Unscientific survey - why are you a pilot?

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:14:53 -0700, Doug Semler
wrote:

(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.

Because I love to fly.

That's the simple answer. The complete answer is far more complex and
probably not understood by even me. Part of it is the absolute three
dimensional freedom coupled with the absolute responsibility for
myself, my passengers, the airplane and others around me, and
everything on the ground beneath me.

Ron

In some cases looking in Jay's general direction it's because it's
an opportunity for family bonding and whathaveyou.

This description only scratches the surface of my motivation to fly.
In fact, the family bonding part of flying is more a pleasant
byproduct than a goal, to be quite honest.

I fly because I *need* to fly, as surely as any crack addict needs his
next fix. Just ask Mary what happens to me after a few weeks without
air time...

I have taken flying as far as any non-commercial pilot can, both
personally and professionally. I have infected all that I love with
my passion for flight, for better or worse. And I have a plaque on my
office wall that simply says "Flying Is Life".

It doesn't get any more succinct than that.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Doug Semler wrote:
(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.

Do you have a "family history" of aviation/piloting?


Before I was born my Dad was a GA pilot (PP-ASEL). His stories got me
interested. But my interest grew much more than that. I've always looked
skyward when I hear a plane, a jet, a helicopter. I've always looked up
and wanted to get up there. School, life and baseball got in the way of
those dreams when I was a teenager. When I turned 40 I just wtf and went
for the intro flight. That was a life changing experience.

Do you have a "thirst for knowledge" (e.g. would you rather be in
school than working)?

This question describes me in some ways. I describe myself as a life
long learner. I hope that continues to be true. I was just having a
conversation w/ a neighbor about flying and being a pilot. I was shocked
with my approach to answering the questions. It really gets under your
skin and changes the way you think about flying (the technical aspect).
I was going thru the IMSAFE acronym and what that all means. It is a
great learning experience.


Are you a "control freak" (type-a)?


not a control freak, but very motivated.

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?


extrovert.
If given the choice, would you rather read fiction or an aviation
oriented book?

the latter, easily. I don't read fiction. Biz, history, politics that's
my book shelf.

(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)?

software engineer.
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.

Do you have a "family history" of aviation/piloting?

Yes, both parents were pilots (only for recreation, not as profession)

Are you an adventure seeker (anything from "true" adrenaline junkee to
"every day is different and brings a new challenge")

Meh, in some aspects. I definately enjoy trying new things.

Are you constantly seeking new challenges?

New challenges that add something to my life, definately. My goal is
to try to live a life that would be interesting to read about.

(subpart) Do you find that you get bored easily?

Yes.

Do you have a "thirst for knowledge" (e.g. would you rather be in
school than working)?

I would rather be actively learning, not in a classroom.

(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.

Yes. The aspect of flying that puts one's life in the balance - based
soley on that person's knowledge and skill - that motivates me to seek
out new information.

(subpart - for instructors) Do you enjoy it when your student "gets
it" or has that "aha! moment?"

Not an instructor..

Are you a "control freak" (type-a)?

No

Do you have hints of "delusions of grandeur?" or is it more like "I'm
on top of the world when I fly"

Nah

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Whosiwhatsit?

If given the choice, would you rather read fiction or an aviation
oriented book?

Either or

(For those that use the radio) Do you find that you have always had
good communication skills?

As a matter of fact, yes.

Are you left brained or right brained (logic-and-math or Artsy
fartsy)?

Right brained
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been fascinated with aviation from a very young age. As a child,
I would go through phases where I would focus my interest on very
specific topics. One month would be an aviation nut, talking about
nothing but planes. The next month, I would be solely interested in
cars. The following month it would be trains....etc...

However, while my interest in Cars, Trains, etc. has dwindled over the
past 10 years, my love of flying and airplanes has not. Even through
my crazy highschool and early college years, I ALWAYS had an interest
in Flight Sims and aviation.

The deciding factor that lead me to actually do something real and get
my ticket was that I worked for the Air National Guard as an avionics
tech, and every day I would see the pilots come out to their aircraft
and go fly - it was amazing to think they actually did that for money.
So I thought "That should be me!" and that was that.

