Unscientific survey - why are you a pilot?

"Danny Deger" wrote in message
...

"Doug Semler" wrote in message
ups.com...
(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
this is directed towards non-pilots and students as well. Of course,
every individual is different, but these 2 newsgroups are pretty
directed towards pilots so can be taken as an unscientfic
representative sample.

In some cases looking in Jay's general direction it's because it's
an opportunity for family bonding and whathaveyou. Some cases are
probably your run-of-the-mill "cool factor" cases. And, of course, I
am sure that there are the cases of the "I'm better than you because I
can do something you can't do" syndrome. But I'm wondering if there
isn't some deep commonality amongst most pilots to which we can
point?

Do you have a "family history" of aviation/piloting?
Are you an adventure seeker (anything from "true" adrenaline junkee to
"every day is different and brings a new challenge")
Are you constantly seeking new challenges?
(subpart) Do you find that you get bored easily?
Do you have a "thirst for knowledge" (e.g. would you rather be in
school than working)?
(subpart) Do you find yourself constantly seeking out new things
about flying regularly or do you only look it up when you run across
something you don't know.
(subpart - for instructors) Do you enjoy it when your student "gets
it" or has that "aha! moment?"
Are you a "control freak" (type-a)?
Do you have hints of "delusions of grandeur?" or is it more like "I'm
on top of the world when I fly"
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
If given the choice, would you rather read fiction or an aviation
oriented book?
(For those that use the radio) Do you find that you have always had
good communication skills?
Are you left brained or right brained (logic-and-math or Artsy
fartsy)?

Or am I missing something soooo obvious that I'll die of embarassment
when it's pointed out to me? Or even worse, is there no measurable
psychological correlation to flying and I'm just out to lunch
(wouldn't be the first time g)

Note:
I was thinking about including education history (e.g. are pilots more
likely to be college graduates) but that introduces 2 biases (age and
income) into it. However maybe a question along the lines of "while
in school did you consider yourself to be a good student" would be
better.


I was born in 1956. I wanted to be an astronaut and at that time all
astronauts were pilots. Outside of that I love the challenge of flying.

Danny Deger

Interesting you mention that. I was born in 1959. Last night I was
listening to an mp3 of a book from the late 1940s/early 1950s called
"Flying Saucers are Real!" and I still have reel-to-reel audio tapes
of most of the Apollo missions, taped using a microphone next
to the TV. I'm not sure if I wanted to be an astronaut or an
alien though...

P.S. I'm not a pilot, yet.

"Ken Finney" wrote in message
...

snip



I was born in 1956. I wanted to be an astronaut and at that time all
astronauts were pilots. Outside of that I love the challenge of flying.

Danny Deger

Interesting you mention that. I was born in 1959. Last night I was
listening to an mp3 of a book from the late 1940s/early 1950s called
"Flying Saucers are Real!" and I still have reel-to-reel audio tapes
of most of the Apollo missions, taped using a microphone next
to the TV. I'm not sure if I wanted to be an astronaut or an
alien though...

P.S. I'm not a pilot, yet.




I forgot to mention you can read all about it in my free book, "Houston, You
Have a Problem." Download from www.dannydeger.net

Danny Deger