At last, the truth...

When you're riding the streets and freeways around LA, it's like
combat at zero AGL. The enemy uses their vehicles as weapons and
your only defense is superior maneuverability.

Los Angeles is the only place I've ever ridden where I was actually spat
upon.

It's a pit; you can have it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

As to your question, very easily. Did you get married before you learned
to fly? What happens if you get bitten =afterwards=? How powerful is
love? Maybe she'll fly too (it's been known to happen)...

No, we were married ten years before I was able to muster the wherewithal to
get my ticket. But Mary knew my love of aviation, and had attended Oshkosh
(and been just as enamored with it as I) with me 13 times by then.

She likes motorcycles (had her own bike, till the kids came along), rock and
roll, and good beer, too. AND she works 70 hour weeks at the inn,
essentially without pay.

Yes, I know -- I'm a very lucky guy!

:-)

But I know way too many guys at the airport who fly despite -- rather than
with -- their family. It's one of the saddest aspects of GA.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

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

Well...did he? Your specific example? As you said yourself, quitting
was essentially inconceivable to you, and you resorted to fairly
drastic means to pay for flying sometimes (you mentioned selling blood
plasma). You didn't report him saying anything suggesting his love of
flying was actually like yours.

Well, perhaps I'm reading more into it than I should, but:

- He chose to stay in an aviation themed hotel, right next to an airport...
(we're not the closest to the University, nor are we the cheapest)
- He was deep in study of our aviation memorabilia when I interrupted his
reverie...
- He avidly and animatedly talked about aircraft, displaying a breadth and
depth of knowledge far beyond our average "wannabe" guest...

I got the impression that aviation ran strong in his blood, but it was,
admittedly, a brief conversation. It did, however, stick in my craw, since
he was the first guy who has ever admitted to me that he was scared out of
the cockpit.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

As usual, you continue to make the mistake of thinking that everyone is
just like you, and should live their lives just like you live yours.
IMHO, this is what's wrong with your political outlook, and it's what's
wrong with your opinions about who is or is not a pilot and why.

Well, Pete, I see a lot of misery and scary things in the world today -- and
(although I have my ups and downs) I am generally living a very enjoyable
life, and having a great time doing it. I would like to be able to share
my love of aviation, and Mary and I do everything possible to see that
people who stay at our inn get the chance to go for a ride in a small plane.
It's a money-losing proposition, but it's what we are all about.

The world could do a lot worse than to "live lives just like mine"...

I am also constantly searching for ways to expand GA for the entirely
selfish reason that if we don't grow it, it will continue to wither. I've
got maybe 20 good years of flying left in me, and I want to make sure that
I've got a place to keep my plane, and some airports to land at. If we
can figure out why so many people start -- and quit -- pilot training,
perhaps we can counter the downward trend somehow?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

The world could do a lot worse than to "live lives just like mine"...

.... but they would have to "be just like you" in order to enjoy "lives
just like yours". A lot of people very different from you enjoy lives
very different from yours, lives you could not countenance.

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:

But I know way too many guys at the airport who fly despite -- rather than
with -- their family. It's one of the saddest aspects of GA.

That describes *all* the local pilots I know. There are a couple of
"regulars" that I see at the airport most weekends and a few semi-regulars I
see once in a while. I've never seen any of their wives.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

The world could do a lot worse than to "live lives just like mine"...

... but they would have to "be just like you" in order to enjoy "lives
just like yours". A lot of people very different from you enjoy lives
very different from yours, lives you could not countenance.

Well, so long as they aren't hurting others, I say let 'em enjoy life...

We only get one chance at this life, as far as I can tell, so we might as
well have a good time while we're here!

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

Well, so long as they aren't hurting others, I say let 'em enjoy life...

Right. And that life doesn't include flying.

It's not that flying is "no fun", it'a that it's "no fun for them" - the
activity is not a good match for the individual. And we are all
individuals. It's not like flying is so wondeful in and of itself that
everyone should love it (and it's incomprehensible why people don't) but
rather, that, just like with women, the one I love may not be a good
match for you, and v.v.

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:
[snip] If we can figure out why so many people start --
and quit -- pilot training, perhaps we can counter the
downward trend somehow?

Jay, your hotel and other efforts to keep and promote interest are
commendable and more advantageous to GA than trying to encourage
everyone who quits pilot training to keep going. IMO, *some* people who
were encouraged to keep going when they should have stopped end up doing
more harm to GA than those who know themselves well enough to decide
it's not for them.

Having worked at a flight school, IMO not everyone who begins flight
training *should* see it through. SOMETIMES, it is a blessing when a
customer announces that they have decided to quit. CFIs/Flight schools
face a dilemma when a customer shows up for all their lessons but isn't
doing the studying (despite painful ground sessions), isn't making any
progress, or isn't safe regardless of how hard the CFI has worked to
instill that. What do they do in that case? They (1) refer the customer
to another CFI or to another school (pass the buck); (2) they just keep
on keepin' on, milking the customer of thousands of dollars and building
a logbook with tons of dual and no license; or the most difficult, (3)
THEY suggest that the customer consider that perhaps they have chosen
the wrong activity. We've all seen/known/heard of instances where a CFI
or the school SHOULD have taken that stand but didn't.

So JMO, but while it's a shame when an eager, motivated student who got
hooked up with the wrong CFI or school quits, I think some who quit have
made the right decision and that it should be left at that.

Pilot training probably has more unique elements than most other
activities for which people take lessons and test for licenses; BUT one
common element in *all* forms of training is that there will always be
some people who quit.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 03:57:10 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Which begs the question: How can you be married to someone with whom you
can't share the passion for flight?

My wife becomes, or can become physically ill in several ways when
flying. Is it no surprise flying isn't her favorite thing to do? Yet
she encouraged me to get my license knowing that she would not be able
to participate much. She also hasn't discouraged my efforts at
building an airplane and in return I tried hard not to ignor the
family while building.

But since she really doesn't want to go places in a small airplane and
barely tolerates flying in the big busses, I'm wondering why I'm
building now.

The weather prevents flying on numerous days around here and even when
it's benign, it's often so hazy that flying isn't much fun. Getting
instrument rated is out of the question because it's too expensive and
I would have to rent that much more to stay current, all to fly in
weather that's no fun flying in anyway, or at least no fun for the
passengers.

So perhaps the sport ticket is the way to go, at least for me anyway.
I'd like to finish the homebuilt, but the cost of finishing it is
beginning to look daunting.

Corky Scott