• AA5B@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Flying. Sure, it sounds great and it’s awesome being able to control a vehicle climbing through the air, so far above everything. However, especially in metro areas, you’re spending most of your attention on navigating, communicating, planning. When I did it, the instructors said their classes were full of engineers, not just because you need the income to afford it, but you need the math, the attention to detail, the technical perspective.

    Hopefully it’s a different experience out away from what people and hopefully GPS changed the experience

    • IMongoose@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Tangentially related, flying model aircraft. If there is no purpose for it to be in the air you just kind of fly back and forth and then ??? I went to a model airshow yesterday with 50lb+ jet models doing flips and shit and while all of the time, money, and engineering was impressive, if you’ve seen one model make a pass and do a loop you’ve seen them all.

    • calypsopub@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I love flying in small planes, so when I was younger I thought I’d like to get my pilot’s license. Then I thought about what you just said, and I decided it’s more fun to be able to just look out the window and enjoy the view.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s still worth seeing for yourself. It’s quite a feeling being able to take flight under your own control

        One of the paths I sort of regret not going down was flying float planes. I live in an urban area with crowded airways so it was always on your toes, but not too far up north are a lot of lakes with limited road access. Flying a float plane would let me commute to cheap lakefront property, while also spending more time is less congested airspace. I might have had more time with the challenges of flight rather than tedium of communication, coordination, planning

        • calypsopub@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Personally, I am a crappy driver who’s had a lot of wrecks, so I figure being a passenger is the way for me

    • Anticorp
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      1 year ago

      That hasn’t been my experience at all. Sure, in controlled airspace you’re in contact with the tower and other planes, but it’s still all visual flight rules and flying by feel. The technical stuff is just to enable the flying stuff safely.