How old is too old to fly?

"R. Hubbell" wrote:
Just not sure if I'll be the best judge of
my safe flying when I'm on the tail end
of my years.

A good point. I've had a relative continue to drive until multiple
accidents forced him to stop. Until he had more than a couple of wrecks,
he refused or was unable to recognize that his abilities were
diminished. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in any of these
incidents, but driving is more forgiving in this respect than flying.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

Just not sure if I'll be the best judge of
my safe flying when I'm on the tail end
of my years.

That's what CFIs are for. Go up with one every now and then.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"R. Hubbell" wrote:

I'll be happy to be old and flying solo as long as a I can
do it safely. Just not sure if I'll be the best judge of
my safe flying when I'm on the tail end of my years.

That's why they have BFRs.

George Patterson
A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that
you look forward to the trip.

I think once they get over 50 or so .. they shouldn't be flying.



"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...
Just not sure if I'll be the best judge of
my safe flying when I'm on the tail end
of my years.

That's what CFIs are for. Go up with one every now and then.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

Roger Tracy wrote:

I think once they get over 50 or so .. they shouldn't be flying.

I *knew* you were about 15! :-)

George Patterson
A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that
you look forward to the trip.

R. Hubbell wrote in
news:20040305083821.7b5873a9@fstop:

With the recent talk about diving and flying and personal limitations
I wonder how older pilots feel about their own abilities to keep fresh
and when do you hang up the wings? Or do you just limit your flying
and take it easier as long as the medical is good?

And interesting thread is sure to follow your question. As I am sure
you suspect, there is probably no one-size-fits-all answer (much less a
concensus on what that might be).

There is no question that (percentage-wise) older pilots have slower
reaction times than youngsters. Cognitive skills also decrease with
age. OTOH, pilots with more hours tend to have more experience (and
hopefully better judgement). For some time these things probably offset
each other (or even show an improvement).

But eventually age has an affect. The arguement over Bob Hoover
(ignoring all the other political and personal issues) was not whether
he could perform his routine (clearly he could) but whether he could
handle the situation if something went wrong. [All based on an
*experimental* congnitive skills test he had voluntarily taken some time
before, just to help out.]

So should any pilot over the age of 30 consider "hanging it up"? No...
let's face it, I was NEVER at the level of Bob Hoover or Patty Wagstaff,
even in the BEST of my days. Yet I am able to fly safely and
comfortably.

Why? Well, because the flying I do doesn't REQUIRE that skill level.
And I would say therein lies part of the answer to extending ones flying
years. Perhaps simpler (and/or slower planes). Perhaps it means less
IFR in busy airspace. And it definitely means less long days with 12 -
14 hours in the cockpit.

But with an honest self-assesment (no easy task) the average pilot can
certainly fly for many years.

-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1109-A Shady Lane fax 512-366-4331
Austin, Tx 78721
-----------------------------------------------

James M. Knox wrote:
There is no question that (percentage-wise) older pilots have slower
reaction times than youngsters. Cognitive skills also decrease with
age. OTOH, pilots with more hours tend to have more experience (and
hopefully better judgement). For some time these things probably offset
each other (or even show an improvement).

Reminds me of an old story...
Airliner flying along, greybeard in the left seat, wet behind the ears
FO in the right. A chime begins to sound, followed by a flashing light.
The anxious FO looks over at his Captain and observes him winding his watch.
Incredulous, the FO stammers, "Captain, we have a situation to deal
with. Why are you winding your watch?"
To which the wise man replied, "I never killed anyone winding my watch
before."

"Roger Tracy" wrote in message
...
I think once they get over 50 or so .. they shouldn't be flying.


I'm 68, can still pass my flight physical, and look forward to flying
for a long time to come.
I do recall though that when I was in my teens, I faced a conundrum: I
was immortal but couldn't believe people actually lived longer than thirty
years. Then, I changed careers when I was 57 because I felt like I was too
young to retire.
FIFTY!!! Sheesh.....

Roger Tracy wrote:

I think once they get over 50 or so .. they shouldn't be flying.



Hold on there. I got my PPL six months ago at age 55. Scored 95% on the
written and passed the practical on first try at 50 hours flight time
(instruction and solo). Am I a good pilot? Only time will tell.

On 2004-03-05, G.R. Patterson III wrote:


"R. Hubbell" wrote:

I'll be happy to be old and flying solo as long as a I can do it
safely. Just not sure if I'll be the best judge of my safe flying
when I'm on the tail end of my years.

That's why they have BFRs.

Puts a lot of pressure on the CFI's. I hope the 20 year old CFI that I
dotter into for my last BFR has the nerve to refuse to sign off.

I was waiting at an FBO one afternoon and happened to overhear a very
grey (I'm *only* 53, just a sprout) pilot chat with a much older CFII
(who hung up his spurs later that year) about his (the pilots) most
recent gear up landing then go on to arrainge for his BFR...

Still, hell of a lot better system than auto licences.