Why we fly.....

[AlanM]

I found this on a motorcycling website, and modified it as it applies just as aptly to us......


The act of flying is a form of meditation, because the concentration that's required to safely fly an aircraft tends to focus the mind in a way that eliminates other mental distractions that might interfere with the mission.

This creates a single-mindedness that, in effect, displaces the continuous stream of thoughts that normally flow through our consciousness.

Thoughts about what to eat, who to meet, and worries about the common stresses of everyday life, such as pressures from work and home, disappear from our minds during the flight, because the concentration that's necessary to focus on the flight pushes those thoughts far into the background.

The result is that the mind becomes refreshed after a flight just like it would after a session of formal meditation or a relaxing vacation.
Just like some people get "hooked" on meditation, pilots get hooked on flying because of the mental relief that it brings. I wouldn't be surprised if someone discovers that endorphins or something are released during the act of flying. I'm sure you've noticed that you can't "zone out" in an aerie like you can when driving a car.

[johnsa]

Its true funny there are now more people busy with stress as there are more treats about this stress / unleash stress factor. Maybe we can opt to have flying in our medical insurance as a prevent illness measure and they pick up the tap for lets say 1 hour of flying a month.....just like they do with the gym

[Low Level]

Received this a while ago.

Flying.

The ultimate paradox of an 'earth bound misfit' at home in the open air. There is no feeling on earth like it. Your heart pounds in slow motion, standing still. Frantic, where's the centreline? Breathe out, I'm on track.

The knots build, steering disconnects from nosegear and your mind disconnects from normality. Take-off! Raw power propels, compels, beckons, grabs you up into feathery hands.

The world falls away, silently, without protest, a mockery of everything you would have me believe is important. A million voices below merging into a steady hum, encompassing me in a cocoon. A million homes fading into green and brown, disappear into earth. A million lives and loves, battles and protests, fears and crimes ... melt away into the icy blue. Your mind reaches out, tentatively trying to touch the edges of this new territory, this new space. And recoils in fear and exhilaration with the realisation that this space is ... this place WITHOUT EDGES!

And your spirit soars, your wings extended into the air, extensions of your body and mind. You can feel the earth's relentless pull, subdued only by the cry of the wind, streaming across your wings, screaming across your mind. The wind's solitary cry... ''Free''.

If I could freeze, for all eternity, just one moment in my entire existence... this would be it.

Pink Floyd says it best, with the song ''Learning to fly'' which I grew up listening to. At about 10 years old, I had no clue what this song hinted at. NOW I KNOW.


''Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to guide my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone

A soul in tension thats learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i

Friction lock - set.
Mixture - rich
Propellers - fully forward
Flaps - set - 10 degrees
Engine gauges and suction - check

Mixture set to maximum percent - recheck
Flight instruments...
Altimeters - check both
on
Navigation lights - on
on
(to tower): confirm 3-8-echo ready for departure
(tower): hello again, this is now 129.4
(to tower): 129.4. its to go.
(tower): you may commence your takeoff, winds over 10 knots.
(to tower): 3-8-echo
Easy on the brakes. take it easy. its gonna roll this time.
Just hand the power gradually, and it...

Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

Theres no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i''

[John Boucher]

Don't you just have to LOVE - Dave Gilmour & Roger Waters for giving that to us.....

[Tumbleweed]

Fyndraai without having to say thank you or I luv you.

[AlanM]

Ya Demon, I'll stick to your reason.... it's easier to remember!

[Low Level]

Fyndraai without having to say thank you or I luv you.

To be honest, and without being soppy, I do that every time I land.

[Stephan van Tonder]

Now THIS is why I learned to fly. Friday morning at 06:00 - the most fantastic clear smooth as glass flight. We took off. se the plane on heading and after that toched the stick twice - once to turn over Devon and the next time to turn over heidelburg. The rest of the flight was hands free only on trim and rudder. Beautifull.

2 minutes airnorne over petit - the power stations at secunda.




Kendal/ogies power station




What a view

[Boet]

I am. Therefore I fly.













Cannot, for the life of me, imagine life in ANY other way.