Why do you do this? (fly)

Silvaire

Silvaire

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Silvaire
For me, 44 years now, I can't give you a convincing reason other than I like looking at the ground from up in the air. :wink2:
 
"Imagine your up there, like a hawk looking down. The wind blows around you. The smell of the engine, the draft of the propeller. Up there you can let yourself fall. You can climb, turn, spin. Freedom."
Red Baron 2008 film
 
Because my wife lets me plane is not in the shop!
 
Because I cannot drive the speed limit and flying is typically much less stressful.
 
Because I grew up one mile east of PIT and watched those planes land every day and knew one day I'd fly a plane.
 
It pays the bills. I read last year that 70 % of Americans dislike their jobs. I work a job where I don't really look forward to the end of the work week and don't really dread going back to work. That's something rare to find these days.
 
Velocity173 said:
It pays the bills. I read last year that 70 % of Americans dislike their jobs. I work a job where I don't really look forward to the end of the work week and don't really dread going back to work. That's something rare to find these days.
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That's funny. Quite an endorsement; I don't really dread going back to work... I guess there are many out there who do.
Flying for me is part about not having the worries of driving and part a time machine to allow more home time.
 
Because what else would I do with the money?
 
Because I know I couldn't do a job where I sit in a cube farm on a computer 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Because I grew up one mile east of PIT and watched those planes land every day and knew one day I'd fly a plane.
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Ha!

I grew up 30 mins from PIT but spent untold hours among 28's approach lights... of course it was only 10 mins away from our RC field. Finally slaked my thirst at AGC.

For a certain generation, growing up with the nostalgia of WWII aviation, DC3's imprinted on the brain, jetsetting 707s, and the race for space, what else would the ambitious, challenge seeking person want to do?

I can't figure why EVERYONE doesn't want to fly, wish more did, glad most don't
 
No clue why. The desire hit me at an early age, sitting in the seat of a Kaman Husky. I suppose some would argue any inexorable compulsion is a psychological abnormality, if so I plead guilty, but it drove me to excel in school so I could win an appointment to the Academy, (Admittance to the USCGA is competitive, no Congressional appointments available), and to drive for my goals. Can't say, looking back at my life from this end of it, that I would do one damned thing different. Flying now seems a little bland and not much of a challenge, but my renewed activity in rotors is helping rekindle the fire.
 
I fly because it's incredibly difficult to get my airplane from airport to airport using roadways.
 
It beats the heck out of driving! While I started out flying more as a hobby, now that I am doing consulting work, it has become a valid form of transportation for me. I fly back and forth to work and it never gets old. Occasionally I will have to drive instead of flying and the whole time I am wishing I was in my plane. When I'm off work I still love taking family and friends up.

I always liked planes as a kid. I got my first ride in a small GA plane as a young teenager. After college I started flying in '81 and have been lovin' it ever since. I dream about what it must be like to fly in a P-51 or Corsair. I suppose I'll never have the opportunity to find out, but I can still dream and enjoy my little plane.
 
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ebykowsky said:
Because what else would I do with the money?
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:yeahthat:
I HAD way too much money laying around. This is the best way to get rid of it.

ps Don't bother asking me to send some your way. It's all gone. :nonod:
 
I still geek out like a kid when I see a new airplane at the airport, so in the wise words of a kid.

Because
 
Silvaire said:
For me, 44 years now, I can't give you a convincing reason other than I like looking at the ground from up in the air. :wink2:
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The person not convinced by your reason has no soul, no spirit of life.

Flying isn't for everyone, but everyone should honor your reason.
 
I told them when I grow up I wanted to be a pilot, then they told me I could not do both. So I never grew up and became a pilot!
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Because I know I couldn't do a job where I sit in a cube farm on a computer 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
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Wow - this rings so true for me.

I've been in the IT field for over 25 years, sitting in cubes, staring at a computer screen, and pecking away on a keyboard.

I absolutely HATE what I do. I'm hoping to retire in a year or so, and I can't wait. Once I quit and walk out that door, I'm never looking back.

For everybody who enjoys what they do, and earns a decent living from it, treat it as a blessing. Anything's got to be better than being a cube rat.
 
LoneAspen said:
Wow - this rings so true for me.

I've been in the IT field for over 25 years, sitting in cubes, staring at a computer screen, and pecking away on a keyboard.

I absolutely HATE what I do. I'm hoping to retire in a year or so, and I can't wait. Once I quit and walk out that door, I'm never looking back.

For everybody who enjoys what they do, and earns a decent living from it, treat it as a blessing. Anything's got to be better than being a cube rat.
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a couple of thoughts come to mind:

Pumping septic systems.

Farming (the actual work)


I'm not sure either of those would be preferable to being a cube rate.

But yeah, cubicles hoover.
 
Always dreamed of being a aircraft mechanic and one day learning to fly! Got one of them scratched off off my list... Now one more to go!
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Because I know I couldn't do a job where I sit in a cube farm on a computer 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
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Same same. I wouldn't say this is the entire reason I chose to do this, but it was definitely part of that decision process. That and I grew up listening to stories about my dad and grandfather flying, so it was a seed that got planted early on for me.

I'd say that the reason I continue to do it, other than a contractual obligation, is that there is never a routine, and there is always a challenge. I'm a firm believer that you will never have a flight where you didn't make a mistake that you can learn from, and I also enjoy the fact that I am literally never just sitting around work watching the clock and waiting for the end of the day to come. Normally, I am working against a deficit of time.
 
Because it's my job and I really couldn't imagine myself doing anything else at this point. Besides, with my Business Administration degree, I'd probably be stuck in some cubicle working for a guy who resembles Bill Lumberg from Officespace if it weren't for aviation.
 
I like the different perspective I get, looking down on the landscape from above. I also get an escape from reality.
 
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