Flying offers a different kind of entertainment. And while not a lot of people are into it, I am sure there is a decent number of people who are like me, a man who loves recreational flying. My interest in recreational flying started when I was a kid. Whenever I saw helicopters and airplanes, I am imagining myself as the pilot. I imagine myself flying to wherever I want to. At some point, I wanted to become a professional pilot. In my mind, being a pilot is actually not a job but a form of leisure. Who would not want to be up in the sky? Only a few people are given the chance to soar the sky and pilots are the chosen ones.

However, as I grow up I realized that the life of the pilot is not that easy. A pilot spends most of his time away from his family. A professional pilot conquers the world but that comes with disadvantages too. He will spend most of his time away from his loved ones. He will not see his kids grow right before his very eyes. There are even times when he spends his holidays away from home. I don’t want to be away from my family, especially on special occasions. So, instead of being a professional pilot I decided to go with recreational flying.

What is recreational flying? Well, it is simply flying for enjoyment. You fly using a modern comfortable aircraft, in good weather condition, and unrestricted rule of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. If you are just like me who loves flying, but don’t want to take it on a professional level because of other priorities, then recreational flying is for you. There are different types of an aircraft, but the aircraft I used for flying is built in modern design standards. It burns less fuel and has significantly lower operating expenses as compared to a commercial aircraft.

With recreational flying, the cost is less. But, just like when one applies to be a professional pilot, those who wish to engage in recreational flying will also need to take some schooling and training in order to have the proper knowledge and skill to safely fly an aircraft. There are a lot of training schools for recreational flying. It does cost you money, but you will surely get the best value for your hard earned money.

I started my aircraft training when I was 20 years old and fifteen years later, I still enjoy flying. I know I made the right decision fifteen years ago. I was skeptical back then because of the expensive cost of the training, but the enjoyment I get from recreational flying is priceless, and this fulfillment is what drives me now to promote this craft to more people. I really wish more people would engage in this recreational activity so that it blossoms and inspires those who brave it.

Appreciating Life For Having Great Friends

I am amazed by human nature’s tendency to develop a love affair with many things. In my life, I have friends who share the same interests with mine, which is recreational flying. However, I also have friends who are not as adventurous as I am. So these are the people who enjoy the safer side like playing golf and watching football. I also have friends on the contradictory side. They are passionate about the quite risky stuff. They are the types who enjoy scuba diving and recreational flying. I have a diverse circle of friends.

There is one good friend I’ve known since childhood. He has a passion for flying like me. I remember his room is filled with all sorts of airplane toys. During playtime, most of our pretend plays end up being a pilot and a passenger. At most times, it’s obvious I was his passenger. We would climb up trees and pretend to be up in the air. He is crazy about flying. I love to travel and see great places. That’s something we have in common.

His childhood affection with flying planes did not turn him into a professional pilot. He is a businessman who knows how to fly a glider plane. He enrolled in an aviation course, got a training and fly for the purpose of recreation. Sometimes I tease him for being weird and extremist. Our childhood pretend play became real. It’s a unique hobby he loves sharing with me. He would invite me to fly with him during a perfect weather. It’s always been a rare and worthwhile experience flying with him.

Not only are we bonded through recreation and fun, we share a thing for helping the community and initiating actions during bad times. We took it by heart to organize a group to help rebuild a neighborhood when it was devastated by a hurricane.

Of course, this organization would not have been possible if not for the help of my friend’s cousin, Jon. Jon owns a website about water damage restoration so it was not hard to efficiently serve the community. He was a good man that wanted to help people through his website he called MyWebPal. How could he not help the simple organization that we decided to start, right?

Jon generously shared his resources for the clean-up of the churches, schools and homes of low-income families. He also made sure that relief items were given to these families and he gave talks and seminars about how people can prevent future water damage in their homes.

