Post by Ir. Hj. Othman bin Hj. AhmadI still have doubts about my ability at an age older than 50. My eyes,
memory and reflexes are not getting any better, so it is refreshing to
get an encouraging note from someone else. I may even need to do
complete medical checkup once a year but this is a good thing anyway.
Before I get started on the main thrust of my post, I must state that I am
only 28 years old, so my knowledge of older ages is purely by observation.
I don't think you have anything to worry about here. A lot of people start
flying around your age, for exactly the reasons you state. I'm lucky to be
able to fly at my age. Most people don't have the time or the money. A lot
more people start flying in their 40s and 50s, as their children grow up
and their income grows enough to make it work.
A very good friend of mine just stopped flying recently, at the age of (I
think) 78. He was very active until just a couple of years ago. He was
still physically capable of flying well, but it was getting marginal and
he just wasn't enjoying it as much as he once did.
Another friend who is also a co-owner of my plane is in his 70s and still
very active.
Certainly there can be medical troubles which prevent someone from flying,
and the chances of having such a thing increase as you get older, but it
seems that pure old age will not make you unsafe to fly until a very
advanced age.
Post by Ir. Hj. Othman bin Hj. AhmadWhen the price of oil shot up to over US100, I started abandoning my
dream of lying as an extravagant and therefore frivolous pursuit. Now
that the price of oil has gone down below US40, I start reconsidering
this hobby by first visiting this group. I'm surprised to see someone
with similar situation as I am.
As a glider pilot I can only recommend that you check into sailplanes as
well. The price of gas affects us much less! Of course if powered flight
is what you want to do then powered flight is what you should do.
Post by Ir. Hj. Othman bin Hj. AhmadMaybe it is time for me to immediately invest some time and money in
the demo flight but I should be more prepared. I have left my flight
simulation for too long since I upgraded to Vista. All my joysticks
are not supported by Vista. I had to buy a new one but it might be
better to invest in the demo flight in order to get real flying
experience. Someone told me that flight sickness is a problem but I
never have severe travel sickness problem, either on a plane, car or
even boat, although a small plane will tumble more and in all
directions which will test my resistance to travel sickness.
The utility of simulators is greatly debated on this group, but all I'll
say about it is that you should try to get in the air as soon and as often
as you can. Simulation is a poor substitute for the real thing.
As for airsickness, it varies so much depending on the individual. Most
people have no trouble with it, or just a little bit at the beginning of
their training. Some people have trouble with it longer, and a few people
never really get over it. However even if you're one of those unfortunate
people who never truly gets over it, it does not have to stop you from
flying!
Post by Ir. Hj. Othman bin Hj. AhmadI promise myself to start the task before I'm 55 years old. Won't I be
childish in dreaming of flyijng around an airfield? I must learn how
to thicken my face, especially in my Borneon environment. After all,
Borneo is still among the most remote and inaccessible places still
present on earth.
I can't speak to Borneo, but from what I've seen around my airport, if you
show up wanting to learn to fly at the age of 55 you'll fit right in with
everybody else. It's us youngsters showing up to fly who are the unusual
ones.
--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon