Jay Honeck wrote:
This is absolutely true, in a very schizophrenic way.

Most pilots I meet are very low key, some might say meticulous people.
(There are, of course, major exceptions.) Many are introverts, and
all are very intelligent, successful people.

Yet, they fly their own planes. Although we all like to maintain that
flying somewhere for pancakes is a simple, effortless, low-risk
operation, inside we all know that the sky is unforgiving, and that
we're always just a few seconds from catastrophe whenever we fly.

Some of us more than others...

I don't pretend to understand it...but, God help me, I love it so...

One aspect of flying that seems to attract intelligent, succcessful
people is that piloting, at its core, is about grabbing hold of a
[huge] responsibility and taming it. We all realize that it's not a
very forgiving activity and we are constantly reminded through accident
reports. But yet we thrive on our ability to handle the task at hand.
Closely related to that is our ability to deal with fear. Most deal
with it positively and others negatively (i.e. ignore it). Not unlike
soldiers in battle, the successful pilot takes it on and uses it to
their advantage.

I've met a number of pilots over the years and have always been
intrigued by the differing personalities. There are lots of them too.
The one thing that seems to be common throughout our community can be
summed up in one word: PRIDE

Most pilots are proud of what they've accomplished in training and with
every successful flight and also proud of the aircraft they fly.
They're proud of the responsibility they've taken on and managed. As a
big driver of success, it's no wonder that there are so many
"successful" folks that take up flying.

It's why pilots as a group are very patriotic.

Marco