Why do you fly?

[Yenn]

It seems to me that there are many reasons we fly and they can be very different.

 

I hadn't had a hankering to fly, until I saw an ad in a paper. Learn to fly. The flying school would come to you and get you started. That seemed a good idea. I could probably afford it and in a dusty small town off the beaten track it was too tempting to ignore.

 

They brought a Piper Cherokee out from Mackay to Collinsville and I did the first hour, then more, until they realised that the ferry flights were consuming any profit. At $11 per hour there wouldn't have been much margin.

 

I then had to drive to Mackay, but of course I was hooked.

 

My job then took me to Victoria and flying Cessnas out of Grovedale was keeping me interested, then to Whyalla and flying the Victa Airtourer. Eventually I got the PPL at grovedale and flew in quite a few places, until family commitments meant I wasn' t doing enough to keep current, so I let it lapse, but it is nearly impossible to get it out of the system and ten years late I was getting into Ultralights. I even got around to buying a Thruster. Then I built a Corby so I could get there even if the wind was against me. That meant I now wanted two seats, so I built the RV4.

 

Now I have two planes to fly, both with good performance, although the Corby is very frugal with fuel and most of my flying is just within 100 miles and a means to relax and think how great it is to be able to climb up in the sky, have a look around, practice all those things, that you miss on cross country flights and let the woes of the World disappear.

 

How do you enjoy your flying?

 

 

[dazza 38]

Flying for me is a release. Like motor bike riding. I can forget about stuff.

 

 

[facthunter]

Won't bore you. Built models at nine years of age.. Started in Chipmunks 9 years later at Newcastle (District Park) before they moved to Rutherford I've been very lucky to fly a fascinating variety of aeroplanes at a time when aviation and flying was much more of a "craft" and you flew them manually most of the time. and they leaked a lot of oil and things went wrong, and you had to think. We will never have those times again. It's probably some sort of addiction like smoking, other wise especially how things have gone for the last 6 years or so, when there's so much BS about,( which I can't stand), If I was in my right mind I would do other things. But I keep hoping it will get better. Nev

 

 

[dazza 38]

I have a 2003 KTM 640 adventure with only 17000 kays on it. Bought new . It doesn't leak any oil or anything, it runs like a well oiled machine. I did have to change a o ring behind one of the fuel taps(28 litre) tank. A few months after I bought it though. It has been great ever since.

 

 

[dsam]

My first flight was in 1969 in a DC3 as a 13 year old Air Cadet in Canada. Two years later I did my first solo in a glider, and by 18 I got my PPL in a Cessna 150 - Again all thanks to Air Cadets and their extensive training. We were using ex-WW2 Link trainers, Cutaway radial engines, Aerial Photography enlargers & print driers etc. All grass roots learning for me. I was infected with an enthusiasm for flying then, and could only afford to get back to flying after I retired a couple years ago. Luckily the skills & safety practices learned all those years ago stick with me today.

 

Somehow I remain buoyed with a sense of accomplishment following each flight I make these days, and look forward to each one as a new adventure, and a challenge to improve my skills. Long may it remain so.

 

 

[kgwilson]

I have loved flight and flying as far back as I can remember. I made kites & model aircraft as a small child & always wanted to fly. My teenage years saw me change to chasing girls and getting involved with motorbikes so the flying urge diminished for a while & then I wanted to travel around the world. In 1973 I saw a Swiss bloke jump off the Eiger in a primitive hang glider & was fascinated. When I got back home that was what I wanted to do & formed a club with a bunch of other crazy young blokes, built my first glider from parka nylon & bamboo, then progressed to real factory built hang gliders which I flew for 20 odd years but gaining my PPL along the way. I can't think of the time in the future when I will not be able to pilot an aircraft. I know it will come eventually but would like to think I can still get up there with a pilot beside me who will still allow me to feel the thrill of commanding the machine I am flying in.

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

Bit of a long story, I will condense it a bit.

 

I lived near Parafield in primary school. My mate and I would ride our push bikes to the airfield a couple of times a week and talk to the lames and look at the various planes.

 

We asked if we could go for a flight,the response was ok if we got our parents written permission.

 

Don, my mate got his but mine refused. He bought a helmet and goggles and me a push bike.

