There are days where being a non-flying pilot (for time, budget, and personal reasons) is frustrating. There are others where it’s even more frustrating, and finally there are those where it is deadly frustrating. I resigned from Geneva Aero-club and from the Swiss AOPA to reduce the costs of my non-flying, particularly as I’m no longer a swiss pilot. But I still have a Jeppview subscription, which I pay on a yearly basis. It’s a quite wide one, for almost all of Europe, VFR and IFR. The bill will come soon, and I know in advance it’s a 4 digits one. Paying for no flying is really a pain, and a strong de-motivation factor. So how to keep motivated while paying bills for no flying ? Easy…

Just think of your favorite phase of flight. I don’t know about you, but for me recalling some particular moments makes me smile almost instantly. The idea of living such things again is a sufficient motivation to overcome any problem that could prevent me to fly, or delay the restart of my flying. I’m sure that any pilots knows such instants, and I’d be happy to learn more about yours. So which are my favorites ? Not surprisingly, they almost all relate to flying IFR. Here we go…

1 – Getting on top

For me there is no such thing as departing IFR, under clouds and rain, and then get on top after a few minutes of flying. Whether it’s in a light aircraft or as passenger on an airline flight, reaching blue sky and sunshine makes me feel good. There is simply no other way to describe it. Doing it as PIC in a light aircraft adds some relief, as it removes the extra workload and risks related to IMC.

2 – Getting VMC after approach

This is the reward of all IFR pilots: seening the approach lights shortly before reaching the minimums. Despite knowing why and how this happens, I’m always fascinated to see how one can position a plane so accurately, and how all the whole system works.

3 – Monitoring the auto-pilot intercepting the ILS

This probably comes from the engineer in me. I love programing systems, and then observe how they react. The classical “Localizer active – Interception – NAV mode – Glide-slope active – GS mode” autopilot sequence is a perfect example. Why do I consider light aircrafts like big, expensive and technical toys ? Well… because that’s what they are !

These three examples are my personal favorites, but by far not the only ones. As all pilots, I enjoy a smooth landing, or the smile of passengers discovering the joy of flying or seeing their country in a different perspective for the first time. Even if the price to keep this activity alive is high, I simply love it too much to stop ! What I’m going through is just a pause !