It was great to be friends with people with warm hearts. It is with these kinds of friends that people can truly grow. They provided me great experiences – from flying to volunteerism. I thought all we would come to find joy in are toy planes. Through many years, I have been inspired by each and everyone’s dedication and passion. I never thought I would earn friends with the ability of casting a ripple effect of change to my community and most especially, my life.

Since my post on flying with pets I have been asked for some tips on flying with children, especially young babies. For those of us that regularly pass through airports, we know full well how difficult it is to not get stressed even when we are on our own. From long queues and delays, to bad food and security, there is every reason to not like being at an airport.

But this is significantly more stressful for families as you are in constant look out for your kids, everything takes longer and it really is not a child-friendly place. But there are some simple tips that you can follow to really reduce the level of stress and actually make it a quite pleasant experience. Some of these tips will not be free and prices charged will vary from airport to airport, but even if you just follow some of the free tips you will find the whole experience a lot easier.

First of all, try and book a flight time that is not too early or too late in the day. Because you need to be at the airport at least 2 or 3 hours before your flight, a take-off time of 7 AM means that you will be getting your family up in the middle of the night. This is not a good start to a vacation and it could take you a couple of days to recover.

Next, make sure you are at the check-in desk 3 hours before take-off. Ideally you will have been able to check in online the day before and you will have your boarding passes printed out. That way you will only need to drop off your bags once you get to the airport and you “only” need to tackle the security process.

The best thing to do here is also to be prepared with all your carry on stuff. The fewer bags you have the better, which can be difficult when you have diaper bags, change of clothes, coats, etc. The most important thing to plan for is the stroller which I have seen being a problem at so many airports.

Ideally you will have a small and compact umbrella stroller, which will be ideal for the entire travelling process. But in many cases that isn’t possible, especially if you have more than one child still using a stroller. Here it is important that you check the dimensions of your double stroller for infant and toddler and even contact the TSA before flying. Some double strollers will fit into the standard scanning equipment, but others will have to go through a separate machine. This can take extra time and is a bit of a hassle as you never quite know which queue to join.

Finally, pay the couple of dollars to get lounge access at the airport. It is a far more convenient way to keep an eye on your kids in a much quieter environment and many places have designated play areas for children to stay occupied.

I found this family travelling guide with a lot more detailed tips on travelling which includes a great checklist that will help you make sure everything is planned for.

An Anniston Estate Attorney That Is Into Recreational Flying

During one of my casual recreational flying sessions, I met an estate attorney. We got into a little chitchat about recreational flying and why we do it. I told her I just love the thrill that it gives me. That it makes me feel like I can do something more. She, on the other hand, does recreational flying because she wants to escape from the everyday stress and challenge of her chosen career. Not that she’s not happy, just that she needs to do something else, once in a while, to keep her sanity.

While we were in the topic, I asked her what an Anniston estate attorney like her does. She said that one of the things she mainly does is do Estate Plannings. Then she further explained what Estate planning is.

I learned that estate planning involves dealing with your property amid your lifetime and the safeguarding of its fitting disposition after your passing of wills, trusts, and a mixture of legitimate planning equipment.

They work with clients to outline customized estate plans that mirror their one of a kind circumstances. Clients share their trusts, dreams, qualities and objectives and attorneys listen and help them comprehend their choices. The consequence of such keen arranging is an estate arrangement that works. No estate is too little for watchful arranging.

When a client can no longer be there to watch over your friends and family, it is the attorney’s duty to guarantee that the individuals the client have decided to leave your wishes have the data, direction, and assets they require.

After hearing her explain what her job entails, I admired her for her strength. It is a difficult job to face people who are in situations that needed so much guarding of properties, not just because they are in the brink of leaving their loved ones, but also because finances usually brew family disputes that are also very difficult to face.

I asked her if she was working for that law firm named Wilentz (www.wilentz.com). She exclaimed a big NO and said she works for Sides, Oglesby, Held, Dick, Stephen & Clay LLC.

After our chitchat, we had our dose of our medicine-flying, and we parted ways.

This hobby really lets me experience a lot, including the experience of meeting new people with interesting lives.