At last, the truth...

Most of our guests at the hotel are not pilots. It's simply a matter of
numbers -- there are a LOT more non-pilots than there are pilots, and they
need hotel rooms, too. Many of our guests are "wannabes" or aviation
enthusiasts, however. Although we have found many people who are afraid of
flying, we have yet to meet someone who doesn't like airplanes -- and those
people are our "bread & butter."

An amazing number of guests tell me that they have taken flight lessons, but
quit flying for one reason or another. I have never been able to understand
this phenomenon, since -- after the first lesson -- I was hopelessly hooked.
I would have done anything to finish getting my ticket (and did go so far as
selling my blood plasma for flight money) -- so the concept of quitting just
never made sense to me. I always inquire about their reasons for quitting,
and I often hear the same old explanations (money, time, kids, wives,
etc.) -- but I often sensed that there was more to the story than they were
telling.

I've often suspected that these near-pilots had lived through some
life-changing event, or had been badly scared during flight training. I
simply couldn't fathom what else could cause someone to simply jump off the
horse and walk away from it, forever -- but I had never been able to coax
the story out of any of these "almost-pilots." The macho, gung-ho attitude
that seems to envelope aviation seemed to preclude ever finding anyone who
could admit (perhaps even to themselves) what had happened to them.

Until a few days ago. As many of our guests do, this fellow was hanging
around the lobby, studying all the gizmos, gadgets, books, models and
memorabilia that have spread like lichen all over the place in the last
three years. As is my wont, I struck up a conversation with the guy, and we
casually discussed aviation and airplanes for a few minutes.

It soon became obvious that this guy knew way more about flying than our
average "wannabe" guest. Sure enough, upon inquiring, he admitted taking 18
hours of instruction, and he had several hours of post-solo flight time
under his belt -- before he quit.

Maybe it was the relaxed nature of the setting, or perhaps it was the fact
that he was on vacation and simply let his guard down, but when I asked him
why he had quit (as I ask EVERYONE who tells me they had stopped flying), he
actually told me truthfully and sincerely what had happened.

It seems he had just soloed a week earlier, and was out practicing touch and
goes on his own. There was a bit of a cross wind -- nothing bad -- which
apparently increased while he was working the pattern. On his last
take-off, when he rotated the cross wind kicked up and carried him out over
the adjacent bean field, and in his confusion he found himself sinking
toward the beans.

In a panic, he luckily overcame the urge to simply pull the yoke back into
his belly, and pushed the nose over. Doing so gained some speed, and he
climbed out normally. He then came around and landed with some difficulty,
but without incident.

This seemingly innocent incident scared him so badly that he walked into the
FBO, sat down with his instructor, and told him he was through.

His instructor asked him what happened, told him that what he had
experienced was easily countered with good technique, told him he had done
well and acted properly, and immediately booked him for a few more dual
lessons.

To no avail. This guy was so taken aback by his brush with disaster that he
just couldn't get into flying anymore. He did fly a couple of more times
with his instructor, but he could never get back in the saddle. He quit
altogether.

That was over ten years ago. When I encouraged him to try again, and told
him that it was never too late to get back into flying, he wistfully but
firmly replied that it would never happen.

At last -- I've *finally* found someone who could explain what had happened
to foil their dreams of flight. I've never, ever been able to understand
this all-to-common occurrence -- and there are other good reasons to quit
flying, for sure -- but I have often wondered if this kind of scare during
training isn't happening more often than we know about?

(And before you dismiss a drifting take-off as being non-life-threatening,
see: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=CHI05FA080&rpt=p This is an
accident that happened in nearby West Union, Iowa, earlier this summer, when
a low-time pilot in a Cherokee 235 drifted off the runway centerline,
bounced in the weeds, flipped the plane, and killed himself and his two
passengers.)

