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Do you guys have people around you who do not like your hobby?

So, I do not mean people who hate airplanes and such, but rather people who are afraid of flying and then worry too much about you.

My dad is not so fond of flying in general, so he worries way too much about me whenever I mention my plans of getting a PPL and such. I tried to look up statistics but somehow they are not in my favor when it comes to this Then, I tried to explain to him that there are a billion worse things I could pursue as a hobby that could make him worry for good reasons. So, this is still a work in progress for me…

On the other hand I now started to worry about it as well a bit since I don’t want to pursue this if it causes too much worrying for my dad. As a note, I am a full grown adult who lived the past 5 years abroad for for studying . I guess he managed to deal with that somehow, so now I just have to convince him to deal with flying as well!

Always keep the horizon in view!
LSZH

What my wife doesn’t like about my PPL training is mainly the time spent away from her and our son, not so much the flying per se though she does worry about my safety. She also finds the time I spend at the airfield is spent ineffectively, i.e. 3 hours at the field for just 1,5 h of logged flight time.

Low-hours pilot
EDVM Hildesheim, Germany

My wife is not particularly fond of flying either (although she is not afraid for me), which leads to a constant state where I have to choose between flying alone or being with her. With time, this leads to friction in the relationship, difficult choices (e.g. go/no go for a fly-in; go to Africa for 10 days alone or don’t do it; etc.), hard times justifying the expenses and generally reduced pleasure of the hobby

Last Edited by Vladimir at 17 Apr 08:21
LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

@cucumber
Give it some time. Never describe situations where anything went wrong. When over the years you succeed in not dying, your Dad might become acclimated.

My wife never objected to my flying, but she used to be quite frightened of it for herself, even in Boeings. She’s much more relaxed now, even in over water trips to Greek islands, etc. It’s partly acclimation and partly trust in the pilot. You have to preserve the impression you know what you’re doing. Never tell me exciting “war stories” to the nervous if you want them to join you.

Last Edited by WhiskeyPapa at 17 Apr 08:47
Tököl LHTL

Vladimir wrote:

With time, this leads to friction in the relationship, difficult choices (e.g. go/no go for a fly-in; go to Africa for 10 days alone or don’t do it; etc.), hard times justifying the expenses and generally reduced pleasure of the hobby

That would be clear reasons for me to find another partner, since I could not imagine restricting my passion or even giving up.
My wife used to be afraid of flying when I met her. This year she passed her night flight exam and is keen to get her IR.

Berlin, Germany

Your Dad’s anxiety about your flying is easily cured. Tell him you’re buying a really fast motorcycle.

EGTT, The London FIR

Finners wrote:

Your Dad’s anxiety about your flying is easily cured. Tell him you’re buying a really fast motorcycle.

According to a (maybe not so) recent post here in EuroGA when risk was assessed, approximately the same probability of injuring/dying

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

Leaving you partner for flying?
As much as i like flying, i would never leave my partner for it. Hard to imagine somebody would.
Or let me put it another way: Who is willing to do that has the wrong partner anyway.

Vladimir wrote:

Finners wrote:
Your Dad’s anxiety about your flying is easily cured. Tell him you’re buying a really fast motorcycle.

According to a (maybe not so) recent post here in EuroGA when risk was assessed, approximately the same probability of injuring/dying

So that would be a half-measure. You need to establish positive control of the bargaining spectrum (as our union bosses used to say). Book a block of ten lessons in a Robinson R22.

And yes, it may cost 3-4 Aviation Monetary Units for those 10 hours in a helicopter, but when you go back to your PPL(A) training you’ll find that keeping the rubber side down is, relatively speaking, a doddle.

Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom

dylan_22 wrote:

Leaving you partner for flying?
As much as i like flying, i would never leave my partner for it. Hard to imagine somebody would.
Or let me put it another way: Who is willing to do that has the wrong partner anyway

Absolutely. One has to question the priorities of someone willing to do that or indeed the quality of their relationship.
In my case I started PPL training after getting married, so a “take it or leave it” attitude would be even less justified.
I am actually looking forward to the day I can take my wife and kids airborne. She has quite some interest in flying, even applied for ATCO training with DFS years ago, so I am still hopeful of being able to share this hobby with her.

Low-hours pilot
EDVM Hildesheim, Germany
92 Posts
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