My Passion for Flying: Is It Normal?

[David B. Cole]

I posted this on another forum, but figured that some of you could
probably relate to what I'm going through.

Dave
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the past year or so I've gotten into numerous discussions with
friends about finding our passion in life. Most discussions have
centered around our careers and the consensus is that few of us are
fortunate enough to have careers that we are passionate about. Those
who do get to do what they enjoy everyday and make a decent amount of
money doing it are truly fortunate. And many of use talk a good game
and say that we would be willing to give up jobs that pay a great
salary but that we don't particularly care for in order to pursue our
passions, whether it be teaching, flying, etc. But at the end of the
day very few of us are willing to actually part with our way of life
to pursue something that we are passionate about yet would afford us a
less comfortable lifestyle. I myself am guilty of that in that if
money were not an issue I would probably go back for an engineering
doctorate and teach. Maybe one day I will.

For others, the jobs that we force ourselves to go to everyday simply
provides the resources to follow our other passions. And if that's
the case then maybe it's worth the sacrifice. You may wonder how this
ties in to the subject of this post. Well, my love of aviation goes
back for many years and I've known that I've wanted to fly for almost
as long. This is particularly interesting since I didn't fly for the
first time until my freshman year of undergraduate. One day while
having one of these discussions a friend asked when my love of flying
came about. I could only say that I've had it for years, but couldn't
quite but a finger on the details. Then one day recently I heard
"Wild Blue Yonder", or at least I think that's the Air Force anthem.
Suddenly I was taken back to my memories growing up building model
airplanes, RC planes, and model rockets. Just hearing that song
brought back memories I had long forgotten, but that certainly shaped
my love of flying.

After I received my PPL I figured that maybe my desire to hang around
at airports would diminish. But I still find myself looking up and
getting excited whenever a plane flies overhead, I'll take the long
way home from work just so that I can drive past Teterboro or any
other airport. And on nice days when traffic is departing from Rwys 24
and 19, I'll pull up next to the fence and watch the Lears, Falcons,
Gulfstreams, Citations, and all the rest take off and land for hours
on end. I find it to be therapeutic. I still relish going down to
the Flying W airport, where I learned to fly, on a beautiful spring or
fall day and sitting on the grass watching other people fly. A great
deal of my reading involves flying in some form and the amount of time
I spend thinking about it daily sometime leads me to think that maybe
I'm addicted. To me it's the perfect combination of science and fun.

Don't get me wrong, I have other interests. I enjoy studying history
and science, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and
have just fulfilled another lifelong goal by starting fencing lessons.
I have learned to scuba dive, plus I have a list of other goals I
hope to achieve very soon. But at the end of the day I can't escape
this flight addiction. I started at 29 and certainly wish I had
started about 10 years earlier. But I also think I have an
appreciation for it now that I probably wouldn't have had back then.
I'm certainly not the best pilot in the world, certainly no better
than average in my estimate despite any compliments I may have
received in the past. So given that and that I'm almost 32, it's
unlikely that I will ever fly professionally. Part of it comes back
to giving up so much in order to do so, and I certainly admire those
that have done it. But maybe I'll go for the CFI/II and instruct
part-time. I've always had a gift for teaching and maybe this is the
perfect combination of what I enjoy and what I'm good at.

I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend
yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for
myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
check.

Dave

[Andrew Gideon]

David B. Cole wrote:

[...]
> I myself am guilty of that in that if
> money were not an issue I would probably go back for an engineering
> doctorate and teach.

Heh. Engineering? No wonder I like you.

[...]
> I still relish going down to
> the Flying W airport, where I learned to fly, on a beautiful spring or
> fall day and sitting on the grass watching other people fly.

This is an area where I stint. I reason that, as little time I have around
airplanes, I should fly with as much of that time as possible. Perhaps
that's an error.

[...]
> To me it's the perfect combination of science and fun.

Absolutely. Instrument flying also appeals to the same persnickety nature
that works for me in software engineering.

[...]

> So given that and that I'm almost 32, it's
> unlikely that I will ever fly professionally. Part of it comes back
> to giving up so much in order to do so, and I certainly admire those
> that have done it. But maybe I'll go for the CFI/II and instruct
> part-time. I've always had a gift for teaching and maybe this is the
> perfect combination of what I enjoy and what I'm good at.

You could always teach engineering at a school which specializes in (or has
a good program for) aviation. Add a CFII to that, and...

