"Pilots talk about the `zone': that exciting moment when all attention is on one task. And it's exhilarating to be sharing airspace with the big jets and to follow a Boeing 737 on the instrument landing system."
Young male professionals with cash to spare used to be satisfied with driving fast cars, but that was all about speed. Flying, crucially, is about control. "It really brings out the traits of leadership," says Nicholls. "It's about mastering a complex skill and controlling a machine where there is always a real element of danger."
What a load of b*****ks. This sort of article does GA more harm than good, as it makes it seem the preserve of rich and/or reckless yuppies. I have known train drivers, policemen, sailors, ATCOs, garage mechanics and Civil servants who have held PPLs, and they have all flown out of love for aviation, not because it is the fashionable thing to spend the bonus on.
The suggestion that people are getting private licenses as an alternative to taking commercial flights is also a load of ****e. for starters you need a JAA IR to make it viable, and even then it would only make sense for relatively short distances. Some of the article comes perilously close to qualifying for the "Warballs" column in Private Eye.
All in all, it tells you a lot more about the attitude of the paper and the journalist than it does about aviation. People from all walks of life have been flying for years in this country, but the Telegraph only seems to notice when Yuppies start spending their bonuses on lessons.
Anyway, rant over, here comes Nursey with my medication..........
