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Flying is Life - The Rest is Just Details



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 23rd 04, 12:32 AM
Michael
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Posts: n/a
Default Flying is Life - The Rest is Just Details

Every so often, we have people post here and complain. Flying isn't
useful. It's too expensive. It's inconvenient. The customer service
at FBO's is terrible, and the planes are always broken. It's taking
forever to solo and the CFI (is always late/is just looking to move
up/has no clue/is reckless). GA is distressed. There's too much
regulation. It's dangerous. Nobody will fly with me. It takes too
much time and effort. All sorts of reasons not to fly. And the
response is always the same.

There must be something wrong with you.
You're not dedicated enough, or you would find a way.
We're not hearing the whole story - you're not telling us everything.

And then we wonder why there are so few of us, and fewer every year.

It's time to face up to the facts. For every one student or low time
private pilot who comes here to tell us this, there are thousands who
just leave the airport - and never come back.

So we're the elite, right? The ones who have what it takes? What
does it take, anyway?

Not intelligence. As a whole, pilots are not any smarter than
average. In fact, some of the dumbest stuff I've seen and heard has
been at the airport.

Not skill. How much skill does it take to pass a private checkride in
a Cherokee or a Skyhawk, anyway? About as much as it takes to pass a
driving test in Europe or New York City.

Not even money. Lots of supposedly active pilots are logging 1-2
hours a month. That's what, $100 a month? $150 tops? Most people I
know spend more than that on eating out.

Mostly, it takes a sort of insanity. It takes the willingness to put
flying first. If flying is more important than your career or family
or friends, you will find the time. If it's more important than
comfort, you will find the money. If it's more important than your
safety, you will fly as much as you can, in whatever you can. If it's
the most important thing in your life, you will find a way.

You know what that sounds like? Drug addiction. Hey, wanna get high?

The first student I ever trained has recently quit flying. He decided
he just didn't have the time to dedicate to staying proficient and
still do the other things he wanted to do. It wasn't the most
important thing in the world for him. He had other priorities. So do
most people. I wonder what that says about us.

Aviation is not so much an industry as it is a disease. I think I'm
quoting a former CEO of an airline here, and I think he nailed it.

I was once asked what I had spent on my aviation habit. I did a rough
calculation, and I blanched. It has to be close to a quarter of a
million dollars. I suppose I could get some of that back selling my
aircraft, my parachutes, and my tools - but most of it is gone
forever, leaving nothing but memories. The crazy part is that I don't
regret any of it. I think a normal person would.

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.

Michael
  #2  
Old January 23rd 04, 01:20 AM
Rosspilot
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Posts: n/a
Default

Great post, Michael. I agree, and count myself as deeply fortunate that I am
able to earn a living with my serious addiction.G

But I got it bad . . . going on 30 years in '06 :-)


www.Rosspilot.com


  #3  
Old January 23rd 04, 02:15 AM
Nathan Young
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Posts: n/a
Default

Well put Michael. I've been flying for 10 years. Owned a plane for
the last 4. Spent lots of money, and don't care at all. I still
relish every flight.

-Nathan



On 22 Jan 2004 15:32:43 -0800, (Michael) wrote:

Every so often, we have people post here and complain. Flying isn't
useful. It's too expensive. It's inconvenient. The customer service
at FBO's is terrible, and the planes are always broken. It's taking
forever to solo and the CFI (is always late/is just looking to move
up/has no clue/is reckless). GA is distressed. There's too much
regulation. It's dangerous. Nobody will fly with me. It takes too
much time and effort. All sorts of reasons not to fly. And the
response is always the same.

There must be something wrong with you.
You're not dedicated enough, or you would find a way.
We're not hearing the whole story - you're not telling us everything.

And then we wonder why there are so few of us, and fewer every year.

It's time to face up to the facts. For every one student or low time
private pilot who comes here to tell us this, there are thousands who
just leave the airport - and never come back.

So we're the elite, right? The ones who have what it takes? What
does it take, anyway?

Not intelligence. As a whole, pilots are not any smarter than
average. In fact, some of the dumbest stuff I've seen and heard has
been at the airport.

