For all the affection we have for flight, for all the pride we feel for earning our mastery of the air, none of us is immune from the processes that will one day render us unable to fly safely. This ride will indeed end, for all of us. As sad as that may be, it is the truth of our situation.
Politics for Pilots
Let’s appreciate the lineage of the big show
Air show season is amazing. It was then. It is now. We get to see, hear, touch, and emotionally resonate with some of the most remarkable machinery on the planet, managed by a collection of tremendously talented folks. And in some cases, we even get to ride along or take the controls ourselves.
So I was wrong about that
We know we’re imperfect. We know we’ve been exposed to reams of contradictory information over the course of our lives. We’re rock-solid positive the population around us is wrong on so many issues it’s virtually impossible to list them all. Yet, we’re equally sure we’re entirely correct regardless what the subject might be. That seems unlikely, don’t you think?
The lure of lunch is strong
Was tasty food served in uniquely aeronautical settings a major driver of my quest to fly? No, it wasn’t even a consideration when I first got started in this business. But those mom and pop restaurants scattered from central Florida, to South Texas, to New England surely did provide a welcome perk that made all the studying, testing, and medical exams worth the trouble.
Carry that weight with style and accuracy
Weight affects performance. Sometimes positively. Sometimes negatively. Sometimes catastrophically.
It’s about heart, not heft
People have a tendency to discourage friends and family from seeking great adventures in aviation. The belief is often expressed that we aren’t prepared, or funded, or that we’re operating machines that were never meant to fly such a distance. Poppycock, I say.
It’s all about the blades
Propellers are a mystery to most. Even to pilots they are little more than an afterthought. They seem simple enough. They are little more than a fixed form attached to a spinning shaft that produces thrust when run up to enough RPMs. How it works, why it works, and what can be done to make it work more efficiently rarely comes up in conversation.
One size does not fit all
With approximately 18% of the pilot population holding a CFI ticket, it would seem obvious that scheduling a flight with a CFI would be easy. It should be a cake walk. So why isn’t it?
It’s always a good time to be proud
There is an old joke that virtually every pilot has heard and agreed with immediately. “How do you know there’s a pilot at your party? They’ll tell you.”