What made you want to be a Pilot?

[av8tor_assrope]

Sure beats having a real job!

A guy I flew with not too long ago put it right. It’s nice to not have to bring your work home with you….or worry about how much work you have to do when you’re not in the office. You go in, go fly, come home, have a beer, have sex and repeat!

[North Shore]

By way of Paul Brickhill: Douglas Bader, Guy Gibson, Leonard Cheshire, Bob Tuck, Sailor Malan et al...

[felix0315]

My aunt used to work as a ground agent for BA and Korean Airlines.
She brought home die-cast airplanes
I grew up playing with them, and fell in love with aviation
Even though I had motion sickness problems
And the doctors told me not to fly because they thought it wasnt gonna go away
I still insisted on flying
There were times when I fell
But I always stood back up
And now, I'm used to the environment

I fly, for love, for passion, and for PIE!

[Indanao]

Following grade 12, I went to work for the summer in Hinton for the Alberta Forest Service on a, " Surpression Crew". Four man crew of Standbye Firefighters. We had to become certified, so part of our training at that time was to go up in a Helicopter and slide down a, " Skyjeanie" ( 100ft rope ). It was a Bell 47J, the A.F.S. owned three of them nicknamed, "Greentails" cause they were green and white and had Bertie the Beaver on the tail. It was an easy course.

Then for the next three years I worked as Radio Operator, and relief Towerman, travelling to Forest Look Out Towers to give the operator a week or two off, or to train a new operator when they quit. I did that in Slave Lake Forest, and Peace River Forest. ( Alberta used to be divided into 12 forest districts complete with superintendents. ) I rode in those greentails a lot and always wondered IF i could do it.

So, I went back to Edmonton got a job, learned how to fly, went crop spraying, Instructing, got my Helicopter add on, flew C185, and went to work for a company that had both C185 and Bell47s. That got me a chance to fly the Bell47J. And, they gave me the Jet Ranger endorsement after the first summer on the 47. Then I went and got the Multi IFR.. ALL, because i wondered IF I could do it - that's all. Not for a higher spot on the Social Economic Ladder, just out of interest. Wrong attitude if you want to make money at this. It's a GREAT job if you don't starve getting started. It's a Career if you focus on the dollars, only Airline Pilots actually get paid. I spent 1 & 1/2 years as a rampie for Gateway Aviation for $2hr.

[Teeg]

my parents conditioned me by taking me to buttonville on my first couple of birthdays.

then i saw Top Gun.

then i actually got my licenses and endorsements, and now im in a puppy mill.

However, there is absolutely nothing better than when its shite on the ground and you pop through the layer to see the sun going down and moon rising. THAT, makes it worth it.

[Meatservo]

First I will refer you to the "Pics by a swamper" thread...

Sometimes I think the kind of flying I do is a bit like an extreme sport. Except I get paid. I don't get paid as much as I was hoping to, mind you, but it often seems like enough, and I actually love what I do. I frequently find it exciting, I love cool machines, I love to travel, I love to hang around with like-minded people. It took a long time and a lot of work to become as good at it as I am now, and I am proud of myself. I hope this doesn't sound arrogant.

There are lots of downsides, but we can discuss them in another thread. Sometimes the downsides are almost overwhelming, but I tell myself that has more to do with other people and nothing at all to do with the aeroplanes, the sky, the scenery, and my friends, which is why I fly. Well, the scenery can sometimes be a downside, when it's trying to kill you...

[flyinthebug]

My Uncle was a Capt with A/C and used to take me up frequently in his 172 when i was very young.
He just retired in 04, but his passion for aviation ignited mine.

When I was a kid, I used to get on my bicycle and ride down to Pearson.. just to watch the planes take off and land. I spent hours and hours doing just that. I was hooked at a young age and although I didnt realize my dream until I was 27 of becoming a CPL, I did my PPL at 19 and it was 7 1/2 yrs before I finally could afford to pay my way through school. Its had its ups and downs but overall its something I wouldnt trade one minute of it! Aviation gets in your blood and stays there.

