This article is available in English. To view the English translation for any section, simply click the prompt « Read the English version below — click to expand« before each illustration or picture. The English text will then be displayed.
LE BRUIT, PUIS LE SILENCE
Dans l’épisode précédent, je vous avais laissé à 3 100 pieds, avec un moteur qui venait de perdre 30 % de sa puissance d’un coup. « BOOM. 1 000 tours en moins. » Pas de panique. Juste une concentration absolue.
«120 km/h. 3 100 pieds. Terrain à 5 minutes. En cas d’arrêt total, je ne fais pas le terrain.»
Cette phrase, je me la répète en boucle. Pas comme une prière. Comme une équation.
Read the English version below — click to expand
THE NOISE, THEN THE SILENCE
In the last episode, I left you at 3,100 feet, with an engine that had just lost 30% of its power in an instant. « BOOM. 1,000 RPM gone. » No panic. Just absolute focus.
« 120 km/h. 3,100 feet. Five minutes to the airfield. If this engine quits completely, I won’t make it. » I repeat this to myself like a mantra. Not a prayer. An equation.
Depuis 2017, mes heures de vol annuelles ont diminué en raison de mon expatriation en Chine. Vous remarquerez d’ailleurs que certains articles ont reçu une vingtaine de votes mais affichent une mauvaise note… Disons que ma position pragmatique et factuelle sur le sujet de Taïwan n’a pas été du goût de tout le monde, surtout en Chine. Il fallait que ce soit dit ! 😊
Je suis rentré en France fin 2021. Mes différentes fonctions et mon projet immobilier m’ont accaparé, me laissant peu de temps pour voler. Par ailleurs, le prix de l’heure de vol a considérablement augmenté depuis mon départ, et le club se trouve à 40 minutes de chez moi, ce qui n’arrange rien.
Mais 2024 marque mon grand retour ! J’ai eu la chance de pouvoir acheter un appareil – je consacrerai un article à ce sujet… et non, ce n’est pas réservé aux riches 😉, plutôt aux passionnés–. Clairement, c’est l’un de mes investissements les plus intelligents et rentables. Les chiffres parlent d’eux-mêmes :
En 2024, je retrouve un nombre d’heures de vol proche de celui que j’avais avant 2016 -figure 1-. Jusqu’à présent, ma moyenne annuelle d’heures de vol était en constante diminution depuis cette année-là -figure 2-. Mais 2024 marque un tournant : la tendance s’inverse enfin !
On observe également que j’atteins un coût horaire acceptable, avoisinant celui de 2019 -figure 3-, soit environ 50 € par heure.
Figure 1 : graphique du nombre total d’heures de vol par an, toutes machines confonduesFigure 2: graphique de la progression de la moyenne annuelle des heures de volFigure 3: Évolution du coût moyen par heure de vol en fonction de mon activité aérienne
In English
Since 2017, my annual flight hours have decreased due to my expatriation to China. You may also notice that some of my articles received around twenty votes but ended up with low ratings… Let’s just say that my pragmatic and factual stance on the Taiwan issue didn’t sit well with everyone, especially in China. It had to be said! 😊
I returned to France at the end of 2021. My various responsibilities and a real estate project kept me busy, leaving little time for flying. On top of that, the cost of flight hours has significantly increased since I left, and the club is 40 minutes away from where I live, which doesn’t make things easier.
But 2024 marks my big comeback! I was fortunate enough to buy an aircraft – I’ll write an article about it soon… And no, it’s not just for the wealthy 😉, but for true enthusiasts –. Clearly, this has been one of my smartest and most worthwhile investments. The numbers speak for themselves:
In 2024, I’m reaching a flight hour count close to what I had before 2016 – see figure 1. Until now, my average annual flight hours had been steadily declining since that year – see figure 2. But 2024 is a turning point: the trend is finally reversing!
We can also see that I’ve achieved an acceptable hourly cost, comparable to 2019 – see figure 3 –, around €50 per hour.
Since April 2017, I have been working in China. I changed jobs in September 2024.
This means that 2018 marked my first full year abroad. For my qualification renewal, I had to retake a test under extremely challenging weather conditions—almost stormy, with poor visibility—but still within VFR limits. The test took place in January, which is far from the ideal time for flying. Despite all the difficulties, I passed successfully!
If we take a look at my logbook now, you’ll see that I’ve flown more hours than the average French pilot—all without ever being in France. How is that possible?
An Idea From China
It all started with an invitation I received in Shanghai—a wedding invitation. My friends invited me to attend their wedding… In France.
If you’ve read my previous articles, you’ll know I’ve flown to many parts of France—just never to the northeast. It’s a long way from where I usually fly, but the wedding is in Strasbourg! What better excuse to finally make the trip?
Wow, it’s been a while! This story actually unfolded back in the summer of 2016. Life has taken me to China since then, and so much has happened that I never got around to finishing the write-up—or editing the video.
But better late than never, right? Let’s dive back in!
Yes, I know! The article about my last trip in England hasn’t been published yet! And the video neither. So, why am I starting to write an article about my last trip in the south of France ??? EASY, because, I have already started to write the article about England trip… but after several months, I forgot the most part of details.
Flying is a passion. We could have two ways to fly: the first one is to go to another place. The second one is to fly just to fly. In a first way, flying alone or not is not a big deal. At that instance, it is just flying such as you would drive to your mother-in-law place. Of course, because you like flying, you enjoy that instance. But the motivation of this flight is after the flight: your mother-in-law place. In the second case, you want to fly just for flying. It is not necessary to fly into another place. The motivation of this flight… is this flight itself. Maybe sometimes you want to fly alone, but in this kind of flight, you just would rather share this hobby! So, on Monday, 6th I sent a message to all members of my flight club. I got an answer :).
A poor lonesome pilot... 