Friday, 26 April 2013

I don’t wish to alarm you…

…but I think our engine just quit!

Words spoken by me as we made a series of tight turns in order to find some lift. Yes I was in a glider!
Luckily Insane Instructor (as he shall evermore be known!) has a sense of humour compatible with mine. In fact he started it!

Gems of wisdom from him included him screaming “No, I’ve changed my mind!” as the tow plane dragged us along the runway! He also asked me “did you want me to open my eyes yet?” just as the tow plane released us.
I replied that either way was fine with me and in fact I often found my landings were better with my eyes shut (only joking Bob, honest!)

The glider flight was exactly what I needed for a break, the complete opposite of what I do with Bob in so many ways.
Bob is a gentleman, Insane Instructor spent the entire flight making crude jokes about “ his stick between my legs!” and variations thereof.

Bob explains things very carefully until he’s 100% sure I’m happy. Insane instructor just jumped in and off we went.
Insane Instructor totally gets my sense of humour and crude outlook on life. We had some seriously outrageous banter going. Bob’s far too polite to use that kind of language in front of me.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand exactly what’s going on here. Both of them are trying to achieve very different things. To Insane Instructor I’m a tourist to entertain. Bob is trying to make a pilot out of me. Of course we need to be more disciplined. Bob is in this for the long term. Kind of like the difference between a marriage and a one night stand, to put it into terms Insane Instructor might use.
And of course, I can’t really criticise Bob’s approach, when if it weren’t for him and the confidence he’s  given me, I would never have booked that glider flight in the first place.

 

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