Dean
Pattern Altitude
What you selling?
So long and thanks for all the fish
- Thread starter Ken Ibold
- Start date
What you selling?
It means nothing because it is a non valid term short of a debilitating brain injury. You are a pilot, you will be a pilot until the day you die. Whether you are flying or not is completely unrelated.
rottydaddy
En-Route
We all have our own ideas of what it means "to be a pilot", and you can do what you want, Ken, but just because you've left one pilot lifestyle behind doesn't mean that you can't fly anymore, let alone can't call yourself a pilot, IMHO.
Our flying stories are very different, but I also stopped thinking I was a pilot for a while and in retrospect it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Shaking off that delusion and "starting over" was one of the smartest things I've ever done, if one of the hardest. I've had more fun, learned more, and become a better, safer pilot just by jumping at any chance to fly anything these last few years than I did back when I was on the "treadmill" (no, not that treadmill, LOL).
I still have goals, and I still have standards, but I'm more flexible. Most of my flying in the last 12 months has been in a glider, not even landing away from the home field.... and I don't mind that at all. All of the most happy-making elements of flying are still there: learning, teaching, camaraderie, and of course the sheer joy of just flying. I hope to do more of the kind of flying I used to do eventually, and more advanced ratings, etc...and I know that when the time comes I can whip those old skills back into shape and learn new things as needed. Done it before, and I can do it again.
But right now, this is just fine. I've realized that instead of taking a hiatus year ago because of time, money etc., I could have probably started gliding, and kept at it. Or hang-gliding. Or anything that puts air between me and the ground. Why I chose to be a sad "ex-pilot" instead is beyond me.
You seem to have resigned yourself to non-pilot status because you no longer will work in close association with aviation... but heck, at least you have a job! I've been out of work for almost 2 months now, but I see the glass as half-full: more free time to help restore the club's training glider.
I know it's not just about money- for sure, unless you are paid to fly or flying is part of how you earn your living, it's a challenge finding time to fly as much as we would like, or do the kind of flying we "should" do. But "pilot" is a state of mind, apart from what can be logged.
Not sure when I'll be working again, or what I'll be doing... but I know I will keep flying whtever I can, whenever and wherever I can... and even when I cannot, I'll still be a pilot.
Our flying stories are very different, but I also stopped thinking I was a pilot for a while and in retrospect it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Shaking off that delusion and "starting over" was one of the smartest things I've ever done, if one of the hardest. I've had more fun, learned more, and become a better, safer pilot just by jumping at any chance to fly anything these last few years than I did back when I was on the "treadmill" (no, not that treadmill, LOL).
I still have goals, and I still have standards, but I'm more flexible. Most of my flying in the last 12 months has been in a glider, not even landing away from the home field.... and I don't mind that at all. All of the most happy-making elements of flying are still there: learning, teaching, camaraderie, and of course the sheer joy of just flying. I hope to do more of the kind of flying I used to do eventually, and more advanced ratings, etc...and I know that when the time comes I can whip those old skills back into shape and learn new things as needed. Done it before, and I can do it again.
But right now, this is just fine. I've realized that instead of taking a hiatus year ago because of time, money etc., I could have probably started gliding, and kept at it. Or hang-gliding. Or anything that puts air between me and the ground. Why I chose to be a sad "ex-pilot" instead is beyond me.
You seem to have resigned yourself to non-pilot status because you no longer will work in close association with aviation... but heck, at least you have a job! I've been out of work for almost 2 months now, but I see the glass as half-full: more free time to help restore the club's training glider.
I know it's not just about money- for sure, unless you are paid to fly or flying is part of how you earn your living, it's a challenge finding time to fly as much as we would like, or do the kind of flying we "should" do. But "pilot" is a state of mind, apart from what can be logged.
Not sure when I'll be working again, or what I'll be doing... but I know I will keep flying whtever I can, whenever and wherever I can... and even when I cannot, I'll still be a pilot.
Being that I flew in my dreams long, l-o-n-g before I really could do it in a plane, I would imagine those never go away.
Anthony
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Anthony
Yep. Henning nailed it. Ken, just because you are not in the industry any longer or don't own a plane, that does not mean you are a not a pilot. However, I understand once you give up these, its hard to feel the same. There are flying clubs, partnerships, home builts, LSA's etc in which to get back into it. When anybody sits their *ss in an airplane and flies it by themselves, they are pilots forever. Nothing can duplicate that feeling, that commitment and that confidence in yourself.
ClimbnSink
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Greg
Cool. Give it a rest and then you get to be a real pilot- One who flies for fun, and knows the darkness of flying for a living.