And still yearn for my wings Before I become an angle, LoL

 

spacesailor

 

ps were,s those spare seats?

 

 

[AVOCET]

 

The ladder or the aircraft?

Have a go at both (before you get too old).

 

 

 

DWF

We made this to climb on the roof of the ofice in the corner of the hanger

 

 

[metalman]

The only thing worse than walking out to an aircraft knowing its your last flight ,,, is walking out to the aircraft and not knowing it's your last flight.

 

I've got a few mates who've hung up the headset and they all knew it was time, no one told them , they just knew it was time to give it away

 

 

[Eric McCandless]

Yesterday (Sat) at Goulburn, I met a guy named Bert who flew in from Merimbula and was intending to fly a final leg to Cowra today (Sun) to complete a round Australia trip in his RA-Aus plane. He was 90. Eric

 

P.S. I just Googled and found the following links

 

http://www.busseltonaeroclub.com.au/news.html

 

https://www.facebook.com/Cowraaeroclub

 

What an awesome achievement even for someone much younger, but for a 90 year old it is spectacular.....

 

 

[robinsm]

awesome and inspirational. Hats off to him.

 

 

[dan3111]

Q: When do you quit?A: When you 'fail' a flight review - which you were absolutely sure that you'd aced.

(all other factors aside, eg medicals)

I do like your answer funny in a way but so so true I was talking to my uncle on the weekend and he's about 80 and has failed his driving test lives in the middle of know where and has farmed and driven trucks all his life . I think most people think there a ace at some thing looking throw a one way mirror . I do hope that some manufacture reinvent them selfs in bring back a low cost aircraft that is simple and safe so younger people can get into the sport .

 

Cheers Daniel