Aileron

And by you, I mean me, because I'm in no place to tell you what to do.

Both aircraft rental and flight instruction are pay as you go, so it's easy to half-heartedly get started, lose interest, pick it up again and relearn what you forgot, lose interest again, all the while burning cash. Only 20% of students in the United States who start flight training actually attain a certificate. Although there's merit to lessons even if they doesn't result in a certificate (it's time spent flying after all), it's best to make deliberate decisions when resources are not unlimited. So let's walk through my thoughts here.

The question "Flying is expensive and dangerous; why would you want to do that?" will emit from probably anyone not infatuated with aviation. It's a difficult question to respond to because yes, flying is undeniably expensive and yes, there is risk involved. As an aside, the risk viewpoint is fueled by the media's sheer relish in reporting small plane crashes (compared to, say, car crashes, or bicycle crashes) and by a nebulous concept of risk. I think the media's distortion of general aviation is unfortunate, but I can't blame them, as I'm just as interested as anyone to see and hear about a plane crash; and whoever said the media was supposed to be objective? Anyway, the risk aspect of aviation is multifaceted and needs its own post, so for now we'll just say flying is expensive and leave it at that.

What will make the expense worth it? My reason for wanting to fly is because it's fun. Airplanes are fun, even on the ground. They have wings, they have propellors; do I really need to continue? Sure, I'd like to get to the point where I can fly to remote airfields and visit otherwise inaccessible places, but that would be a happy side effect; the reason to fly is because it's fun. It's interesting and challenging and asks of you an understanding of both the physical forces which we have learned to control and of the rest of the world which we have not.

Fun should be taken very seriously. Although I can't say where this will lead, I've learned that good things come from incubating little baby passions. If there is the baby passion for something and the resources to feed it, then I should do it.