Josh
What a brilliant post. It took me back to the days of another kid who'd go to airshows when he could, watched from afar, always dreamed of being able to get close to aircraft. Nothing else mattered. He later joined the military just to be close to them, learned to fly gliders to enjoy the wonder and marvel of flight. He talked his way into flying in as many types as possible - handling the controls when he could. Still dreaming of the day when he could fly a powered aircraft himself, but never thinking it was possible.
A few years down the line - he works sat at a screen. It's round with a 'sweep' on it, symbols that show heights and positions - working the other side of the cones and the other side of the runway. I'm still near aeroplanes, I have aviation friends. I get to hang around modern jets and warbirds. It's not 'work' to me (probably never will be
), it's still fun.
The same sort of fun as when I get in my shared Piper Archer and fly to France for the day, or fly an IFR approach to minimums in a twin engined Aztec, or am sat up at 35000 in the co-pilots seat of a corporate jet.
Yes - we are very, very lucky. It's something I never forget - I often think back to when I was younger and think "Dreams can come true".
Enjoy your flying, enjoy the friends you'll meet in our global community, enjoy the feeling everytime you step in an aircraft and run through those pre-start checks. Remember with it the power of dreams - if you want something enough you can travel as far down the road as you want, achieving anything you want. The first steps you're about to take can sometimes be the hardest - but once you start - never stop!