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Post 0

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 1:15amSanction this postReply
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Michael, thanks for this article. I took some lessons and eventually soloed while I was in high school, but didn't stick with the flying and studies to get my license. I've been thinking of taking it up again this summer, and your article has me chomping at the bit.



Post 1

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 1:48amSanction this postReply
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Michael,

Your article makes piloting seem like such an exhilarating experience that I want to try it myself!

MH




Post 2

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 1:57amSanction this postReply
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While this may leave me exposed to countless SOLO cracks about my sex life, I will say that piloting an airplane solo was the most thrilling and inspiring moment of my life.



Post 3

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 7:06amSanction this postReply
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Well to help defend Andrew's thesis I humbly submit these facts:

Why an Airplane is Better Than a Woman.

  • Airplane skin doesn't wrinkle as badly.
  • Airplanes like to do it inverted.
  • It's easier to get 'trim' in an airplane.
  • You can keep an airplane from stalling.
  • Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.
  • An airplane won't slap you for being a 'bush pilot.'
  • You don't always have to be on top to ride an airplane.
  • An airplane doesn't ask you to put on a raincoat before entry.
  • An airplane's thrust to weight ratio is higher.
  • You can easily leave an airplane before sunrise.
  • Airplane exhaust fumes smell better.
  • Airplanes lose weight faster.
  • An airplane's performance is seldom hindered by weather.
  • An airplane will not get mad if you ride someone else's airplane.
  • An airplane's cockpit is cleaner.
  • You can calculate the peak performance of an airplane.
  • An Airplane is easy to roll over.
  • You can still activate a fifty year old airplane.
  • Up to five people can ride in the cockpit of an airplane.
  • Airplane's last longer.
  • Airplane's don't droop after many years.
  • You can always tell when an airplane is going to give out.
  • An airplane moves when you tell it to.
  • An airplane will kill you quick . . . a woman takes her time.
  • An airplane does not object to a preflight inspection.
  • Airplanes don't make you 'pull-out' to eject.
  • You can change the looks of an airplane.
  • Airplanes come with manuals.
  • Airplanes curves never sag.
  • Airplanes don't get pregnant.
  • Airplanes don't have parents.
  • Airplanes don't whine unless something is really wrong.
  • If your airplane makes too much noise, you can buy a muffler.
  • If your airplane smokes, you can do something about it.
  • Airplanes don't mind if you look at other airplane's, or if you buy airplane magazines.
  • If your airplane is too loose, you can tighten it.
  • You don't have to be jealous of the guy that works on your airplane.
  • You don't have to convince your airplane that you're a pilot and that you think that all airplanes are equals.
  • If you say bad things to your airplane, you don't have to say your sorry before you can fly it again.
  • You can fly an airplane as long as you want and it won't get sore.
  • Your parents don't remain in touch with your old airplane after you dump it.
  • Airplanes always feel like going for a ride.
  • Airplanes don't insult you if you are a bad pilot.
  • It's always OK to use tie downs on your airplane.
  • Your airplane never wants a night out alone with the other airplanes.
  • Airplanes don't care if you are late.
  • You don't have to take a shower before flying your airplane.

It has been suggested that many of these apply to men too but I don't see the connection. Maybe if I took away the hand I'm using to cover my eyes?

(Edited by Robert Winefield on 4/08, 7:09am)




Post 4

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 8:56amSanction this postReply
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Andrew Bissell wrote: "I took some lessons and eventually soloed while I was in high school, but didn't stick with the flying ..."

That is seen as a "problem" in aviation.  I have a different view of that.  I write about flying and I am always at small airports interviewing people and there are a lot of people who solo and then figure they have done it.  They have.  There was no one up there but you.  It was all you, dude.

I do not have a pilot's license. ("Cerificate" actually, not a "license.")  After I soloed, I spent about 50 hours flying here and there to the limits of my solo endorsement.  I even pushed for a night endorsement right away so that I could fly at night and be up there with the stars.  Then, 9/11 happened and my high paying high tech career went away.  I have flown once this year.  I cadged a flight by writing about a flying school for a local newspaper. 

Being certificated is best.  Then,you are a "real" pilot.  Still and all, soloing is all about being the pilot.  Congratulations.