 

Don went on to fly commercial and I went bush.

 

Years later I worked at a large sheep station, the boss inspected the waters daily with me in his 172, I remember saying to myself one day I will do this.

 

Forward 40 years. I built with some mates a kit J 230 and then progressed to purchasing my own factory built 7 years ago.

 

600 odd hours later and having flown to most of the outback of OZ I only wish that it had happened sooner.

 

Phil

 

 

[alf jessup]

Apparently from about the age of 3 my mother said I would leave the dinner table anytime I heard a light plane, would watch it until I couldn't see it any longer, all my pocket money earnings from my childhood paper round was spent on flying magazines & model planes.

 

Always had a fascination with light aircraft and no interest in jets or airliners.

 

At 22 married with a couple of kids I started flying lessons at YLTV, did about 21hrs with 8 of that solo before we had the recession we had to have apparently in 1987 so it got shelved again until 2004 when I took up trike flying, 2 different trikes, 8 years and 760hrs later I then went back to the dark side & got my RAA conversion, hired a J160 until I bought my Tecnam Sierra 2 years ago and now over 250hrs in 3 axis I still love flying.

 

What do I like about it, nothing I love it the ultimate feeling of freedom and the view, ohhhh the view, still amazes me every time I look out along the slender wings and wonder how that invisible force is keeping me suspended above mother earth.

 

I fly because I can and can afford it, I'm not a boozer or a gambler other than lotto so I have to spend money on other things than the wife, kids & grandkids

 

 

[SDQDI]

I also like most little boys always had a yearning to fly, I can remember my first helicopter ride and absolutely loved it, but also like a lot of others I never had the finances to set aside to do it. I grew up, got married and it was all kept in the back of my mind. Then on one long drive home from the inlaws I was getting frustrated with the traffic and speed limits and I said to my wife "this would be so much better if we could fly down here." And she said "well why don't you get your licence?" So that week I started ringing around and organised my tif.

 

Once I learnt a bit more about the differences between GA and RAA I decided I would start with RAA and at a later date I would get my ppl so I could take the whole family. After getting my certificate I started to seriously look around at aircraft and as we all know there are so many things to consider, I was tossing up whether to get a 2 or a 4 seater and decided if I had a 4 seater it would spend too much time in the shed and when it was time for me to take the family I would be too rusty. So I decided to look at two seaters so I could fly every opportunity and keep my hand in and then just hire a 4 seater as needed. (I still haven't gone and got my ppl but it is still my intention) touring without the family isn't really an option and after learning in the j3 cub I had a taste for high wing tail draggers so the hornet was an easy choice (especially after meeting the friendly crew at taree, don't mean to blow their trumpet but they are good)

 

All up I went over 18 months without flying but have now had the hornet at home for 12 months and have done just over 130 hours in her.

 

I'd do it the same all over again if I had the chance, I'm loving it

 

 

[red750]

For me, it is "Why did I fly?" My introduction to aviation was when I was in high school. My father took my brother and me to an airshow at Deniliquin Airport. I was fascinated by the aircraft and aerobatics, not from the point of view of flying myself, but more from the wonder of flight. I took up the hobby of building model aircraft, both flying models of gliders and rubber powered aircraft, as well as plastic scale model construction kits.When it came time to leave school, I applied to join Ansett Airlines as an aircraft mechanic, but unfortunately all vacancies had been filled and I missed out.

 

The family moved from the country to live in Pascoe Vale, directly below the flightpath into Essendon, with Viscounts, Electras, 727's, DC9's and numerous other aircraft passing overhead day and night. At weekends, I would ride my pushbike to the airport to photograph the planes and just watch them come and go.I would also take the train into the city and go to the heliport to watch the helicopters giving joyrides. I saved a little cash, and one day I bit the bullet and took a helicopter joyride, and the bug bit.

 

I took a trial instruction flight at Moorabbin. I found that I liked it and thought I could do it, and in a concentrated three week training course, I got my restricted PPL in a Beechcraft Sport. Eighteen years later, like Yenn, family commitments meant I wasn't doing enough to keep current, so I let it lapse, but wasn't able to resume before medical conditions meant I couldn't pass the medical.