> I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
> others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
> they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend
> yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
> money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
> it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for
> myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
> place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
> anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
> opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
> I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
> check.

I've never computed that total, but I can get pretty close just in my head.
It's no trivial number. When I think what that money could have done for
my business, or my family, I do feel a little ill. Who am I to waste so
much on a "mere hobby"?

But life isn't something to be survived. We won't do that anyway, so it's a
poor goal in the long term. Instead, we should be doing the things that
make our hearts beat quicker, that take our breath away, and that warm our
souls.

I've several passions in my life. Flying is one. I could live without it,
but it would mean less living.

Is this normal? I'd say "no". Most people give up on their passions as a
part of the process they mistake for maturing. We're taught to "get by",
"do the job we're given", or "fit in".

But passion isn't about any of these things. One cannot discover passion by
"getting by". Passion is discovered by investing one's self completely in
the "job we're given", and then discovering where that takes us or what
that does to us. If we bring passion to everything we do, we're free to
find that about which we're passionate.

But "getting by" leaves no room for the discovery of passion. What might
have excited us is never given the chance, even if we do stumble across it.

Passion is also contagious. If nothing else, I owe it to my son to fan the
flames of my passions, that he can catch his own (which had damned well
better include aviation {8^).

- Andrew

[Dudley Henriques]

This is an interesting post, and I believe can be addressed from several
directions.
I've been directly involved in aviation all my life as a professional. I've
learned much from the experience. One of the prime things I've learned and
have passed on to others coming up is that flying, especially weather
intensive flying, requires you look at the issue of your "passion" for it
VERY carefully. Flying is in that class of unique endeavors in life that
require more than a passion for the doing of it to survive. When you first
look at it this way, it sets many pilots back a bit on their haunches for a
closer look. What it amounts to really is that it's wonderful to have all
this passion for something you do in life, and it's even better if you can
make a very good living from doing it as I and many others have done, but
you never want to lose sight of that "extra thing out there" than can hurt
you; that being the requirement to constantly maintain the degree of
proficiency required at the level from which you are enjoying all this
"passion"
:-)
In my case, I loved flying as much as anything I did in my life, but as a
professional doing it, especially at the level of danger I was doing it, I
reached a point in my career where the enjoyment had to take a back seat to
the unending proficiency requirements at my level of involvement.
I guess what I'm actually saying here is that a passion for flying is fine,
and by all means enjoy the experience. God knows I did. But never forget
that the REAL bottom line for all that enjoyment is the price you must be
willing to pay to maintain your ability to enjoy the experience over a
protracted period of time; that period lasting until you park the airplane
for the last time in your career.
All the best, and enjoy the experience,
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt



"David B. Cole" > wrote in message
m...
> I posted this on another forum, but figured that some of you could
> probably relate to what I'm going through.
>
> Dave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
> Over the past year or so I've gotten into numerous discussions with
> friends about finding our passion in life. Most discussions have
> centered around our careers and the consensus is that few of us are
> fortunate enough to have careers that we are passionate about. Those
> who do get to do what they enjoy everyday and make a decent amount of
> money doing it are truly fortunate. And many of use talk a good game
> and say that we would be willing to give up jobs that pay a great
> salary but that we don't particularly care for in order to pursue our
> passions, whether it be teaching, flying, etc. But at the end of the
> day very few of us are willing to actually part with our way of life
> to pursue something that we are passionate about yet would afford us a
> less comfortable lifestyle. I myself am guilty of that in that if
> money were not an issue I would probably go back for an engineering
> doctorate and teach. Maybe one day I will.
>
> For others, the jobs that we force ourselves to go to everyday simply
> provides the resources to follow our other passions. And if that's
> the case then maybe it's worth the sacrifice. You may wonder how this
> ties in to the subject of this post. Well, my love of aviation goes
> back for many years and I've known that I've wanted to fly for almost
> as long. This is particularly interesting since I didn't fly for the
> first time until my freshman year of undergraduate. One day while
> having one of these discussions a friend asked when my love of flying
> came about. I could only say that I've had it for years, but couldn't
> quite but a finger on the details. Then one day recently I heard
> "Wild Blue Yonder", or at least I think that's the Air Force anthem.
> Suddenly I was taken back to my memories growing up building model
> airplanes, RC planes, and model rockets. Just hearing that song
> brought back memories I had long forgotten, but that certainly shaped
> my love of flying.
>
> After I received my PPL I figured that maybe my desire to hang around
> at airports would diminish. But I still find myself looking up and
> getting excited whenever a plane flies overhead, I'll take the long
> way home from work just so that I can drive past Teterboro or any
> other airport. And on nice days when traffic is departing from Rwys 24
> and 19, I'll pull up next to the fence and watch the Lears, Falcons,
> Gulfstreams, Citations, and all the rest take off and land for hours
> on end. I find it to be therapeutic. I still relish going down to
> the Flying W airport, where I learned to fly, on a beautiful spring or
> fall day and sitting on the grass watching other people fly. A great
> deal of my reading involves flying in some form and the amount of time
> I spend thinking about it daily sometime leads me to think that maybe
> I'm addicted. To me it's the perfect combination of science and fun.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I have other interests. I enjoy studying history
> and science, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and
> have just fulfilled another lifelong goal by starting fencing lessons.
> I have learned to scuba dive, plus I have a list of other goals I
> hope to achieve very soon. But at the end of the day I can't escape
> this flight addiction. I started at 29 and certainly wish I had
> started about 10 years earlier. But I also think I have an
> appreciation for it now that I probably wouldn't have had back then.
> I'm certainly not the best pilot in the world, certainly no better
> than average in my estimate despite any compliments I may have
> received in the past. So given that and that I'm almost 32, it's
> unlikely that I will ever fly professionally. Part of it comes back
> to giving up so much in order to do so, and I certainly admire those
> that have done it. But maybe I'll go for the CFI/II and instruct
> part-time. I've always had a gift for teaching and maybe this is the
> perfect combination of what I enjoy and what I'm good at.
>
> I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
> others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
> they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend
> yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
> money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
> it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for
> myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
> place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
> anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
> opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
> I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
> check.
>
> Dave

