Flight Training - From Wife's Perspective

I've discussed the monetary cost of getting my pilots license in detail. But there are some other cost that comes with flight training that's not money related. So I invited my wife to discuss this with me on video.

 

Pretty funny & familiar. My wife actually passed the written after months of flash card quizzing me. LOL

 

My wife was not thrilled when I started my training, and has not flown with me since I got my ticket (2017).
She doesn't like to fly commercially, and will not go near the 172 I fly. (Flying Club).

She does understand why I did it, and doesn't limit my flying in any way, but its just not something we can share, unfortunately.

Maybe someday she'll come around, but I doubt it. Fortunately, I have loads of friends, and family that do enjoy a trip a few states over for lunch.

Love the videos.

 

I hope she does. Flying is a solo passion for the most part

 

I’m a lucky guy, my girlfriend has been incredibly supportive of my aviation dreams, might have been the one that pushed me the most to get back to it after I gave up on aviation in 2001 and she couldn’t wait to fly with me after I got my PPL.

Appreciate this video though, she puts things in perspective really well and I realize even more what I wonderful partner I have!

 

My hats always been off to anyone who gets it done while holding a full time job and having wife and kids. Never gave much thought to just wife/serious relationship. I was single, not ‘committed’ so not worrying anyone or affecting their everyday life. Anyway, enjoyed the video. Oh yeah, I think ya each got a keeper.

 

I work at an airport in Europe, and actually it's really sad to see, how most of the pilot's wives are standing to this question... why do you spend so much time on the airport?? what can you do there all day??? etc etc.. and when they are invited to visit, its boring for them...
I think its a key to happy relationship is to understand each other's passion.

There are two kind of people,
1 - work from 8:00 till 17:00, no excitement in life, "get a normal job" "oh airplanes are dangerous, they fall down" - types,
and type 2 who have passion.... I think 2 people with passion can understand each other even when they have different hobbies, and support each other, like one is a diver, other is a pilot, or a parachuter or whatsoever. Adventurous people are interested more in other interesting things. And don't mock their partner, as they have their own life.
And when somebody is not adventurous, and not interested, it is really difficult. You dont get support and its very hard after a while.

 

Bingo. Although if she ever got deep into bingo I might have little trouble getting my head wrapped around it.

 

When you start doing it for a living, they change their viewpoint.

 

I started when I was 41, we have three kids and both of us work. I had always wanted to, but early on didn't have the money, or it would have taken too much from everything else. Then life got busy and I forgot about it. Then one day a friend was working out of state to cover for a co-worker on maternity leave and a mutual friend told me he was taking flying lessons; he's the kind that can't watch tv or just read a book and wasn't a home to work on his projects. I thought, "Damn, I've always wanted to do that!" So, I went out and started flying lessons.

My wife was a little leery of it at first as she has a little motion sensitivity. The older daughter has never flown with me, but only flies commercial as a means to get somewhere too far to drive. She merely tolerates commercial flights. My wife now enjoys it and seems to have less and less motion sensitivity in the small planes. The two younger kids love flying private. They are in college and love for me to pick them up and fly them home or on a trip.

Yeah, I have it good.

 

@easik why not do another video flightraining from the husbands perspective?

 

My wife was not only supportive, but after hearing me talk about it for some number of years, she finally said "I don't want to hear about it unless you're doing it." I had avoided it for a long time because I was afraid my eyesight wasn't good enough.

So, when my oldest son was 16, I asked him a question from the book "Who Moved My Cheese": "What would you be doing right now if you weren't afraid?" That smart kid fired back "What would YOU be doing?" So I got my medical done to verify my eyesight, joined a local flying club (now defunct) and learned to fly.

 

I will once my wife decides to get her license
Also I don't think I've met anyone where the roles were switched. Pilot wife and non-pilot husband. I'm sure they exist but very rare.

 

Amelia on the PurpleBoard. She flies a Mooney. Her husband is a doctor, and rides along.

But no, not many of them.