Post 5

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 8:57amSanction this postReply
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Michael, very good! Some of us regularly dream
that we are in flight. It has long been a plan of mine to earn my license. Interesting point you made about not trusting your senses and instinct, but rather trusting the machine, and the instruments.

John



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Post 6

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 11:56amSanction this postReply
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Michael,

I enjoyed this article very much. I was once taken up in a small plane and I knew right then that I would do this by myself someday. As life went on, I forgot about the experience. Your article rekindled that desire. I guess I am in for a new hobby now.

There is nothing like flying over the water and seeing a tiny little speck on it following you - and knowing that it is your shadow - and knowing that you are causing it. Pure rush.

As to the connection to Objectivism, I believe there is much to be gained from reflecting on your comment:
Everything that happens to a pilot is a direct consequence of the primacy of existence.  That has social consequences.  I have never met a pilot who was rude.  Communication can be direct, but it is always respectful because it begins with self-respect. 

Maybe some posters around here would do well to take up flying. (But don't put me in the plane with them!)

Michael




Post 7

Friday, April 8, 2005 - 1:37pmSanction this postReply
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Nice article Michael!  Like many I dreamed of flying but couldn't work out how to afford it and justify it to myself.
  In the end I realised that thoughts of flight occupied so much of my spare time that I would have to find a solution.  So.........I built my own aeroplane from a kit. It took me nearly a year of evenings and weekends but it was worth every minute.   It is only a single seater and cruises around 65knts but it's a whole lotta fun!  It was designed by an American called Wayne Ison.
  Mostly I bimble around near my home in sussex but I have ventured to Wales and Scotland on occasions. Maybe this year I will fly the channel?

"Flyers value the fact that one cannot give excuses to the sky,that in the air it is not talking that matters,but knowing and acting. There is a person within each one of them who stands off and watches how they act and fly,notices when they're happy and what they do about that. The person within cannot be fooled or lied to,and the flyer is quietly glad that the inner observer most often judges him an acceptable controlled human being."
                    Why you need an aeroplane....and how to get it
                                                                         Richard Bach




Post 8

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 4:20amSanction this postReply
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David Baker wrote: "So.........I built my own aeroplane from a kit. It took me nearly a year of evenings and weekends ..."

I am blown away by people who build their own planes.  I rebuilt a deck on a house last summer. It was quite a challenge.  That you completed your project in a year is all the more laudatory. (Was that the Koala, the PDQ or something else?)   At EAA chapters, I meet a lot of guys who never get it done.  To say that it is a piece of work is an understatement.  Congratulations.




Post 9

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 4:55amSanction this postReply
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In a Mayberry RFD episode ("Aunt Bee's Big Moment") Aunt Bea learns to fly.  Once she solos, she is satisfied that she has done it. 

From your very first lesson, you sit in the pilot's seat. You go through a pre-flight briefing, and the instructor is there telling you what to do, but it is you doing it.  This is not a simulation.  It is the real thing. 

Most airports have someone teaching flying.  You can find coupons in aviation magazines for a $35 Introductory lesson.  You can find them online.  Often, you can just ask.  Picking a flight instructor is part of the process.  You might go through a few before you settle in with one.  Emotional understanding is critical.  That can mean many things.

One of the excuses I have for never taking "the checkride" and gettiing certificated is that I am fascinated with the processes of learning and teaching.  I have flown with perhaps 25 instructors at 15 different airports in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Texas, and elsewhere. Sometimes a young, aggressive guy can be good, other times, not.  Old guys are almost always good. Women and men are about the same.  Getting hired as a commercial pilot requires at least 250 hours of time as pilot in command, which means that most pilots with career aspirations work as flight instructors to build hours. So, you have a lot of choices when you go to select a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI).  There are pamphlets from the FAA and the AOPA (and their UK analogs) on how to select a flight instructor. 

I have also flown perhaps a dozen different craft, Cessnas mostly, but also a sailplane, a biplane, and a few others.  In many ways, soaring is true aviating.  It is easier and harder.  It is certainly quieter.  You learn to listen to the air over your craft as an input signal. 

You can find a lot essays about this, including a few of mine, on www.studentpilot.com, perhaps the best website for anyone learning to fly or thinking about it.

