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At last, the truth...



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 15th 05, 04:48 AM
Jay Honeck
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Default At last, the truth...

Most of our guests at the hotel are not pilots. It's simply a matter of
numbers -- there are a LOT more non-pilots than there are pilots, and they
need hotel rooms, too. Many of our guests are "wannabes" or aviation
enthusiasts, however. Although we have found many people who are afraid of
flying, we have yet to meet someone who doesn't like airplanes -- and those
people are our "bread & butter."

An amazing number of guests tell me that they have taken flight lessons, but
quit flying for one reason or another. I have never been able to understand
this phenomenon, since -- after the first lesson -- I was hopelessly hooked.
I would have done anything to finish getting my ticket (and did go so far as
selling my blood plasma for flight money) -- so the concept of quitting just
never made sense to me. I always inquire about their reasons for quitting,
and I often hear the same old explanations (money, time, kids, wives,
etc.) -- but I often sensed that there was more to the story than they were
telling.

I've often suspected that these near-pilots had lived through some
life-changing event, or had been badly scared during flight training. I
simply couldn't fathom what else could cause someone to simply jump off the
horse and walk away from it, forever -- but I had never been able to coax
the story out of any of these "almost-pilots." The macho, gung-ho attitude
that seems to envelope aviation seemed to preclude ever finding anyone who
could admit (perhaps even to themselves) what had happened to them.

Until a few days ago. As many of our guests do, this fellow was hanging
around the lobby, studying all the gizmos, gadgets, books, models and
memorabilia that have spread like lichen all over the place in the last
three years. As is my wont, I struck up a conversation with the guy, and we
casually discussed aviation and airplanes for a few minutes.

It soon became obvious that this guy knew way more about flying than our
average "wannabe" guest. Sure enough, upon inquiring, he admitted taking 18
hours of instruction, and he had several hours of post-solo flight time
under his belt -- before he quit.

Maybe it was the relaxed nature of the setting, or perhaps it was the fact
that he was on vacation and simply let his guard down, but when I asked him
why he had quit (as I ask EVERYONE who tells me they had stopped flying), he
actually told me truthfully and sincerely what had happened.

It seems he had just soloed a week earlier, and was out practicing touch and
goes on his own. There was a bit of a cross wind -- nothing bad -- which
apparently increased while he was working the pattern. On his last
take-off, when he rotated the cross wind kicked up and carried him out over
the adjacent bean field, and in his confusion he found himself sinking
toward the beans.

In a panic, he luckily overcame the urge to simply pull the yoke back into
his belly, and pushed the nose over. Doing so gained some speed, and he
climbed out normally. He then came around and landed with some difficulty,
but without incident.

This seemingly innocent incident scared him so badly that he walked into the
FBO, sat down with his instructor, and told him he was through.

His instructor asked him what happened, told him that what he had
experienced was easily countered with good technique, told him he had done
well and acted properly, and immediately booked him for a few more dual
lessons.

To no avail. This guy was so taken aback by his brush with disaster that he
just couldn't get into flying anymore. He did fly a couple of more times
with his instructor, but he could never get back in the saddle. He quit
altogether.

That was over ten years ago. When I encouraged him to try again, and told
him that it was never too late to get back into flying, he wistfully but
firmly replied that it would never happen.

At last -- I've *finally* found someone who could explain what had happened
to foil their dreams of flight. I've never, ever been able to understand
this all-to-common occurrence -- and there are other good reasons to quit
flying, for sure -- but I have often wondered if this kind of scare during
training isn't happening more often than we know about?

(And before you dismiss a drifting take-off as being non-life-threatening,
see: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=CHI05FA080&rpt=p This is an
accident that happened in nearby West Union, Iowa, earlier this summer, when
a low-time pilot in a Cherokee 235 drifted off the runway centerline,
bounced in the weeds, flipped the plane, and killed himself and his two
passengers.)

It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of dismay that I bid our guest
farewell. Perhaps it was for the best that he quit flying, but I couldn't
help but think that he had given up too soon, and that with a little extra
guidance he could have made a good pilot.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #2  
Old August 15th 05, 05:15 AM
Jose
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Default

Jay, there are many things that other people are extremely avid about,
that they got hooked on after doing it once, that I have a mild interest
in. Fishing, boating, golf, skydiving, mountain climbing... all these
can suck up a lot of time, and some can suck up a lot of money. If
anybody asked me why I quit or didn't even start, my excuse would be as
lame to them as the "same old explanations" seem to you with regards to
flying. One can't do everything, and people have to prioritize.
Sometimes it's temporary (I stopped flying for about ten years for one
of the "lame" reasons referred to) and sometimes temporary becomes
permanent due to non-dramatic circumstances.

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we
do (or why some people love golf like I don't!).

Maybe it was the relaxed nature of the setting, or perhaps it was the fact
that he was on vacation and simply let his guard down, but when I asked him
why he had quit (as I ask EVERYONE who tells me they had stopped flying), he
actually told me truthfully and sincerely what had happened.


