i hesitate to tell this story, but i want to get a pilot's license.

[MauleM5-235]

Flying is one of the most addictive (and expensive) hobbies out there. It is amazingly fun and challenging and will give you experiences that you can have no other way. I now live on a private air strip. You will know you are completely addicted when you try to justify owning a plane or taking a business trip by plane on an objective rational manner!

BTW, the price of airplane parts makes Porsche parts look cheap.

Go get your PPL, but don't say I didn't warn you.

[enzo1]

[nostatic]

It is the one hobby that makes racing look cheap

[vash]

Originally Posted by nostatic

It is the one hobby that makes racing look cheap

my wants me to go for it!! i told her it would be cheaper to allow me to gut my car and turn it into a race car.

[flipper35]

You could do a sport pilot or recreational pilot, but in the long run a PPL is the way to go. If you aren't doing cross country trips you can get a Cub, Champ or similar for not a lot of money and they are more reasonable on gas and they are great for sight seeing.

[masraum]

My wife has been bugging me to get a license for a while. *I don't think she realizesthe cost associated with the whole thing and then flying afterward. *I want to, but I don't think this is the right time financially

[Seahawk]

Before you get serious about a PPL, go have some fun first.

Take a glider flight, do the hot air balloon thing, find a an excellent pilot that will take you flying for gas, take an acrobatic flight, fly from a remote area, etc.

Ten hours experiencing the joys of flight without the pressure of getting a PPL is, IMHO, the most valuable time you can spent. Learn to love what the hard work will bring.

I am no longer current but I still fly once a month with a good friend of mine who is a really fine pilot and keeps all his quals more than up to date,. He owns a Cub and has a grass strip next to my farm.

There are few things more precious than air under the tires.

Oh, and also take a helo ride...if you survive that Easy Street, nothing to fear again, ever

[flipper35]

You don't fly helos, you postpone the crash.

[Tim Hancock]

I still enjoy flying, but I have to rate it the second best thing I have ever done. O'all it trumps skiing, kayaking, cycling, shooting, snowmobiles, autocrossing etc, but for me, the ultimate thrill has always been racing motocross. Nothing else I have done to date can equal the feeling of sitting on a full gate with the throttle near pinned just as the starting gate drops. If it was not for the constant injuries that one gets when racing at the limit, I would still be doing it.

For me, learning to fly as a beginner and later test flying airplanes I built with my own hands provided great satisfaction, but I think the only way I could get as much satisfaction flying as I got from MX is if I competed in aerobatics and performed airshows.... unfortunately I think those endeavors would lead to me buying the farm as I like pushing limits. Someday I hope to finish my aerobatic plane and I can only hope I fly it responsibly as the penalty for going past the limit is death vs an injury like in MX.

[romad]

Welcome to the club......Becoming a pilot or aviator(navy guys) forever identifies you ....kind of separates you from the mer mortals. But like all things after many hours.... flying can become just one of those things, another skill set to check off, but thats not a bad thing..... just human nature. I'm pretty sure most people can get by in this world without becoming a pilot, but the real question is..Why would you want too?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I still enjoy flying, but I have to rate it the second best thing I have ever done. O'all it trumps skiing, kayaking, cycling, shooting, snowmobiles, autocrossing etc, but for me, the ultimate thrill has always been racing motocross. Nothing else I have done to date can equal the feeling of sitting on a full gate with the throttle near pinned just as the starting gate drops. If it was not for the constant injuries that one gets when racing at the limit, I would still be doing it.

For me, learning to fly as a beginner and later test flying airplanes I built with my own hands provided great satisfaction, but I think the only way I could get as much satisfaction flying as I got from MX is if I competed in aerobatics and performed airshows.... unfortunately I think those endeavors would lead to me buying the farm as I like pushing limits. Someday I hope to finish my aerobatic plane and I can only hope I fly it responsibly as the penalty for going past the limit is death vs an injury like in MX.

I don't fly. I have been up 2wice in a small plane. It's neat to be up there, but I didn't get a jones for it. Reading Tim's post reminds me of taking my 911 to the track a few times. It was also neat to drive what I built, but it didn't compare to kart racing on the same track.

I think if I was to fly, it would have to be in a gyro-copter to get the thrill. But, I guess I'll leave that in the bucket.

