The Differences Between PPLicensing And Learning

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:04:54 GMT, Steve Foley wrote:

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
I have been reading the various threads about spins, forced landings, etc
and talking with CFIs. The road to a PPL is preset in requirements by FAA.
I see that most people are happy to do nothing more than that.

Where do you see that?

I don't understand. For the most part, I see people who want to get x hours
in y (shortest) time to get their license.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

I don't understand. For the most part, I see people who want to get x
hours
in y (shortest) time to get their license.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

I know you're not a pilot yet, and that this is all very exciting and
intoxicating. Flying IS the best thing you can do, head and shoulders
(literally!) above every other human endeavor, but I'm about to let you in
on a little secret.

It's a secret that your government, and most of the "big watch" pilot crowd,
will never, EVER tell you. You may want to be sitting down when you read
this -- but here it is:

Flying is easy. You're making it into a much bigger deal than it is.

Not that flying can't kill you in a heartbeat -- it can. But that's true of
most skills in life, from driving on the freeway to working with power
tools. The FAA and a large segment of the pilot population would like you
to believe that it takes some sort of super-human skill and intelligence to
learn to fly, but it just ain't true.

Why is this so? How has this situation evolved?

1. The FAA is "government", which is in the regulatory business. Thus, each
year requires more regulations, lest the FAA find itself large pointless
(which, on the GA side of flying, it largely *is*). Since, by nature, no
government agency can EVER solve the problems it was set up to address (or
risk being eliminated), it *must* continue to make things more complex. It
also must find new problems to fix, since most of the original problems were
quickly resolved. If that means largely inventing new problems, all the
better.

2. The "big watch" crowd likes to boast of their flying prowess, and likes
to feel above and separate from the "folks on the ground". Obviously, if
flying were easy and accessible, this would destroy their self image, so it
plays into their game to make flying appear really, really hard. Thus, many
airports have unfriendly, elitist FBOs, and pilot groups are traditionally
exclusionary good ol' boy clubs, unfriendly and suspicious of newcomers.

After long observations and pondering, I believe this attitude evolved from
the combat pilots of World War II, who truly demonstrated superior skills
and abilities. Those guys moved to their local airports after the war, and
their natural attitudes toward newcomers (not combat pilots) was an "us and
them" mentality. To some degree, this attitude has been imprinted on every
generation of new pilots ever since.

These two groups, inadvertently working together, have almost killed general
aviation in America. As usual, the FAA's work is done under the guise of
"safety" -- the catch-word that makes EVERYTHING okay. (The only words in
our society that kick open the treasury vault quicker, and eliminates our
rights quicker, is: "It's for the children" -- which have been used for
everything from school busing to the building of government-sponsored
casinos.)

We can fix the FAA, given enough political will -- but I don't know what to
do about the big watch crowd. I belong to every pilot's group, both locally
and nationally, and I see this attitude toward newcomers slowly improving
(basically as a result of their numbers dwindling to the point of death)
but it's been a glacially slow change.

I hate to burst your bubble like this -- I, too, once thought learning to
fly was beyond my means, and must be really, really hard -- but once you've
learned the truth, you can quickly and efficiently move from standing on the
ground to soaring through the sky. Find a mentor through AOPA (if you need
help finding one, email me off-group), and get to it -- you'll never regret
it!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:58:38 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

I know you're not a pilot yet, and that this is all very exciting and
intoxicating. Flying IS the best thing you can do, head and shoulders
(literally!) above every other human endeavor, but I'm about to let you in
on a little secret.

It's a secret that your government, and most of the "big watch" pilot crowd,
will never, EVER tell you. You may want to be sitting down when you read
this -- but here it is:

Flying is easy. You're making it into a much bigger deal than it is.

Yeah, it's a tendency of mine, I am sure you are right but I also have a
pressing, personal obligation to push the capability envelope. It extends
to my business profile, I make a living seeking the work no one wants, has
the least chance of success and don't get me started on the VLJ
reservations project that we are failing at big-time...for the moment.

Regardless, you're right and I appreciate that you took the time to force
me to re-center, thx.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:58:38 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

The FAA and a large segment of the pilot population would like you
to believe that it takes some sort of super-human skill and intelligence to
learn to fly, but it just ain't true.

Why is this so? How has this situation evolved?

1. The FAA is "government", which is in the regulatory business. Thus, each
year requires more regulations, lest the FAA find itself large pointless
(which, on the GA side of flying, it largely *is*). Since, by nature, no
government agency can EVER solve the problems it was set up to address (or
risk being eliminated), it *must* continue to make things more complex. It
also must find new problems to fix, since most of the original problems were
quickly resolved. If that means largely inventing new problems, all the
better.