On Aug 15, 11:14 am, Doug Semler wrote:

[snip]

Huh, these have been interesting results so far (from the limited
sampling of responses). So far, it seems that family "history" of
interest in aviation is irrelevant, however, most people were
interested in flying/aviation from a very young age. Surprisingly,
the pilots that have responded thus far do NOT consider themselves
"adventerous" even though there seems to be an adverterous quality to
flying that attracted it to them from a young age. Perhaps it is a
risk analysis/management quality that most pilots don't realize?
Perhaps, especially considering that pilots have to measure risk every
time they go out. Three other things stick in my mind. The first is
that the vast majority of respondents seem to qualify themselves as
introverted. Maybe that quality contributes to the "i'm on top of the
world" solitude that one feels while alone in the aircraft? Thus far,
most of the respondents don't consider themselves to be type-a
personalities, meaning that they don't "need" to be in control of a
situation. Surprising to me, really, because being pilot in command
is the ultimate in control. The other thing is that it SEEMS that most
of the pilots responding consider themselves "both-brained" (neither
left nor right). Maybe this is a result of the computational side of
flying combined with the "art" of thinking in three dimensions.

Hmmm. More things to think about. We need a control group now g

On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:17:58 -0700, Doug Semler
wrote in .com:

We need a control group now

A control group that did not involve computers would likely yield
considerably different results.

Doug Semler wrote:


Hmmm. We need a control group now g


Also need to know the profile of the pilots who have not answered the
questions. Are they (we) different from those that have?

On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:39:52 -0600, RomeoMike
wrote:



Doug Semler wrote:


Hmmm. We need a control group now g


Also need to know the profile of the pilots who have not answered the
questions. Are they (we) different from those that have?


hmm...are they so introverted that they won't respond...or so
obnoxious that they wouldn't?


WAIT...I fit both...does that make me bipolar?
geez, there goes the medical again...


--Don
Don Byrer KJ5KB
Radar Tech & Smilin' Commercial Pilot Guy
Glider & CFI wannabe
kj5kb-at-hotmail.com

"I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
"Watch out for those doves...smack-smack-smack-smack..."

"Don Byrer" wrote in message
...

Also need to know the profile of the pilots who have not answered the
questions. Are they (we) different from those that have?

hmm...are they so introverted that they won't respond...or so
obnoxious that they wouldn't?

Ultralight pilots that can't hear you and guys who don't use radios. I'd
recommend trying light signals, but, they may still be using monochrome
displays.

Or they missed the survey, like me, and only saw the replies.

-c

On Aug 16, 7:17 am, Doug Semler wrote:
On Aug 15, 11:14 am, Doug Semler wrote:

[snip]

Huh, these have been interesting results so far (from the limited
sampling of responses). So far, it seems that family "history" of
interest in aviation is irrelevant, however, most people were
interested in flying/aviation from a very young age. Surprisingly,
the pilots that have responded thus far do NOT consider themselves
"adventerous" even though there seems to be an adverterous quality to
flying that attracted it to them from a young age. Perhaps it is a
risk analysis/management quality that most pilots don't realize?
Perhaps, especially considering that pilots have to measure risk every
time they go out. Three other things stick in my mind. The first is
that the vast majority of respondents seem to qualify themselves as
introverted. Maybe that quality contributes to the "i'm on top of the
world" solitude that one feels while alone in the aircraft? Thus far,
most of the respondents don't consider themselves to be type-a
personalities, meaning that they don't "need" to be in control of a
situation. Surprising to me, really, because being pilot in command
is the ultimate in control. The other thing is that it SEEMS that most
of the pilots responding consider themselves "both-brained" (neither
left nor right). Maybe this is a result of the computational side of
flying combined with the "art" of thinking in three dimensions.

Hmmm. More things to think about. We need a control group now g

Hey guess what? We have a resident Control Group built right in on
these boards:

- He Hates Airplanes
- He Hates Pilots
- He Avoids Risk Taking of Any Kind
- He Would Rather Simulate Flying (and life for that matter)
- And he is niether Left nor Right brained because he doesn't use one
at all!!

MX as Control Group! PERFECT!!

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ
www.pbase.com/flyingphotog