In this vein, I'd also say that flight training can be frustrating.
There are... setbacks. For example, you might not learn a maneuver as
quickly as you thought you would. Or, you're busy for a while, don't
make it to the airport, and when you do get back in the plane, you're
relearning things you thought you had done.

In my flight training there were a couple of plateaus. These were
frustrating. I wonder how many people drop out, not after solo, but
after hitting one of those and starting to wonder when they're finally
going to 'finish'. It doesn't help that CFIs (at least the three I've
worked with) are loathe to offer encouragement. For some reason, CFI
don't like to say "you'll get it next time."

I will say that I think I'm seeing some real ageism from the oldsters
on this board who think that kids today are somehow made of lesser
stuff than kids in their day. That's ridiculous.

For one, it's not like everyone in their 70s today has learned to fly
-- far from it. And the economics (military and otherwise) were
different when most of them learned. And finally, kids today have many
more activities competing for their attention. That's not the kids
fault. It's just life.

-- dave j