Although we’re going to talk a bit about flying, the FAA’s WINGS program, and all that “stuff” that goes into being a pilot, this is really a story about how to get really good at something over time; and how good hobbies help us live – and think – better.
A lot of people have hobbies, but there are those who take hobbies seriously and there are people who I would call the dilettantes; people who pursue something in a half-hearted and half-assed way.
You see it in all sports and pursuits, the people who take things on a so-so basis. At the end of the day they just sort of play-at whatever they profess their hobby to be.
It’s like the gun owners who don’t own a gun for a purpose (personal protection, hunting, or marksmanship) and instead just use it as a brag tool. “Yo, moe foe I gotta Glock!” So? Step out here to the 15-meter line and hit that playing card up there on the backstop…call next week when you hit it.
Now, you take your 50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle: I know people who actually own them and live in Texas. But to them, it’s a tool – and this one fellow in particular I know goes back to the East Coast now and then as an instructor because he’s that good. I won’t tell you the “alligator at a mile” stories… but there are other folks who can’t hit the side of a barn at a thousand yards with the same gun. You see the difference, I hope. In the hands of my friend, it’s an art form. In the hands of someone without serious training? It’s a large noise-maker.
Or, as another example, during the time I lived on my sailboat and actually did serious sailing, there were those of us who went out and ran the mid-winter “Iceberg Regatta.” Then there were the people who were hanging around the bar when we got back from serious sailing to have a warm-up toddy. The bar was always full of wannabes who wouldn’t know how to tie a bowline, let around behind their back, let alone at night, let alone on a pitching foredeck. So you see what I mean. Furniture boat crowd versus sailors.
This weekend, I had two days being deadly serious about one of my hobbies, which is flying the old Beechcraft around.
Although I took one of my neighbors up for a quick bit of sightseeing on Saturday, the real agenda of this weekend was to make sure I was still “sharp” on the stick and a safe pilot. Although not required for another nine months, my biennial flight review (BFR) and more, is done.
To do that, there are three things that helped to make that happen: Training, rest, and vitamins.
First, I am a huge believer in doing advanced coursework – way beyond whatever the minimums are for any hobby. Yes, You can fly an airplane with 40-50 hours of flight time, a check-ride every two years and a third class medical. Three take-offs and landings every 90 days and you can be “legal” for visual rules.
We get readers, now and then, who tell us they worry about our flying all over the country, which we do. They express various safety concerns.
What most people don’t know (because I haven’t discussed it much, but will this morning) is that I go so far past the minimum requirements that it’s ridiculous.
That item above right, for example, is my FAA WINGS transcript. It lists 30- courses and check-rides in the past four years. None of this is required, but if you take the hobby seriously (and want to live a long time) you go the extra mile and continue education.
As a result, I’ve been through such courses ad “Aging Gracefully, Flying Safely,” “Accidental Causal Factors: Stabilized Approaches,” and certification to fly the “Washington DC Special Flight Rules Area.” Plus tons of other topics covering positive aircraft control, loss of control accident analysis, gobs of weather, icing, and severe thunderstorm tactics and so on…(the best one is stay at the hotel, BTW.)
And I have what I consider the finest flight instructor in the world. A ranked aerobatics competitor who’s a retired 767 driver.