Super-bike rider taking to the skies.

[Andre K]

Hi everyone, I'm completely new to flying and have decided that since I enjoy leaning around corners and getting my 200hp bike airborne at speed that I may as well go to the next level and stay in the air a bit longer.

 

I'm looking forward to gracing the skies and mostly the education and discipline that goes with it. I enjoy learning new things and find that the saying "If you don't use it, you lose it" is accurate and true, especially when it comes to "grey-matter" and youthfulness of the body.

 

Having flown a glider, I feel that both the bikes (when riden the way they were intended to perform) and aircraft have some striking similarities, namely that "what goes up must come down" and that both disciplines require firstly a good teacher, then a good student. Throw in appreciable hand-foot-eye coordination (the ability to use each appendage independently, uniformly & automatically), the need for 360deg. spatial awareness, the ability to fully focus the mind on the task at hand (be "in the now"), to have the ability to discern conditions, distances, relative speed and be able to do what seems to be counter-intuitive in emergencies.

 

Riding high speed missiles certainly has the mind working on a heightened level, with senses keen and the body responsive. The old saying "he who hesitates is lost" applies here as I'm sure it would also do to flying.

 

Our bikes are capable of 300kph, get there in about 15 secs, and spend most of the time either pawing the air or going sideways. A good sharp rise in the surface will launch the bike, airborne for 30 metres or more, pitch and yaw needs compensating to make a good clean landing.Very exciting stuff but one mistake and it all comes undone very quickly.... and it really hurts!!!

 

Enter : Flying!

 

As I age I feel the need for freedom more and more and look forward to seeing the world from a higher perspective. With full appreciation to inherant dangers, it has been my experience that a life without calculated risk is very boring and dull, therefore I refuse to grow old gracefully. However, instead it is my aim that any future gracefulness will be experienced by me in the skies above and not in a nursing home (which from my experience is a place of a certain end of a certain kind). Nobody ever seems to come back from those places, have you all noticed?

 

So, I'm a newbie, here to say hi and at the start of the new journey, mindful of the right attitude and hopefully with a good teacher I'll learn the right habits. I expect to make mistakes on the way, it's not really "learning" without them.

 

I've been advised to learn to fly in a tail-dragger with the understanding that it'll make for a better pilot, especially when it comes to emergencies. I'd be very interested to hear what other members may have to say about this and will welcome any tips or advice that only experience can give.

 

Thanks for reading this "essay", I hope I haven't caused any boredom and look forward to hearing from others.

 

Cheers, Andre

 

 

[turboplanner]

Hi everyone, I'm completely new to flying and have decided that since I enjoy leaning around corners and getting my 200hp bike airborne at speed that I may as well go to the next level and stay in the air a bit longer.I'm looking forward to gracing the skies and mostly the education and discipline that goes with it. I enjoy learning new things and find that the saying "If you don't use it, you lose it" is accurate and true, especially when it comes to "grey-matter" and youthfulness of the body.

 

Having flown a glider, I feel that both the bikes (when riden the way they were intended to perform) and aircraft have some striking similarities, namely that "what goes up must come down" and that both disciplines require firstly a good teacher, then a good student. Throw in appreciable hand-foot-eye coordination (the ability to use each appendage independently, uniformly & automatically), the need for 360deg. spatial awareness, the ability to fully focus the mind on the task at hand (be "in the now"), to have the ability to discern conditions, distances, relative speed and be able to do what seems to be counter-intuitive in emergencies.

 

Riding high speed missiles certainly has the mind working on a heightened level, with senses keen and the body responsive. The old saying "he who hesitates is lost" applies here as I'm sure it would also do to flying.

 

Our bikes are capable of 300kph, get there in about 15 secs, and spend most of the time either pawing the air or going sideways. A good sharp rise in the surface will launch the bike, airborne for 30 metres or more, pitch and yaw needs compensating to make a good clean landing.Very exciting stuff but one mistake and it all comes undone very quickly.... and it really hurts!!!

 

Enter : Flying!

 

As I age I feel the need for freedom more and more and look forward to seeing the world from a higher perspective. With full appreciation to inherant dangers, it has been my experience that a life without calculated risk is very boring and dull, therefore I refuse to grow old gracefully. However, instead it is my aim that any future gracefulness will be experienced by me in the skies above and not in a nursing home (which from my experience is a place of a certain end of a certain kind). Nobody ever seems to come back from those places, have you all noticed?

 

So, I'm a newbie, here to say hi and at the start of the new journey, mindful of the right attitude and hopefully with a good teacher I'll learn the right habits. I expect to make mistakes on the way, it's not really "learning" without them.

 

I've been advised to learn to fly in a tail-dragger with the understanding that it'll make for a better pilot, especially when it comes to emergencies. I'd be very interested to hear what other members may have to say about this and will welcome any tips or advice that only experience can give.

 

Thanks for reading this "essay", I hope I haven't caused any boredom and look forward to hearing from others.

 

Cheers, Andre

Some people like taildraggers for the excitement of the more difficult ground handling, others because taildraggers can land on rougher ground, but don't get hung up on them, they were superseded from around the end of WW2 for some very good reasons, the main one being less AC write offs and expensive repairs. Tricycle allows you to tact on windier days without weathercocking or having a helper. In the taildragger heydays fields were mostly all-over paddocks so you could take off into wind. Tricycle prevents the nose-over under brakes. And you can steer round busy airport taxiways at a bit above idle. If you just want fun nothing wrong with a taildragger. If you want to fly cross-country, tricycle is one less issue to deal with. I'd try both. A lot of your bike skills will transfer well but in interestingly different ways.

 

 

[Downunder]

Andre, have you tried a trike ( microlight) ?

 

It's like a 3D motorcycle in some respects...... even has a handlebar.....

 

 

[Birdseye]

As a past Hayabusa rider, I can vouch that the only time you'll get the same sensation of speed is in the last seconds of a terminal dive!

 

 

[facthunter]

Plenty of pilots are also motorcycle desperates. even way back that was often the case..Don't buy a plane until you have a fair bit of time around them to make a more informed decision.. If you are into outback off airfield trips a tailwheel would be more appropriate in rough stuff. with a slower landing speed type and bigger tyres. You don't need to overdo that, the big wheels thingys are for alaska . A highwing can go through farm gates and you can keep out of the rain too. Planes don't like hail and storms and you need to tie them down securely if you travel or arrange a hangar if you can. Don't leave most planes out in the open all the time. You need a hangar and don't share it with people who aren't careful about hangar rash. Bumping planes is dangerous and a safety risk. Repair costs are based on the NEW price not what you buy the thing for. Good luck with your new venture. Nev

 

 

[Earl Pike]

Flying an aeroplane is very much like motorcycling.

 

It is physics, finesse and being one step ahead.

 

Similar to downhill mountain biking, down hill skiing and snow boarding.

 

There is no thinking about work, the mortgage, what the kids are doing.

 

That is where you are, right there in the moment, occupying every part of your thoughts and actions.

 

It is called concentration, a fantastic drug.

 

You will love it. Fly every thing you can.