Background Info

Why I took flying lessons

• Believe it or not, I didn't get the urge to fly until mid-1995. Before that, I had flown only as an airline passenger. I've never had a fear of flying, and I've always thought it was neat to be able to go across the country in a few hours, but to me aviation was just another profession. I had been a computer guy for a decade, and I was not looking for a new career. (Which is a good thing, because it takes a long time and a lot of work to make a decent living as a pilot.)
• In the summer I like to take a vacation somewhere cooler, so in June 1995, I went on a cruise in Alaska. I was going to take a helicopter sightseeing flight, but I noticed that I could get a longer flight for less money in a plane. I signed up for a sightseeing flight over the glaciers near Juneau in a Cessna seaplane, my first ride in a small plane. I liked it so much that I took another flight the next day from Ketchikan through the Misty Fjords National Monument. After those flights, I thought it might be fun to learn to fly, but not anytime soon. It must be too expensive or difficult, I thought.
• When I got back to work, I mentioned the trip to a friend who is a licensed pilot, but doesn't fly for a living. He took me for a flight in August. After that I realized flying was something I could pursue, and that it wasn't as expensive as I had assumed. (Thanks, Julian.)
• Summer is a bad time to take flying lessons in Florida due to the heat, humidity, and frequent thunderstorms, so I spent the next couple of months reading up on the subject. I gave it a lot of consideration, and my thoughts went back and forth between "I want to start soon" and "What am I doing even thinking about becoming a pilot?". I was a little overwhelmed by all the material, since I was reading everything I could find, even advanced topics like instrument flying. Even some of the basics aren't easily grasped when you've never been at the controls.
• I also started reading the newsgroup rec.aviation.student, which is a great place to start if you're curious about flying. A lot of experienced pilots hang out there and will answer your questions.
• In October I had more vacation time to use, so I went to Las Vegas. From there I took a flight through the Grand Canyon which rekindled my interest in lessons.
• When our extended summer finally ended in late October, I started looking around for a flight school. It wasn't tough, since I was already leaning toward Vandenberg Airport near Tampa, where my friend had taken me. It was also the closest training site to my home and work. I took an intro flight on November 1, 1995, and the rest is in the log.

Why I created this site

• Friends asked me to keep them informed on my training, so this is for them.
• I'm hoping to inspire some of them to become pilots, too, so I don't have to do all the work.
• Tom Cruise "too busy" to play me in movie version.
• I've been looking for a good reason to create a website, and until I find it, I'm working on this one.
• It's a blatant ploy to meet other students and pilots. Send me some e-mail with your feedback.
• I tricked Judge Ito into counting this page as "community service".
• It's comedic relief for the more experienced pilots out there.
• The Beatles refused to turn my flying experience into a concept album.
• Internet connect time is a lot cheaper than flying.