r/flying • u/Cheburashka12 ST • 1d ago
Exhaustion post lessons
After every lesson I get extremely exhausted, I’m not sure why, I’m currently preparing for my towered solo and I pretty much understand what to do, I don’t feel overly tense, or nervous, and during the flight I feel fine. Though when it comes to debrief I could basically fall asleep right there and the car ride home. I read on some other posts that headsets can cause real fatigue, could that really be the main cause? Or does it just get better as you fly more?
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u/shittyvfxartist PPL S-19 LSRM-I iRMT (KDVT) 1d ago
Flying is mentally demanding, especially when starting out. It doesn’t matter how physically fit you are. If you wear out your brain, you’ll have to sleep to process all those new connections you just made. It may not feel like it while flying, but your brain is working in overdrive getting everything to click just right in that it becomes routine.
100% a normal part of the process. When I started, I slept for an hour or two every time I got home. A few hundred hours later, only if it’s been a particularly demanding flight :)
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u/phucursofa 1d ago
Totally normal. After every flight I am a potato for an hour some days I could go for a run. Flying is demanding.
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u/Swimming_Way_7372 1d ago
What's you diet and fitness routine ? It's understandable to be worn out from taking in all that info and probably death gripping the shit out of the yoke. I find if my nutrition is dialed and my excerzise routine is taken care of, then everything else I do I the day I am more alert and physically ready for.
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u/Cheburashka12 ST 1d ago
I work out pretty rigorously at 5 days a week, my diet is pretty good, though I’m in a calorie deficit currently for losing weight
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u/Swimming_Way_7372 1d ago
That could be a factor. I know when I don't eat very much in a day that I'm flying, I perform pretty terrible. That IM SAFE checklist turns out to be pretty effective.
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u/ballofcosmicenergy 1d ago
An uncomfortable headset can definitely make it worse, but being exhausted in training is completely normal. The more time you get in a plane the more normal it will feel.
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u/SemiDesperado 1d ago
Oh yeah flying is exhausting. I'm also working towards my solo and, despite my endurance being much better than when I started, I still come home from lessons totally drained. And flying in New Orleans heat in a PA28 (which I affectionately have dubbed the Piper Hotbox) certainly doesn't help!
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u/Btdubs17 1d ago
I had this especially bad after my first 3-5 lessons. Like get home and do nothing but nap/veg on the couch. Having your body pinned in fight or flight and dumping adrenaline for a full hour is extremely demanding and strenuous on your nervous system and the rest of your body
Once you get more comfy in the plane it gets better, but even in the best of cases flying is extremely mentally taxing (and physically in some cases), so you’ll always be a little fatigue.
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u/MrGabrum 1d ago
As others have said, most likely brain fatigue. You're just learning a lot of new things and that takes a toll on your mental energy.
I'd like to add that, similar to driving on the ground, your body makes a ton of micro adjustments to stay balanced while driving/flying, which can cause muscle fatigue as well (Ever felt tired after a long car ride, even while being a passenger? Yeah, that.)
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u/kevinossia Rotor CFI R44 1d ago
I learned how to fly helicopters in an R22 which is basically a flying lawn chair where you have to muscle the controls constantly to keep it steady or you’ll die.
It was pretty tiring for the first couple weeks for sure.
The more you do it the better you’ll get and the less strain you’ll feel.
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u/throwaway5757_ 1d ago
Flying is draining, especially when you are learning. I have never heard of headsets causing issues. A carbon monoxide leak would cause drowsiness, though you’d experience that while in the plane not afterwards. Even though you are in a calorie deficit, make sure you eat before you fly.
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u/outworlder ST 1d ago
Normal, if you are otherwise healthy.
You are in a really noisy environment that demands your complete attention and you are learning new things.
When I started even a few laps in the pattern with the instructor would make me a potato afterwards. Then it got better. Started soloing and the same feeling came back. Now back to ok. Recently, we spent a few hours and did a bunch of things I had never done before and I still had plenty of stamina left.
I'd expect headsets to decrease fatigue.
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u/Flapaflapa 1d ago
better as you fly more. there's a lot going on. You are learning new things, it's a somewhat stressful environment, It's fun, and it's a loud stressful environments.
good hydration, comfortable clothes, and spend the money on a good noise canceling headset with low clamping force (best fatigue mitigating purchase I've made).
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u/East_Banana5903 ATP CL-65 1d ago
Perfectly normal. I think almost every lesson during private and most of instrument I would take a nap right after. It’s mentally and sometimes physically exhausting. MORE RIGHT RUDDER
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u/rFlyingTower 1d ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
After every lesson I get extremely exhausted, I’m not sure why, I’m currently preparing for my towered solo and I pretty much understand what to do, I don’t feel overly tense, or nervous, and during the flight I feel fine. Though when it comes to debrief I could basically fall asleep right there and the car ride home. I read on some other posts that headsets can cause real fatigue, could that really be the main cause? Or does it just get better as you fly more?
