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Thread: When to give up
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Old 25th Oct 2006, 08:17
  #98 (permalink)  
cessna l plate
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Manchester
Age: 53
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Hello again Mad Bear et all
What has happened to me this week might put your problem into perspective a little and demonstrate exactly what I have been talking about recently.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was nearly there, and would take a week off work to get the ppl done and dusted, that is this week.

On Sunday I pitched up with a plan of action, and money available to only just get it sorted. The planned navigation exercise went appaulingly, and over 9 legs I made a dogs breakfast of 8 of them (missing Skegness by about 20 miles was the pinnacle) This was a little set back, but I learnt from the experience, did the same trip on Monday and only loused up one leg, and even sorted out the diversion as well. All looking good.

Monday night I decided to have a look at my credit card statement. Big mistake!! There was nowhere near as much in the pot as I thought.

I re-evaluated what I did have available, and then changed the plan of attack. I went and did some more solo and general handling yesterday, today I will brush up the steep turns (does make you dizzy after a bit) and do some more solo, and tomorrow, with the last of my money I will be looking at doing the instrument part of the training.

My objective has dramatically changed due to money and for no other reason. The bad nav trip didn't help as I was paying to screw up, but I then looked at it positively, I needed to do that. If it had been prefect all the way round then if I ever where to get lost I wouldn't have a clue. What I am doing now is completing my basic training and trying to get my solo time up a bit. The next time I have some spare resources to fly with I will need a couple of hours to knock the rust off, and off to QXC and skills test, training complete. This also gives me time to concentrate on getting the ground exams out of the way as well, all in all I am far from happy, and indeed feeling down at the moment, as I cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel again, well I can, but it's a train coming at me, but I have been here before, and no doubt I will get there in a couple of years or so.

What I am trying to say is that like all things in life, just when you think things are OK, life and reality comes along and delivers a swift one up the jacobs. Flying is no exception to this rule, but stick at it and it will come. I have resigned myself to not flying again this year, and we will see what happens next year, but with what I have available I will have completed all my basic training and moved on from where I was 6 months ago. Until last week I didn't know how to navigate, now, although hardly an expert, I can get round, so I have moved on, gained something, and taken one more step towards my ppl.

Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint and there are no prizes for passing quickly! Like those kids you see on the telly from time to time, passing degrees at 13 or 14. Great, but are they all multi-millionaires or MD's of large multi-nationals, or are the people in those jobs the sort that took their time about the learning process?
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