One person had a story to tell. You heard it primarily =because= he had
a story to tell. Those that truly quit for the "lame" reasons have no
story to tell, but their excuse is no less real, and no less truthful.

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.
  #3  
Old August 15th 05, 05:29 AM
Jay Honeck
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Default

There's no mystery to me as to why not everyone loves aviation like we do
(or why some people love golf like I don't!).


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

If we are to replace all the World War II and Korean War-era pilots who are
dying in droves, we've got to get people into aviation, NOW. I address
this "scared straight" issue as just another small piece of the "Why is GA
dying?" puzzle, and hope that we (as pilots) can come up with better ways to
train newbies so that this kind of thing won't happen so often.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #4  
Old August 15th 05, 09:26 AM
Peter Duniho
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Default

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:3gULe.251379$x96.181434@attbi_s72...
[...]
It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of dismay that I bid our guest
farewell. Perhaps it was for the best that he quit flying, but I couldn't
help but think that he had given up too soon, and that with a little extra
guidance he could have made a good pilot.


He probably would have. I don't think many students, having just soloed,
would have done as well as he did during the bean field incident.

That said, not every ex-pilot's situation is the same, and just because you
can't imagine quitting flying over something more mundane, that doesn't mean
other pilots wouldn't either. We are NOT all cut from the same cloth, as
numerous off-topic discussions in this newsgroup ought to demonstrate quite
well.

Speaking from my own personal experience, flying is something I've always
wanted to do. Ever since I was a little kid, but it never occurred to me
until after college it was something I *could* do. Then I dove right in.

I still love flying. But my life is different these days. I've got a plane
I can hardly find time to use. I never did fit my lifestyle around it the
way I wanted to (it's an amphib, that hardly sees the water these days). On
top of that, other than the majority of the 600,000 or so pilots in the US,
the rest of the country is doing everything it can to simply end general
aviation. (And I find it sad that even some of that group of licensed
pilots are helping this "cause" to end aviation).

I'm normally capable of being a pretty stubborn guy, but especially as I get
older, I find I am less able to be stubborn about as wide a range of things
at one time, and I do have plenty else in my life to be stubborn about.
Quite frankly, between my own personal circumstance and what I view as a
trend toward making aviation just not worth the trouble, I have had thoughts
about just giving the whole thing up.

I relate all this simply to point out the wide variety of individual
situations that may lead to a person quitting flying. Granted, I haven't
done it yet...but I sure feel closer to doing so than I ever have, and
that's counting when I had my medical issues a few years ago (when major
surgery was the only way for me to get my medical back). Nothing's scared
me, and I feel I'm every bit a pilot as anyone else I know. But it's just
hard to see how flying fits well into my life right now.

If this "conversation" is anything like any of the others we've had in the
past, you won't understand what I'm feeling or thinking here either.

I think it's highly unlikely that your "sense" of a hidden, "life-changing
event" is accurate in most cases. I suspect that most people tell you what
they believe to be the actual reasons for giving up flying. It's just how
life is...not everyone feels exactly the way you do about flying, even
though they may be very good pilots themselves. Just because you can't
relate to their reasons, that doesn't mean their reasons aren't just as they
say.

Pete


  #5  
Old August 15th 05, 11:49 AM
Matt Whiting
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Posts: n/a
Default

Jay Honeck wrote:

Most of our guests at the hotel are not pilots. It's simply a matter of
numbers -- there are a LOT more non-pilots than there are pilots, and they
need hotel rooms, too. Many of our guests are "wannabes" or aviation
enthusiasts, however. Although we have found many people who are afraid of
flying, we have yet to meet someone who doesn't like airplanes -- and those
people are our "bread & butter."

An amazing number of guests tell me that they have taken flight lessons, but
quit flying for one reason or another. I have never been able to understand
this phenomenon, since -- after the first lesson -- I was hopelessly hooked.
I would have done anything to finish getting my ticket (and did go so far as
selling my blood plasma for flight money) -- so the concept of quitting just
never made sense to me. I always inquire about their reasons for quitting,
and I often hear the same old explanations (money, time, kids, wives,
etc.) -- but I often sensed that there was more to the story than they were
telling.

I've often suspected that these near-pilots had lived through some
life-changing event, or had been badly scared during flight training. I
simply couldn't fathom what else could cause someone to simply jump off the
horse and walk away from it, forever -- but I had never been able to coax
the story out of any of these "almost-pilots." The macho, gung-ho attitude
that seems to envelope aviation seemed to preclude ever finding anyone who
could admit (perhaps even to themselves) what had happened to them.


Like you, I suspect that your guests experience likely is the
predominant reason that people walk away permanently from aviation,
however, there are reasons that some people walk away temporarily. I've
done it twice in my 26 years of flying, both times for about 4 years.
The first was in college and the second after my company nearly went
bankrupt after the telecomm bust.

