Learning to fly for three...

My focus has been single minded for the most part. The goal is to fulfill my dream of becoming a Pilot in the most cost effective way possible. Before you judge me consider my position. I admit I maybe a little more budget conscious than most, but it’s important to me that I get the best deal possible in everything I pursue. I regularly troll 2^nd hand stores, looking to save on items by paying pennies on the dollar. Case in point:  A brand new Fat Max tool bag that retails for $39.95 I recently nabbed at Goodwill for $5 bucks! I was so excited, I pretended to shop but I was secretly taking a victory lap around the store. It’s become a competition, really. I can’t enter a store without heading for the clearance area first to see what deals are there to be had. I won’t even stop at car dealerships that boast their “no haggle” policy. Where’s the fun in that? I have been conditioned to settle for nothing less than the lowest price for the highest value and it's landed me  some amazing deals, but it's also kept me from experiencing some things that are important to me, that is, until recently.

My family was having a typical Sunday when my wife called me at work and told me that she had just received the news that her dad had passed. My father in law, affectionately known as “TJ”, had transitioned in his sleep and although he had faced some health struggles recently, it was a shock to all of us. TJ had been a father to me from the time I asked his permission to marry his daughter and he had taken on a greater role in my life when my own father had passed twelve years ago.  As I drove home to be with my family all I thought about was the last conversation I had with TJ about a month ago. He was recovering from a surgical procedure and doing quite well. We chatted for a while and I shared with him my renewed interest in aviation and how it had always been something that I wanted to do, but had constantly talked myself out of, to which TJ abruptly replied, “live your dreams, man, don’t just dream them. You want to get to your last day with as little regret as possible.” We continued our conversation about aviation and my father-in-law blew my mind with his vast knowledge of gulfstream jets. His “dream” comments didn’t resonate at the time because there was no indication to me that TJ was at the end of his life. I certainly didn’t know these words would be the last advice I would get from a man I admired as much as my own father, who, toward the end of his own life, had expressed regret in his decision to give up playing the piano completely in order to focus greater on his career. And now here I am driving home, astounded by the unlikely possibility that the two most important men in my life, who at different stages in my life, had taught me to be a better man, father, husband and son, had essentially left me with the same lesson: 

Minimize the regrets.

So as I continue to pound this defeatist procrastinator into a licensed Pilot, digging for deals on flight lessons and finding ways to save, all the while, complaining about just how expensive this process is, I will accept no excuses not to continue because now I realize that the fulfillment of this dream is no longer just for me. I’m going to learn to fly as a tribute to you, Pops, who gave up something you loved so that I could one day pursue my dreams. I’ll also learn to fly as tribute to you, TJ, who reminded me that dreams are to be lived.

(PS. TJ, tell Pops to be sure to save me a seat…)

An entry level to flight

It has been a life long dream of mine to fly. Don't misunderstand me, though. I've never dreamed of joining the Air Force and becoming a decorated fighter Pilot. I've never wanted to be an Airline Pilot or even work in the Airline industry for that matter. You see, when I say I've always wanted to fly, I mean just that. I've wanted to learn to pilot a plane my entire life for no other reason than my inner desire to soar the skies.

As a kid, Pilots were always the coolest characters to me in movies and television. They dared to soar the skies and looked cool doing it most of the time. That image fueled my desire to express such a freedom. The irony of this desire, of course, is the fact that, although I've wanted to fly since I was a kid, I actually
went up in a single engine general aviation airplane for the first time this year. This may not seem so ironic to you until you discover that I'm soon to be 48 years old.

Some dream, huh?

Some of you may be asking yourselves, if this was a lifelong desire, why did I wait so late in life to pursue it? The short answer is simple.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

The longer answer includes the fact that the fear of flight has been passed through my family like some grand tradition, though there has never been any incident to cause any member of my family to harbour such a mistrust. My father traveled the world most of his career by flight and yet, when he retired, he too no longer "trusted" flight and would not board a plane, no matter the distance.

There was also the belief that Flying lessons were financially infeasable. How could I ever justify such an expense for a hobby? Early in my career I met  a co-worker who shared with me his love of flight. I remember being so excited when he told me he had his PPL. "How did you find the money to accomplish that?", I asked him and he replied, " I have this rich friend who helped me pay for lessons and lets me fly his plane." You could have knocked me over with a feather. Once again, I was discouraged by what had been my reality to that point. Learning to fly was yet unattainable. I had no rich friend. I had no "sponsor." I had once again found an excuse not to pursue my dream.

A few years ago, my wife gave me an Ipod for my birthday to help occupy my two hour commute each way to work and back so I didn't have to fish through a car full of CDs. Of course, I'm old school, so I resisted at first but when I discovered how convenient carrying 200 songs on my person was, I was sold. While sniffing around in the Itunes store, I discovered podcasts. Talk about a revelation! I started downloading French lessons, college lectures, discussions on Jazz, you name it, all sorts of subject matter that would occupy this four hours a day I was spending in my car. Being very interested in Aviation, I had purchased the X Plane flight simulator software on Ebay and had goofed around with it a bit so I decided to see if there were any podcasts about flight simulation or flight training. EUREKA! I had hit pay dirt! There were several so I'd grab a few every couple of days and listen on the way to work. I enjoyed a few, could do without a few more, but one in particular reminded me of just how cool I thought Pilots were back when I was a kid. It was the Uncontrolled Airspace podcast. This podcast literally gave aviation back to me. Not only has it been very inspirational to me, it has introduced me to the general aviation community. I have, through this and other podcasts, discovered a wealth of  educational information on the internet, not the least of which is the Sports Pilot Certificate course created and developed as sort of an entry level to pursuing a pilot's license. The cost can be considerably less than the PPL and frankly, this program satisfies all of my aviation desires, for now anyway. This blog will chronicle my journey from defeatist procrastinator to licensed Pilot. It will cover my evaluation, enrollment, education and completion of a Sports Pilot certificate course and beyond. This once considered "unattainable" dream is now literally within my grasp.


Brace yourselves, because I'm fresh out of excuses.