Jay Honeck wrote:

At last -- I've *finally* found someone who could explain what had happened
to foil their dreams of flight. I've never, ever been able to understand
this all-to-common occurrence -- and there are other good reasons to quit
flying, for sure -- but I have often wondered if this kind of scare during
training isn't happening more often than we know about?

(And before you dismiss a drifting take-off as being non-life-threatening,
see: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=CHI05FA080&rpt=p This is an
accident that happened in nearby West Union, Iowa, earlier this summer, when
a low-time pilot in a Cherokee 235 drifted off the runway centerline,
bounced in the weeds, flipped the plane, and killed himself and his two
passengers.)

It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of dismay that I bid our guest
farewell. Perhaps it was for the best that he quit flying, but I couldn't
help but think that he had given up too soon, and that with a little extra
guidance he could have made a good pilot.

At my previous job (may it R.I.P.), I got an honest account from a
similar fellow - he'd gotten to the point of solo and quit for good
shortly thereafter.

He had stumbled into a cloud somehow and was in it for what he estimated
was a good 20 seconds or so. He apparently popped out the other side
nearly inverted. He recovered and landed safely, but, according to him,
that incident drained all of his desire to fly. He never got that
interest back.

I've had a few near misses myself, mostly connected with transitioning
to a new a/c type and not getting the proper training or doing something
incorrect with too little time in type. The shock was very definite in
each case and cooled me off a good bit for a while.

I've always climbed back into the plane in the end, though, for reasons
unclear to me.

I think that here are folks who simply just don't care much for flying
and would rather not. They kick the tires to see what it's like, try it
out, and then decide it's not for them.

I'm like that about many things myself - boating, motocycling, dating -
and my reaction is similar. Try it out for a while, yeah it's ok, but
nah..... Just doesn't do it for me, I'm done now.......

Doesn't mean these folks are dispassionate, I think that flying just
isn't for them.....

LS
N646F