Hi everyone, I'm completely new to flying and have decided that since I enjoy leaning around corners and getting my 200hp bike airborne at speed that I may as well go to the next level and stay in the air a bit longer.
I'm looking forward to gracing the skies and mostly the education and discipline that goes with it. I enjoy learning new things and find that the saying "If you don't use it, you lose it" is accurate and true, especially when it comes to "grey-matter" and youthfulness of the body.
Having flown a glider, I feel that both the bikes (when riden the way they were intended to perform) and aircraft have some striking similarities, namely that "what goes up must come down" and that both disciplines require firstly a good teacher, then a good student. Throw in appreciable hand-foot-eye coordination (the ability to use each appendage independently, uniformly & automatically), the need for 360deg. spatial awareness, the ability to fully focus the mind on the task at hand (be "in the now"), to have the ability to discern conditions, distances, relative speed and be able to do what seems to be counter-intuitive in emergencies.
Riding high speed missiles certainly has the mind working on a heightened level, with senses keen and the body responsive. The old saying "he who hesitates is lost" applies here as I'm sure it would also do to flying.
Our bikes are capable of 300kph, get there in about 15 secs, and spend most of the time either pawing the air or going sideways. A good sharp rise in the surface will launch the bike, airborne for 30 metres or more, pitch and yaw needs compensating to make a good clean landing.Very exciting stuff but one mistake and it all comes undone very quickly.... and it really hurts!!!
Enter : Flying!
As I age I feel the need for freedom more and more and look forward to seeing the world from a higher perspective. With full appreciation to inherant dangers, it has been my experience that a life without calculated risk is very boring and dull, therefore I refuse to grow old gracefully. However, instead it is my aim that any future gracefulness will be experienced by me in the skies above and not in a nursing home (which from my experience is a place of a certain end of a certain kind). Nobody ever seems to come back from those places, have you all noticed?
So, I'm a newbie, here to say hi and at the start of the new journey, mindful of the right attitude and hopefully with a good teacher I'll learn the right habits. I expect to make mistakes on the way, it's not really "learning" without them.
I've been advised to learn to fly in a tail-dragger with the understanding that it'll make for a better pilot, especially when it comes to emergencies. I'd be very interested to hear what other members may have to say about this and will welcome any tips or advice that only experience can give.
Thanks for reading this "essay", I hope I haven't caused any boredom and look forward to hearing from others.
Cheers, Andre
