I was a carrier pilot in the Navy, and I am a (lapsed, for the moment)
glider pilot. I also rock climb as a sport.

Some attractive parts of Navy flying were about cheating death, e.g.,
night carrier landings. But other parts were about the feeling you get
through the ability to move in ways not possible otherwise, kind of like
dancing I guess. My absolute most enjoyable flights were post
maintenance checks on the jet on a blue sky/towering cumulus days, where
once the check was done, I could loop and dive around the clouds,
popping through tunnels in the clouds, loop inverted with the cloud tops
just below my canopy, and even hang at zero airspeed for a second in a
narrow vertical tunnel. None of this had to do with cheating death. It
was all about freedom of movement.

And you got paid to do this while somebody else paid for the fuel and
maintenance. Ain't fair (I'm jealous)!


Can't do any of those things in a glider, yet somehow I get the same
sensation of freedom of movement. Especially in wave or ridge. So there
are other attractions, for sure.

When I want adrenaline, I go rock climbing.

I gave up rock climbing years ago. And I don't go flying for an
adrenaline rush (which doesn't last very long in any case). Flying for
me is about freedom and testing one's flying abilities. Along the way
you get to meet some great people. This is what keeps people in the
sport however they might have come to it. It is one of the most
beautiful sports in the world, and that is the best way to promote it.
I don't think that blasting recklessly thru uncontrolled airports,
violating FARs in the process, is the way to do it.

Tom