Despite all our bickering and name calling on this site.. I still enjoy firing up the puter and seeing whats going on in the world of aviation. Its truly great to get paid to do what we love to do! I remember the very first trip I ever made to Phantom Lake (N. howe sound BC) and landing there for the first time thinking.. Im getting paid 52$ an hour to bring people here to this amazingly beautiful place. What a truly lucky man I am.

Fly safe all.

[Doc]

[quote="flyinthebug"]
When I was a kid, I used to get on my bicycle and ride down to Pearson.. just to watch the planes take off and land. I spent hours and hours doing just that.
quote]

I used to sit on a picnic table, outside a little burger joint, just off the end of runway 36 (or whatever the northbound runway was at the time) and watch BOAC's fully loaded 707's, just barely clear the fence. headed overseas, billowing black smoke! The things were NOT "green"! You were probably sitting beside me, eating a burger?

[flyinthebug]

When I was a kid, I used to get on my bicycle and ride down to Pearson.. just to watch the planes take off and land. I spent hours and hours doing just that.
quote]

I used to sit on a picnic table, outside a little burger joint, just off the end of runway 36 (or whatever the northbound runway was at the time) and watch BOAC's fully loaded 707's, just barely clear the fence. headed overseas, billowing black smoke! The things were NOT "green"! You were probably sitting beside me, eating a burger?

Was that you Doc? Maybe 10 yrs before me if were bein honest here LOL

That was back when the L 10/11 & 747 were the pride of A/Cs fleet. Ahhhh the good ol days.

And PS.. I STILL love the 10-11`s!!

['CauseTheCaravanCan]

before this day I had NEVER given thought to being a pilot.

I was on some canoe adventure for the summer, (getting paid to do it) and a girl in our crew threw out her back somewhere on the north shore of lake superior, GARGANTUA or PUKASKWA i can't remember now.
we tried to paddle to Wawa, but the swells were too big, we turned back and made camp. That's when we made a smoke signal, climbed a tree sat. phone call for help. and in came St. John's Air Ambulance to the rescue.
I was less worried about helping the poor girl into the airplane as I was about staring into the cockpit of the airlift chopper on the edge of a lifechanging decision.

[parallel60]

After driving to the Queen Charlottes with my dad in Grade 7 so he could do some plumbing work he put me on a Canadian Regional Dash 8 back to YVR which was my first time in an airplane. I remember after high school he told me that it was time for me to look at getting a job and being ok out on my own. All I could think about was the view from the back of the Dash 8 of the ray's of the sun shining onto the clouds below and thinking about the number of people that were involved in making this flight happen and the people over the last 100 yrs or so that had helped to make the world a smaller place with more advanced aircraft and I thought it would be great to be a part of whatever was going on above the surface of the earth.

Seeing the earth from above has been a very humbling feeling in my life and has definitly opened my eyes to how fortunate I am to do this job. From briefing an approach into Lutselke in the NWT years ago to briefing an approach into Egypt this past summer, it still amazes me that humans have been able to design and produce such beautiful machines to make exploring the only livable planet in our solar system that much easier. I hope it continues!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdsmh6gBB9Q

[snoopy]

My Dad was with the airlines since before I was born - in operations. CP Air when they still had a few DC-3's -4's -6's, and through various paint schemes until Canadian came into being. My uncle was a heavy duty logging mechanic in the Queen Charlotte Islands and all he talked about were the helicopter logging operations and various machines he'd been in. He had incredible pictures of some really cool equipment he'd been in and around...

For years the three of us made the Abbotsford air show an annual event - my favorite time... roasting on the tarmac in 30 degree heat... I rarely paid much attention to the flying events other than the best of the aerobatics, but I charmed my way into every flight deck on the field. The only reason my Dad put up with me climbing into every single aircraft was that he got to do it too!

Friends of the family were long ago bush pilots-turned-airline-pilots with many stories past and present...one of them was a very close family friend who later became a mentor when I embarked on my journey as a pilot. He was responsible for my first time handling the controls of a C-180 on floats was when I was around 10 and I became hooked.

