Private flying is a social activity. If you’re not a pilot, this probably sounds strange. But believe me, flying is an excellent way to make new friends. I can’t go to one of the clubs or schools I flew by without meeting a friend and start one of these endless, passionate discussions pilots like. My last visit in Geneva was no exception. Within half a day I discussed with a dozen other pilots or aviation enthusiasts.

Long time ago, I used to give flight preparation and aerodynamics classes for student pilots preparing the PPL theoretical exam. I met two of them and both had good news. One earned her PPL the week before, and the other just bought a plane. Alone, not as co-owner. And not an used one, but a brand new Cirrus Perspective ! Me, jealous ? Just a bit, but I was really happy for him.

The news on my side are also quite exciting… We discussed about the flight I’m preparing across America next year. The flyingacrossamerica.com project is fascinating and I love to preach for General Aviation. On the less funny side, I decided not to fly anymore before starting it, to save as much money as I can. If you don’t know why, check www.flyingacrossamerica.com. Not flying for one year will be hard, but the goals behind are worth it.

This brings me to the second part of this post: one more reason to fly. Long time ago, I posted a series of posts detailing several reasons to fly. By that time I identified three of them: Pleasure Sharing – Going There – Good Flying is Rewarding. Someone, a fellow pilot, who kindly bought miles for www.flyingacrossamerica.com told me the reason why he decided to donate: the project makes him dream ! How could I forget this when I prepared the “Reasons to fly” series ?

The private pilot license is a license to learn, but also a license to dream. Ask any pilot around you what his or her dream flight is, you’ll be surprise of how quick the answers come. You’ll also be surprised by the variety of  answers. Some will name a destination, or a route. Others will tell you they’d like to get rated on a certain aircraft type, or get an additional rating. Pilots are dreamers, and like to share their dreams. Is that not an excellent reason to fly ?