Nicole Lund recently posted “5 New Year’s resolutions for pilots in 2023” on GlobalAir.com.
The ones that caught my eye were:
Earn a new certificate or rating
Nicole notes: “A new certificate or rating is a great resolution to make. You can even have fun with it and get a glider, seaplane, or balloon certificate. This resolution will make you a better and safer pilot. Check rides also reset the biannual flight review, which is another plus.”
Monthly landing or flight hour goals
“It is a great idea for all pilots, but especially rusty ones, to come up with a monthly flight hour and landings goal to help them stay proficient and current,” she writes. “Some pilots put off flying and it is hard to get back into after taking time off. This goal will help you stay safe and on top of flying your flying game.”
How about you? Did you make any aviation-related resolutions for 2023? Share in the comments below, as your resolution may inspire other pilots.
There are some ways to cut the cost of flying. Get a basic med physical (if applicable) and you won’t be paying for an AME any more. If a mogas STC is available for your airplane, by all means get it (and use non-ethanol car gas). Base your airplane at a smaller, more rural airstrip. If you insist on flying off a concrete 9,000 foot runway, you will pay big-FBO prices for tiedowns or hangars. Buy a case of oil instead of a few quarts at a time (cheaper by the dozen – sometimes). Learn to do some basic maintenance yourself.
Flying has never been cheap, but paying full retail for everything only works if you need a tax writeoff.
As to the price of fuel, no political party really has a heck of a lot of control or influence on the oil business. The price of fuel is MUCH more affected by hurricanes in the Gulf, Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, Covid in China, OPEC, tensions with Iran, and a whole laundry list of things which affect supply and demand in unpredictable ways.
Right now, Europe is bidding for energy because the situation in the Ukraine has “disrupted” their normal supplies. China is having a Covid epidemic, which has resulted in lessened demand (everyone is either home sick or home trying not to get sick), OPEC isn’t helping any because MBS doesn’t like people who object to his having dissidents dismembered, and on and on and on.
Blaming this party or that president is nothing more than political grandstanding, you might as well blame them for the weather. Gas prices go up, opposition blames the party in power. Gas prices go down, party in power claims credit. Even though the US currently is in fact a net exporter of oil, worldwide demand and the worldwide oil market set the prices, not some person at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Let’s face it folks, GA is on the way to the toilet since this present administration took over the white house. in fact it is so far down right now I am having a very tough time believing it will survive. Including the price of fuel for openers, good grief, this is not only ridicules but a direct insult to everyone having to pay this outrages amount for a stupid gallon of gas,, and to add all the other things that go along with GA good grief , to say the people that can afford this madness have to be rather rich. because the ordinary citizen is going belly up just trying to make ends meet as far as flying goes. Totally a unforgiving rip-off, It was getting bad before the democrats took over, now it is utterly an insulting way of life, When I got my ticket in 1985, it was great to say that I had a license to fly and I would enjoy it every minute, now just the thought of filling the tanks on an average airplane sucks to no end,,, haha, and I keep hearing over and over, what can we do to keep GA alive, and well, come on folks, we all know what is going on and we continue to take it in the shorts, and we are suppose to like it and not say anything !!! Baloney, we are having our hard earned money taken from us by the experts on a daily bases and we don’t do a damn thing about it, shoot man !! how much longer are we going to let this happen ?? How much is the price of 100ul today, how many times are we going to be told that because of this and that we are going to have to pay x-amount of dollars for a stinking gallon of gas !!!!! BS I say we need to stand up and express our concern’s and be treated like American citizens, I am tired of getting lied to and getting ripped off !!! I love this country, and I am still wanting to live in it, and to hell with all the rip-off’s..