Don't get me wrong but I do not get what's so exciting about flying yourself or owning a plane. Flying is for getting from point A to B. Flying just for fun missing any purpose might be fun the first couple of times but then it's like driving a bus from A to A.
> Flying is for getting from point A to B. Flying just for fun missing any purpose might be fun the first couple of times but then it's like driving a bus from A to A.
On the contrary. For years I owned a Piper Super Cub, an old-fashioned cloth-wing airplane, and I flew it everywhere just for fun. I would fly it out into the desert and land in a dry lake bed or salt flat, just to be somewhere totally wild and unexplored. I also stunt-flew it at air shows, doing all kinds of aerobatics and fun stuff. That was the most fun I had as a pilot, and flying for business couldn't compare.
I'd encourage people to call up your local flight school and schedule an intro lesson. It'll be about 45 minutes, no real "book learning" component, and the cost will vary (they'll tell you) but should be $150 +/-$50 range.
You'll either immediately be hooked (me), or at least see/feel some of the excitement and decide whether or not it's worth it. Either way, you got a novel experience.
I completely agree that I wouldn't leave tech to go fly an airliner around on a schedule.
I used to stop by the airport 2-3 evenings per week and just fly around for an hour; it was a great way to push all of work out of my head and truly relax. Now, with a family and much more demanding job, I fly to go places, for currency/training, but very rarely have time to "just fly".
It's not for everyone, but anyone even close to on the fence should take an intro lesson. Little to lose and if you find you like it, it's a quite enjoyable hobby.
You could say the same thing about cars - they are only for getting from point A to B,right?
Yet I very often take my car for a drive, without a purpose or a destination in mind. Drive for a couple hours, through the nearest forests or hills, and then head home. It's fun.
See, this is respectable, if not that common. But when I tell people I sometimes just take a train somewhere new and then come back, they look at me like I'm weird.
No way. I used to take the trains in Seoul...going to new places. Sometimes I wouldn't get out except to switch platforms and go back. If it was the green line, I'd just go in a big circle, ha. It's good for clearing the mind.
The adrenaline rushes I get during the various phases of flight are why I do it. Turning onto the runway, the big white numbers rolling under you, pushing the throttle forward and letting the engine roar to life is quite thrilling.
Also thrilling is trying to put yourself on a 50' wide piece of pavement while going 70mph in a medium that's moving, unlike the pavement.
> Turning onto the runway, the big white numbers rolling under you, pushing the throttle forward and letting the engine roar to life is quite thrilling.
I still get a little bit of that - as a passenger in a commercial airliner. And I fly weekly.
However, my father in law, who's a retired captain and flight safety specialist has made no ambiguity as to his opinion of anyone related to him getting into a plane piloted by anyone not a career pilot (and it's not that he doesn't like or trust me - it's entirely based on his opinion of GA safety). Given his gravity on the subject, I'm inclined to do what he says, but it seems I should get myself a lesson or two to try it out.
Speaking as a glider pilot in training, its hard to beat the feeling of winch launch or the rising in a thermal column. Flying small planes connects you to the elements while still leaving you in control (if everything goes well). To me its the perfect combination of technology and outside activity.
I'm comercial pilot with 9000+ hours of A320, B737, and MD80.
Every time someone asks me about getting the Private pilot licence, I point them to a glider course. The airmanship and the experience is so much pure and intense in a glider. Also the costs are much lower for the weekend airman.
Amen to that, your first successful solo flight is something everyone remembers.
It is just fun!
Regarding the elements bit: The first time I went solo the only reason I stayed up for more than 15 minutes was finding a large bird (kestrel maybe) circling in a thermal and joining it. You don't get much more "with the elements" when in the air than that (Hang gliders excepted).
I love flying, but I can understand that perspective. It's the same perspective that non-gamers tend to have about games. It's just fiddling around with a controller in front of a screen, what's fun about that? The same could be said of plenty of other hobbies (what's fun about fishing, for example?).
But for the people that do enjoy it, it's obviously much more than that. It's about the challenge, the scenery along the way, and the places that you can easily reach with an aircraft that aren't necessarily so easy with just driving.
Of course, people are wired differently. Maybe none of those things appeal to you personally. I think that is true for a lot of people, actually, and that is one of the reasons that flying is such a small niche hobby (obviously there are a lot of other reasons as well).