 

I flew for the exhilaration, and because I wanted to do something that not every Tom, Dick and Harry was doing.

 

 

[skeptic36]

built my first glider from parka nylon & bamboo

Wow, do you have any pics of that?

I don't have the usual history of a lifelong interest in aviation most of you have. I took a TIF in a trike when on holiday one time, thought it was great and bought the books to learn to fly. Was too busy to get started straight away and in the meantime I noticed there where way too many accidents in those things and decided not to continue. Several years later I was perusing the bargains on EBay , and there was a cheap one for sale. I didn't buy it, but it got the juices flowing again and I started reading the actual reports on some of the accidents, the reality is most of them where the result of acts of absolute stupidity. I decided I would do my best to avoid that sort of thing and give it a go. These days, if I haven't flown for a while and I ride my motorbike past the end of my strip, I get a feeling of excitement and sometimes I just have to ride down that strip flat knacker......

 

The three dimensional thing I think adds to the excitement, Jet skis and the like are just boring in comparison. The incredible view and the chance to share the fun with others are also factors for me

 

 

[rgmwa]

I remember watching seagulls soaring over the house when I was about 4, and wishing I could do what they did. Built rubber powered kits from about the age of 7, read all the Biggles books I could find, and then started building and flying control line models at 14. Couldn't afford R/C in those days. Toyed with the idea of flying as a career in my late teens, but then life went in other directions. Fast forward about 40 years and my wife decided to buy me an Aero Club 3-Lesson Pack as a Christmas present. Had the three lessons, found I liked the experience and challenge, so bought another three lessons and kept going until I got my GFPT in a C152. That was a big thrill. Then my instructor said I should do a PPL so I started navs in a C172. As I was nearing the completion of the PPL, I began to wonder what to do next. Wasn't thrilled by the thought of just hiring old, expensive aircraft for an hour or two for the rest of time, so went full circle back to my model days and decided to build a `12" to the foot' scale kit aircraft. The first crates arrived the day I passed my PPL at age 59. Spent... err... I mean invested a lot of money, but also had lots of fun building for the next four years. Learned a great deal along the way and met some fascinating aviation people. The end is finally in sight, and the first flight should be sometime next month, once I get the weight and balance done. After that .... lots of fun flying to different places, although I'll have to learn how to navigate again first. Flying and building are activities where you will never know it all, and you can never stop learning.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[kgwilson]

Wow, do you have any pics of that?

I did have one photo of it somewhere I took on an old instamatic but it would take me forever to find it now. I just looked at photos of the original Rogallo designs, heard of others building them out of bamboo & knew where there was a grove of 50mm -60mm diameter bamboo so cut down a bunch of canes & bolted them all together in the appropriate shape. The parka nylon was ridiculously thin & stretched massively but I just cut it to a shape I thought looked right & sewed a leading edge pocket in each side, passed it under the keel & then hand sewed about a dozen tabs over the top of the keel to stop it moving from one side to the other.

I found some old galvanised multi strand wire for support wires fore & aft & to the crossbar intersection but had none on the top & no kingpost. The control bar was just 3 bits of bamboo & I made a swing seat out of a piece of wood & some rope to somewhere near the C of G. My first dozen or so flight attempts failed & I crashed but eventually with mods & new parts got about 2 metres off the ground. It was hopelessly uncontrollable & it was eventually sacrificed in a bonfire we had at a party after I'd bought a real glider, a Seagull III.

 

 

[Yenn]

Well. That brought the old fellas out of the woodwork. I reckon we must average about 60 years old. But what a great age to be flying.

 

How did you all do your theory? I never had any one on one theory by an instructor, except in the plane. I did up to Commercial with the "College of Civil Aviation" my only regret is that I threw out all the lecture notes. I reckon I got a really good theory education from them.

 

Facthunter, those Chipmunks were just great to fly, but I regret that I have never flown a Tiger Moth. I still reckon De Haviland built the most beautiful plane. The Comet, in fact both types of their Comet. I saw the one that won the England Australi air race at Old Warden last year

 

 

[Riley]

...a re-hash of one of my posts a year or so back...

