But it got me thinking. I don’t remember an awful lot about that
very first “intro flight”. I mean I remember flashes, I recall being absolutely
horrified when Bob suggested that I might be responsible for the actual
takeoff. I remember being genuinely interested in the walkround and what all
the bits did, but I knew it wasn’t sticking in my head.
The main thing I don’t remember is how the hell RTH got me down to that
airport in the first place, knowing that I was about to fly a plane. I
mean I must have known that I was going to go flying, because I was clutching
the spare headset in its little bag. At this point RTH was still a student as
well, I think he had a lesson booked but had cancelled it or something and I
took his spot. I’m still not convinced that I really knew that I was going flying. To this day I maintain that RTH tricked me into starting this whole business!
I don’t remember a lot of the instruction for those first few
flights either. I mean Bob must have woven some kind of magic in the plane to
get me back there in the first place, challenging stuff when I wasn’t that
communicative at all really.
I remember being scared and anxious (and nauseous!) just before I got in the plane
but I distinctly recall the feeling of elation that accompanied my walk home.
I don’t remember talking to Bob about taking more lessons. Maybe I
emailed him? I have a suspicion that RTH acted as a go-between for a little
while at least. You may ask yourself why I was so reluctant to even admit to
Bob that I wanted another lesson. The truth is that I’ve always been ashamed of
my flying fear, for all kinds of reasons. I didn’t want to admit to someone who
was obviously so calm and confident in the cockpit, that I was so darn scared.
I didn’t want to admit that I threw up before every flight despite his (and RTH’s)
assurances. But mostly I think I was scared that if I admitted to myself, RTH
or Bob that I wanted to become a pilot, that they’d laugh out loud.
I don’t remember when that feeling stopped either.
But it did.
*So many people tell me that they'd love to learn to fly but...... I wonder what stops them? I mean if I can do it anyone can.
*So many people tell me that they'd love to learn to fly but...... I wonder what stops them? I mean if I can do it anyone can.
I have pondered the "why don't people who profess a desire to fly actually do it?" question. I boiled it all down to the obstacles people deliberately and unwittingly place in front of their ambitions.
ReplyDeleteHere's an example of an unwitting obstacle.
"It's too expensive." A rather ignorant statement that with a bit of diligent research and financial nous can be quantified and compared with your current financial situation. For some people it will be too expensive, but considering I know a teenage girl who stacks supermarket shelves to pay for her flying training where there is a will there is a way.
Here is an example of a deliberate obstacle.
"I am too uncoordinated/stupid/mechanically illiterate to fly." You and I are both in the category that the majority of student pilots start in. Not naturally gifted. Flying just like any learned skill is just that, a learned skill. Just like driving a car or operating a mobile phone, it is a skill that can be acquired by just about anyone with the drive. I have met someone who simply isn't a pilot, but this is an extreme case.
I often wonder if we, as pilots contribute to this a little bit as well. I mean we want it to sound hard and difficult because we want people to acknowledge what we've achieved.
DeleteOf course it is hard and difficult, but it isn't impossible, it just seems that way when you first start!
I firmly believe that if I can do this then ANYONE can.