3 Years as a Pilot - where did I go wrong?

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What if the thrill of soaring through the skies is occasionally shadowed by the turbulence of criticism and life’s obligations? Join me, Wayne, as I take you on a journey through the highs and lows of my adventures as a private pilot on the Try Not To Crash podcast. On this special episode, marking three years since I earned my Private Pilot License, I get candid about the challenges and rewards of flying. From the unpredictable UK weather that often grounds my plans to the balancing act between my career, family, and the cockpit, I share it all. Plus, I reveal how the pressure of maintaining my YouTube channel has impacted my confidence and passion for aviation.

Despite these clouds, the silver linings have been the friendships and experiences that have enriched my life. Flying has opened doors to a vibrant community of fellow enthusiasts, where swapping tales of sky-high adventures and technical mishaps becomes a bonding experience like no other. Through laughter and learning, it's these connections that have made the journey worthwhile. Tune in to hear about the joys and trials of a private pilot's life and the invaluable lessons learned over three years of navigating the skies.

I'm a UK based private pilot (PPL(A), who started to learn to fly in my 50s. I passed (just), but every flight is a learning experience.

I currently own 1/5 of a Cessna 172 - but I am not sure which bit is mine.

Follow me on Social Media

Website https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/
Twitter/X https://twitter.com/wayneallenpilot
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whiskeyalphapilot/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WhiskeyAlphaPilot
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyAlphaPilot

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, it's Wayne here from the Try Not To Crash
podcast where I attempt toexplain the ins and outs of
being a newly qualified privatepilot.
Please note I am not a flightinstructor and you should not be
using a podcast to teachyourself to learn to fly.
That would be silly.
But it is why all pilots wearheadsets so they can listen to
their favourite podcaster Me.
Anyway, today, on the 22nd ofDecember 2024, marks something

(00:24):
quite special because today isthe three-year anniversary of me
passing my PPL.
Yes, I have been a private pilotfor the last three years and
it's been quite a journey Firsttwo years and quite a lot of
that's been documented on myYouTube channel.
Don't forget link in thedescription below and all that
stuff been documented on myYouTube channel.

(00:45):
Don't forget link in thedescription below and all that
stuff.
But it's been interesting.
The journey's been fantastic.
There's been ups and there'sbeen downs.
The first question I get askedwhen people find out that I'm a
pilot is was it worth it?
And the simple answer is Ithink yes.
Why do I sound like I'mqualifying that?
And the answer is because I'mbeing honest.

(01:06):
There have been times in myjourney where I sit here
thinking I've spent all thismoney and is it really worth it?
And then there's other timeswhen I'm generally when I'm
flying thinking, yeah, this isgreat fun, I love doing this,
but it's not always the case.
I have had a few ups and downs,shall we say, some of which I

(01:27):
put onto YouTube, whichsometimes that's been a mistake.
People have this obsession withme not landing in the center
line and then they start to layinto you in other ways, and I've
seen it with other YouTubersand it's just not nice and
sometimes it's quite difficultto deal with.
If lots of people out there areeffectively attacking what
you're doing, some of that'sgoing to rub off and you're

(01:48):
going to start to potentiallybelieve them and start to lose
confidence, and I think to acertain extent, that has
happened to me.
It's one of the reasons I'vedone less videos this year, but
I'm not going to use that as anexcuse, because this year has
actually been quite difficult,not because of YouTube youtube,
but because of real life.

(02:09):
I happen to have a job and ifyou've watched one of my
previous videos, you know what Ido for a living I'm not going
to tell you again and I have afamily, so I have to fit flying
around my real life, career andmy family, and sometimes it gets
in the way you just can't goflying at the drop of a hat.
And then, when I've decided Iwant to go flying, the second
thing that's cropped up andthat's the weather.

(02:30):
And the weather in the UK thisyear has been atrocious, and I
mean rubbish.
Yep, I could go and get my IIRand I decided to stop my IIR
again.
There's a video about that ifyou really want to go and watch.
The weather in the UK has justbeen atrocious.
We've had low cloud base, we'vehad high winds, we've had
virtually everything you canthink of, and you almost

(02:53):
guarantee the days that youactually want to go flying are
the days the weather's atrociousand the days you can't go
flying because I'm working or onholiday or doing something with
the family.
The weather's been brilliant,brilliant.
So a big chunk of this isweather.
A couple of times we haven'tbeen able to fly due to the fact
the aircraft has gone, the tech.
We've had a couple of issuesthis year nothing massively
major and at the moment kilokilo is actually in an avionics

(03:17):
shop because we are having someupgrades done and there will be
a video about that coming outsoon assuming we can get it back
in one, please, because there'sbeen a few issues Not saying
that there wasn't going to beissues when you're doing massive
upgrades, but it's been ajourney, as they say.
Was it worth it?
Yes, it was.
But what's the good pointsFriends and experiences I think

(03:39):
I would put right at the top.
I've met a lot of new friendsfrom flying, a lot of new
friends from doing YouTube, andit's been fantastic.
It's great fun listening topeople and talking to people
about flying, about what they'vedone, what I do, what I haven't
done, what I could do, and evenat the top level.
When you talk to commercialpilots, most commercial pilots
are really great because theyhave been through the process

(04:03):
that we've been through asprivate pilots.
They've gone through the hoursof tearing our hair out over
doing exams and solo crosscountries and tests etc.
And they've taken it to muchhigher levels.
So cpl with its 13 exams Ithink it's 13 they've gone
higher and higher and when I'veflown commercial and actually
had the opportunity to talk topeople in the front when they