[Rich Stowell]

(David B. Cole) wrote in message >...

<snip>


Hi David,

Sounds like a common aviation story to me! And what's wrong with
starting later in life??? In my case, I walked away (ran to the
airport, actually) from my "real" job and began instructing full time
at the ripe old age of 30. The chief pilot here also walked away from
his real job at the age of 40-ish to follow his passion as an
instructor (aside from the obvious financial sacrifices, it also cost
him his marriage -- in my case, I have an extremely supportive
pilot-wife who said, "why don't you give instructing a try for a
year...").

I don't think it's ever too late to follow your bliss. Sure, there
will be sacrifices, but as the saying goes, "Life is not a dress
rehearsal."

Even if you get your CFI or CFII and teach part time, you will no
doubt be flying professionally -- I'm sure of this based on my limited
aviation interaction with you...Don't ever stop looking up at the
airplanes ; )

Rich
http://www.richstowell.com

[Roger Halstead]

On 8 Mar 2004 10:36:06 -0800, (David B. Cole) wrote:

>I posted this on another forum, but figured that some of you could
>probably relate to what I'm going through.
>
>Dave
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Over the past year or so I've gotten into numerous discussions with
>friends about finding our passion in life. Most discussions have

That is a discussion in which I seem to get involved quite often.

>centered around our careers and the consensus is that few of us are
>fortunate enough to have careers that we are passionate about. Those
>who do get to do what they enjoy everyday and make a decent amount of
>money doing it are truly fortunate. And many of use talk a good game

I was one of the fortunate ones. I took an educational leave after
more than 26 years of work and went back to college. After a brief
stint in graduate school I was offered a good job. It was doing what
I liked and with almost unbelievable autonomy. Those yearly goal
setting meetings inevitably ran about 5 minutes as I had virtually
every thing planned out prior to the meeting, then my boss and I would
spend the next 55 minutes BSing about flying. BTW, he's now a
student.

>and say that we would be willing to give up jobs that pay a great
>salary but that we don't particularly care for in order to pursue our
>passions, whether it be teaching, flying, etc. But at the end of the
>day very few of us are willing to actually part with our way of life

I think there is a big difference between those working a job and
those who actively dislike their jobs.

At age 47 I quite work, earned a degree in computer science, got a job
that I really enjoyed and that could support more hobbies than I had
time in which to participate.

>to pursue something that we are passionate about yet would afford us a
>less comfortable lifestyle. I myself am guilty of that in that if
>money were not an issue I would probably go back for an engineering
>doctorate and teach. Maybe one day I will.

I think it depends on a persons make up, but people doing things they
dislike to make more money keep the shrinks in business. OTOH there
is nothing wrong with a job that provides enough money to pursue the
finer things in life if the person does not dislike the job.

