Why 'the houses get smaller'?
Because that's what happens when you fly. Pull the stick back, the houses get smaller. Push it forward, they get bigger. Pull it right back, they get smaller and smaller, before they suddenly start to get bigger again. I have no idea who first said that, but I quite like it.
I was going to call it "Earthbound Misfit", quoting Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd, but someone had already done that. And they're not writing about flying, either.
And yes, I know it really should have some capital letters, but it looked a bit neater at the top of the page in lower case, OK?
Why are you learning to fly?
Why not? I think the post Me and flying - how I got to this point might explain a bit more.
When do you think you'll get your licence?
It's a few years away, yet. I need a minimum of 32 hours for the National Private Pilots Licence, and 45 for the full PPL. Finances mean that I'm doing about one a month; inevitably, this will mean that a few things will slip out of my mind between lessons, so some of the time will be spent going over things I've already done.
That said, getting a licence is of secondary importance; yes, I want to do it, but the main thing is that I get to spend an hour or so every month sitting at the front of a plane going "Yay! I'm flying!".
So you're not going to become a commercial pilot, then?
Never say never - but it doesn't look likely. If a way of paying for all the training comes around (such as lottery wins, or mysterious philanthropists) then I'd consider it. Otherwise, I'm happy to leave it as a hobby.
Why blog about it?
A couple of reasons.
It's mainly to help confirm that I've understood what's going on - just like a geography teacher might ask their students to write about moraines to check they've understood what they've been taught. Except I'm setting myself an assignment, to write about learning to fly. I find that writing about things helps commit them to memory, too.
I also quite like writing, but have never been self-absorbed enough to start blogging about the minutae of my otherwise quite dull life.
What's a moraine?
Wikipedia says it's "any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock) which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions". Or to look at it another way: glacier poo.
Are you a geography teacher?
Heavens, no.
How do you get in a small plane when you're huge?
I'm not actually huge. A bit tubby perhaps, but not actually huge. The name started as a bit of an in-joke amongst my colleagues, because it bears a slight similarity to my real name.
Why are you posting under a pseudonym? Why don't you tell us where you are?
I don't really know. I may start to reveal more about who I am and where I fly from at some point.
I suppose you think you're funny?
Yes, but you're allowed to disagree.