Yeah, those starts either standing or rolling is the ultimate.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by vash

i gotta eat my words. eat them my dry flavorless words. my wife hit it out of the ball-park with her last Christmas gift. she gave me an "experience" that i wont soon forget. she got me a first timer flying lesson.

yesterday was a cloudless day. i showed up at a company trying to hook people into flying. hahah.

we messed around with a flight simulator. thanks to years of video games, i didnt suck. but it wasnt exciting. i had no idea what to expect, but i didnt expect them to lead us to a plane. my wife nervously forced me to go first. SURE!

i strapped into the pilot seat and we did some checking of things. clueless here. well, it ended with me starting the tiny plane. my wife was in the backseat. i taxied it down the runway. very car-like when we checked runway intersections...all clear, the tower gave us the all clear to line up. i got the foot pedals down immediately. braaaapppp! i lined up and applied the brakes. then the pilot said horrific words, "take it up cliff!" WTF?..i throttled up and when i got to speed, i pulled back on the stick..the plane took off...and i took off with it.. it was stunning. i headed down past I 880, and buzzed over Oakland. over the stadium. past the bay bridge. i've worked on the bridge but have never seen it from 1500 feet. he told me to head out over the golden gate..braaap!!! the tower asked us to drop down to 1000, and i did, and flew over the GGB!! hahahhaha..i was giddy. we flew about for a few hours and i took it back. i had the runway to my right and he said to bank right and line it up...i kid you not..i landed that thing. i was sweating bullets. he assisted me i'm sure, but i am not sure he did that much. i taxied it to our parking spot without cusinarting anybody's property with my prop.

you pilots are a steeley bunch..large stones. it was very very fun. my wife got kinda sick and postponed her flight until today. she did well too.

it was the crazyiest thing i have done in a long time.

Rex Kramer: [talking to the airport control tower] No, we can't do that, the risk of a flame-out is too great. Keep 'em at 24,000.
No, feet.

Controller: I know but this guy has no flying experience at all. He's a menace to himself and everything else in the air... yes, birds too.



Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land?

Captain Oveur: I can't tell.

Rumack: You can tell me. I'm a doctor.

Captain Oveur: No. I mean I'm just not sure.

Rumack: Well, can't you take a guess?

Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two hours.

Rumack: You can't take a guess for another two hours?



Stewardess Randy: Excuse me sir, there has been a little problem in the cockpit...

Ted Striker: The cockpit? What is it?

Randy: It's the little room in front of the plane where the pilot's in, but that's not important right now.


Flight Control: Flight 209 you're clear for takeoff.
Clarence Oveur: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
FC: LA departure frequency 123.9.
Clarence Oveur: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Victor Basta: Request vector, over.
Clarence Oveur: What?
FC: Flight 209 clear for vector 324.
Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.
Clarence Oveur: Roger, Roger, what's our vector, victor?
FC: Now we're in radio clearance, over.
Clarence Oveur: That's Clarence Oveur, over.
Victor Basta: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
FC: Roger, over.
Clarence Oveur: What?
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Victor Basta: Who?


Old woman: Nervous?
Ted Striker: Yes.
Old woman: First time?
Ted Striker: No, I´ve been nervous before.

[xlr8]

Paul suggested trying a glider flight, here's a sailplane flying in the Alps:

[bfunke]

Porsche powers some GA aircraft. They also made some innovative rotorcraft for the Navy in the late 50s. Best of both worlds.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by bfunke

Porsche powers some GA aircraft.

Porsche certified an aircraft version of the 3.2 litre engine. It was not a sales success.

Mooney is the only manufacturer that sold airplanes with the Porsche powerplant, but due mostly to excessive cooling drag, the airplanes had no better performance than "normal" Mooneys, yet cost subsantally more.
Very few were sold.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

I'v said this before on another similar thread in the past - Flying is one of the 2 most fun things one can do with their clothes on. Go for it vash
Cheers
JB

[sammyg2]

Back in the early 80's a guy i worked for had an old aerobatic plane that he kept out in the desert.
My younger brother and i were out there doing some desert racing and my brother managed to get a ride in the plane, his first. He totally freaked.

He quit his job, cashed in his 401k, and went to flight school for 6 months.
He worked crap jobs after that for years until he got his hours up and eventually started flying corporate jets.

Now he runs a company that charters eirther 4 or 5 jets. citations, challenger, lear, that type.
He realized the instant he went up in that plane that flying is what he needed to do for a living.

EDIT: this is one of em he flies:

[pete3799]

Cliff
You need this........cheaper than a Porsche too
AIRPLANE FOR SALE!