The hidden benefits of learning to fly
Air Facts Journal
Editors Note: May is Learn to Fly Month at Sporty’s featuring articles, videos product specials and more across multiple platforms all supporting our amazing aviation community. To welcome in the month-long celebration, Air Facts is honored to share this inspiring 2018 submission from contributor, Dan Sobczak.
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“It’s clear that we’re on the front end of something much larger than any of us can imagine, travels and adventures far greater than anything we can now picture.”
While astronaut Ed Gibson of Skylab 4 was speaking of space flight when he made that statement, his quote could be applicable to any new endeavor in life. Learning to fly is no exception.
Picacho Pass, site of the westernmost Civil War battle, southern Arizona. Photo by Dan Sobczak
Learning to fly takes time, dedication and commitment. But the reward can serve you in life far beyond flying an airplane. You probably know the benefits of flight – speed, saving time, maximizing productivity – but have you considered the benefits of learning to fly?
Learn about the world around you
Ben Franklin once wrote that “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
When you learn to fly, you’re not only learning how to move the controls of an aircraft. You’re also learning more about the world around you.
When I was learning to fly, I learned how an airplane’s engine and electrical systems work. I quickly realized this also taught me how my car operates. This serendipitous knowledge allowed me to become more self-reliant when it came to resolving car troubles.
I also learned about our planet’s weather patterns. This foundation of weather knowledge gave me an advantage years later in my non-aviation career.
Just as important, I learned I was becoming part of something unique. The uniqueness wasn’t the ability to fly, although that is pretty cool. Rather it was the people in aviation. They are a unique group: friendly, willing to help, and often share common interests beyond aviation. Learning to fly has produced lifelong friends I can trust for advice.
Create memories that last a lifetime
It’s been said that life isn’t about the destination. Rather, it’s the journey that matters. When learning to fly, the destination is your private pilot certificate. While it can cost a considerable amount of time and money to learn to fly, what you’re really paying for is an investment to create new experiences.
Chino Mine, southwestern New Mexico. Photo by Dan Sobczak
When you fly, you’re not just logging flight time. You’re also logging memories that will last a lifetime. Along the way, you’ll likely discover and visit some new places of which you’ve never heard.
Once as a student pilot, my flight instructor and I took to the sky on a routine mission to practice aircraft maneuvers southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. He told me to look down at the ground where I could see what remained of the Gila River War Relocation Center, an unfortunate injustice committed against Japanese Americans during World War II. I never knew that part of Arizona’s history until that flight.
On another flight, I discovered the site of the westernmost battle of the American Civil War: the Battle of Picacho Pass, 50 miles northwest of Tucson, Arizona. It was fought between a Union cavalry patrol from California and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson in 1862.
Had it not been for aviation, I might never have learned about these nearly forgotten stories in American history.
Discover more about yourself
In addition to learning more about the world around you and creating memories along the journey, learning to fly builds character. The process gives the student a sense of self and develops confidence.
A colleague once asked me why I fly. I fly for the sense of accomplishment. The ability to guide an airplane through the sky and return it safely to earth offers a sense of achievement that nothing else can match.
Gila River Relocation Center outside Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Dan Sobczak
I discovered that whatever problems were bothering me on the ground, I knew I could leave them all behind when I made a flight. I could commit my mind 100 percent to flying the airplane.
I fly for the opportunity to learn. By setting and accomplishing the goal of becoming a pilot, I’ve learned more about myself.
Where to go to learn more
While there are only about 300 destinations travelers can buy an airline ticket to in the United States, there are over 5,000 public use airports you have access to as a private pilot. Learning to fly makes it much easier than flying by airline, or driving by car, to get to nearly any destination in the United States.
A friend and I once made a flight from Phoenix to Las Cruces, New Mexico to attend a car show. What would have been a nearly 6-hour one-way drive was actually a 1.5 hour flight by light airplane. We were airborne by 8 a.m. and returned home in time for an early dinner.
If you’ve been curious about those magnificent people in their flying machines, learning to fly could be your ticket to a whole new world.
If you’re wondering what it takes to learn to fly, visit the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Learn to Fly page, where you can learn about your options and find a flight school in your area.
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