Why Fly?

I’m a pilot.  I love to fly airplanes.  It’s in my blood, and if a week goes by that I haven’t been able to fly, I feel like something is missing.  Yet occasionally, I find myself wondering, “why do I do this?  What is it about airplanes that make me drool and act like a four-year-old?”

Recently I learned that I’m not alone.  The question of “why do you fly” seems to vex most pilots, even the airline guys, and as they hmmm and hah over the answer their interested inquisitor moves on to something else.

Quite simply, I think flying is an adventure.  An amazing adventure!  The sort of thing that turns boys in to men, and gives you a whole new perspective on life that you would never get otherwise.

My adventure started as a gift, from a young lady who recognized that I always had my head in the sky – my fascination with airplanes a quick distraction from even the most serious of conversations.   She knew I’d be hooked, and in the years since that day I first tasted flight, the adventure remains.

As a pilot, the world is smaller, your perspective is different.  The freedom to roam the earth, free of such nuisances as traffic jams, mountains, and roads that only go certain places…. it’s invigorating!  Want to explore Alaska on a four-day weekend?  Sure!  (I’ve done it!)  Travel across the state for a burger and make it home for 2pm coffee with your brother?  Yeah!

No two flight are ever the same.  On every flight, my skills (and confidence) are tested, stretched, and honed.  I learn new things about the weather, the airplane, and most importantly, myself.  Can I keep the airplane at exactly the altitude I want, the speed I want, and the bearing I need to get me to my destination?  And, can I pick that airport out of the haze on a summer afternoon… and that other airplane that ATC just told me about off my right wing?  And how is that cold front and it’s associated thunder storms going to affect my ability to make it home?

And at the end of the day, every successful flight is an atta-boy, a little success that makes us feel good about ourselves.  A conquering of earth and machine.  Gravity can’t stop us, and neither can traffic jams!

I fly because it’s fun.  I fly because it’s challenging.  I fly because it keeps me healthy.  I fly because the world is very big and I have a very short life in which to explore it.  I fly because it’s an adventure, and I want to share that adventure with others.  I want others to experience the world in a new way.

If you’ve ever dreamed of flying, drop everything and call your local flight school RIGHT NOW and schedule your first lesson.  You’ll be glad you did.