What do you enjoy most about flying?

[Flyingdutchman]

Flying approaches (manual) in hardball IFR.. I love it

 

[Flightjock30]

Being a flight instructor and taking a student who has never touched the controls before of an airplane and having them solo based upon all the manuevers, procedures, and knowledge I have taught them to fly safely.

Back when I was a freshly minted private pilot...waking up at my home at 6 AM in the summer in New York, mapping out a flight to the coast of Rhode Island or Cape Cod, getting the weather briefing, then driving to the airport and after a preflight taking off into a clear blue sky on a georgeous summer morning to be on Block Island, Newport RI, or Marthas Vineyard within an hour! The descent over the coast is just BREATHTAKING. After touching down walking or cabbing it into town to go to small shops, the ocean, eat fresh seafood. Then making the return trip and being back in the late afternoon with a new suntan and many stories and fond memories.

 

[the_dimwit]

Like some others have said, the thrill for me is in the moment just after the mains leave the runway. The emotions that hit me when the "road vibrations" go away and I know that I'm airborne are wonderful.

It's no wonder that Icarus wanted to go higher...

--Dim

 

[JimG]

First thing: the faint whiff of avgas in the cabin.

Early morning takeoffs on a crisp, clear morning, as the sun is rising, the engines running smooth and you're climbing strong.

Big tailwinds at altitude without turbulence.

Quiet frequency, without alot of traffic and everybody's in a good mood.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

the smell of jet fuel in the early morning.. I love it

 

[jafo20]

All of it. Flying seems to connect me to the important, basic truths of the universe. When I'm not flying, I feel like I've lost something important.

When I was a kid, I thought Richard Bach described these thigns well, but now I'm not so sure. Love of flying, at least for me, isn't a superficial thing that can be summed up on a Hallmark card. Even when riding a bus to an airport at 4am, with crappy weather and some a$$ is making fun of a more competent dead pilot, a force in my guts tells me to keep flying. It's almost as powerful as my compulsion to keep breathing.

Heh heh... Then again, I'm a wierd one.

 

[Fury220]

Taking the jet and saving my own life (and my student's) when he does something dumb/dangerous/different always thrills me for some reason.

Doing a job that you enjoy and that matters to the world is always good for the soul....too bad I'm a FAIP, so I get neither. haha

 

[jbDC9]

A cool, clear, calm spring evening and a Citabria on a freshly mown grass strip. Bliss.

And on the other end of the spectrum; as a new hire B747-200 engineer, pushing up and setting the power for takeoff... man, the noise and power coming from those big ol' Pratt JT-9Ds on a (relatively) lightweight departure from Guam to Narita. Those engines had the coolest roar at T/O power... glad I was able to fly (engineer?) the 747 before it was retired.

 

[TurboS7]

Hot cars, hot chicks and oh yes I forgot, The paycheck.

 

[NYCPilot]

There are many things mentioned already that I also enjoy about flying. It presents many different challenges that you experience and learn from.

On thing I like to do although I've never taken any aerobatic instruction is to throw the plane around with the rudder and ailerons. Negative G's, pitching up really fast with some bank and doing the opposite on the way down. Jsut manipulating the controls around. Straight and level gets so boring. Its fun being able to operate in multiple dimensions.

 

[the_dimwit]

Another thing:

Pulling an airplane out of the hanger just as the sun is coming up on a cool morning, the sky just beginning to turn colors.

--Dim

 

[wildfreightess]

Watching the lightning dash across the sky in front of you.

St. Elmo's fire on the prop.

Turning down the instrument lights at night and seeing the stars.

Watching a sunrise from the air; flying in the light when you know the world below you is still dark.

Seeing the approach lights one-by-one when ATIS advertises 1/2SM and VV100.

Flirting with ATC at 4:30am.