Not skill. How much skill does it take to pass a private checkride in
a Cherokee or a Skyhawk, anyway? About as much as it takes to pass a
driving test in Europe or New York City.

Not even money. Lots of supposedly active pilots are logging 1-2
hours a month. That's what, $100 a month? $150 tops? Most people I
know spend more than that on eating out.

Mostly, it takes a sort of insanity. It takes the willingness to put
flying first. If flying is more important than your career or family
or friends, you will find the time. If it's more important than
comfort, you will find the money. If it's more important than your
safety, you will fly as much as you can, in whatever you can. If it's
the most important thing in your life, you will find a way.

You know what that sounds like? Drug addiction. Hey, wanna get high?

The first student I ever trained has recently quit flying. He decided
he just didn't have the time to dedicate to staying proficient and
still do the other things he wanted to do. It wasn't the most
important thing in the world for him. He had other priorities. So do
most people. I wonder what that says about us.

Aviation is not so much an industry as it is a disease. I think I'm
quoting a former CEO of an airline here, and I think he nailed it.

I was once asked what I had spent on my aviation habit. I did a rough
calculation, and I blanched. It has to be close to a quarter of a
million dollars. I suppose I could get some of that back selling my
aircraft, my parachutes, and my tools - but most of it is gone
forever, leaving nothing but memories. The crazy part is that I don't
regret any of it. I think a normal person would.

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.

Michael


  #4  
Old January 23rd 04, 02:58 AM
Dan Luke
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Michael" wrote:

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.


Great post, and too bloody true.

Today I flew from Mobile to Dothan, AL and back on business. It's 141 nm
each way. When you figure the total door-to-door time, flying saves me
about an an hour round trip over driving and costs at least $100 more
even if I don't have to rent a car in Dothan.

I make this trip ten or twelve times a year. Does it make sense to fly?
I don't care.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)


  #5  
Old January 23rd 04, 03:18 AM
Jay Honeck
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Well put Michael. I've been flying for 10 years. Owned a plane for
the last 4. Spent lots of money, and don't care at all. I still
relish every flight.


Same here, gentlemen. When I'm flying, I'm happy. When I'm not flying, I'm
thinking about flying.

I've gone even more insane than most, I fear.

When I was interviewed by the local daily rag, their photographer must've
taken twenty pictures of a plaque that hangs on the lobby wall that says:
"Flying Is Life." She thought it was bizarre, and sorta funny.

I don't. :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #7  
Old January 23rd 04, 04:59 AM
G.R. Patterson III
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Michael wrote:

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.


Your point is? :-)

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."
  #8  
Old January 23rd 04, 05:04 AM
Gene Seibel
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You got that right. Charles Lindbergh said, 'Who valued life more
highly, the aviators who spent it on the art they loved, or these
misers who doled it out like pennies through their antlike days? I
decided that if I could fly for ten years before I was killed in a
crash, it would be a worthwhile trade for an ordinary lifetime.'
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.



(Michael) wrote in message . com...
Every so often, we have people post here and complain. Flying isn't
useful. It's too expensive. It's inconvenient. The customer service
at FBO's is terrible, and the planes are always broken. It's taking
forever to solo and the CFI (is always late/is just looking to move
up/has no clue/is reckless). GA is distressed. There's too much
regulation. It's dangerous. Nobody will fly with me. It takes too
much time and effort. All sorts of reasons not to fly. And the
response is always the same.

There must be something wrong with you.
You're not dedicated enough, or you would find a way.
We're not hearing the whole story - you're not telling us everything.

And then we wonder why there are so few of us, and fewer every year.

It's time to face up to the facts. For every one student or low time
private pilot who comes here to tell us this, there are thousands who
just leave the airport - and never come back.

So we're the elite, right? The ones who have what it takes? What
does it take, anyway?

Not intelligence. As a whole, pilots are not any smarter than
average. In fact, some of the dumbest stuff I've seen and heard has
been at the airport.

Not skill. How much skill does it take to pass a private checkride in
a Cherokee or a Skyhawk, anyway? About as much as it takes to pass a
driving test in Europe or New York City.