>
>For others, the jobs that we force ourselves to go to everyday simply
>provides the resources to follow our other passions. And if that's

It's those jobs people have to force them selves to do that keep the
shrinks driving new Beamers.

>the case then maybe it's worth the sacrifice. You may wonder how this
>ties in to the subject of this post. Well, my love of aviation goes
>back for many years and I've known that I've wanted to fly for almost
>as long. This is particularly interesting since I didn't fly for the
>first time until my freshman year of undergraduate. One day while
>having one of these discussions a friend asked when my love of flying
>came about. I could only say that I've had it for years, but couldn't
>quite but a finger on the details. Then one day recently I heard
>"Wild Blue Yonder", or at least I think that's the Air Force anthem.
>Suddenly I was taken back to my memories growing up building model
>airplanes, RC planes, and model rockets. Just hearing that song
>brought back memories I had long forgotten, but that certainly shaped
>my love of flying.
>
>After I received my PPL I figured that maybe my desire to hang around
>at airports would diminish. But I still find myself looking up and
>getting excited whenever a plane flies overhead, I'll take the long
>way home from work just so that I can drive past Teterboro or any
>other airport. And on nice days when traffic is departing from Rwys 24
>and 19, I'll pull up next to the fence and watch the Lears, Falcons,
>Gulfstreams, Citations, and all the rest take off and land for hours
>on end. I find it to be therapeutic. I still relish going down to
>the Flying W airport, where I learned to fly, on a beautiful spring or
>fall day and sitting on the grass watching other people fly. A great
>deal of my reading involves flying in some form and the amount of time
>I spend thinking about it daily sometime leads me to think that maybe
>I'm addicted. To me it's the perfect combination of science and fun.

You've probably described, at least in one form or another, about 80%
of the posters on this newsgroup.

>
>Don't get me wrong, I have other interests. I enjoy studying history
>and science, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and
>have just fulfilled another lifelong goal by starting fencing lessons.
> I have learned to scuba dive, plus I have a list of other goals I
>hope to achieve very soon. But at the end of the day I can't escape
>this flight addiction. I started at 29 and certainly wish I had
>started about 10 years earlier. But I also think I have an
>appreciation for it now that I probably wouldn't have had back then.
>I'm certainly not the best pilot in the world, certainly no better
>than average in my estimate despite any compliments I may have
>received in the past. So given that and that I'm almost 32, it's
>unlikely that I will ever fly professionally. Part of it comes back
>to giving up so much in order to do so, and I certainly admire those
>that have done it. But maybe I'll go for the CFI/II and instruct
>part-time. I've always had a gift for teaching and maybe this is the
>perfect combination of what I enjoy and what I'm good at.
>
>I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
>others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
>they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend

It's refreshing to see some one put it into words.

>yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
>money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
>it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for

A friend, now gone, used to take that approach to the planes he had
built. He said he didn't want to know how many hours or how much
money he had into them. It was the enjoyment he received in building
them from scratch, from flying them, and sharing the joy of flying
with others.

>myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
>place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
>anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
>opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
>I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
>check.

As long as you get other pilots to be the ones who do the sanity
check. <:-)) The rest of the boring world things we are all crazy.


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com>
>Dave

[Corky Scott]

On 8 Mar 2004 10:36:06 -0800, (David B. Cole) wrote:

I don't think I'm alone given what
>I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
>check.
>
>Dave

Heh heh, my wife, who is a teacher, once told me about a woman she met
when she was at a teaching conference upstate. She and a few other
women stepped outside to sit on the steps during lunch because it was
a spectacular day. Brilliant blue sky, balmy breezes, just a day to
remember. It was shortly made more memorable when a woman none no one
knew walked over, sat down with the group and began chattering. She
probably was a custodian for the school, but whatever she was, it was
quickly obvious she was one sandwiche short of a picnic. My wife told
me she just chattered on aimlessly as if they were all good friends...
until an airplane popped over the horizon.

Suddenly she shut up and stared intently at the airplane as it droned
slowly overhead. Her eyes and head tracked it from horizon to horizon
with her head tilted back, mouth agape, like a human radar set. A few
seconds after the airplane disappeared over the far horizon, the woman
burst into chatter again, endlessly mentioning the airplane and going
on and on and on about it, before drifting off to another topic,
eventually.

