Raise your hand if you’ve had the following conversation: “So, do you have your own airplane?” You nod and maybe display a photo from your phone. “Is it like a Cessna?” You offer more specifics. “Where do you keep it?” You respond with XYZ airport. “You mean…like right at the airport?” You clarify that it’s kept in a hangar. “So, do you need permission to fly…like give somebody a flight plan or something, right?” You attempt to clarify further, but an expression of consternation usually remains.
Apparently as a veteran airline pilot, I am a magnet for such exchanges because folks consider the profession an authority on all things aviation. In reality, no pilot is a complete authority, especially me. Maybe some of us just appear to have more credibility than others. It’s been many years since I’ve focused on the opportunity to share the flying experience—one of them being the iconic $100 hamburger, which we all know has probably doubled in price. Most nonpilots are familiar with the concept but have never really experienced it.
