Parenthood and General Aviation

Now, on to something a bit more personal. After all, it’s been a while.

One and a half years ago I became a father to a wonderful, funny and very bright little child. Never had I imagined finding myself in this role, but it quickly became second nature.

This change in my personal life did have a dramatic impact on the number of hours flown. Of course this is something I did anticipate. What I did not anticipate is the fact, that I’m OK with it. My flying buddies try to urge me in to flying more and continue on with my instrument rating. For now, aviation is not among my top priorities.

That being said, I know that I need to stay current. Every day not flying is a day that skills and confidence diminish. Thankfully I do have some fantastic pilot friends, with whom I can go on flying adventures, help out on the radios or do some flight training with. This year, even though I haven’t been flying often, every flight was something new, challenging and very rewarding.

Soon, my wife and I want to introduce our child to flying. Some visits to EDFC (Aschaffenburg) and a commercial flight from Rome to Frankfurt already went great. Our child was fascinated by all the planes departing and landing, as well as gliders being towed. Before we start, I will definitely need and want to fly more on a regular basis. Then, hopefully, flying will be something we can do as a family.

Then I might have some mental capacity to complete my Instrument Rating.