From that day on, whenever an airplane flew overhead and I looked up
to see what it was, I'd drop my eyes back down to find my wife
contemplating me with a smirk on her face. And if the engine noise is
REALLY unusual, requiring a dash outside to see a B-17 passing by (ok
this only happened once, it was the Collings B-17), or my friend's
Waco which has a 275 hp Jacobs with a constant speed prop, which
sounds positively melodic, she may guffaw outloud asking me if I
managed to spot the "airyplane". :-)

Corky Scott

[zip777]

(David B. Cole) wrote in message >...
> I posted this on another forum, but figured that some of you could
> probably relate to what I'm going through.
>
> Dave
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Over the past year or so I've gotten into numerous discussions with
> friends about finding our passion in life. Most discussions have
> centered around our careers and the consensus is that few of us are
> fortunate enough to have careers that we are passionate about. Those
> who do get to do what they enjoy everyday and make a decent amount of
> money doing it are truly fortunate. And many of use talk a good game
> and say that we would be willing to give up jobs that pay a great
> salary but that we don't particularly care for in order to pursue our
> passions, whether it be teaching, flying, etc. But at the end of the
> day very few of us are willing to actually part with our way of life
> to pursue something that we are passionate about yet would afford us a
> less comfortable lifestyle. I myself am guilty of that in that if
> money were not an issue I would probably go back for an engineering
> doctorate and teach. Maybe one day I will.
>
> For others, the jobs that we force ourselves to go to everyday simply
> provides the resources to follow our other passions. And if that's
> the case then maybe it's worth the sacrifice. You may wonder how this
> ties in to the subject of this post. Well, my love of aviation goes
> back for many years and I've known that I've wanted to fly for almost
> as long. This is particularly interesting since I didn't fly for the
> first time until my freshman year of undergraduate. One day while
> having one of these discussions a friend asked when my love of flying
> came about. I could only say that I've had it for years, but couldn't
> quite but a finger on the details. Then one day recently I heard
> "Wild Blue Yonder", or at least I think that's the Air Force anthem.
> Suddenly I was taken back to my memories growing up building model
> airplanes, RC planes, and model rockets. Just hearing that song
> brought back memories I had long forgotten, but that certainly shaped
> my love of flying.
>
> After I received my PPL I figured that maybe my desire to hang around
> at airports would diminish. But I still find myself looking up and
> getting excited whenever a plane flies overhead, I'll take the long
> way home from work just so that I can drive past Teterboro or any
> other airport. And on nice days when traffic is departing from Rwys 24
> and 19, I'll pull up next to the fence and watch the Lears, Falcons,
> Gulfstreams, Citations, and all the rest take off and land for hours
> on end. I find it to be therapeutic. I still relish going down to
> the Flying W airport, where I learned to fly, on a beautiful spring or
> fall day and sitting on the grass watching other people fly. A great
> deal of my reading involves flying in some form and the amount of time
> I spend thinking about it daily sometime leads me to think that maybe
> I'm addicted. To me it's the perfect combination of science and fun.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I have other interests. I enjoy studying history
> and science, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and
> have just fulfilled another lifelong goal by starting fencing lessons.
> I have learned to scuba dive, plus I have a list of other goals I
> hope to achieve very soon. But at the end of the day I can't escape
> this flight addiction. I started at 29 and certainly wish I had
> started about 10 years earlier. But I also think I have an
> appreciation for it now that I probably wouldn't have had back then.
> I'm certainly not the best pilot in the world, certainly no better
> than average in my estimate despite any compliments I may have
> received in the past. So given that and that I'm almost 32, it's
> unlikely that I will ever fly professionally. Part of it comes back
> to giving up so much in order to do so, and I certainly admire those
> that have done it. But maybe I'll go for the CFI/II and instruct
> part-time. I've always had a gift for teaching and maybe this is the
> perfect combination of what I enjoy and what I'm good at.
>
> I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
> others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
> they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend
> yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
> money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
> it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for
> myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
> place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
> anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
> opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
> I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
> check.
>
> Dave


enjoyed your posting and admire your passions. i offer no comments to
what u wrote, but i'm sure you're not the only one. thanks.

