When to know its time to quit your dream

[Jean Crous]

Hi D20 , i have been flying for 15 years , had 4 accidents, kept and fixed my aerie in which 2 of the oopsies were. I have 3 pilot licences PPL , GPL, and an NPL, sounds great hey? well all three have lapsed due to finacial constraints , and due to same financial costraints i sold my aerie`s engine 3 years ago and have only recently been able to fit a brand new engine......"luck" does change This comming week i hope to renew my PPL and NPL. Next the motor-glider licence renewal, so if you look over your shoulder you will see many of us rowing the same boat with you....some even with a shorter oar
Dont give up (look at the signiature at the bottom of my post)
Regards
Jean Crous

[D2O]

Gee guys, I'm humbled by all the positive responses, and am proud to be part of such a caring community that is Microlighters!

Well, I'm going to take things one step at a time. I'll start by booking an hour with an instructor at Rhino Park next weekend, and take it from there. Even if it's an hour every 2 months for now. Even if for the time being I can't get my landings right. I know it'll come back to me eventually.
Hell, even if I just visit the airfield it'll be a start for me. Haven't been to one in 2 months now, and I'm getting serious withdrawls!
Frans, I just might take you up on that offer. Never been in a Gyro before. Kinda embarrassing to admit

[Grumpy]

D20. I hear you.... but you have a life Ne? Nothing can beat life itself. So get on with it.
It too shall pass. Sterkte. Do what you must do. Don't EVER give up. On anything.

[LenM]

D20
Nobody can tell yo uwhat you should do, but obviously there's a host of people that are and have been in similar circumstances.
Be strong, and do what's right for you.. "This too, shall pass..."

[Alpha]

Hi There D2O,

Firstly I want to say

It takes a lot to say and do what you are doing, and believe it or not that is your first step to changing your situation...

I am not sure what your attitude is toward religion and if you believe etc, but I know I have to tell you this, so hopefully you will see life from another viewpoint.

There is a great people on this forum all with their own experiences and beliefs and advice....but one thing we all have in common is we share the dream, so any advice coming from this forum with regards to following your dream is worth more than gold.

I want to start by saying, I have been on this forum since 2009 when I got my license, and am blessed to say have kept it current which fed my passion and dream that I almost lost sight of.

Put it to you this way, my story, (as everyone has their own)is as follows:
I am a christian and I must say from my heart I truly believe in God and give Him all the glory for what has happened and is happening to me. Anyway, to cut a long story short, about 5 years ago...2006 seems about the time, I was in dire financial turmoil

I was engaged to a wonderful woman, who stood by me in all ways, but I was not earning a livable income and was well to say lost in the day to day act of surviving. Well, I was thrown into the reality of life with a bang, for as I came home from work one day I found the sheriff at my door with a notice of execution of sale for my house. The bank wanted to reposses my house. I had no car and was working for a car retailer selling cars that enabled me to have wheels, but other than that I had nothing, no savings, no medical aid, no insurance and no credit, as I was extended way beyond any form of "safe risk".

I signed the court judgements that was delivered by the sheriff, giving me 45 days to resolve the outstanding debt or I would be on the street. I did not know where to turn....I was in hell...or so I thought as 2 days after that, I was called in by my boss and asked to resign as I had not made my targets for the past 3 months....

So here I am, about to get married, losing my house, no job, no car, nothing but the clothes on my back. Inside me though, through all this, my lifelong dream was still alive..the dream to become a pilot, whatever pilot, but flying was in my blood....( had to put that in so that all is in context)... Anyway that night I was dropped of at home by the company driver, I went to my room and fell to my knees and sobbed...I thought this was the end.

I called out to God ( I was a believer but not a practising believer) and asked and shouted and screamed to say what did I do to deserve this, and if this was the lot that life had to offer me then why did I have this dream inside of me that I could never fulfil? Surprise....no answer...typical huh? Anyway a few days or weeks after that my Mom and my fiance at the time dragged me to a church...for no other reason than to just get me out of the house...and then things started to happen. The message I got that day has been revealed to me over and over again in so many ways, so I have to share this with you...the message was "hope"....Sanlam had this ad on TV where it starts with a little boy at an airport watching the planes and realising a dream...the message was "START WITH WHAT YOU HOPE FOR"...

Hope...is that it? This is not tangible, this is not going to get me out of my financial ruin etc...you know all the questions by now...Anyway...I had to find out what "hope" really means...and I found out...Hope is the belief in things not yet seen....as easy as that...but what do you do with it? Hope is the foundation of faith, what is faith, Faith is believing in the realisation of what you "Hope" for.

