What I meant was: "those who got into it before and found their hobby eventually blocked by their new partner remain a mystery to me 
Let’s say I was divorced with 2 kids (either living with me, or much more likely not, but with contact). I would not look for a woman who can’t stand kids. Whoops… I have met a number of men who did just that…
Yup! Got my license a few days after my 24th birthday.
Peter wrote:
Lots of men got into this hobby after they were married but those who got into it before remain a mystery to me.
It feels good to be a mystery man.
Central to this debate is the evidently widespread inability of men to choose a partner who doesn’t dislike their principal hobby
Lots of men got into this hobby after they were married but those who got into it before remain a mystery to me. Well, we can all make jokes about how men choose women Justine often jokes that I am unable to find anything in the fridge above chest height 
Almost no woman would make such a choice.
For those with enough time and too little money to do the flying they would want to do: read Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism.
Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondohes just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didnt absolutely need. The effects were remarkable: Sasaki gained true freedom, new focus, and a real sense of gratitude for everything around him. In Goodbye, Things Sasaki modestly shares his personal minimalist experience, offering specific tips on the minimizing process and revealing how the new minimalist movement can not only transform your space but truly enrich your life. The benefits of a minimalist life can be realized by anyone, and Sasakis humble vision of true happiness will open your eyes to minimalisms potential.
One of the main themes here is that many gather stuff that is only meant to impress others (Steven Jobs: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life)
Another main point is that it’s not about minimisation as such, it’s about just gathering the stuff that you really have a passion for and thus can provide happiness.
If there is such a thing as a thing that provides real happiness (i think so) I guess most pilot/owners are doing the right thing. You fly for passion or (even better..) combine it with utility and not because you want to show your wealth. For showing off it would be stupid to choose an airplane anyway. Sitting there most of the time in a drafty hangar for no-one to see, and that lovely sounding ATC officer doesn’t see much of you either at 10.000/40.000 ft. And the admiring glances of the FBO people are just a reflection of them thinking ‘ha, here’s an other rip-off opportunity Showing off wealth is done by buying a Ferrari and driving up and down Main Street/ High Street/ Plaza Mayor for hours
Snoopy wrote:
I think it’s also about age and life experience. When kids are part of the equation things change and it makes sense to be cautious.
(The quote was actually MedEwoks but of course it applies to me as well)
It certainly does. The primary thing however is trust and quite a few pilots I know found out the hard way that their spouses think very lowly of them when it comes to capabilities such as flying a plane. One guy whose better half flatly refused ever to fly with him quoted it to me as “You who can not repair our sink or hit a straight nail in fly an airplane? Forget it!” and when told that they would not have given him the license if he was so incapable she mused that the examiner must have been one of their flying gang. I have not seen this guy for ages flying so I suppose he stopped. Personally, I find this quite insulting and it should be a reason to question a relationship, not for the flying part but for the fact that she seems to think him a totally incapable guy. I could not live with someone who distrusts me for the simplest things r asks things of me which I am not trained for (I am no plumber for starters and the guy I am talking about was mid level banker).
Snoopy wrote:
Might not be rational but like many people who give up motorcycling I started flying a plane with a parachute when I became a father.
That makes a lot of sense. And for those of us who can not afford to do so, to be more careful when flying SEP´s with the family. VMC day only for starters or IMC with plenty of ceiling. But the fact of the matter is that in this case most of us should also stop driving or leaving the house at all. And that will have very bad consequences, as even subconciously people will start blaming their loss of life quality on the kid. I really don´t want that to happen.
MedEwok wrote:
My wife recently remarked that I try to live the life of a 50something (doing lots of stuff both for work and as a hobby) while being in my 30s, and this just doesn’t work
Well, family life and hobbies usually don´t match unless you have a very understanding wife. Most of my colleagues totally retire from any hobby they have until the kids are in school, some only ever come back once they are out of the house. But that is a choice: Family vs freedom. I also have stopped flying since 2 years, which was not a concious decision but a simple result of having NO time at all beyond a few forum posts in my lunch break at work. I also have stopped most other activities but tending to my daughter is something I also relish very much. I hope to be back flying within a few weeks now but we shall see. Time in any case is the most precious comodity and we all lack it.
The rich in time have the option of gliding clubs – quite a few airline pilots started out in these, hour building doing tug duty, and learning superior energy management in glider aerobatics. If you have time these clubs are the most economical way to gain experience.
I think this thread shows that there are many angles to the time/money problem. It’s basically a question of what one wants out of life and how to achieve that goal.
My personal experience is that a job that pays well enough to fly GA regularly will also be a job that leaves one with little spare time. YMMV.
The next aspect is that “free time” itself is distributed among many activities. Having responsibilities in addition to paid work will drastically reduce “free time”. The most draining is probably having very young children, although taking care of elderly relatives can be just as much “work”. Generally, having a family reduces your leeway on how to spend your time considerably. However, most humans have a natural desire not to live alone, so family seems preferable to a single life even if you get to fly less (again YMMV).
In the end the ultimate combination of having plenty of money and time to fly (Or pursue other activities of one’s choosing) will be rare and hard to achieve without a bit of fortune. The situation tends to ease when one gets older, income increases and the children are grown up.
My wife recently remarked that I try to live the life of a 50something (doing lots of stuff both for work and as a hobby) while being in my 30s, and this just doesn’t work
In a Super Cub you have to be very rich in time :)
Mooney_Driver wrote:
However, as long as I am still very inexperienced as a pilot my wife doesn’t want to fly with me, which is somewhat understandable
I think it’s also about age and life experience. When kids are part of the equation things change and it makes sense to be cautious.
My girlfriend flew with no hesitation with me right after the PPL. But we were younger and had no kids. We flew once with the little one aboard but it was just a local flight in a very new plane. Somehow I do think twice if we should both be onboard alone when flying further away, with one and soon two kids. That’s why I fly the Cirrus. Might not be rational but like many people who give up motorcycling I started flying a plane with a parachute when I became a father.
