Why do people fly?

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Clip4

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Honestly, if you look at all the rules and every thing you have to know and learn today I am shocked anyone does it.
 
Clip4 said:
Honestly, if you look at all the rules and every thing you have to know and learn today I am shocked anyone does it.
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Be interesting to see the numbers on how many start and follow through compared to those who don’t continue nowadays compared to some date in the past. What would be a good date. How about when alphabet soup airspace was invented.
 
luvflyin said:
Be interesting to see the numbers on how many start and follow through compared to those who don’t continue nowadays compared to some date in the past. What would be a good date. How about when alphabet soup airspace was invented.
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You can probably also use when the SA and FT became METAR and TAF, not to mention when "taxi into position and hold" became "line up and wait."

I doubt any of those affected start up/follow through.
 
midlifeflyer said:
You can probably also use when the SA and FT became METAR and TAF, not to mention when "taxi into position and hold" became "line up and wait."

I doubt any of those affected start up/follow through.
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I dunno. It wouldn’t surprise me to find there was someone who said that looks like fun but when discovered written/oral tests said ‘I just wanted to get high’ (yeah, I have plagiarized, thx for the quote @Zeldman ) I don’t want it that much, that’s too much studying. And it’s a whole lot more studying that requires a whole lot more comprehension than it used to. Think of the number of threads we’ve had about it here. Why does it say this, why does it say that, why does the AIM contradict the FAR’s, why does this FAR seem to contradict that FAR and ………
 
Yes, the byzantine nature of the FARs is discouraging for me at times, especially the labyrinthine medical portions and the fact that the airspace in my area is quite restricted. But I just keep getting pulled back in for some reason. I feel incomplete if I haven't flown in a while.
 
luvflyin said:
I dunno. It wouldn’t surprise me to find there was someone who said that looks like fun but when discovered written/oral tests said ‘I just wanted to get high’ (yeah, I have plagiarized, thx for the quote @Zeldman ) I don’t want it that much, that’s too much studying. And it’s a whole lot more studying that requires a whole lot more comprehension than it used to. Think of the number of threads we’ve had about it here. Why does it say this, why does it say that, why does the AIM contradict the FAR’s, why does this FAR seem to contradict that FAR and ………
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Absolutely agree that people quit when they found there were things to learn. Just saying the requirement to actually learn things didn't change when ARSA became Class C.
 
We travel a lot. We used to do all the trips by car and always take our pets with us. Driving takes long and is annoying. Too many idiots on the road. Airlines don’t work for us as we want our pets with us. That is one big motivator for me to fly my own plane. I can go whenever to wherever I want and take with me whatever I want. My dog doesn’t have to sit in cargo hold or go to boarding every month. Also, FBOs are much nicer than highway bathrooms. I don’t have enough $$$ for charters or jet ownership and honestly now that i am a pilot, even when i do (i’ll get there one day!!!!), i’d still fly myself because i know how much fun it is.
 
So I can show off my pics of Wilbur and Orville to chicks. It hasn't worked yet. But the one time it does...
 
Honestly, flying is not that hard, but you do have to pay attention. My primary instructor had ways of getting your attention. (He was an old-school stick and rudder guy.) Problem is, too many, including the college-educated, don't pay attention very well. I was in academia for 35 years, and a significant fraction of my (supposedly) elite college students had serious attention span and self-motivation issues. Those students don't get far, at least not on their own.

Personally, flying is an enormous privilege and personal joy. Earning the PPL and owning a plane was a dream I only imagined as a middle class pre-teen who designed and built model airplanes and rockets as a hobby, and read Flying magazine in study hall. 40+ years in now and it never gets old. Not many people in this world get to earn this privilege. I feel lucky.
 
Because my dad took me to the airport when I was 8. I washed planes for all the guys who owned one, and they took me flying to ‘dry them off’. I remember a Bonanza, Ercoupe, Beech Musketeer, Piper Arrow, Cherokee 6, C172. Unfortunately, dad stopped flying when I was 11 or so, and other than an occasional ride with a buddy, I didn’t fly anymore until my instructor son helped me get my license. Now I fly around in my little RV8 with a giant ear to ear smile and remember when those guys planted a seed when I was 8.
 
