Page 27 - Volume 20 Number 9

the crowd of other gulls that can’t wait to get out of this business.
At cruise altitude, when the conversation turns to GA and airplane ownership, some of our pilots say the last thing they want to do during their time off is to fly an airplane. So, announcing that I like flying the MD-80 and that I sometimes fly for charity or fun while off-duty is not the way to make this Duke-flying seagull popular with other birds. How could anyone not love to fly airplanes, though? That’s just crazy talk. Still, many Part-121 pilots prefer to talk about activities unrelated to airplanes: sports, hunting, fishing, sailing, golf and dozens of others – and that’s great. They own and operate businesses ranging from farming and real estate to restaurants, repair shops and beekeeping. Some are physicians, dentists or veterinarians. They compete in sporting events, fishing tournaments and pet shows. They travel in RV’s and on snowmobiles. Some are professional investors: traders of stocks, commodities or currency. Some are pilots simply because it generates income – and it certainly does that. But, without some passion for flying, why would anyone endure life on the road, constant training, the regulatory mousetraps, family hardships, ongoing scrutiny of our flying ability and physical condition, with the mighty dollar as the only motivation?
For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating.
For most pilots, money musters motivation just fine. Where’s the fun in that? There’s a line in the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams. When discussing his love for baseball and why they put up with the hardships, Shoeless Joe Jackson (played by Ray Liotta) describes his love of the game by saying: “ ... hell, I’d play for free.” And so it is for some pilots. In fact, most pilots are not paid to fly at all; they pay to fly. Unfortunately, the charter, check hauling, flight instructing, regional airlines, fractionals, and a multitude
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SEPTEMBER 2016 TWIN & TURBINE • 25