It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of dismay that I bid our guest
farewell. Perhaps it was for the best that he quit flying, but I couldn't
help but think that he had given up too soon, and that with a little extra
guidance he could have made a good pilot.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay, there are many things that other people are extremely avid about,
that they got hooked on after doing it once, that I have a mild interest
in. Fishing, boating, golf, skydiving, mountain climbing... all these
can suck up a lot of time, and some can suck up a lot of money. If
anybody asked me why I quit or didn't even start, my excuse would be as
lame to them as the "same old explanations" seem to you with regards to
flying. One can't do everything, and people have to prioritize.
Sometimes it's temporary (I stopped flying for about ten years for one
of the "lame" reasons referred to) and sometimes temporary becomes
permanent due to non-dramatic circumstances.

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we
do (or why some people love golf like I don't!).

Maybe it was the relaxed nature of the setting, or perhaps it was the fact
that he was on vacation and simply let his guard down, but when I asked him
why he had quit (as I ask EVERYONE who tells me they had stopped flying), he
actually told me truthfully and sincerely what had happened.

One person had a story to tell. You heard it primarily =because= he had
a story to tell. Those that truly quit for the "lame" reasons have no
story to tell, but their excuse is no less real, and no less truthful.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we do
(or why some people love golf like I don't!).

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

If we are to replace all the World War II and Korean War-era pilots who are
dying in droves, we've got to get people into aviation, NOW. I address
this "scared straight" issue as just another small piece of the "Why is GA
dying?" puzzle, and hope that we (as pilots) can come up with better ways to
train newbies so that this kind of thing won't happen so often.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but
who knows how I'll feel in 10 years?

Stefan

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but who
knows how I'll feel in 10 years?

Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!

I've never said something else. Actually, I consider flying straight and
level using an engine pretty boring. But that's another tread.

Stefan

But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do

Well, empirically this is not supported.

and something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

This is a hypothesis, supported by one anecdote.

If we are to replace all the World War II and Korean War-era pilots who are
dying in droves, we've got to get people into aviation, NOW.

Be careful that the desire to believe something doesn't interfere with a
dispassionate evaluation of whether or not it is in fact true.

hope that we (as pilots) can come up with better ways to
train newbies...

Always a good thing.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jay Honeck wrote:
Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not love, a fling.
They lack the passion of flight that those of us who scare ourselves,
yet go right back to it, have.

The pursuit of flying is a balancing act between at least a dozen
variables; fun, travel, expense, risk, time, spouse, family, medical
etc... Some folks are fortunate to have all variables lined up in
their favor. Others may not be so fortunate. What weight you attach to
each of these variable depends on the individual. Some may quit flying
at the slightest exposure of risk. Others may continue flying even
after a near-fatal accident. Some may quit when the money runs out.
Others may sell their house to continue flying. Some may quit because
their spouse doesn't approve. Others may get a divorce. It is all a
matter of priorities, and there is no right or wrong answer.

I suspect that the person in question did not quit simply because of
the crosswind incident. He must have already had other reasons (even
subconsciously), and the crosswind incident is the one that broke the
camel's back.

Why is GA dying? It is because none of the above variables have moved
in a favorable direction in the past decade. As long as we continue to
put people in Washington who are ignorant about GA, this trend will
continue.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:%SULe.254010$_o.767@attbi_s71...
I address this "scared straight" issue as just another small piece of
the "Why is GA dying?" puzzle

This assumes, of course, that GA is dying. I don't really believe that. It
is morphing, as do all pursuits.

Ask surfers about their passion, and they'll tell you it has become too damn
crowded over the past year or two.

Ask bicyclists and they'll complain about the increase in traffic, but will
also comment on the new found (and probably short-lived) visibility
resulting from Lance.

Ask rock climbers and they'll tell you about new technology and the impact
of rock-climbing gyms.

GA is under pressure because of the misguided focus of anti-terror issues,
regulatory issues, (resulting in economic issues), etc. It will continue to
change, in some cases for the better (see the recent success of Cirrus and
the development of the GA glass cockpit), in some cases for the worse. But
the very small incremental change in pilot population that results from "Be
a pilot" programs really won't have much effect. Pilots have a small and
decreasing voice. That's just part of the landscape. But it is a vast
overstatement to say that GA is dying.