Ok, so I am sitting here in my cubicle, lamenting the fact that both weather and the holidays have put a crimp in my flight training. Pissing me off is more like it. So I decided today to go back to the academic side of things, and refresh my memory about all of the things I learned for the FAA written test and have probably forgotten.
But before I do that, I’m doing my own list of the ten things I like and ten things I hate about aviation training. I’m trying to immerse my alleged mind in aviation activities because I am getting far too used to NOT flying, and I want to progress. Besides, I gots me a delightful t-shirt for Christmas that defines “pilot” as the “highest form of life on Earth.”
![](https://blog.danwolfe.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/PilotDefinition-300x138.jpg)
Definitely a motivational gift! (And yes, that’s a scan of the actual shirt.)
As Casey Kasem would say, “Now, on with the countdown.”
Ten things I hate about aviation training:
10. Motion sickness
9. The lingering smell of 100LL aviation fuel on my hands.
8. Landings.
7. Interacting with air traffic control and trying to sound smooth. (Note to self: Stuttering does not come across as smooth.)
6. Weather and mechanical cancellations.
5. No flight suits for student pilots.
4. Flaps which won’t retract.
3. The 30-minute drive to and from the airport.
2. The McDonalds conveniently located on the route home from the airport. (Can’t resist rewarding myself for a good lesson.)
1. WINTER!
Ten things I like about aviation training:
10. The view from 5,000 ft.
9. Takeoffs.
8. Safe Landings.
7. Taking time off work to go fly.
6. Cool aviation weather sites.
5. The cabin heater in a Cessna 172 is awesome making winter flight tolerable.
4. Exhilarating when you get it right.
3. The McDonalds conveniently located on the route home from the airport.
2. When I get my license, I can fly all by myself from here to Kitty Hawk, NC and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. (The airfield is called “First Flight Airfield.” I get goose bumps just thinking about it.)
1. Chicks dig pilots.