PPL's – Next Generation…?

Rather frighteningly, I can see the resemblance!!!!!

So what does ours look like?

She’s grown since you last saw her.

Well, I couldn’t see out of a Chippy when I flew them with the ATC, aged 13.
God knows what Charlie saw!! Still,good effort.

17/12/03 What a day! 1,000K viz, nil wind, slow-rolling a Tiger at 3,000 ft and three cheers for the Wright Brothers.

That’s the way, start ’em young

Yep, my son even beat me, i was a year old. Charlie went at 7 months on the 17th Dec 2003. He was so impressed with the Chipmunk he went to sleep!
is grand mother still hasent forgiven me!!!

So what does ours look like?

I hate to think!!! 😀

The kid is cute. That’s what matters.

So what does ours look like?

I remember asking my father at about five if propellor planes were all going to vanish, one day, and thinking that’d be ‘a bad thing’.

I’ve never seen a propellor plane …
… does anyone want to finish this one off for me? Nah let’s just move on.
The kid is cute. That’s what matters.

Can’t go wrong Steve.

Good call to get Flight No.1 ‘right’.

My first was a flight in my dad’s lap in the front seat of a Tiger Moth. Back then, they were used for glider towing (Victoria, Aus, 1968, as you asked) so hardly rare or valuable! I was two. Got my paws on the controls at age three – something ‘boring’ and twin engined.

Not a pilot, but I’m not complaining about the quality of aviation I’ve been involved in, and it keeps getting better.

I recon we’ll be surprised at what’s flying in 20 – 30 years time. I mean, if you took a snapshot of what happens in aviation today, and could show it to aviators from any time in the past, they’d be amazed. I remember asking my father at about five if propellor planes were all going to vanish, one day, and thinking that’d be ‘a bad thing’. Ahhhh.

Time for the pills. 😉

What a sweet looking little lad. 😉 Anna

My one? Nah, he’s a monster. Makes me look tame!

Its funny how the aviation bug seems to filter through the generations

Not always – my dad is terrified of flying. I have to feed him brandy just to get him to Malaga and back!!!!

What a sweet looking little lad. 😉 Anna

Bet thats gonna burn a hole in your packet later in life! Not to worry

That’s the way, start ’em young

Yup! 🙂 (it’s a vidcap, hence the quality)

Its funny how the aviation bug seems to filter through the generations- I caught it from my father in the very early years, but managed to filter out the old lorries and railways, which were parallel obsessions. Whilst his interest was theorectical, I wanted to actually fly the things, and that has become a reality.

Propstrike junior has been eagerly involved with aeroplanes from an early age, and he may well choose to take it further. I wonder if private flying will be recognisable in 20 years or so, or if we will all have been grounded for ‘safely’ or ‘environmental’ reasons.

Then again, perhaps there will be a still be a training fleet of trusty old Cessna 150’s and PA 28’s! Somehow, I suspect there might….

That’s the way, start ’em young

Ah Steve, it brings back some distant memories, which by an unexpected following of coincidences in my life brought me back to flying… I explain.

My dad too took me flying when I was about the same age as your son. I loved it. He used to make me follow on the controls too. I was so scared to put us in a dive but at the same time so proud 🙂 In fact, I loved it so much that obviously I wanted to become a pilot. I had even started trying to read my Dad’s PPL syllabus books…

Unfortunately, for lots of reasons he let his license lapsed and I soon moved to different hobbies. But these unforgettable memories were to re-surface some 15 years later with no warning sign at all.

After graduation, I found a job in South Africa, near Capetown… I didn’t know anybody there but took on the challenge anyway.

As I’m not the type of person who likes to sit around feeling sorry for myself, I quickly prospected for activities where I could meet people: surfing, diving, climbing and… parachuting! Yes, I had always wanted to do a parachute jump and not a week after my arrival maybe I booked myself through an old brochure I found in the flat I was renting.

It turned out that, according to the brochure, the airfield was not 10 minutes drive away from my place. Great! The jump was on the Sunday, I had to be there at 7am. On Saturday, I decided to check out the place. And that’s when the unexpected was waiting for me.

When I arrived at the airfield, nobody knew about parachuting! I managed to find someone who explained that apparently the activity had moved to a different place two years ago.

Jeeze, where the hell had I booked myself?

It later turned out that the place was 2 hours drive away but the telephone number had not changed! That was going to be an early start on the Sunday.

BUT (I’m getting to my point Steve, don’t worry)

On this Saturday, as I was standing next to the club house of the Stellenbosch Airfield, watching the small aircrafts I could not recognise or name, it just all came back to me, all the memories of my dad taking me flying and how much I loved it.

I had not seen that coming but in a matter a 30 minutes, I had enquired about flight training, got the documentation, a briefing with an instructor… and a week later, after a medical, I was pre-flighting a C152 for my first lesson!

All that to say that sometimes dreams can come true just not necessary as you expect them or when you expect them to.

If I hope to do the same with my son one day (provided I have one), my next dream is to fly with my dad: this time I’ll be in control and he’ll be following through 🙂

Cheers,
Steph

You’ll regret it when pocket money requests go over £100 a week to pay for flying lessons! Glad he didn’t feel sick, that’s what’s happened with all the kids I’ve taken flying.

YR

Child abuse! Ring Esther quick.

Small child exposed to R22 at an impressionable age. You bounder Steve!

Esther!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moggy

Fantastic. I can’t think of anything finer. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to take AF Junior up. He’s been in a glider several times and loves it.