An aging pilot

So I'm only 8.3% through my maximum potential aviation career.

I feel much better now.

--

Roger Long



"CV" wrote in message
...
Roger Long wrote:

The last pilot to have been trained by, and had his license signed by,
Orville Wright died while I was doing my primary training in 1997 or
1998. He was still flying.

Of course, since I'm an ancient 54, I may not have the dates or details
exactly right.

http://airsports.fai.org/sep2000/sep2000let.html

The above link claims one such pilot alive and still flying
at age 100 (!) in sep 2000
CV

Stop whineing Jay, and get them bifocals.
I *started* on my PPL at 47, have had my own bird for three years now.

I always tell people that I wasted the first 35 years of my life on the
ground, gazing skyward. (I learned to fly at age 35...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote
So I've reached my 46th year fairly unscathed. I've still never
missed a day of work, ever, and I'm rarely under the weather.

Well Jay, I've been flying for 46 years and have missed only
one day due to physical problems...sprained ankle. I'll be
70 in a few months and on my 69th, I pedaled our 34 mile bike
trail both directions (68 total) in 6 hours.
Florida is a great place to keep fit and enjoy it at the same
time.

And for those of you who have hung it up, what made you do it?
When did you know it was time?

Hang it up???? No way! I was out giving a little Spin Instruction
just a couple of weeks ago, but mostly limit my instructing to
Flight Reviews these days.

Bob Moore

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:5D_ed.243219$wV.57086@attbi_s54...
Any tips on staving off old man winter as long as possible?

http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/9/3068_9408.htm

--Gary

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 03:42:57 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

snipped...
For those of you farther down life's trail than I, what have you done to
maintain your edge? Any tips on staving off old man winter as long as
possible?

And for those of you who have hung it up, what made you do it? When did you
know it was time?

I didn't even get my PPL until I was 50. I have been wearing drug
store reading glasses for 10 years. Couldn't read the sectional
without them (my medical mandates them anyway). Actually, my medical
doesn't require that they be drug store glasses as long as I have some
kind of glasses with me. Me thinks you may be getting worried a wee
bit too early. Enjoy the next 25 years of flying and then reconsider
these questions.
Rich Russell

You're still a baby.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:5D_ed.243219$wV.57086@attbi_s54...
So I've reached my 46th year fairly unscathed. Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:5D_ed.243219$wV.57086@attbi_s54...
So I've reached my 46th year fairly unscathed. I've still never missed a
day of work, ever, and I'm rarely under the weather. In fact, I feel great.

Still, now that I'm solidly in middle age, I find that my cholesterol is too
high, I could stand to lose 15 pounds, and, at my most recent check-up, my
blood pressure was a touch high, for the first time.

In short, the inevitable effect of aging is starting to show itself.

Jay!!!!
Here I am at 68, still giving aikido lessons/classes at the local U,
still pass my flight physical with no sweat, making the youngsters
wonder at what makes that "ol bas**tard keep on going", overweight by
my standards at about 10#(185) and working on it every day, go into a
XC run and finish last but on my own legs unassisted, and still wish I
was 20 years younger so I could REALLY shine....
Lemme see now... that would make me 48 when I could still leap over
buildings (well at least a duplex with a running start and a ramp) and
my BP @115/75 with a pulse rate of 74. What are you not doing Jay?
I applaud your weight training and -please do it with free weights?
The machines are great but do nothing to help your natural balance and
the resulting muscle tone. Above all, keep doing it! The older you get
the harder it is. And of course your diet is critical as you age.
I think of hanging it up from time to time but my pride won't let me.
I've done so many things in my life and yet feel there are many left
undone. Damned if I can let them go without at least trying to
accomplish some of them before I go west. Perhaps that is what keeps
me going? Nahhh, ......its my wife who keeps me going with subtle
hints/suggestions like, "Baby, didn't you do this before and win?" She
is my greatest supporter and fan and I hope to God she smiles when
they pour dirt on me knowing I am grinning that I did the best I ever
did right up to the last.
Rocky
p.s. I'm USMC green/olive drab

To combat this I've been doing daily weight training with my 14-year old son
for over 9 months. I've built muscle mass and stamina, and (for the first
time in 20 years) my back isn't on the verge of "going out" all the time.
I've passed the CAP cadet requirement for running a mile (even though, as a
senior member, it wasn't required), just to show my kid that "the old man"
could still do it. (I darn-near died... ;-)

So, all things considered, I guess I'm doing okay for an old, balding white
guy.

My biggest concession to age has been my vision, which has always been a
weak point. (It kept me from joining the Air Force.) Although I'm still
corrected to 20/20, I'm going to need bifocals at my next check up for sure
(boy, that danged sectional is just about impossible to read), and I am
plagued with more and more floaters every year. Low-contrast backgrounds
(like an overcast) make it very difficult for me to spot traffic.

Since life is a terminal condition, it's only natural that whatever is
deteriorating will continue to do so -- although I assume there are various
things pilots can do to compensate. At some point, however, the lines on
the graph intersect, and you've got to quit flying. Question is, when?

For those of you farther down life's trail than I, what have you done to
maintain your edge? Any tips on staving off old man winter as long as
possible?

And for those of you who have hung it up, what made you do it? When did you
know it was time?

You are only a "chicken".

Up to age 70 I held and maintained, as a private pilot, a multi-engined
command rating(Instrument rating).

Don't even think about "hanging up the goggles"

Joe

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:5D_ed.243219$wV.57086@attbi_s54...
So I've reached my 46th year fairly unscathed. I've still never missed a
day of work, ever, and I'm rarely under the weather. In fact, I feel great.

Still, now that I'm solidly in middle age, I find that my cholesterol is too
high, I could stand to lose 15 pounds, and, at my most recent check-up, my
blood pressure was a touch high, for the first time.

In short, the inevitable effect of aging is starting to show itself.

Lindbergh said, "I decided that if I could fly for ten years before I
was killed in a crash, it would be a worthwhile trade for an ordinary
lifetime." With 28 years of flight, my life has already been
extra-ordinary three times over. I'm 54 and all that stuff is
happening to me too. Our bodies will get old, and there is very little
we can do to slow that down. Still, I expect to fly for a long, long
time yet. And if the day comes that I can't, I'll have some incredible
memories - or maybe not - they say the memory is the first to go. If I
don't, I won't know what I'm missing. Be thankful for and enjoy every
day and every flight. Worrying about the future can ruin both and your
health. Know that with each flight you are experiencing feelings that
99% of the population doesn't even know exists. Savor each moment.
We've been given a special gift. We didn't earn it and we don't
deserve it.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

Good grief, Jay. I did not even learn to fly until I was older than you.