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