What a thought-provoking topic...
I got hooked at 35, and had such a bad experience I didn't fly again for two years....but it niggled at me, every day. Life got in the way, but eventually, I cleared a space and went for it. It was a difficult path to PPL (three schools, eleven instructors!) but what I lacked in talent I made up for in determination.
Post PPL, I decided I couldn't stop, that I needed to know more, and went on to CPL.
Here's what it "cost" me:
- sold my small business (a book shop) to pay for the CPL
- sold my house in a beach-side suburb and bought a cheaper one, (under
the flight path) so I could live off the difference
- gave up my social life and in the process estranged myself from some old
friends (those who glazed over at constant av-talk)
- sold lots of fabulous (and now unnecessary) frocks and shoes and replaced
them with headsets, gps, and maps
- for the next rating, will have to sell my car
But, here's what I've gained:
- a private pilot's licence
- a tail wheel endo
- the ability to hire an aircraft and fly anywhere in Oz
- a regular column in an aviation mag
- new friends, whose tolerance for aviation topics equal mine
None of it is a "sacrifice" as every part of the learning has been amazing.
I'm not waiting for life to start, I'm living it.