Politics for Pilots

Yes, it’s worth the trouble to go somewhere. To travel by air with the freedom to go this way or that on a whim. To land on a grass strip for fuel just because you can. Or to set your sights on a destination you’ve dreamed of for years, but never thought was within your reach. The whole world is ours if we seek it out. One hop at a time. With a mindset that allows us to even enjoy the weather delays and unexpected diversions.

Let’s take a moment to consider a few of the things we know. Or more particularly, things we think we know that aren’t actually true, or valid, or helpful in any way.

Make no mistake about it. We are stumbling toward the stars. Just as our ancestors experimented with wood and sail to venture further and further from land, we are taking the early critical steps to assure the continued existence of the human race — via spaceflight.

I stayed in the game, as did my student. We flew the downwind, then base, then turned onto final. I carried a bit of power, preferring to be high and fast to low and slow. At the appropriate time I flared, and the engine gave out. Right there, five feet above the runway, my engine quit.

Here’s a bit of a secret you may not have picked up on in all the years I’ve been writing for General Aviation News. I rarely write about aircraft. Sure, it seems like I do, but I don’t. Not really. Rather, I’m far more fascinated with the people I meet, the experiences that come my way, and the happy accidents that stick in my memory so well.

There are many considerations, of course. You may have a few of your own that are worth passing on to others. The lessons you’ve learned might be the exact information some other reader will benefit from.