First off, A fascination with flight that goes back as far as I can remember. Next, the requirement to constantly learn, practice, and grow to stay safe and proficient. Finally, the people I meet. There is nothing else like the local airport community!
 
Clip4 said:
Honestly, if you look at all the rules and every thing you have to know and learn today I am shocked anyone does it.
Click to expand...

Rules are dead simple and I can go fly my plane VFR 1200 any time I want without talking to anybody. It is true freedom of movement minus high altitude and busy airspace. I regularly enter Houston class Bravo airspace with nothing more than a simple radio call. They are very accommodating to me.

With a good A/P I/A mechanic, my upkeep is low cost too.
 
Back in the 80s if you knew the right folks you could buy a plane and pay for it with one trip down south and back. Subsequent trips could make you as much as a doctor did in a year.
 
Clip4 said:
Honestly, if you look at all the rules and every thing you have to know and learn today I am shocked anyone does it.
Click to expand...

If flying were as simple as driving a car, I probably wouldn’t be doing it. The challenge of constantly learning is part of what makes flying so appealing. I still drive, not because it’s an intellectual challenge, but because it’s necessary for daily life.
 
Most of my coworkers don't fly recreationally. They're ATPs and already deal with the tedious nature of recurrent events and checkrides, medical sword of damocles et al. So it's not "the rules" what chills interest in my corner of the space...
 
Dixiebluesky said:
Back in the 80s if you knew the right folks you could buy a plane and pay for it with one trip down south and back. Subsequent trips could make you as much as a doctor did in a year.
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Greetings fellow aviation enthusiast! Please share more details about this exciting venture.

Sincerely,

Naughtacop
 
The FARs was one of the easiest parts of becoming a pilot and in ongoing training. Like I told the DPE who couldn’t stump me on the commercial checkride, I was a California law enforcement officer. Reading, understanding, and applying complex, often poorly-worded laws, that can conflict with each other is just another chapter of same-same.
 
Dixiebluesky said:
Back in the 80s if you knew the right folks you could buy a plane and pay for it with one trip down south and back. Subsequent trips could make you as much as a doctor did in a year.
Click to expand...
Massive thread drift, but that's a case where the death penalty with a jump to the front of the line should be the only option.
 
chemgeek said:
Honestly, flying is not that hard, but you do have to pay attention. My primary instructor had ways of getting your attention. (He was an old-school stick and rudder guy.) Problem is, too many, including the college-educated, don't pay attention very well. I was in academia for 35 years, and a significant fraction of my (supposedly) elite college students had serious attention span and self-motivation issues. Those students don't get far, at least not on their own.

Personally, flying is an enormous privilege and personal joy. Earning the PPL and owning a plane was a dream I only imagined as a middle class pre-teen who designed and built model airplanes and rockets as a hobby, and read Flying magazine in study hall. 40+ years in now and it never gets old. Not many people in this world get to earn this privilege. I feel lucky.
Click to expand...

Must have been some time after I graduated from college. Or, electrical engineering attracted a different student base. None of us had a serious attention span or self-motivation problems. But, then, I graduated 50 years ago.
 
Ghery said:
Must have been some time after I graduated from college. Or, electrical engineering attracted a different student base. None of us had a serious attention span or self-motivation problems. But, then, I graduated 50 years ago.
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Similar here, but I graduated in '84. Most of my fellow EEs played with electronics as a hobby, and all our desks held breadboards and soldering irons and multimeters, and a few of us even had o-scopes in our rooms. We pretty much breathed electrical engineering. Maybe it's still the same, but I don't really know.
 
Ghery said:
Must have been some time after I graduated from college. Or, electrical engineering attracted a different student base. None of us had a serious attention span or self-motivation problems. But, then, I graduated 50 years ago.
Click to expand...
I so appreciate my parents for pulling me out of the teach-to-below-minimums government school after 7th grade.
 
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