[Roger Halstead]

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 18:35:04 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:

>On 8 Mar 2004 10:36:06 -0800, (David B. Cole) wrote:
>
> I don't think I'm alone given what
>>I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
>>check.
>>
>>Dave
>
>Heh heh, my wife, who is a teacher, once told me about a woman she met
>when she was at a teaching conference upstate. She and a few other
>women stepped outside to sit on the steps during lunch because it was
>a spectacular day. Brilliant blue sky, balmy breezes, just a day to
>remember. It was shortly made more memorable when a woman none no one
>knew walked over, sat down with the group and began chattering. She
>probably was a custodian for the school, but whatever she was, it was
>quickly obvious she was one sandwiche short of a picnic. My wife told
>me she just chattered on aimlessly as if they were all good friends...
>until an airplane popped over the horizon.
>
>Suddenly she shut up and stared intently at the airplane as it droned
>slowly overhead. Her eyes and head tracked it from horizon to horizon
>with her head tilted back, mouth agape, like a human radar set. A few
>seconds after the airplane disappeared over the far horizon, the woman
>burst into chatter again, endlessly mentioning the airplane and going
>on and on and on about it, before drifting off to another topic,
>eventually.
>
>From that day on, whenever an airplane flew overhead and I looked up
>to see what it was, I'd drop my eyes back down to find my wife
>contemplating me with a smirk on her face. And if the engine noise is
>REALLY unusual, requiring a dash outside to see a B-17 passing by (ok
>this only happened once, it was the Collings B-17), or my friend's
>Waco which has a 275 hp Jacobs with a constant speed prop, which
>sounds positively melodic, she may guffaw outloud asking me if I
>managed to spot the "airyplane". :-)

"special sound?" After all these years I still run outside to look at
150s. It might be someone I know. If not, I still run out to watch
airplanes.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


>
>Corky Scott

[Morgans]

"Roger Halstead" > wrote in message

> "special sound?" After all these years I still run outside to look at
> 150s. It might be someone I know. If not, I still run out to watch
> airplanes.
>
> Roger Halstead

I live right under the extended cnter line of a local private field. On a
weekend with seve clear, I would not get anything done, if I looked at every
one going overhead.

On the other hand, there is a T-28 that lives there, and when he goes over,
I almost always run out to see him!
--
Jim in NC


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[Gene Seibel]

(David B. Cole) wrote in message >...

> Don't get me wrong, I have other interests. I enjoy studying history
> and science, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and
> have just fulfilled another lifelong goal by starting fencing lessons.
> I have learned to scuba dive, plus I have a list of other goals I
> hope to achieve very soon. But at the end of the day I can't escape
> this flight addiction. I started at 29 and certainly wish I had
> started about 10 years earlier. But I also think I have an
> appreciation for it now that I probably wouldn't have had back then.

It's nice to have other interests - you can fly to study history, fly
to visit friends, fly to scuba dive, etc. Then it's easier to pretend
that flying is useful. I've been addicted for 28 years. It's terminal.

> I didn't mean to go into a long rant. I just wanted to see whether
> others out there find themselves ensnared by this hobby to the extent
> they wonder about their sanity. I had a dinner with a friend
> yesterday and I told her that I was considering tallying up all the
> money I had spend on flying to date. She told me not to, and asked if
> it really mattered how much I 'd spent? It was something I did for
> myself and it was something that made me very happy so how could I
> place a price on that? She told me that so few people ever find
> anything that they're passionate about, and even fewer have an
> opportunity to make it a reality. I don't think I'm alone given what
> I know about others on this board, but sometimes we need a sanity
> check.

She's right. Don't do it. If you fail the sanity check, there's only
one cure anyway, and that is flying.
--
Gene Seibel
http://pad39a.com/gene/broadcast.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

[Andrew Gideon]

Gene Seibel wrote:

> It's nice to have other interests - you can fly to study history, fly
> to visit friends, fly to scuba dive, etc. Then it's easier to pretend
> that flying is useful.

Right. This thread has me thinking about the Cayman Caravan at some point
in the future (probably when my son is older, but I've also checked into my
Parents keeping him for a few days next year {8^). It's been years since
my wife and I have dived, so...

- Andrew

[Frank Maier]

Andrew Gideon > wrote:
> Gene Seibel wrote:
> > It's nice to have other interests - you can fly to study history, fly
> > to visit friends, fly to scuba dive, etc. Then it's easier to pretend
> > that flying is useful.
>
> Right. This thread has me thinking about the Cayman Caravan at some point
> in the future (probably when my son is older, but I've also checked into my
> Parents keeping him for a few days next year {8^). It's been years since
> my wife and I have dived, so...

Boy! Can I relate to this one. But my youngest just turned 10 (today!)
and can now be certified. I've been wanting to do the Cayman Caravan
for a long time and it's been almost twenty years since the last time
my wife and I visited the Caymans! I think it's about time for a
re-visit!

Frank