At last, the truth...

Jay, there are many things that other people are extremely avid about,
that they got hooked on after doing it once, that I have a mild interest
in. Fishing, boating, golf, skydiving, mountain climbing... all these
can suck up a lot of time, and some can suck up a lot of money. If
anybody asked me why I quit or didn't even start, my excuse would be as
lame to them as the "same old explanations" seem to you with regards to
flying. One can't do everything, and people have to prioritize.
Sometimes it's temporary (I stopped flying for about ten years for one
of the "lame" reasons referred to) and sometimes temporary becomes
permanent due to non-dramatic circumstances.

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we
do (or why some people love golf like I don't!).

Maybe it was the relaxed nature of the setting, or perhaps it was the fact
that he was on vacation and simply let his guard down, but when I asked him
why he had quit (as I ask EVERYONE who tells me they had stopped flying), he
actually told me truthfully and sincerely what had happened.

One person had a story to tell. You heard it primarily =because= he had
a story to tell. Those that truly quit for the "lame" reasons have no
story to tell, but their excuse is no less real, and no less truthful.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we do
(or why some people love golf like I don't!).

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

If we are to replace all the World War II and Korean War-era pilots who are
dying in droves, we've got to get people into aviation, NOW. I address
this "scared straight" issue as just another small piece of the "Why is GA
dying?" puzzle, and hope that we (as pilots) can come up with better ways to
train newbies so that this kind of thing won't happen so often.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but
who knows how I'll feel in 10 years?

Stefan

Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but who
knows how I'll feel in 10 years?

Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!

I've never said something else. Actually, I consider flying straight and
level using an engine pretty boring. But that's another tread.

Stefan

But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do

Well, empirically this is not supported.

and something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

This is a hypothesis, supported by one anecdote.

If we are to replace all the World War II and Korean War-era pilots who are
dying in droves, we've got to get people into aviation, NOW.

Be careful that the desire to believe something doesn't interfere with a
dispassionate evaluation of whether or not it is in fact true.

hope that we (as pilots) can come up with better ways to
train newbies...

Always a good thing.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jay Honeck wrote:
Right. But these "near-pilots" DID love aviation like we do -- and
something spooked them to the point where they walked away.

Not love, a fling.
They lack the passion of flight that those of us who scare ourselves,
yet go right back to it, have.

The pursuit of flying is a balancing act between at least a dozen
variables; fun, travel, expense, risk, time, spouse, family, medical
etc... Some folks are fortunate to have all variables lined up in
their favor. Others may not be so fortunate. What weight you attach to
each of these variable depends on the individual. Some may quit flying
at the slightest exposure of risk. Others may continue flying even
after a near-fatal accident. Some may quit when the money runs out.
Others may sell their house to continue flying. Some may quit because
their spouse doesn't approve. Others may get a divorce. It is all a
matter of priorities, and there is no right or wrong answer.

I suspect that the person in question did not quit simply because of
the crosswind incident. He must have already had other reasons (even
subconsciously), and the crosswind incident is the one that broke the
camel's back.

Why is GA dying? It is because none of the above variables have moved
in a favorable direction in the past decade. As long as we continue to
put people in Washington who are ignorant about GA, this trend will
continue.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:%SULe.254010$_o.767@attbi_s71...
I address this "scared straight" issue as just another small piece of
the "Why is GA dying?" puzzle

This assumes, of course, that GA is dying. I don't really believe that. It
is morphing, as do all pursuits.

Ask surfers about their passion, and they'll tell you it has become too damn
crowded over the past year or two.

Ask bicyclists and they'll complain about the increase in traffic, but will
also comment on the new found (and probably short-lived) visibility
resulting from Lance.

Ask rock climbers and they'll tell you about new technology and the impact
of rock-climbing gyms.

GA is under pressure because of the misguided focus of anti-terror issues,
regulatory issues, (resulting in economic issues), etc. It will continue to
change, in some cases for the better (see the recent success of Cirrus and
the development of the GA glass cockpit), in some cases for the worse. But
the very small incremental change in pilot population that results from "Be
a pilot" programs really won't have much effect. Pilots have a small and
decreasing voice. That's just part of the landscape. But it is a vast
overstatement to say that GA is dying.

GA is under pressure because of the misguided focus of anti-terror issues,
regulatory issues, (resulting in economic issues), etc. It will continue
to change, in some cases for the better (see the recent success of Cirrus
and the development of the GA glass cockpit), in some cases for the worse.
But the very small incremental change in pilot population that results
from "Be a pilot" programs really won't have much effect. Pilots have a
small and decreasing voice. That's just part of the landscape. But it is a
vast overstatement to say that GA is dying.

The pressure exerted on GA by anti-terror or regulatory issues is
insignificant compared to the damage being done to it by Father Time.

The pilot community is very old, and getting older by the minute. Already
most of the WWII generation has hung it up, and the Korean War generation
ain't far behind. Why do you think formerly busy little airports all over
the country are now nearly deserted? The guys who used to fly there are
"flying" walkers and wheel chairs nowadays.

Take a look at the "Gone West" page in EAA's Sport Aviation magazine every
month. It's astounding the number of members EAA is losing each month due
to natural attrition -- and there simply are not enough student pilot
start-ups to make up for the tens of thousands of post-war pilots who are
pushing up daisies.

GA is dying -- literally -- right before our eyes. And we are going to have
to get a whole bunch of young people interested in flying to keep this ball
rolling.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"