Not even money. Lots of supposedly active pilots are logging 1-2
hours a month. That's what, $100 a month? $150 tops? Most people I
know spend more than that on eating out.

Mostly, it takes a sort of insanity. It takes the willingness to put
flying first. If flying is more important than your career or family
or friends, you will find the time. If it's more important than
comfort, you will find the money. If it's more important than your
safety, you will fly as much as you can, in whatever you can. If it's
the most important thing in your life, you will find a way.

You know what that sounds like? Drug addiction. Hey, wanna get high?

The first student I ever trained has recently quit flying. He decided
he just didn't have the time to dedicate to staying proficient and
still do the other things he wanted to do. It wasn't the most
important thing in the world for him. He had other priorities. So do
most people. I wonder what that says about us.

Aviation is not so much an industry as it is a disease. I think I'm
quoting a former CEO of an airline here, and I think he nailed it.

I was once asked what I had spent on my aviation habit. I did a rough
calculation, and I blanched. It has to be close to a quarter of a
million dollars. I suppose I could get some of that back selling my
aircraft, my parachutes, and my tools - but most of it is gone
forever, leaving nothing but memories. The crazy part is that I don't
regret any of it. I think a normal person would.

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.

Michael

  #9  
Old January 23rd 04, 05:18 AM
Jay Honeck
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I decided that if I could fly for ten years before I was killed in a
crash, it would be a worthwhile trade for an ordinary lifetime.'


Starkly put, but, oh, so true.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #10  
Old January 23rd 04, 05:55 AM
Marco Leon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Throughout history, the geniuses have been labeled as "crazy" or "insane" by
their peers. I like to think that I am in good company:

"And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes
turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to
eturn." -Leonardo DaVinci

If even for a split second, I remember this every time I fly.

Marco

"Michael" wrote in message
om...
Every so often, we have people post here and complain. Flying isn't
useful. It's too expensive. It's inconvenient. The customer service
at FBO's is terrible, and the planes are always broken. It's taking
forever to solo and the CFI (is always late/is just looking to move
up/has no clue/is reckless). GA is distressed. There's too much
regulation. It's dangerous. Nobody will fly with me. It takes too
much time and effort. All sorts of reasons not to fly. And the
response is always the same.

There must be something wrong with you.
You're not dedicated enough, or you would find a way.
We're not hearing the whole story - you're not telling us everything.

And then we wonder why there are so few of us, and fewer every year.

It's time to face up to the facts. For every one student or low time
private pilot who comes here to tell us this, there are thousands who
just leave the airport - and never come back.

So we're the elite, right? The ones who have what it takes? What
does it take, anyway?

Not intelligence. As a whole, pilots are not any smarter than
average. In fact, some of the dumbest stuff I've seen and heard has
been at the airport.

Not skill. How much skill does it take to pass a private checkride in
a Cherokee or a Skyhawk, anyway? About as much as it takes to pass a
driving test in Europe or New York City.

Not even money. Lots of supposedly active pilots are logging 1-2
hours a month. That's what, $100 a month? $150 tops? Most people I
know spend more than that on eating out.

Mostly, it takes a sort of insanity. It takes the willingness to put
flying first. If flying is more important than your career or family
or friends, you will find the time. If it's more important than
comfort, you will find the money. If it's more important than your
safety, you will fly as much as you can, in whatever you can. If it's
the most important thing in your life, you will find a way.

You know what that sounds like? Drug addiction. Hey, wanna get high?

The first student I ever trained has recently quit flying. He decided
he just didn't have the time to dedicate to staying proficient and
still do the other things he wanted to do. It wasn't the most
important thing in the world for him. He had other priorities. So do
most people. I wonder what that says about us.

Aviation is not so much an industry as it is a disease. I think I'm
quoting a former CEO of an airline here, and I think he nailed it.

I was once asked what I had spent on my aviation habit. I did a rough
calculation, and I blanched. It has to be close to a quarter of a
million dollars. I suppose I could get some of that back selling my
aircraft, my parachutes, and my tools - but most of it is gone
forever, leaving nothing but memories. The crazy part is that I don't
regret any of it. I think a normal person would.

Aviators - the few, the proud, the totally insane.

Michael





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