YesterdayQuote:
They didn't seem to mention the T38 that flew into the ground going super sonic doing the exact same thing, the week before we arrived.
I've flown with many, many military only trained guys at Delta who have told me straight up, they are afraid to fly little airplanes. I think it's due to this "Dangerous Civilians" thing that was being preached back then, and perhaps it still is in some places. But if you don't go out and experience the fun side of light airplane flying, well, you'll never know what you're missing.
I have no desire to own something like a Mooney, too expensive to maintain and if I want to go cross country fast, I'll non-rev on Delta with a beer in my hand. But I would love to own a Cub again. The most 'fun' flying I've ever done was always low and slow, into small grass strips or into a lake in an amphib. It's the complete opposite of military or airline type flying, no radios, no time constraints, do what you want, go where you want, just don't hit anything! True Freedom!
My neighbor is Phil Lockwood who manufactures the Air Cam. That is probably the most fun airplane I've ever flown. Check out his videos. He said most of his customers are airline guys who are sick and tired of going high and fast, straight and level. Yanking and banking down in the weeds is much more fun, in an open cockpit, more fun still! On floats? Even more fun!
Wait... let's do it in formation?? YES! More fun than you should be allowed to have!
Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoHutUGv4U
I went through training in the early 90s and I remember *some* of the views expressed which you relate in your post above.Originally Posted by Timbo
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but when I went through UPT (1983-4) there was a huge bias openly expressed by many of our senior instructors (Majors and up) against, "Those Dangerous Civilian Pilots!". They would quote accident statistics and tell horror stories about some idiot who flew his C172 into a cloud, got vertigo and crashed. They didn't seem to mention the T38 that flew into the ground going super sonic doing the exact same thing, the week before we arrived.
I've flown with many, many military only trained guys at Delta who have told me straight up, they are afraid to fly little airplanes. I think it's due to this "Dangerous Civilians" thing that was being preached back then, and perhaps it still is in some places. But if you don't go out and experience the fun side of light airplane flying, well, you'll never know what you're missing.
I have no desire to own something like a Mooney, too expensive to maintain and if I want to go cross country fast, I'll non-rev on Delta with a beer in my hand. But I would love to own a Cub again. The most 'fun' flying I've ever done was always low and slow, into small grass strips or into a lake in an amphib. It's the complete opposite of military or airline type flying, no radios, no time constraints, do what you want, go where you want, just don't hit anything! True Freedom!
My neighbor is Phil Lockwood who manufactures the Air Cam. That is probably the most fun airplane I've ever flown. Check out his videos. He said most of his customers are airline guys who are sick and tired of going high and fast, straight and level. Yanking and banking down in the weeds is much more fun, in an open cockpit, more fun still! On floats? Even more fun!
Wait... let's do it in formation?? YES! More fun than you should be allowed to have!
Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoHutUGv4U
I had my ratings prior to flight school except for CFI/I/MEI, so I had been exposed to light GA.
I remember thinking that many of those 'dangerous civilian pilots' that the ready room warriors complained about were often MUCH more knowledgeable about many other aspects of aviation than the pure military trained pilots - just basic FARs for instance such as airspace designation. The pure military pilot knew the airfield they trained at and the MOA/Warning Area they practiced in - - - nothing else.
As a young PPL trainee I was operating out of Class C/D/ and uncontrolled fields, getting flight following from ARTCCs, etc....
As far as wanting to spend my *off* time flying, I see many examples of both sides both in the military and in my current job. Personally, I have a disposable income and I'd rather spend it on other things than airplane rentals, flying club dues, partnerships, etc.... when I have the opportunity to fly for work (and I'm not always going point A to point B, straight and level in the FLs on the autopilot (so I regularly scratch that hand flying bug).
