In the time since I made a complete fool of myself to the control tower (see "What the Hell is Beta?" post) I've come to the conclusion that I'm in desperate need of more flight training. Or review. Or both. Either way, my aviation knowledge is definitely lacking and in need of upgrading. And since there does not seem to be any chance of trading in the Fargo any time soon, I may as well make use of her while she's around. The problem is, additional flight training means spending time in a little cockpit with an instructor I can't stand.

I will be the first to admit it, pilots seem to think a little more highly of themselves than most other hobbiests. And really, why not? Can you honestly say you've not watched a youtube video of someone flying their RC plane and thought to yourself, "go fly a real plane and stop playing with toys?" And then after that or some similar thought, did not a little self-satisfied smile creep across your face because you, at least, could fly a real plane and that person is left to remote flying pretend ones? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say I'm any better than anyone else, I'm just saying, there's something about being able to lift yourself off the ground and fly through the air that makes you feel part of some elite group that is able to do the impossible. When you leave the safety of the runway and see your passenger's excited and somewhat nervous face, you feel pretty cool. Even without a passenger, you still feel pretty cool. Not many people can look into the air and say, "It's a good day for a flight. I think I'll go." You worked hard to be able to say that, and now you're part of only a handful of people who can. So, being a pilot is a bit of an earned sense of entitlement. The problem is, some people take it too far. People like my flight instructor.

On a side note, I just to quickly explain myself as I'm sure that last paragraph made me seem like a haughty, arrogant, pilot (or, if you'd like, simply read the last post I just made, the one where I was too dumb to tie a rope, that will prove I don't think even a little too highly of myself, I'm apparently not smart enough). Fist of all, I fly the Fargo. That along is enough to keep me humble. And really, I don't fly it all that well either, so that also brings my arrogance down a few notches. Until I'm flying loops in a plane that would make Hannes Arc jealous, I'm going to stay humble. Secondly, I don't fly so I can impress people, I fly because I absolutely, totally love it. I get grumpy when I can't fly, and often, in those grumpy periods or when I'm having difficulties as always seems to be the case, I wish I'd never taken up flying in the first place. What I'm getting at is, I'm not a pilot to show off, I'm a pilot because that's what enables me to fly. But I have a feeling my instructor is a pilot for the sole purpose of impressing others.

It's mean, I know, but I'm pretty sure my flight instructor was not well-liked as a child. He gives off this, repeatedly-shoved-into-lockers-and-had-lunch-money-stolen-every-day-at-school kind of vibe. And I understand, school is hell for most people. The thing is, I don't think he's really moved on. I think he's still trying to prove that he's cool by reciting his flight hours to anyone that will listen. And yes, he has quite a few. Good for him. I have about 1% of his flight time. But I really don't think that makes him a better person. I think that makes him more exerienced, which would probably be helpful to someone like me, but he doesn't share this exerience well. As opposed to trying to help you improve, he uses your lack of experience to hold you back while opening up more opportunities to show off all his knowledge. It is precisely this attitude that is making it hard for me to get more flight training.

Find another instructor, you say? I would. But there aren't any around. The other school refuses to teach in my own plane and I'm not about to pay 150 bucks an hour to rent another useless lame plane when I have my own perfectly lame one racking up hangar rent. So, my option is to teach myself and review the material from my Private Licence, or swallow any ego I might have and climb in next to this instructor and try to weed out any useful tidbits of knowledge I can find amongst his bragging. Well, when I put it that way, the decision becomes quite obvious...I must find a third option. There's got to be one out there.