On Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:47:01 GMT, "Google Madness"
wrote in p7cKh.3341$I56.128@trnddc06:

Twenty years ago I almost got into flying, I'd even taken my Discovery
Flight and was all set to dive in. Then my wife-to-be put the kabosh on it
saying it was too much money.
Now money isn't so much an issue anymore and I'm all set once again to
follow my dream of having my PPL.
But, I've heard so many depressing things about the state of ( and future
of ) GA I'm wondering if the era of GA has passed me by.

Here's one article, like many others that I've read, that expresses many of
the issues that sounds so dismal for GA. I'm now seriously considering
scrapping the idea of a PPL once again but I'd like to hear from some people
out there if the situation is not really as bad as this sounds.

http://www.megginson.com/blogs/lahso...eral-aviation/

Thanks



While I can understand your desire to get some feedback from those
currently enjoying the joy of flight before committing the not
insubstantial time and resources required to obtain your airmans
certificate, if you would let their input, or indeed that of your
wife, stand in the path to your dream, you may not have the requisite
'fire in your belly' to make a good airman. The path to an airmans
certificate is expensive, and donning the responsibilities of becoming
a 'pilot in command' is, or should be, a life-changing event.

Becoming a responsible airman is not really at all akin to becoming a
licensed motorist. And it's not possible to be a dilettante airman;
it requires constant exercise of your right to fly, almost weekly, so
it's a good thing you can now financially afford it; hopefully you
have a burning interest and the requisite empty spot in your life
waiting to be filled with flying activity. But remember, your flight
decisions will affect the lives of you and your passengers, and those
over whom you fly, as well as us, the pilot community.

You will have to MASTER several disciplines to achieve the status of
pilot. You will not only need the motor skills necessary to control
the aircraft, you'll need to acquire mastery of the fundamentals of
meteorology to read mother nature's ever churning skies, mastery
pilotage, dead reckoning and several types of radio navigation,
mastery of voluminous aviation regulation details, mastery of radio
communication techniques and operation, mastery of a myriad of
aircraft systems, how to effectively employ cockpit resource
management, and most importantly, you'll need to learn how to be a
CAPTAIN capable of abandoning your pride when safety demands that you
make a socially unpopular decision and sticking to it in the face of
what will feel like overwhelming social pressure.

In addition, you'll need reasonably good health over the entire time
you exercise your right to ply the skies. Indeed, it is this last
factor that is the sole limiting factor in the use of your airmans
certificate; it doesn't expire periodically like a driver's license.
But you will have to demonstrate your flight skills every two years.

So while the cost of gasoline is rising daily, and security issues can
be frustrating to some extent, unlike the days of 1987, it is your
openness to changing your mental attitude toward flight and the
responsibilities of being a pilot in command, as well as your
commitment of time and money to constant on-going practice of your
flight skills that are the true barriers to becoming an airman and
continuing to fly through the subsequent years.

If you have what it takes, do it. If you lack TOTAL commitment, don't
waste your time.