I work with the military in software, you are right but I would also, in
their defense (pun), they determine that solving problems is fraught with
inevitable delays, wasted time; they have little sense of time management
since they have little control of time. It takes ten people to make a
committee decision that you could make in ten minutes. They adjust to this
sordid reality (and do solve problems in the process).

Sometimes.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:58:38 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

2. The "big watch" crowd likes to boast of their flying prowess, and likes
to feel above and separate from the "folks on the ground". Obviously, if
flying were easy and accessible, this would destroy their self image, so it
plays into their game to make flying appear really, really hard. Thus, many
airports have unfriendly, elitist FBOs, and pilot groups are traditionally
exclusionary good ol' boy clubs, unfriendly and suspicious of newcomers.

lol You are right there but the good is that individuals who decide not to
be part of that crowd emerge from it. I see that here on RAS/RAP, both
entities.

After long observations and pondering, I believe this attitude evolved from
the combat pilots of World War II, who truly demonstrated superior skills
and abilities. Those guys moved to their local airports after the war, and
their natural attitudes toward newcomers (not combat pilots) was an "us and
them" mentality. To some degree, this attitude has been imprinted on every
generation of new pilots ever since.

Interesting historical perspective.

These two groups, inadvertently working together, have almost killed general
aviation in America. As usual, the FAA's work is done under the guise of
"safety" -- the catch-word that makes EVERYTHING okay. (The only words in
our society that kick open the treasury vault quicker, and eliminates our
rights quicker, is: "It's for the children" -- which have been used for
everything from school busing to the building of government-sponsored
casinos.)

Forgot one. "Fight the evil-doers".

We can fix the FAA, given enough political will -- but I don't know what to
do about the big watch crowd. I belong to every pilot's group, both locally
and nationally, and I see this attitude toward newcomers slowly improving
(basically as a result of their numbers dwindling to the point of death)
but it's been a glacially slow change.

Boy's Clubs are part of the less illustrious history of the male
constituency. Don't expect change, just a different set of rules.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:58:38 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

I hate to burst your bubble like this -- I, too, once thought learning to
fly was beyond my means, and must be really, really hard -- but once you've
learned the truth, you can quickly and efficiently move from standing on the
ground to soaring through the sky. Find a mentor through AOPA (if you need
help finding one, email me off-group), and get to it -- you'll never regret
it!
--
Jay Honeck

I don't bring a lot of ego bubbles, I find that they waste my time, and
others and get in the way of the task in hand which, in this case, is to be
as absolutely good as I can be at flying. Which, if like college, may be
beyond dismal but I can live with efforted failure, some say that will be
the engraving on my tombstone.

"He tried with unmatched attitude, he gave all his heart, he failed like a
1960's Japanese radio."
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:yvDxj.1287$TT4.1154@attbi_s22:

I don't understand. For the most part, I see people who want to get x
hours
in y (shortest) time to get their license.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

I know you're not a pilot yet, and that this is all very exciting and
intoxicating. Flying IS the best thing you can do, head and shoulders
(literally!) above every other human endeavor, =


You are a complete moron.


Bertie

In article ,
WJRFlyBoy wrote:

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:04:54 GMT, Steve Foley wrote:

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
I have been reading the various threads about spins, forced landings, etc
and talking with CFIs. The road to a PPL is preset in requirements by FAA.
I see that most people are happy to do nothing more than that.

Where do you see that?

I don't understand. For the most part, I see people who want to get x hours
in y (shortest) time to get their license.

How does that show that they don't want to do anything past the minimum
requirements?

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:27:12 -0800, Steve Hix wrote:

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
I have been reading the various threads about spins, forced landings, etc
and talking with CFIs. The road to a PPL is preset in requirements by FAA.
I see that most people are happy to do nothing more than that.

Where do you see that?

I don't understand. For the most part, I see people who want to get x hours
in y (shortest) time to get their license.

How does that show that they don't want to do anything past the minimum
requirements?

It shows in how they focus, I have sons in their early 30s, it is societal
and environmental. This is the approximate age group that makes up the
student pilot population give or take 5 years. The schools, many of them,
pander to this, slam bam thank you ma'am mentality, when is the last time
you saw an ad that had a pipe-smoking geyser with a cardigan sweater and a
look of slow process in his eyes? Not to mention that the schools are
driven by financial necessity to get em in and out.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!