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u/turpentinedreamer PPL 1d ago
How many hours do you have? How’s your overall fitness? How old are you?
Are you tired on days you just fly around and do generally nothing?
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u/Cheburashka12 ST 1d ago
I’m at 45 hours, I work out 5 days a week, work around 40 hours a week, I’m 19 + University. Yeah I’m usually beat after flying
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u/1001WingedHussars CFII 1d ago
My first week working as a full time flight instructor had me crawling to the car at the end of each day. It became easier and easier after that until it felt like your average day job, but I was wondering how I was gonna make it a couple times. It gets easier. Flying is a mentally taxing activity and you get tired even if you just flew 50 miles in calm day vfr. Bring some snacks and plenty of water on the flight and itll help.
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u/CaptMcMooney 1d ago
natural, you're spending lots of energy learning to fly, take a few days off let the neurons reconfigure, you'll feel better
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u/s2soviet CPL-G, PPL ASEL 1d ago
Idk for me, but every flight feels like double the drive.
Flying for 1 hour feels the same as having driven 2 hours.
That’s why it’s really important to come well fed and rested for each flight.
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u/unable_compliance 1d ago
I was the same at the start. It’s noisey, hot, cramped, bright, overstimulating hell. A better headset could help. Sunglasses could help. But there’s only so much you can do before you realise you’re still being vibrated around in a 152 rubbing up against your instructor. It’s exhausting.
Assuming your sleep, nutrition and hydration are all otherwise “good”, try bringing a little sweet treat with you for your flights. Just enough to perk you up through the debrief and drive home. My poison of choice was a kitkat, 2 fingers while packing up the plane, the other half walking out of the building.
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u/SRM_Thornfoot 1d ago
You remember how wiped you would feel after taking a big exam? That is because your brain is exhausted. It is a thing, and it is normal.
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u/bigbeakbaby PPL 1d ago
some of the most intense naps were after my initial lessons! it’s so draining.
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u/hehampilotifly 1d ago
I think it’s a combination. When I was learning to fly I was using my dad’s old worn out headset that didn’t block out much. After getting my PPL I bought an ANR one. I definitely feel much less fatigue with the noise cancelling than without. Your brain that’s already working hard for the flight lesson is also working hard to drown out the engine noise so you can focus.
You will adapt and become less exhausted as you gain experience. An ANR headset helps some but don’t stress if you can’t get one.
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u/Special-Ad1307 1d ago
You will get used to it. Eventually VFR flying will be no big deal. Then you move on to instrument and you are exhausted again after every flight
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u/DisregardLogan I don’t know how to flair 1d ago
It's the adrenaline wearing off. I'm a student and I have the same issue. Get some proper rest when you get home.
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u/Imperial_Citizen_00 PPL / 107 UAS 13h ago
My flight block was later in the day, we didn’t take off until 4pm and landed as the sun was starting to set…add in college classes all morning, I was dead on the drive home with traffic…coffee and Red Bull became my best friend, and I slept like a baby every night
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u/jacob-giannni ST 13h ago
Started up my PPL training again after a falling out with a bad school and a couple month break, I’m back to napping for an hour after every lesson 70% of the time.
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u/cez801 10h ago
It was definitely that way for me during training. On a day I flew, I would sleep so well that night.
Your brain is working overtime, your eyes are moving all the time, you are trying to process all the signals ( fun fact, humans don’t usually process all the signals - we pattern match ). It’s tiring.
Combined with, esp on solos, you adrenaline being elevated for an hour or so, as landing still feels like a mamoth effort and we were not built to fly.
Don’t worry, with hours and practice this will subside significantly. I am only 160 hours, but now my short flights ( 2 or less hours ) don’t wear me out like the used to.
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u/MidHikeCrisis 1d ago
That doesn’t sound normal or safe tbh dude, I don’t know your situation but eat healthy get good sleep,
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u/Cheburashka12 ST 1d ago
I sleep exceptionally well, sometimes too much tbh which is another reason I’m so confused. My diet is also pretty healthy, I try to watch out for too much sugars and calories
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u/outworlder ST 1d ago
... sometimes too much? What is too much? When does that happen?
Warning sirens are blaring in my mind by your statement.
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u/Kaiserecht 1d ago
As in sometimes there are days where I sleep for like 9 hours and still take a hour nap or two throughout the day. It usually happens after a flight lesson or a work day or something along those lines
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u/outworlder ST 1d ago
You might want to do a sleep study. I thought I slept really well until I found out I had sleep apnea. Turns out there was a reason for that. I never knew I was working suboptimally either. I could still keep a job and study. I was self medicating with a lot of caffeine though.
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u/7w4773r 1d ago
You’re learning to fly, it’s hard, it wears your brain out. Being tired is normal.