Gotta get this out

R

RichardSATX

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Jun 7, 2011
Messages
19
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Display Name
Rusty
I'm seriously considering my PPL. I have a strong desire to get back into the air, and really need to be able to fly to cover ground between our properties. The problem is that I am chicken-you know what. I haven't flown in decades. The last time that I did, I was involved in a serious crash. I was crew, not pilot. Broke my back and jaw and there was a fatality. I haven't left the ground since. I used to fly almost every day. I hate to be so scared of something that I once loved, just to be in the air. I'm going to schedule an introduction flight with a local training school and see if I can actually go through with getting into the air. Thanks for listening to the whining.
 
Wow - that's quite a story, and good on you for working to overcome it.

Sounds like you are planning on taking it a few small steps at a time, and that is probably a good idea.

Good luck!
 
RichardSATX said:
I'm seriously considering my PPL. I have a strong desire to get back into the air, and really need to be able to fly to cover ground between our properties. The problem is that I am chicken-you know what. I haven't flown in decades. The last time that I did, I was involved in a serious crash. I was crew, not pilot. Broke my back and jaw and there was a fatality. I haven't left the ground since. I used to fly almost every day. I hate to be so scared of something that I once loved, just to be in the air. I'm going to schedule an introduction flight with a local training school and see if I can actually go through with getting into the air. Thanks for listening to the whining.
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Are you kdding??? That's not whining. Good luck.
 
I hope you are able to squelch your demons and get back on the horse, if that's what you want. And it sounds like you do.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
Good luck! Please keep us posted on your progress...
 
Wow. Good luck! You may be a better preson than I. After something like that, without being in the situation, I can't say for sure I would be able to get back up like that.

What caused the crash before? Do you have any pilot friends? Perhaps just riding right seat in a trainer with a pilot friend would help slowly build confidence back up
 
It's only taken me 20 years to give this a shot lol. I do have a friend that flies and I trust him. But he doesn't have a plane right now. I'm close by Ryan, and I think I'll be checking out his operation. Without going into too much detail, what took us down was a midair.
 
RichardSATX said:
It's only taken me 20 years to give this a shot lol. I do have a friend that flies and I trust him. But he doesn't have a plane right now. I'm close by Ryan, and I think I'll be checking out his operation. Without going into too much detail, what took us down was a midair.
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geterdone
 
Richard, best of luck! Are you reffering to Ryan Short? He is a great guy and friend. You are in good hands
 
Midai?r:hairraise: I'd be scared crudless too. Hope it works out for you and you beat your anxiety. Best of luck!!
 
Buy a lottery ticket. Better chance of winning the jackpot than being in another midair. GO FLY! :yesnod:
 
That is a challenge few or none of us have had to overcome, you have all my support. Not whining. At all.
 
RichardSATX said:
It's only taken me 20 years to give this a shot lol. ... Without going into too much detail, what took us down was a midair.
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Get a Garmin handheld and a Zaon XRX - it will not only improve safety, but it should help you manage your (justifiable) anxiety. The XRX isn't a panacea to midair collisions, but it is a great tool.

http://www.zaon.aero/content/view/12/40/
 
iflyforfun said:
Get a Garmin handheld and a Zaon XRX - it will not only improve safety, but it should help you manage your (justifiable) anxiety. The XRX isn't a panacea to midair collisions, but it is a great tool.

http://www.zaon.aero/content/view/12/40/
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I'm sure that's a good solution for some circumstances, but it doesn't solve the issue of no-transponder aircraft. And of course, it's somewhat redundant if you have a Garmin 430 with traffic...

Ryan
 
I just talked to Ryan, as you folks said, great guy! I will be doing an intro flight with him soon. If I don't spill out of the aircraft like a pool of jello afterwords, then it is flight school time.
 
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Even during flight school I usually came out of the airplane that way. ;)
 
When I want through jump training back in 1960, one of our guys had a partial malfunction and ended up breaking his back and a bunch of other things. We went to see him a few times in the hospital. He was in 100% traction, the only thing he could move was his eyes and I think his arms, but I can't remember.

Anyway, after serving for almost three years, this guy showed up back at the barracks and wanted to re-join our outfit. He had one goal in mind, to make his cherry jump (sixth jump).

This guy had spent most of three years in and out of the hospital, and he wanted to jump again. He jumped with his platoon a few weeks later.

To me, that was about one of the bravest things I had ever seen anyone do in my twenty year life. I just thought it was raw courage, very impressed, all of us were.

He was a true paratrooper.

I've got a coffee cup with a picture of John Wayne on it. The caption reads; "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."

Rusty, the more you fly, the less it will bother you, it's just saddling up for that first time that's the tough part. I hope you do it.

John
 
If you can find the June 2011 issue of 'Flying' magazine, read the article called 'Back in Life's Saddle" on page 84. I read it last night, and it reminded me of this thread.
 
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