small airplanes
no, I don't pilot. the idea appealed to me when I was a kid and imagined everything was free. once I began to understand how much time, energy, and money I'd put into just learning to fly, it became one of those dreams that has no charge on it. if I ever got hysterically rich, I'd learn to pilot. I later learned how much a plane would cost, how much a Lear jet would cost, how much fuel would cost, how fast a plane burned through fuel, and whatever residue of charge lingered vanished. (a funny observation, or maybe it's only funny to me: a book a cousin compiled on one stream of ancestors in America, the Buies, says of them that they were all good citizens, small farmers, or small shop owners. I grinned when I read that. I was perfectly willing to be a good engineering employee, even a damned good engineering employee, but felt no temptation to become a licensed engineer. Later I saw this as a small ambition, related to what it took for good citizens to become small farmers or small shop owners. there's nothing wrong with that I suppose, but it somehow doesn't share the American dream.) but back to small airplanes. I have been given rides in several. I love the strange feeling of hanging in the air while the world drifts by under you. I knew this wasn't the proper explanation at all, but that's how it felt every time. I think every time I've been up, I've been in a model which has the engine and propeller forward of the cabin, the wing mounted above the cabin, and the body stretched back to hold the tail (the rudder and stabilizers) in place. I knew about thrust and drag, lift and gravity, how the airfoil worked, and so forth. and I loved the ride, the strange peacefulness when everything is working right. I'm happy to say I've never experienced the thrill when some force gets out of balance with its mate. I'm perfectly willing to forego that. I'm happy to continue appreciating small airplanes that are working well.
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