On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:25:23 GMT, Larry Dighera
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:14:49 -0400, zatatime wrote in
::

especially in a hands on hobby like flying.

When I see someone refer to GA flying as a hobby, it always makes me
cringe. To me, it means that the flight training of the pilot who
wrote it failed to truly ready the airman for assuming the command
role in flight as set forth in the federal regulations.

While there is usually great emphasis on learning the technical arcana
of flying, navigating, and metrology, it would appear that the
training failed to cause the airman to fully appreciate the
responsibility a Pilot In Command assumes for the lives of those over
whom he flies and his passengers.

If the flight student's mental outlook isn't fundamentally changed as
a result of his flight training, he probably doesn't really appreciate
the depth of that responsibility. And imagine how the layman feels
when he thinks hobby-pilots are noisily traversing the "sovereign"
airspace overhead, rather than a federally certified airman who
solemnly accepts his true command responsibility for the right to
exorcize the authority granted him by his airmans certificate.

If we refer to it as recreational flying, rather than a hobby, perhaps
the lay readers of this international forum will see that we airmen
take our responsibilities more seriously than mere hobbyists.



I understand your belief on how the word would be interpreted by
"lay-people."

My outlook on it though is one of a Very serious nature. I call it my
hobby because I don't get paid for it (even when people want to pay
me). I take flying as seriously as anyone I've met and fully
comprehend (and sometimes preach) the position of responsibility to
those of us who fly. I actually take my "hobby" more seriously than
my day job. From what I've seen in this forum over the past couple
years, it seems as though most are in line with my approach to flying
so within the forum I don't really see a need for distinction. When
talking to people outside aviation, work, friends, random occurrences,
etc... I don't think I actually use the word hobby, but I'll have to
pay more attention to really know if I do or not.

z