Friday, December 26, 2008

Learn Flying at age over 50

From news group: rec.aviation.student

http://groups.google.com.my/group/rec.aviation.student/browse_thread/thread/f31c1291a6083fc0?hl=en#

(gg.lindsay) wrote:
> :D hi i have started to my ppl at long last, at the age of 52 i have
> had a few lessons now and all is going well, but the cost is high i
> decided to learn in a tomahawk p38 as this was my cheapist choice.we
> have done turns, level flight, flap settings and power settings, and
> all the effects that intails.my next lesson i hope to do more flying
> time and do pre checks which i hope will be standard routine before
> hand, still i have bought a new headset dave clark h10-13.4 so im in
> for the long haul,my goal is to do my fisrt solo early next year.
> anyway thats the plan. Im flying at goodwood at present in west
> sussex.

Congratulation. I am just over 50 but still hasn't started any realy
flying yet, mostly for financial reason.

I've already informed my family that I intend to fly and this is a
very dangerous sport but so far there is no objection from them. My
children had grown up so they can take over in case I'm gone.

I still have doubts about my ability at an age older than 50. My eyes,
memory and reflexes are not getting any better, so it is refreshing to
get an encouraging note from someone else. I may even need to do
complete medical checkup once a year but this is a good thing anyway.

When the price of oil shot up to over US100, I started abandoning my
dream of lying as an extravagant and therefore frivolous pursuit. Now
that the price of oil has gone down below US40, I start reconsidering
this hobby by first visiting this group. I'm surprised to see someone
with similar situation as I am.

Maybe it is time for me to immediately invest some time and money in
the demo flight but I should be more prepared. I have left my flight
simulation for too long since I upgraded to Vista. All my joysticks
are not supported by Vista. I had to buy a new one but it might be
better to invest in the demo flight in order to get real flying
experience. Someone told me that flight sickness is a problem but I
never have severe travel sickness problem, either on a plane, car or
even boat, although a small plane will tumble more and in all
directions which will test my resistance to travel sickness.

Once I start, I need to maintain flying proficiency in order to
improve safety and flying enjoyment. A good joystick will be a must
but may have to wait for Windows 7 again just in case, or just buy a
simpler and therefore cheaper versions. Consistency may be a problem
for me but this time I must keep up for at least a few years. There is
no turning back when I start flying. At least 10 hours per year flying
and at least 20 hours PC flight simulation, for a few years at least.

I promise myself to start the task before I'm 55 years old. Won't I be
childish in dreaming of flyijng around an airfield? I must learn how
to thicken my face, especially in my Borneon environment. After all,
Borneo is still among the most remote and inaccessible places still
present on earth.

http://groups.google.com.my/group/rec.aviation.student/browse_thread/thread/f31c1291a6083fc0?hl=en#

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