I also know a some where both are pilots.

 

Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat does fly but his wife does. Has several nice planes.

 

For the price of their products, he’d better have a bunch of airplanes or boats or mistresses or something! LOL.

Lovely stuff though.

 

That should have been “he doesn’t fly.”
A few months ago I got the Elite Professional. Awesome shooter.

 

Nice holster too. That doesn’t look like cow leather. What is it?

Looks like they didn’t need to make that little cutout near the back of the tigger on the holster though. Not a fan of leaving any of it exposed.

Maybe you repurposed a holster from something other than a 1911?

Still, not bad at all.

I’ve got a penchant for the Sig DA/SA platforms so the 1911 format is probably number two on the “like to shoot” list. But it’s up there.

 

Ooh I also just noticed you’re a southpaw @Hawker800.

That or you’ve got a safety on both sides.

That’s sure gotten better for my leftie friends over the years, all the reversible safeties and mag releases.

I’m always fascinated by their manual of arms on rifles and things that are “backward” to what they’d prefer. Sometimes they do “interesting things” to operate the guns.

Backward bolt actions always seem to cause the most problems.

 

It happens. But sometimes the husband can’t take it anymore and learns how to fly.

 

I've been in your shoes...I actually owned two different planes that my wife never laid eyes upon....

I'm much happier since the divorce.

 

Looks very similar to my Milt Sparks Versa Max 2...

 

Yeah the airport used to be a place I would disappear to for hours and then hundreds of dollars would vanish from our account. Now I am always returning with money!

 

You’re doing it wrong. You’re supposed to make money at the airport and spend it on your own airplane before you get home.

 

Right 4.4% of commercial pilots (Just happen to know that number and not one for PPL) are women but perhaps it would be good to show that the roles can be reversed too! It is about time to get that number from 4.4% to at least 50%!

 

My wife sat in the back many times when I was taking lessons back in the day even doing unusual attitudes. I HIGHLY recommend this. Fortunately for me she loves to fly and goes with me often still. Sometimes I have to tell her no that I just want to go have some alone time in the air.

She has no desire to learn other than maybe a pinch hitter type thing at some point. Which is probably good because she gets lost easily. I love flying with her I don't have to apologize on those hot summer days when it's bumpy she doesn't seem to care. I am a lucky man.

 

Given his wife skill with their products, I'd definitely skip the mistresses part.

 

Mike, love the videos, especially the ones on the Sling 2 and 4. Keep em coming.

 

My wife flew many hours cross country. She likes to go places and for awhile we took the plane everywhere, even IMC. Novelty wore off and she much prefers commercial. Plus we both retired and started taking long international trips. My flyings down to sight seeing and $100 hamburgers. Still like it.

 

My girlfriend is who got me into flying, met her when she was working on her MEI

 

I wonder if the fame and subsequent disappearance of Amelia Earhart had something to do with so many women being disinterested in becoming pilots.

 

There used to be a lady on here or possibly on the red board who was in that position. Her husband was not enthusiastic about her taking flying lessons. As I recall, she had to make sure he understood how important it was to her before he came to terms with it.

 

I think there's certain thing a vast majority of women get satisfaction from and flying would never be it for them. No one is pushing to get (sorry going to stereotype here) straight guys to become hairdressers and estheticians. So why the push for women to be pilots? If they want to, they will. If they don't they won't. As much as society seems to want men and women to be the same we aren't. We can be equal, but we will never be the same.

 

Why? What happens at 50%, do we get a prize or something?

 

We do!

 

Kind of like a man wanting to teach preschool, or be a nurse?

 

I think that was @Cajun_Flyer

I think @Sinistar was a non-pilot husband not too long ago.

 

I agree with your post in general, but the above question prompts me to ask, why aren't women making "crude" jokes about hot dudes, or bossy husbands? There seems to be an unquestioned assumption that the way women are is superior to the way men are. One gender is not better that the other, just different.

[putting on flame-retardant flight suit]

 

Yes, that's who I was thinking of.