Like Father, Like Son...

I used to race sailboats.  When I had kids, I thought the perfect thing would be to have them become my race crew as they got older.  My daughter would run foredeck; my son would trim.  It would be great.  In what other sport do you get to compete as a family team?

After a few attempts at sailing camps and clinics, I discovered my children had ZERO interest in sailboat racing.  Sure, they enjoy casual sailing as a family -- even week long trips on the boat -- just not racing.  Oh, well.  Life is what happens when you are making other plans.

As your kids get older you start realizing the value of shared experiences.  It's important to find things that both you and your kids enjoy doing together.  My son is an avid hockey player and my daughter is an equestrian enthusiast and while I appreciate both domains, they are not my passion.  Alex has an on again, off again interest in golf so anytime he says, "hey Dad, why don't we go play golf today...", I leap at it.  But, it's not a regular thing.

Flying is different.  Alex loves flying.  He seems to have a natural gift for it.  All of his instructors say this about him (maybe they are biased).  Maybe most kids have an affinity for flying.  They seem to be far less encumbered by the mental constraints adults have when learning complex new skills.

We took our first few lessons together.  A few weeks ago, we flew with separate instructors at the same time.  It was pretty amazing to be in the pattern and hear him calling the tower for landing clearance.

At this point, I think it's best we take lessons separately for awhile.  I think the risk is too high having us both in the same plane while each of us is learning fairly complicated maneuvers.  Plus, I find I am a bit distracted when he is in the plane because I am worrying he is having a fun or getting enough "stick time".

Alex is absolutely set on getting his pilot's license before his drivers license.  He wants to do it in a tail dragger no less.  But, he's 14 1/2 and can't solo until he's 16 and can't get his private pilot's license until he is 17.  So, it doesn't make financial sense to have him pile up a lot of student hours until he gets a little closer to those ages.  But, I know a passion when I see one, so we'll schedule one or two lessons a month for him to keep the fire burning.

One day we'll fly together and keep each other safe.