Anyone else get tired after flying?

[Matt13C]

Not sure why but after I fly I always want a nap. I don't get this if I am a passenger, only when I am actually flying the plane. Is this normal when in the beginning stages of learning to fly? Does it go away?

I am thinking it is my brains reaction to actually being used ha ha.

[970Flyer]

Oh yeah- You are trying to remember and do a million different things that you have never done before. It gets easier with time. Toss in some weather, flying in actual, a checkride, etc. and it gets interesting. I remember after my commercial ride/grilling with a disgruntled AE captain, I couldn't even drive home. I had to get my head back on before I could drive a stick shift. No joke. I passed.

[dashdriver]

Perfectly normal when you're a student pilot at the beginning stages of your training. I was the same way after about an hour and a half of a lesson I was wiped out. Once you get more experience it will happen less often. I saw it all the time when I instructed.

[C150J]

Just wait until you become a pro... it takes me at least one full day to feel rested enough to do anything. It takes me about four days of adequate rest to feel fully alert, but that's usually the end of my days off. By getting 8-9 hours of sleep on each overnight, the effects of fatigue are drastically mitigated.



J.

[Matt13C]

Thanks guys! Good to know it will subside.

When I landed back at my home base after my first cross country I was drained. I was looking for visual check points, trying to keep the VOR needle centered, battling some turbulence and getting switched about 6 times to different approach frequencies. It was tons of fun but I went home and passed out afterwards.

[pilatus028]

If you don't get tired, well...you are not using your head.

[scooter2525]

Originally Posted by pilatus028

If you don't get tired, well...you are not using your head.

could be from staying up at altitude in addition to using your noggin for more then point and shoot. It will go away after a while... I remember after my first few flight lessons I would get in my car and try to drive, but it was weird.

[tonyw]

I didn't get tired.

It had the exact opposite effect on me.

I would be wired and hypersensitive. Things that I normally didn't notice became so clear to me. It was pretty bizarre.

[AngelFuree]

I remember training having an energy-draining effect on me during the beginning (PPL training). I remember thinking, "How do these instructors do it, flying four training flights a day?" Funny enough, once you feel very comfortable with the equipment and ATC environment, it doesn't tire you as much.

Training got frustrating at some points, especially during private pilot training. Checklists, controlling the airplane while keeping altitude/heading, listening to ATC, listening to the instructor, keeping situational/position awareness with the sectional, all of that stuff is the hard part as a student pilot.

In other words, multi-tasking is what drains you when you're not comfortable with it.
Hang on! You won't feel the effects as much later on.

[Soku39]

all I can say is just wait until June, July and August, those thermals are gonna rock you, and they will take if out of you faster than anything.

[Chief Captain]

I get pretty tired after flying too. Not tired while I'm in the plane, but once I leave the airport it hits me. Of course, there were those couple days I logged just shy of 8hr in the Cessna. Then, I was tired even b4 we landed

[Matt13C]

Originally Posted by Soku39

all I can say is just wait until June, July and August, those thermals are gonna rock you, and they will take if out of you faster than anything.

Yeah, I was wondering how bumpy it gets in the summer. We had a few relatively hot days, low 80's, and I could feel it. One runway short final is right over a road and I got a nice boost from that.

Guess I should get the check ride out of the way before it gets to bumpy.

[Matt13C]

Originally Posted by AngelFuree

I remember training having an energy-draining effect on me during the beginning (PPL training). I remember thinking, "How do these instructors do it, flying four training flights a day?" Funny enough, once you feel very comfortable with the equipment and ATC environment, it doesn't tire you as much.

Training got frustrating at some points, especially during private pilot training. Checklists, controlling the airplane while keeping altitude/heading, listening to ATC, listening to the instructor, keeping situational/position awareness with the sectional, all of that stuff is the hard part as a student pilot.

In other words, multi-tasking is what drains you when you're not comfortable with it.
Hang on! You won't feel the effects as much later on.

Yeah, an auto-pilot would help out substantially, I see why people like them so much. In the beginning I thought I would never want to use one, I would always want my hands on the controls, thats the fun part. once I got into cross country's though that attitude changed real quick. HA HA The planes are so out of trim the second you take your hand off the yoke they start to veer off left or right.

[slushie]

Man, I thought the title said "Anyone else get tired OF flying?" And I was about raise my hand high.



This flying in circles and getting no sleep all week thing suuuuuuuuucks

[AngelFuree]

Originally Posted by Matt13C

Yeah, an auto-pilot would help out substantially, I see why people like them so much. In the beginning I thought I would never want to use one, I would always want my hands on the controls, thats the fun part. once I got into cross country's though that attitude changed real quick. HA HA The planes are so out of trim the second you take your hand off the yoke they start to veer off left or right.

lol, I LIKE hand flying. Practice trimming the airplane, once you get used to it, you'll realize how much easier flying becomes. That's all autopilots are anyway, they continuously trim the airplane. Of course, in long legs, autopilot is definitely welcome.