(04:24):
come out from behind their bardoors, it's been fantastic.
The one anecdote I'd love totalk about is.
I got asked by someone I thinkit was easy, jet, we might be in
ba.
And the question they asked mewhen my wife had told them that
I was a pilot, not me.
My wife had told them so who doyou fly with?
And I just turned around andwent Jack.
They were expecting me to say,oh, ba or Virgin, but it was

(04:47):
like no, I fly with Jack.
And they just laughed.
It was brilliant.
So I've flown to places I wouldnever have flown to before.
I've been to places I wouldhave never have been to before
and the journey has beenfantastic.
It's not as expensive as Ithought it was going to be.
I've actually got money in thekitty to go flying because I

(05:08):
paid for things and I haven'tthen used up to go flying, but
as a share, and I own a fifth ofkilo kilo.
We've managed to keep a handleon the bills.
Admittedly, we don't have anengine fund, so if the engine
decides to die week, we're goingto get hit with a big bill and
we've all had to pay a chunk ofmoney out for the avionics
upgrades.
But it hasn't been as expensiveas I thought it was going to be

(05:29):
, especially with the localflight school, increasing their
prices.
I wouldn't say exorbitantly,but their prices have gone up
because their costs have gone up.
It's say exorbitantly, buttheir prices have gone up
because their costs have gone up.
It's fact of life, but ithasn't been as expensive as I
thought it was going to be.
So once you pass your PPL sharegreat thing to do I'll probably
get around to doing a videoabout doing a share.

(05:50):
Bad points not flying enough.
That's the biggest thing,because that then leads to the
fact that flying is a perishableskill.
If you don't fly, you start tolose that edge, you start to
lose the ability to fly.
Yeah, you can still get in theplane to get it off, but do you
have that level of finesse to doa safe, smooth landing?

(06:10):
Proficiency is one thing,confidence is the other thing,
and confidence is something Isuffer from.
I do sometimes take to hearttoo much people's comments on
YouTube.
I look at my videos.
I am the worst person to watchmy videos, and it gets worse
when I'm the person doing theediting of any video that I take

(06:30):
, because I'm sitting therewatching every single little bit
.
I'm the worst critic of myselfand then I let myself be
criticized by everyone else onthe planet.
So confidence is a big issuefor me.
I've already mentioned socialmedia.
I'm not going to harp on aboutit because this is a YouTube
channel.
I'm involved in social mediabecause I do YouTube videos

(06:51):
about flying.
Why do I do YouTube videosabout flying?
Well, it's to try and giveother people an insight into the
journey that I'm undertaking.
I'm not an instructor.
I have no intention of becomingan instructor.
These are not instructionalvideos, but sometimes people
take them as that.
But it does give you areflection as to how my
experience and my journey hasbeen and whether it reflects in

(07:13):
the same way on your journey andyour experience.
Do I recommend people put stuffon social media?
Honestly, no, you need prettythick skin to put stuff out,
because people are going to tearyou to pieces, and the more you
put stuff out, the more peoplefeel that they need to tear you
to pieces.
That's life.
What's the next year going toentail?
Well, the first thing is,hopefully, more flying, and I'm

(07:38):
really going to push the moreflying aspect.
I've actually managed to rejigsome of my life.
Some of the commitments I hadin the past few years I've
shifted around or I've droppedbecause I want to go flying.
I've spent three years.
I've spent more than threeyears because, if you include
the time it took me to learn tofly, I've spent enormous sums of
money dedicating my life todoing something that I like

(07:59):
doing.
I think I need to keep doing it, so I'm going to go and do some
more flying Kilo.
Kilo has a whole bunch ofupgrades which hopefully will
make flying a little bit easier.
Yeah, people always complainthat if you start to upgrade
avionics, then people are goingto rely more on them.
But when you're in a situationwhere you're trying to do IIR

(08:20):
and simple things like nothaving a heading bug on a
compass can drive you up thewall, yeah, you can fly without
it.
You just have to remember it.
But it's another thing toremember.
So we've come up with someupgrades.
We've got new radios going in,because we had a 430W which was

(08:43):
on its last legs.
We had some 25 kilohertz radioswhich were minus, being on
their last legs.
In fact, most of the time youhad to push them in to get them
to work at all.
They're done.
They just need to be picked upfrom the avionics specialists
and then we need to drop themoff to our engineers because one
of the power regulators hasgone.
So hopefully, early in the year, we get kilo, kilo back fingers
crossed.
Then it's a case of praying forgood weather and keeping

(09:03):
fingers crossed.
But fundamentally, 2025, you aregoing to see more of me flying
kilo, kilo.
Hopefully that will then buildmy confidence.
Hopefully that will build myskill set.
Yeah, I'm still going to flywith jack from time to time
because everyone loves the jackand wayne show, or the wayne and
jack show, depending on how youwant to call it.
It's great fun flying with jack.
I like flying with jack.
But I will be flying more on myown and flying more with

(09:25):
non-pilots because I need tobuild up my flying skills.
I can't just rely on having aprofessional, experienced pilot
beside me who's going to do theradios just because I can't be
bothered to do the radios.
It gives them something to do.
But, yeah, I'll be flying morewith Jack.
I'll be flying more on my own.
You'll see a few more videos ofKaz, wifey in the back.
Jack, I'll be flying more on myown.

(09:47):
You'll see a few more videos ofKaz, wifey in the back.
That's the plans for 2025.
Hopefully, fingers crossed, theweather will sort itself out
and things will take off as theysay.
Anyway, I hope all that helpsand thanks for listening.
If you like what I'm trying todo, then please consider leaving
a comment.
You can follow your videoversion of this podcast with
videos on my other aviationexploits on my main YouTube
channel.
Just search for Whiskey AlphaPilot and you should be able to

(10:09):
find me.
But whatever you do, please besafe and have fun, and thanks
for listening.
Bye.