Pilots and driving

wow, it sure feels good that I'm not alone...I find I'm doing that all the
time...looking at the clouds, estimating how low they are, thinking about
whether or not it would be a good day to fly. I've even caught myself doing
it for a little too long while driving...thankfully the traffic in front of
me kept moving





"Ratty Boy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:37:28 GMT, Ender wrote:

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers. I
believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to look up
at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The other
day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the wind
was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed it. I
ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in twenty
years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as safe
as I
thought I was.


On the commercial end of things, the pager can often get you into
trouble when you're rushing to the airport.

I find that when I'm not gazing at the sky, my situational awareness is
much better than before I learned to fly.

I see that I'm not the only one to gaze at the sky. I recently spent
some time on the porch watching a T-Storm build up in the distance.
It's still cheaper to have a cocaine habit than a flying habit. But
damn, I think flying has to be more fun in the long run.

I got away with that habit for several years. But be careful. It bit me
finally. An accident is a very humiliating experience. I can tell that
from experience.




"Colin Gibb" wrote in
:

wow, it sure feels good that I'm not alone...I find I'm doing that all
the time...looking at the clouds, estimating how low they are,
thinking about whether or not it would be a good day to fly. I've
even caught myself doing it for a little too long while
driving...thankfully the traffic in front of me kept moving





"Ratty Boy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:37:28 GMT, Ender wrote:

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers.
I believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to
look up
at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The
other
day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the
wind
was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed
it. I
ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in
twenty
years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as
safe
as I
thought I was.


On the commercial end of things, the pager can often get you into
trouble when you're rushing to the airport.

I find that when I'm not gazing at the sky, my situational awareness
is much better than before I learned to fly.

I see that I'm not the only one to gaze at the sky. I recently spent
some time on the porch watching a T-Storm build up in the distance.
It's still cheaper to have a cocaine habit than a flying habit. But
damn, I think flying has to be more fun in the long run.