 

In Northern Canada at age 8 or so (when old enough to trek the 2 miles over bush roads to go fishing off the float plane dock of the local air service) having to haul up my lines and step away whenever a flight arrived or departed. Beavers, Norsemen, Wacos and numerous 2-place 'littlelys'. Occasionally, if the wind was wrong or the skipper stuffed up his taxi, being thrown a rope from the floats to assist with the docking - really made me a necessary part of the crew (or so I thought). I drooled at the activity and would have swapped my biggest, most prized catch of that whole summer for an offer of a flip. Alas, it was another three years (a 1/2 hr sight-seeing sortie as a birthday present) before I got airborne. Relying on a distant memory of half doors on a tandem float plane, I believe it must have been a J-3 Cub. Some +60 years later I re-newed/re-lived that flight by acquiring my own 2-seater, tandem hi-wing (unfortunately, not on floats). So... at age 8 I subconciously broached the subject - fishing or flying? I haven't been fishing for decades but, even though it took over a half-a-century, flying ultimately won out big time. cheers all.

 

 

[facthunter]

The Chipmunk has great control feel. Rudder is a bit small.

 

Plenty of Tigers around. Nothing like a Chipmunk, but a good experience. 3 point them, unless the wind is up. I don't see many doing it these days. If a tailwheel is fitted , rather than the original skid, the wheels are mover further forward and are braked so they are a bit harder to keep straight. You won't have any trouble after the types you fly. Nev

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Prefer then than now.

 

 

[facthunter]

In someways YES, but we have a lot more choice now. Not enough building going on (in the simple stuff) We need to make sure we don't lose what we have. I wouldn't like to pay the new price for a Chipmunk if they were available. Probably be about 600K Nev

 

 

[joeyo68]

Have you ever had a flying dream? I had them as a kid, but had forgotten until a couple of weeks ago. I'll get onto that in a minute.

 

I was always fascinated by aeroplanes. As a kid, it was plastic models, then pre teens, and early teens, it was radio controlled aircraft. Joined the Air Force cadets when I was old enough. A family friend would take me and my dad flying during my early teens. During year 10 at school, I completed my private theory at night, then left school to work and earn money to get my license. A few years later and I had a commercial with an instructor rating. "Living the dream" you could say. Then there was the recession we had to have, and I could not survive in a small country flying school, so I moved home and got a job in manufacturing. The usual story, got married, bought a house, had a couple of kids and couldn't afford to fly any more. Fast forward about 15 years. I get a new job and I meet a guy that flies RAA. So much has changed over the years with ultralights. I get a promotion, and although I still have a couple of kids at school, I now have some money to do a little flying again. So I get my pilot certificate, complete my GA AFR, and I am flying again. The more I fly again, I realise that the yearning to fly never really left me, as it is as strong as ever. I only really realised this recently when my mate emailed me a link to a Harrison Ford YouTube clip, and he asks the question at the start, "have you ever had a flying dream?", then all the memories of the dreams as a kid come flooding back into my consciousness. Now I can't get enough of aeroplanes again.

 

So why do I fly? Because I yearn to fly!

 

Joe.

 

 

[sfGnome]

Why do I fly? Perhaps this may provide the answer...

 

I was reading a message from our daughter on my wife's phone (with her permission, I hasten to add) when I noticed a message that my wife had recently sent to her. "You father's grumpy because <blah blah>, but he's going flying this afternoon so he'll be OK". Think she knows me well??

 

 

[BoxFat]

I think Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it best when he said "I fly because it frees my mind from the tyranny of petty things". Someone on this forum has that as their tag line, I forget who it is just now.

 

Saint Ex wrote not just some of the best ever stories about pioneering aviation but the best ever books full stop. My bestest, favouritest, most cherished book of all is his "Wind, Sand and Stars", a collection of stories of his days on the North Africa - South America mail run. Trust me, if you like reading, do not leave the planet without reading this book. It is incredibly poignant that Saint Ex himself left this existence mysteriously, somewhere over the Mediterranean, on a high altitude WWII recce flight in a P38 lightning, no trace ever found.

 

 

[Stoney]

I never had a boyhood dream of flying, it never crossed my mind. I never built models or visited airfields. I was horse mad. Sad to admit that as a teenager, I had picture of racehorses on my bedroom walls instead of girls.

