![[Home]](../buttonHomeI.jpg){kind=small}
![[Previous]](../buttonPreviousI.jpg){kind=small}
![[Up]](../buttonUpI.jpg){kind=small}
![[Search]](../buttonSearchI.jpg){kind=small}
![[Next]](../buttonNextI.jpg)
|
|
A State of Being |
|
I've been asked many times why I take the risk of flying low-level aerobatics, why I endure its extreme and unique stresses, why I work so hard to excel. But there is a more fundamental question I don't hear as often, and that is: why do I fly at all? For non-fliers who view professional pilots from a distance, their thoughts may range towards things like, "It's a way to make a living," or "They're good at it," or any one of a long list of reasons that have nothing at all to do with the actual activity of flight. Other pilots have a much closer perspective, so it's not surprising that they can more easily understand my distinctly personal opinion.
"For me, flying is not merely an activity like bicycling or playing golf or talking with friends. While these can be pleasant pursuits, they lack the requirement of a dedicated focus. " For me, flying is not merely an activity like bicycling or playing golf or talking with friends. While these can be pleasant pursuits, they lack the requirement of a dedicated focus. Your mind can easily wander while pedaling down a path, or walking from shot to shot or laughing over a good joke. Life's activities can so easily intrude into your thoughts while you are doing any one of a multitude of things. While these mundane and extraneous flashes can harmlessly leap in and out of your consciousness for most activities, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to flying. For me, flying is a state of being. It is a place and a destination as much as an activity. It demands that you live in the moment, that you focus your thoughts and actions in a prescribed concert. When you do so, you sweep away all the mundane minutiae of daily life. And at that point, I find myself in a place that is challenging yet relaxing, expansive while confined, comforting and exciting, all at once. Flying is a truly unique experience that, for me, brings all the diverse elements of life together. This is particularly true for low-level aerobatics. A friend of mine, Bob Bishop, who flies airshow routines in a BD-5 Jet, describes this Zen-like state of being as 'hyperfocus', an extreme concentration for an immediate task while keeping the big picture in mind. Hyperfocus allows me a heightened efficiency and precision of movement that becomes almost addictive.
"A high performance aerobatic machine becomes one with your thoughts. Think of something and it does it, almost immediately. At this level, you wear the machine, not just sit inside it." At this point, you might think that hyperfocus sounds like a lot of work. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you detach yourself from life's distractions, your focused activity becomes your entire world. I can think of only a handful of activities that allow you to transcend the everyday experiences so completely as flying does. This is true of whatever and whenever I fly. I find my Baron brings me to a heightened state of being in a similar, if not identical way to my Extra. Of course, it should not come to anyone's surprise that I believe low-level aerobatics is the ultimate expression of flying. A high performance aerobatic machine becomes one with your thoughts. Think of something and it does it, almost immediately. At this level, you wear the machine, not just sit inside it. You become the aircraft and by doing so, become one with the world of sky, land and water. So, why do you fly?
|