If you think you want to try it, the first lesson costs pocket money, takes about an hour, and will change you forever. 




Post 10

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 5:42amSanction this postReply
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Michael, its a Minimax (microlight.)  The design was from TEAM which was Tennesee Experimental Aircraft Manufacture or similar. They were sued out of existence by somebody who purchased and crashed a second hand plane.     In England there is a club of builders and enthusiasts for this type.  It is very simple, like a scaled up model.  I knew about wood so that guided the decision,I needed help with the engine installation,instruments etc. If you hang around little airfields you can find all sorts of useful help from old guys with time on their hands.
                 I was a batchelor when I built it and had space in my workshop so that is an advantage not everyone has.  In two months I will be married so looking into a share in a two seater if my wife remains keen (...on flying I mean!)
http://www.jdtmini-max.com

(Edited by david baker on 4/09, 5:57am)




Post 11

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 6:03amSanction this postReply
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David,
I have a friend who's from Berlin. His brother flies small airplane. He (the brother) would come to US and rent a plane to fly once in a while, sometimes with my friend.  I was told that it is a lot cheaper and easier to do that in US than in Germany. Thought you might want to look into this...

....and congratulations on you forthcoming marriage!

Hong




Post 12

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 7:19amSanction this postReply
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Hong, thanks for your kind words. I am excited to be getting married and very happy.

It is true that the U.S. is a much friendlier environment for private pilots than Europe. In the U.K. we have the C.A.A.(civil aviation authority) which is known to pilots as the "campaign against aviation."   Also the weather means that learning to fly is rather frustrating. Many go to Florida which is a lot cheaper and better weather.   I mixed training in Britain with a two week session at Banjul in the Gambia.
I imagine Germany is a more regulated environment than Britain.
 Suprisingly , France is a pilots dream in many ways,lots of small strips and not over regulated (or so I hear.)




Post 13

Saturday, April 9, 2005 - 10:01amSanction this postReply
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I too plan to learn to fly some day.  Glad to see others share my enthusiasm!

Whenever I go to or near an airport, I experience a rush of excitement.  I could watch planes take off and land for hours.  I still even get excited to fly commercially, and compulsively stare out the window the entire time attempting to identify my location.  If available, I also listen to the air traffic control frequency on the headset. 

Each year, I go on a wilderness fishing trip in Canada.  We use a charter service that flies our party to a beautifual remote lake which we have all to ourselves.  Taking off and landing on the water is unique experience, and I urge you all try it if you have the chance.  Also, bush pilots are some of the most interesting characters you'll ever meet - they often define the term "rugged individualism".




Post 14

Thursday, February 21 - 5:44amSanction this postReply
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Good article.

I am a sailplane (aka glider) pilot. A sailplane/glider is NOT to be confused with a Hang Glider which is really a kite onto which a pilot rider has strapped himself. A glider is a genuine airplane with three axis controls.

In addition to the matter discussed by Michael, a glider pilot must be even more attentive to the condition of the atmosphere. In order to gain altitude one must use either thermal life (columns of warm air rising), ridge lift or mountain lift. I learned how to fly and got my permit out in Colorado flying near the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains about half way between Colorado Springs and Denver.

A glider is a solar powered aircraft. Its energy comes from the unequal heating of air. Since a glider is essentially solar powered it is flown while the sun is up and in fair weather. Flying is the perfect exercise for those with Objectivist inclinations (whether a big O or not). It is a no bullshit activity. One is bound by the laws of physics very tightly. One cannot negotiate with nature, one must obey. Also there is no place to pull over and think things over. Once aloft, one must fly right and land well. At any height over thirty feet supported only by thin air, one is in the ranks of death. Fly right, land well or die.

Bob Kolker




Post 15

Thursday, February 21 - 9:17amSanction this postReply
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Good comments Bob. I'd like to learn to fly myself. I posted this over on OL and thought some might find some value in it here given this thread

-----

I don't fly, but I want to learn. Because of that, I've subscribed to a few aviation related podcasts. This particular one

http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-i-fly.html

I found very moving. It is an elaboration of this pilot's reasons why he loves to fly. It's a an excellent and sincere post conveying a great sense of life, I recommend checking it out.

You can listen to it here:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedWhyIFly.mp3



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