Are we too old?

[Fuji Abound]

Only married women nag

Which reminds me of the Indian wife called "three horses" .. .. ..

That is an unusual name the the bloke said to the husband, where does it come from?

Sorry, you know what is coming, "nag, nag, nag".

Hat, coat.

[vee-tail-1]

Spent most of my life flying BOAC/BA all over the World, but not Europe.
Being divorced, on retirement from BA I bought a Robin ATL intending to gently explore Europe. Only one trip to Britanny then I met a French lady and now we have an 11 year old child. Result most of BA pension goes on family, not much left for flying, and she won't fly with me in case our son is orphaned.
Women or aeroplanes.. make your choice.. can't have both

[Genghis the Engineer]

Originally Posted by DenhamPPL

32.

Passed my skills test in 2006. Wanted to learn to fly since age 8 but didn't have the funds.

No wife, kids or mortgage. I guess being gay helps.

DenhamPPL

I'm pretty certain that in this liberal modern world, it's actually legal for gay people to buy houses! (And I suspect that a great many have found ways to have families as well).



G

[Juno78]

I'm 31, and have just started working towards my PPL this year. It's the first point in my life where I've actually been able to afford to, and given that I a) have a reasonably well paid job (I'm a solicitor), b) am not married (the average cost of a wedding would be enough to put both people through the PPL!) and c) don't have children and have no intention to, I can imagine that many people would get a lot later in life before they would be in a position to be able to afford to learn to fly.

Having said that, my club seems to have a reasonable amount of people my sort of age around - it doesn't seem to be particularly dominated by the over-50s.

[Cusco]

I was 48 before the demands of kids education,university , mortgage, weddings etc relaxed their grip on my (pretty good) NHS salary enough for me to be able to learn to fly.

16 years on my only regret is that my wife (whose pressie of a trial lesson got me hooked) steadfastly refuses to fly with me: Her antipathy is such that she never wishes me a good flight when I go to the airstrip or asks me how I got on when I return.

Her only slight showing of interest was when my grandson (8) had his first flight last month: She dragged herself to the strip with his mum: presumably to make sure I didn't kill us both...........

Aeroplanes every time.

Cusco

[DenhamPPL]

I'm pretty certain that in this liberal modern world, it's actually legal for gay people to buy houses! (And I suspect that a great many have found ways to have families as well).

Yes we have the same choices Am not into marriage (to either sex).
Mortgage paid off. Children too expensive and noisy.

Flying much more fun

[Pilot DAR]

Children too expensive and noisy

Yeah, but the expense and noise is worth it! You don't hear the kid "noise" in the video, but the cheers of glee following the maneuver were worth every penny of the cost of the plane, the kid, and the bear!

Family :: Mr. Bear flies! video by PilotDAR - Photobucket

Pilot DAR

[Lew747]

Well I think i'll bring a bit of youth into the system

Successfully passed my Skills test today, age 18

[Pilot DAR]

Nice going Lew,

You are now another stage along to a life long association with some great people, and a fascinting pastime. Aspire to be an old pilot one day...

Pilot DAR

[J.A.F.O.]

I tend to come across people in GA who fit into three groups:

1. Young and working towards a career in aviation
2. People who work in IT
3. Retired folk

No, I'm none of the above but would happily be 3. tomorrow if I had the money to run a wife, three kids, two dogs, a horse and an Aviat Husky without working. At the moment I work (not in IT) and just about fund everything but the Husky

[mary meagher]

Old Pilot in Oregon

Back in WWII, when every US armed service had its own little airforce (Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, etc) some of those pilots who were lucky and careful enough to survive may still be flying today!

I met a remarkable gentleman in Bend, Oregon, last year. He flew the Pawnee tow plane for the local gliding club. To be a pilot, you do not have to be tall. I think he was a bit shorter than he used to be, (we do shrink when we get older, something to do with gravity). He used to fly from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

It was a bit disconcerting: the Pawnee appeared to be without a pilot altogether; when he flew it you couldn't see him at all at all. Evidently not a problem. View from a taildragger improves when you get it up on the step, so to speak.

He is an inspiration to us all. Keep on keeping on! you too can aspire to become a member of the UFO's!

[The Fenland Flyer]

Thought I'd chip in: I've wanted to fly since I was a child, I have a job I love but it doesn't have high pay attached. It's only in the past couple of years I have been able to afford to fly. I chose microlights (I'm learning in a C-42) because it is just so much cheaper. I love the aircraft and don't feel I am missing out on much; I reckon once I have my license I will be able afford to do twice as many flying hours as in most GA aircraft, which is just as well as I'm addicted!
I had planned to get the house/mortgage thing sorted out before I started flying (I'm still living with my parents) but then I worked out how old I would be before I would actually have paid off the mortgage! Not Good! So I decided to get my priorities right and follow my dreams first (plus I won't reach retirement age until 68! I couldn't wait that long untill flying!)

[jonkil]

I am 42 y/o, got married 20 years ago, left school at 14, worked like a dog, built my house and mortgage paid & gone, 2 kids, one at Uni, the other next year, fly C42 from my own strip...... I believe people get to tied up in school/learning/job to make real dough and end up old before their time.
One life...... live it.

[Heliport]

DenhamPPL

Am not into marriage (to either sex).

You can't marry someone of the same sex, in the UK anyway. You can register a civil partnership with someone of the same sex but that is not a marriage.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Originally Posted by Heliport

DenhamPPL
You can't marry someone of the same sex, in the UK anyway. You can register a civil partnership with someone of the same sex but that is not a marriage.

I suspect that's like telling a microlight pilot that they can't hold a real PPL because they only fly microlights.

G

[Heliport]

Or perhaps like telling a bus driver they can't hold a CPL if they only drive a bus.

The use of analogies when a statement of fact is already clear often serves to create confusion rather than increase clarity. The 'analogies' rarely truly are.

Anyway, back to the topic .................

[DenhamPPL]

You can't marry someone of the same sex, in the UK anyway. You can register a civil partnership with someone of the same sex but that is not a marriage.

Oh dear I think you're taking what I said a little too literally

Anyway thankfully due to my lack of marriage/kids/people carrier/school fees I can afford to fly loads (weather permitting..).

And no I don't wear a pink headset

[Piper19]

I learned to fly at 16, I was the youngest in the club back then. Now I'm 28 and still the youngest.
The few young guys that made it to the club now fly the big stuff and don't really fly in GA anymore.
This has always be my weak point in the club, very difficult to get through these old barnstromers. Also difficult to get in their club, e.g. I'm really keen on flying old airplanes, but most teachers I know on them are as old as the plane and don't want to teach me. Then who's to fly these things in 20 years?