On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:14:53 -0700, Doug Semler
wrote:

(Trying to steer a thread to the topic of the group g)

A response of mine in another thread got me to thinking (dangerous, I
know) about what makes a person *want* to become a pilot. This has
probably been asked umpteen times before, and will be asked umpteen
times in the future, but I am trying to get a feel for the
psychological aspect that causes a person to WANT to be a pilot. So

you get attracted to flying because of the romantic half truths and
stories about how wonderful it is.

bear in mind that we humans havent popped out of a factory as a result
of extensive design competitions and manufacturing expertise, we are
the result of self perpetuating biological systems that have varied
over time. in us are traces of our ancestry.
we have chemical signalling to all parts of our body. we have traces
of our reptilian past in our circuitry, traces of mamalian brain
structures and the forebrain intellect that marks us as humans.

what you experience when you fly, especially if you overcome the fear
of falling out of the sky, is enough massaging of the intellectual
combined with chemical responses that pervade the entire body that
make the experience like no other. apart from sex I know of no other
experience that so massages the pleasure systems of the chemical and
electrical pathways of the human body.

I enjoy the intellectual aspect of mastery of unseen dynamic forces. I
enjoy the flood of natural endorphins that accompanyies flying. above
all I enjoy the mastery of a pursuit that most people regard as the
most significant threat to their lives.
I also enjoy the totally non intuitive understanding of the world that
a sound knowledge of aviation engineering brings.

Stealth Pilot