Ever stop to think how lucky we are?

[bigD]

A little bit ago, I took advantage of some long overdue VFR weather and headed out to the airport to bore holes in the sky. After tooling around in the Duchess for awhile, I set her down at a small airport nearby and shut down on the grass. I spent about two hours sitting on the wing root watching a 152 and a Decathlon chase each other around the pattern. Anyway, it was one of those moments where you couldn't help but smile and take it all in.

Do you guys (and gals!) ever stop to think how cool it is to be so passionate about something? I used to think that everyone had their passions, and mine was aviation. But really, especially when looking at many of my friends - I think what we have is more rare than we might realize.

One friend recently told me that she didn't have any real passions at all, and was content doing what she was doing. This is a woman who by all accounts is brilliant, and could literally do essentially anything she could dream of. But yet she says she feels like she's destined for a life of mere contentment because she doesn't dream about anything. She works to not be unhappy. It's this conversation that got me thinking that perhaps I'm taking what I have for granted. It's just one of those moments where I realize that although I have a long way to go and the industry looks a little bleak at the moment, I always have something to work towards, and the process of getting there never fails to put a smile on my face. I'd bet that most of you feel the same way.

Okay, I'm done. Sorry for a post that doesn't have anything to do with anything - I'm in one of those moods.

 

[startingout]

Funny you should post this. I was thinking about this very thing yesterday. I think that those of us who can be predisposed to getting in the dumps about career prospects, could do well to take some VFR time and just re-discover the joy and excitement that first brought us here.

 

[CooCooTim]

I hear ya BigD!

I've had a few of those days along the way...It's a nice feeling!

 

[Lindy]

Last night....

I was just thinking how lucky I was last night flying part of my route BOS-PHL. It was CAVU, the lights of NYC were spetacular, the stars were beautiful, the boats in the ocean also looked like stars, and it was very, very peaceful.

 

[bigD]

I grew up in Los Angeles, and did a good amount of my training there. Usually the weather is clear with 5 miles in haze, but especially in the winter time there'd be days where the nights were cool, calm, and the visibility seemed to go on forever. I'd fly out to the Elephant Bar in Santa Barbara with my buddies, and on such nights at a high altitude (for a Warrior, at least), the lights just seemed to go on forever. It was amazing.

I'd love to go back and do some flying there, but I think all the FBO's and clubs that I used to be checked out at have since gone Tango Uniform.

 

[TriStar_drvr]

Yes I do, and yes we are...

I still love it as much as day one.

 

[flywithruss]

This is still the best d@mn business in the world, folks ... let's never forget it! FlyChicaga hit the nail on the head ... most of us got in to aviation because we followed the same advice I got from my dad ... "Find something you love to do so much, you'd do it for free. Then, figure out how to earn a living doing it."

Perhaps we can all think about that in the middle of the next argument about scope, furloughs, or ALPA's latest sins! I'm not downplaying the seriousness of these issues, but I think too many of us lose sight of how fortunate we are to do what we do for a living.

Get the furloughs back in their seats, the swimmers in to class, and the rest of us moving on up ... but don't ever lose sight of the excitement we enjoy every time we call "positive rate".

I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance.

R

(Thanks to Garth for the shameless [no pun intended] ripoff.)

 

[bobbysamd]

Flying - for its own sake

I haven't flown any kind of aircraft for several years. Still, most times, if I hear some kind of engine, I look up at the sky. Been doing it since I was a kid.

My office is a couple of miles away from a big GA airport. I go walking during my lunch hour. Invariably, I see bizjets, Cessnas and KingAirs. Heavies, 1900s, etc. from DEN. We live near a military field. At night we hear loud roars, undoubtedly from the F-16s. Who cares about noise abatement?

Too bad there's so much BS you have to put up with and deal with for flying to put dollars in your billfold. Of course, you can say the same thing about any job.

PS-Thanks, bigD and TDTURBO! Where is Dracos? I'd bet he'd have a great post to contribute on this subject.

 

[Bai B Nai]

There's a golf course near our field, and when inbound for landing, seeing the folks chase the little white ball, I think, "You poor b*****ds."

Too each his own, but no other activity beats flying.

 

[bigD]

Man Bobby - why don't you go get yourself current again? Get a couple of hours of dual in a Skyhawk and you'd be all set! Or better yet, go buy a J-3. Or even better yet, go buy a J-3 and do some part time instructing! I've spent 7 months on this board reading your posts, and if I may be so bold - you need to be teaching again.

 

[TDTURBO]

Bobbysand,

Why haven't you flown for so long? Thats horrible! Especially since you stay up on eveything.


I feel the same as everyone else, I love flying so much, I became a doctor just so I could fly. I tried going the military route but I was too tall, (6'6"), for fighters and helicopters. I just put my mind to it and set a goal that no matter what, I was going to find a way to fullfil my lifelong dream. I started and finished my private by 18, stayed barely current until I could finally afford my own ride. There is allot more to it but the bottom line is I would have sacraficed an extremity to fly, I love it so!

BTW: Great thread and post BigD!

 

[Captain Radio]

Because I fly, I envy no man, woman or child.

 

[FastCargo]

When I was a kid...

Remember when you were a young kid? And someone would ask what you wanted to be when you grew up? And usually (it seemed like) it was always something everyone instantly knew. You know (in a kid's voice) "Fireman!", "Policeman!", "Astronaut!", "Pilot!". You have to wonder out of how many people who said things like that when they were young, who actually got to do what they wanted. I consider myself lucky that I am doing what I have literally always wanted to do!

I'm also glad I have a wife who loves airplanes (her dad was a mechanic for Pacific Western/Canadian), and we both look up everytime a plane flies over the house...

Sometimes I forget that...and usually smack myself upside the head when I regain my perspective.

FastCargo

 

[avbug]

Not lucky. Blessed.

I feel grateful for the chance, and deeply humble for the opportunity. I feel a deep obligation to share that gift, and to treat it with the honor and respect it deserves.

The privilege of flight is indeed a blessing.

 

[HU-16]

Wonderful thread, thank you to BigD for starting it. I hope I never lose my passion for flying. It's funny, the friend that introduced me to flying no longer speaks enthusiastically about it. And I only have a few friends that do. As I climb the ladder, I hope that I will never lose that passion. I guess the glass is always half full to me, so it shouldn't be a problem. As I once told a songwriter friend "If I could put into words how I feel flying, I could write a million songs."

PS-Bobby go fly!!!