...as far as trim goes, use the yoke to control the airplane, find a freeze attitude (i.e. freeze the horizon, visually), freeze that pressure on the yoke, and NEUTRALIZE that pressure with the trim...but never fly the airplane w/ trim alone. It drives me crazy when my students like to have their hand on the trim wheel throughout the flight trying to pitch by using the trim wheel. I slap them for it.

edit: Something I've noticed that helps some people is using two fingers to control the pitch alone. For example, if the airplane requires back pressure to stay level, use two fingers, again as an example, your middle and ring finger to hold the back pressure. It helps out because you are more sensitive to changes in pressure when you are applying backtrim. If you're using a whole hand grip, you are less sensitive as you have five fingers to distribute the backpressure. I know it sounds weird but it has helped a lot of my students.

[Matt13C]

Originally Posted by AngelFuree

lol, I LIKE hand flying. Practice trimming the airplane, once you get used to it, you'll realize how much easier flying becomes. That's all autopilots are anyway, they continuously trim the airplane. Of course, in long legs, autopilot is definitely welcome.

...as far as trim goes, use the yoke to control the airplane, find a freeze attitude (i.e. freeze the horizon, visually), freeze that pressure on the yoke, and NEUTRALIZE that pressure with the trim...but never fly the airplane w/ trim alone. It drives me crazy when my students like to have their hand on the trim wheel throughout the flight trying to pitch by using the trim wheel. I slap them for it.

edit: Something I've noticed that helps some people is using two fingers to control the pitch alone. For example, if the airplane requires back pressure to stay level, use two fingers, again as an example, your middle and ring finger to hold the back pressure. It helps out because you are more sensitive to changes in pressure when you are applying backtrim. If you're using a whole hand grip, you are less sensitive as you have five fingers to distribute the backpressure. I know it sounds weird but it has helped a lot of my students.

Thanks man! I will try that next time I go up.

[flyguy]

Flying is a fatiguing activity. Its perfectly normal to be drainied when you are new to it. If you think its bad now, just wait till you start instrument training. With all the eye scans you'll be doing on the instruments, you'll probably get headaches and will be totally drained after a lesson under the hood. But just like anyting else, once you get used to it, it will get easier.

[flyguy]

P.S.

I remember my students being about ready to pass out after a flight and telling me I was made of steel for going up and doing it 3 more times that day. Funny thing was, I remember feeling the exact same way as a student, feeling sorry for my instructors for having to fly that much. But by the time you become an instructor it get much, much easier. Which is a good thing, because soon you'll be doing 6 leg / 14 hour days at a regional. That's a kick in the rear, but even that you get used to eventually.

[AngelFuree]

Originally Posted by flyguy

P.S.

I remember my students being about ready to pass out after a flight and telling me I was made of steel for going up and doing it 3 more times that day. Funny thing was, I remember feeling the exact same way as a student, feeling sorry for my instructors for having to fly that much. But by the time you become an instructor it get much, much easier. Which is a good thing, because soon you'll be doing 6 leg / 14 hour days at a regional. That's a kick in the rear, but even that you get used to eventually.

Exaaaaaactly.

[fly4food84]

Good post. I always take a nap after lessons.

[PGT]

Summer heat + flights = some good naps after lessons

The summer heat in the 90s with high humidity and 1-2 hour concentration just totally wiped me out.

[SlantG]

Wait 'til you get to instrument training. It'll be a little bit before you can get out of the plane, let alone drive home.

[scflyin]

I get tired after flying. But the other thing is that flying makes me so durn hungry. I feel like I could eat a 10 course meal at the end of each day. And that's with eating multiple times during the day.

[Matt13C]

Originally Posted by scflyin

I get tired after flying. But the other thing is that flying makes me so durn hungry. I feel like I could eat a 10 course meal at the end of each day. And that's with eating multiple times during the day.

Ha, I am always hungry, so I can't tell if flying makes me more so. Not eating for 3 hours always has my stomach begging for something. My flight school has pretzels and crackers and soda for the students. I try and eat healthy and stay away from that stuff but after a flight I always find myself grabbing a soda and some pretzels and scarfing them down to hold me off until I get home.

When I get a flying job I am going to have to pack 3 lunches to keep full. That or stop all the exercise and let my metabolism slow down, but I don't see that happening.

[scflyin]

I had a flight the other day that I was just starving. And then we got a crew meal and I almost went into a food coma. Man it good to eat but it made me that more tired. I'd like to say I eat healthy on the days I fly, but that doesn't happen. I usually get a big bag of trail mix and eat that and drink a lot of water while I am flying.