The main reason was lack of both funds and time. You will say that "you
can always find a way", and that is true to an extent. However, some of
us are perfectionists and when we can't fly enough to maintain
proficiency (we being perfectionists, proficiency can be a pretty high
standard), we'd rather walk away. That, I believe anway, was my driving
motivation. When I couldn't afford to fly at least a couple of hours a
month, I gave it up completely for a time. I maintained my medical, but
didn't fly as PIC.

I'm sure there are folks with other good reasons, but that is mine.
Fortunately, close calls don't bother me much whether in an airplane or
on a motorcycle or elsewhere, but I do believe, as do you, that close
calls are the reason that most would be pilots get derailed.


Matt
  #6  
Old August 15th 05, 12:33 PM
Stefan
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Default

Jay Honeck wrote:

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


Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but
who knows how I'll feel in 10 years?

Stefan
  #7  
Old August 15th 05, 01:37 PM
Jay Honeck
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Default

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


Not necessairily. I've looked into many things, and after a while said:
ok, it was interesting, it was fun, but now that's it, let's go for
something new. Right now I'm hooked to soaring and really like it, but who
knows how I'll feel in 10 years?


Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!

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


  #8  
Old August 15th 05, 01:40 PM
Happy Dog
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Default

"Jay Honeck" wrote in

It seems he had just soloed a week earlier, and was out practicing touch
and goes on his own. There was a bit of a cross wind -- nothing bad --
which apparently increased while he was working the pattern. On his last
take-off, when he rotated the cross wind kicked up and carried him out
over the adjacent bean field, and in his confusion he found himself
sinking toward the beans.

In a panic, he luckily overcame the urge to simply pull the yoke back
into his belly, and pushed the nose over. Doing so gained some speed,
and he climbed out normally. He then came around and landed with some
difficulty, but without incident.

This seemingly innocent incident scared him so badly that he walked into
the FBO, sat down with his instructor, and told him he was through.


Pussy. That's not even an interesting scare.

His instructor asked him what happened, told him that what he had
experienced was easily countered with good technique, told him he had done
well and acted properly, and immediately booked him for a few more dual
lessons.

To no avail. This guy was so taken aback by his brush with disaster that
he just couldn't get into flying anymore. He did fly a couple of more
times with his instructor, but he could never get back in the saddle. He
quit altogether.

That was over ten years ago. When I encouraged him to try again, and told
him that it was never too late to get back into flying, he wistfully but
firmly replied that it would never happen.

At last -- I've *finally* found someone who could explain what had
happened to foil their dreams of flight. I've never, ever been able to
understand this all-to-common occurrence -- and there are other good
reasons to quit flying, for sure -- but I have often wondered if this kind
of scare during training isn't happening more often than we know about?


Who knows? Did anything like that ever happen to you or anyone else you
know? Did you or they quit? Those are binary questions.

moo


  #9  
Old August 15th 05, 01:54 PM
Jay Honeck
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Default

I'm normally capable of being a pretty stubborn guy, but especially as I
get older, I find I am less able to be stubborn about as wide a range of
things at one time, and I do have plenty else in my life to be stubborn
about.


You, Pete? No way!

:-)

Quite frankly, between my own personal circumstance and what I view as a
trend toward making aviation just not worth the trouble, I have had
thoughts about just giving the whole thing up.


I hope it doesn't come to that.

Speaking from my own personal experience, flying is something I've always
wanted to do. Ever since I was a little kid, but it never occurred to me
until after college it was something I *could* do. Then I dove right in.


Heck, you figured it out 14 years faster than I did. I kick myself daily
for not realizing what was possible until I was 35.

If this "conversation" is anything like any of the others we've had in the
past, you won't understand what I'm feeling or thinking here either.


No, what you say makes perfect sense.

I think it's highly unlikely that your "sense" of a hidden, "life-changing
event" is accurate in most cases. I suspect that most people tell you
what they believe to be the actual reasons for giving up flying.


I don't know. But I guess if a pilot is able to "give up" flying *without*
some sort of a life-changing scary experience, then, perhaps, they were
never really that hooked on it in the first place? This is another concept
I cannot understand -- how can someone fly without becoming hooked on the
magic of flight? -- so perhaps I'll never be able to fathom these folks.

Flying is *not* golf, nor boating, nor motorcycling, nor anything else.
Quite simply, there is nothing else like it; so quitting -- for me --
someday, is going to be ugly, and entirely involuntary.

To simply relinquish the ability to fly of my own free will is unthinkable,
and -- since it's hard to B.S. a B.S.-er -- I always search for deeper
reasons when someone tells me they quit flying because of "the wife" or "the
job".
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #10  
Old August 15th 05, 01:56 PM
Stefan
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Default

Jay Honeck wrote:

Stefan -- soaring IS flying, in its purest form!


I've never said something else. Actually, I consider flying straight and
level using an engine pretty boring. But that's another tread.

Stefan
 




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