Anyway I have have gone on long enough...what I am saying is that that was the beginning of a turn around for my life. That day planted the seed of faith in me and like a child I asked God for my rescue out of my financial ruin(hope) and lived everyday in the expectation I would be delivered(Faith)...

I was delivered....Not in a way like, wave a wand and there your problems are all gone, but God opened doors and avenues for me that just blew me away...

Summary of then and now is as follows:

Then:
+- R1.6 million in debt,no car, no job, no insurance, no medical aid, no savings...only hope

Now:
+-R100k in debt (my car), a Cosmos 503 witha raptor wing, my NPL current, a great Job and prospects, an awesome wife who loves and supports me and my dreams...and Hope...

So D2O,

In essence, start with what you hope for...and man I know it is difficult, have faith, child like faith in our Creator, and never give up on your dream, God gave you that as your light in dark times...and when all changes..and believe me it will, give God the glory, for without Him...there is no hope...

If you want to talk...give me a call oh 7 one 6 seven 8 nine 3 oh 9

Fly safe...

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Don't try land. Just let it happen. Fly aover the runway and try not to land looking down the runway. After doing 3 passes NOT LANDING, simply cut the power slowly once the aerie is stble 1inch off the grass. Once you get it you will wonder what all the hoohaa was about....

Even 1 hr every 2 months is better than no hours. Keep the faith. Few understand the freedom flying offers and as Da vinci said...
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
Leonardo da Vinci

[Bulletjie]

Alpha, thank you for a great testimony!Sometimes we have to just slow things down and turn our eyes back to our Creator and have faith!

[moszy]

To your question "when to know it's time to quit your dream". My answer is when you start leaving it. I'm longing to leave my dream, to one day open up my hanger and take my gyro for a flip... I've gone solo late last year and had planned to be flying my own gyro by this time, but as luck would have, I haven't flown in over 3 months, and I'm still not a proud owner of a gyro. But I'm still confident that one of this days I will fly my very own gyro. Times are tough, but I know that at the end of this tunnel the is light. So hang in there, whatever you decide, never let your dream die. Hope to see hear you on the radian one
of this days...

[Koevoet]

I always wanted to fly but i was aming to high and had a lot of excuses money, time, u name it.

Then a good friend (Learjet) told me to go and try microlighting - my answer - u crasy - they are unsafe - 3 years later im a pilot , and proud owner of a trike.

Yes its not easy, especially if u working for the goverment, but i relized im the only one that can make it work. I'm stil broke, but happy broke because i made it.

U can ownly decide your own out come - don't quit.

Jaco (proud triker)

PS Have a good wife that stood by and helped a lot.

[Learjet]

ja you bliksem... and to think you kept your training secret from me for so long! I will not forget my surprise at walking into the hangar at Diemers and wondering what the hell you were doing there with a trike

[Dish]

Give Basie at Aeroden a call - he mentioned being able to hel;p with your conversion - 078 389 9190

[ICEMAN]

Hi There D2O,

If you are in the Springs area at anytime in the next few weeks- drop me a PM or phone me (oh ate 2 652 ate 144)and we can go for a flip!

cheers
Stan

[lamercyfly]

Hello D20..

May I call you to talk about your incident/accident. I would like to help.

You can send me your number on my email comefly@mweb.co.za or you can call me on 084 2663359

No alterior motive. Just available, at no cost, to help.

Regards.

[D2O]

Wow, thanks for all the encouragement! Again, I am deeply humbled and proud to be part of such a great group of flyers!
Also thanks to those who emailed me and pm'ed me. Thanks for your support. You know who you are

Well, I have booked with an instructor for Sunday (Saturday is the instructor's seminar). So here's hoping for good weather.
Iceman, I might also take you up on that offer. For now I'm going to bum a ride wherever I can!

[D2O]

To your question "when to know it's time to quit your dream". My answer is when you start leaving it. I'm longing to leave my dream, to one day open up my hanger and take my gyro for a flip... I've gone solo late last year and had planned to be flying my own gyro by this time, but as luck would have, I haven't flown in over 3 months, and I'm still not a proud owner of a gyro. But I'm still confident that one of this days I will fly my very own gyro. Times are tough, but I know that at the end of this tunnel the is light. So hang in there, whatever you decide, never let your dream die. Hope to see hear you on the radian one
of this days...

That one gave me food for thought!
The answer is pretty clear then. That confirms what I already knew. I won't give it up, as it's always on my mind, and that's what got me stareted with it in the first place!
Thanks for that!