From inspiration to inertia

If my dictionary is right — and I believe it is — inspiration is the process by which we measly humans are stimulated to do something. Something that matters to us.

Inspiration is what caused tens of thousands of teenagers to grab guitars and start wailing away after seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Half a dozen years later, our radios and record stores were filled with the sonic results.

Inertia, on the other hand, is the propensity of an object to continue in its existing state of motion unless or until acted on by an external force.

As an example, I remember the time many years ago when I went into the back yard and threw a baseball as hard as I could. In that case I become the power source that induced inertia to the ball. The baseball continued moving through the air, affected by gravity and the push I gave it, until it came into contact with an external force. In this case, Mr. San Giovanni’s bedroom window. There’s an addendum to that story that involves a sore butt and a lot of what you might call community service, but I think you get the point.

From my perch here on the great sandbar of Florida where aviation has had such a profound impact on the lives and economic future of the residents, I think inspiration and inertia are inextricably linked. Perhaps this brief story will help illustrate my point. 

Recently I was out to dinner with my friend Jason Schappert. Jason founded and runs a very successful online ground school company known as MzeroA.com. We’ve known each other for quite some time and get along quite well. As we discussed the topics of the evening, I passed along this observation: In all my years in aviation and for all the tens of thousands of pilots and mechanics I’ve met, I’ve never met a single person who said, “My life was going just great until I got into aviation. That’s when it all went to hell.” 

Jason laughed, as he does so frequently and so well. He apparently liked the story enough that he co-opted it and passed it along to his audience during an In-flight Coffee livestream on Facebook. Truthfully, I was flattered that he took the time to share the story independently. Plus, there’s at least the possibility of a royalty check or a licensing fee to be had. So that’s a bonus, right?

In any case, the point is a valid one. I’ve never met anyone at any level of aviation who viewed their entry into the field as a mistake. Nobody. I wonder how many fields of endeavor you can say that about? Not many, I suspect.

The sources of inspiration are as varied as the people in aviation. Maybe they became enamored of small piston-powered airplanes flying overhead. Perhaps they saw a movie like Dawn Patrol, Strategic Air Command, The Spirit of St. Louis, or Top Gun. A Young Eagle flight might have lit the fire in them.

How they became inspired is not nearly as important as the fact that it happened. Something flipped a switch in their head, urging them toward a future they found to be exciting, enticing, and worth the effort. 

Through that process something remarkable happens. People change when they get into aviation. The change tends to be positive, lasting, and provides a motivation to continue along the chosen path until acted on by an external force. It is the inertia of the individual. What was a casual pursuit may become a true passion, a profession, a whole new lifestyle.

I’ve seen it a thousand times and more. I experienced it up close and in a very personal way when it happened to me. As a long-haired musician with pierced ears and a penchant for staying up very, very late, the idea of being a military fighter pilot or an airline captain held very little appeal for me. But, the idea of rotating an airplane and heading skyward at will to move about unfettered by traffic or stop lights caught my attention and tugged at my heart. 

I begrudge others nothing for their path through aviation. We each get to follow the dream that most appeals to us. For my part, I’ve spent that past 30-some-odd years playing with piston powered, propeller driven airplanes and loved every minute of it. When the industry was doing well, I was thrilled. When it was down, I was glad to have a foothold in the business I’d come to love so well. During the times in between I was happily doing what I do, at the airport, above the landscape that spread out before me, or at my home office where aviation is rarely far from the front of my mind.

The inspiration to fly led me to the inertia of a career that benefited every aspect of my being. You can’t say that about too many things in life.

Well, if I’m honest, I have to pair aviation with music. One got me into the other and both work independently to fill my life with meaning and joy. That’s entirely true, by the way. Anyone who has been to my home or seen my office via Zoom conference, or livestreaming on Facebook, or a Teams meeting, knows two things instantly: That guy is into airplanes and guitars. 

The inertia of it all has been truly beneficial for me. Thank goodness I took that big step out onto the airport ramp when the opportunity presented itself. A unique and memorable moment in life that every pilot can relate to equally well.