I read all the bush stories - Max Ward story, Bush Pilot with a Briefcase (Grant McConachie), Beryl Markham - West With the Night... to name a few... it would take me a week to type out my entire collection... and since my dad was/is obsessed with Vietnam helicopter pilot books, I'm pretty sure I've read most of those too... there were a few good ones in there...

From the beginning, it was all about the DC-3... which has lead my career in interesting directions. I never wanted to fly the big jets - except maybe a fighter off an air carrier. I guess I'm too old for that now, and the reality isn't as cool as Top Gun (yes, I'm a closet fan...) Don't forget "Always", "Von Richthoven and Brown", "The Incredible Pancho Barnes", "Firefox Down", "The Right Stuff", "The Blue Max", "High Road to China"... haha... I'm obsessed...

But mostly I'm in it for the respect...

Cheers,
Kirsten B.

[Indanao]

Best one I have seen is the one about the mail Pilot in Argentina who crashed on top the snow covered Andes and walked out a week later in his street shoes. ( Accident took place back in the 40s I think. )

[niss]

My dad was an aircraft mechanic in the IAF in the 80's and always loved aviation. He handed that love down to me, model building, fly-by-wire, toys, etc.

I am the first Pilot in the whole family.

All that and I also wanted Kelly McGillis.


Take my breath away indeed Kelly......

[Indanao]

To impress women (Boy, was I wrong!!!)

I'm not so certain. Look at those Drew Barrymore Adds on Ice Pilot. Maybe we are missing something here......lol

[snoopy]

"Best one I have seen is the one about the mail Pilot in Argentina who crashed on top the snow covered Andes and walked out a week later in his street shoes. ( Accident took place back in the 40s I think. )"

Indanao, what movie is this? I've never heard of it - sounds intriguing.

Cheers,
Kirsten B.

[beaverbob]

Strangely enough I had an attraction to airplanes befor I could talk. (according to my Dad)
I cannot remember ever not wanting to fly. And then I coulden't get a real job.
Bob

[moocow]

Got hooked into aviation after my first trip on a B747 to Japan when I was about 7 or 8. Didn't really thought about being a pilot until I moved to Canada. Discovering that Cathay Pacific have a cadet program made me undertake PPL sooner than I expected. Sadly I cocked up the interview with Cathay Pacific and wonder if I should re-apply. Hell, I even wonder if I should keep up with flying or even go further into the industry given the crap condition. Digging a money pit with little stability doesn't seem like a wise idea at the moment.

[Cat Driver]

Snoopy the crash happened in October of 1929 on a frozen lake in a pass across the Andes mountains about 100 miles south of Mendoza Argentina, Henri Guillaumet was the pilots name I believe. The lake is fifteen thousand feet above sea level in pass they flew from Mendoza to Santiago Chile on the Aeropostale mail route that went from Toulouse France to Santiago Chile.

I have pictures we took from the PBY when we flew the Aeropostale mail route from Toulouse, France to Santiago, Chile for Fance in October of 1998.

There must be many French pilots who read this forum who will be very familiar with the Aeropostale mail route and all the French pilots who flew it.

I don't know exactly why I became a pilot but It all started when I was about four or five years old. I never dreamed I would get to fly for the government of France and be part of something as important as flying the historic Aeropostale mail route near the end of my flying career.

For sure those pilots were brave men to have flown that routs as it is extreemly dangerous especially considering the airplanes they flew.

[AEROBAT]

I have no idea what drew me to aviation but when I was around 4 years old I used to walk over to the Muni, YXD in Edmonton. It was 2 miles from our house.

My mom would freak out and go and get me. I don't remember walking there but I do remember looking through the chain link fence at the DC3's and Beech 18's. At the time I didn't know what the planes were but can still see them in my mind.

I used to go with my mom to see my dad off at the airport when he would fly up north. We would walk out on the apron as far as the plane. Boy have things changed.....for the worse.

My favourite thing now is to take kids for a ride. I love the way they stare down at the ground as you take off. I used to let my kids fly the plane as soon as they were big enough to reach the yoke. To me flying is not a hobby or a profession, it's almost an obsession!