 

I took my first commercial flight at age 28 from Launceston to Flinders Island and was terrified when the plane got caught in what I now think was perhaps a rotor. As we were dropping from the sky, a young girl a couple of seats in front of me, floated up to the ceiling and was pinned there until we came out of it. From then on flying terrified me and I would get a shiver up my spine just looking up at a passing plane.

 

I would rather drive 4 days to Darwin rather than endure the 4 hour flight, and would get sozzled in the bar before boarding an international flight. They were long journeys of abject misery and fear, even though I had read all about it being the safest form of mass transport. For at least a couple of weeks before a commercial flight, I would be getting more anxious, cold sweats and sleepless nights. My wife and friends would enjoy a great laugh at my expense, but it was just sickeningly horrible.

 

After telling my son of having a private panic attack on a flight to Singapore, he bought me a TIF for my 50th birthday. His reasoning was that if I had some understanding of flying, maybe my fear would diminish a little.

 

I nearly had a heart attack during the TIF, I never knew planes were that small, I felt as if the turbulence was going to throw us out of the sky. But, something must have clicked in the back of my mind. My wife was astonished a few weeks later when I

 

said I wanted to go for another TIF, now that I knew what to expect. The CFI suggested I do 6 weeks of lessons and study the theory book to learn more.

 

I was hooked after three weeks, got my PPL within eleven months, then my RA pilots certificate, and bought a half share in a J230.

 

One of the most satisfying days of my life, was taking my son who caused this strange addiction, up for a flight.

 

I went flying today, the conditions were not perfect, gusty, lumpy and bumpy. I flew down to Brooklands Park and had coffee with another couple of flyers, then flew over flyerme's place at Sherlock just for fun.

 

Flying back to Murray Bridge at 4,500' and still getting tossed around quite heavily, I caught myself literally laughing out loud to think of how far I have come. I had a huge smile for the rest of the day. I now feel relaxed and de-stressed.

 

When I am flying, I am just flying and I love it.

 

I read all of your posts with a bit of envy, you guys have made your childhood dreams come true. From being starry eyed kids building models and looking at planes, to becoming pilots, plane owners and builders. That must be such a special feeling, especially if it has taken many years to achieve it. I hope you take some time on every flight to think of how you got there and give yourself a pat on the back.

 

For me, every flight is very special. More than just mastery over my demons, but a true joy of being in the air and looking down on the world. I now can't imagine a time in my life when I won't be flying.

 

 

[alf jessup]

It's ok Stoney, your one of us now, just took you a little longer than most to realise your inner dream to come true:cheers:

 

 

[flyerme]

I was 6 years old and my uncles mate decided to sell his hang glider at our garage sale. I watched very intensively as put the giant red bird together. He then put me in this huge harness and hung me underneath. I refused to exit and hung there ALL DAY ( was one hell of a wedgie but I didn't care).He told me how to fly with weight shift and it stuck in my mind( even as a 6 yo). The thought of flying around with total freedom entranced me.

 

I too started on models advancing to being able to design and fly my own rc models. But it just never satisfied me enough.. I went on to fly my motor cycle( littarally)

 

But again that yearning fir flight possessed me.. Long storey short through a series of unbelievable coincidence ( or destiny? ) I found I was the proud owner of an ultralight .. So I owned a plane but oops. I had never actually been in a plane before! And I was afraid of heights... The rest is history :) Obsessed aviator

 

 

[facthunter]

Stoney Your post is very different and interesting. Thank you very much for it.

 

Building models from an early age, i was more interested in flight as a science and engines. I ever really thought of getting off the ground till I did a TIF at Albion Park and the pilot/instructor when I flew into a cloud said "we aren't allowed to fly in clouds", so it turned and flew out of it. There must have been just enough sky to see a bit, but I recall there wasn't much. I always thought flying (the real thing) was far too expensive for me to do. I had motor cycles and model planes, instead

 

Years before the TIF I used to hang around Newcastle Aero Club Looking at ALL the planes. (Newcastle was a very large show then with bases at Woolongong Taree, Mudgee) and spent a lot of time in the workshop there as one of the engineers was rebuilding a prewar BSA.

 

It was only when aeromodelling went to Radio Control that I decided IT (models) was too expensive and tried the full sized thing a bit more seriously. Nev