Airplane addiction...

Hi, my name is KT, and I am addicted to airplanes...I love airplanes...ever since I was a kid and flew on them all the time shuttling back and forth between my parents places. We also used to live near a major airport, and I could always see the planes flying in and out.

This addition led to my first career choice, that of being a commercial pilot. I enjoyed flying immensely, but what I liked was the freedom I felt doing it, and when you do it for a living, you don't have freedom, you are flying where other people are telling you to go. I'm also not much of a morning person and getting up at 4am and trying to think straight (or die flying) at that time of the morning just was not for me.

But I still love planes. I still have my license, but my interest now is in remote control airplanes. The advantage there is that you can fly planes that you would never in a lifetime (unless your last name is Gates or Buffett) be able to fly because they are too expensive, too rare, or simply don't exist anymore. There is also the thrill of the build, which I enjoy just as much.

I think planes are addictive for several obvious reasons. First, they, well, fly, which is something not easy to do (recall Douglas Adams theory on flight was to "throw yourself at the ground and miss"). They also tend to be noisy in a thrilling loud kind of way. They are also somewhat dangerous, although in their R/C version the danger is more in getting ones finger sliced by a propellor, although I supposed a direct hit to the noggin with a plane would not be pleasant. The element of risk, though, is palpable in flying and there too probably lies some attraction.

Right now, I have way too many planes...but I still want more...I got a basement full of 'em. Oh well, I guess there are worse things to be addicted to...crack, dope, booze, McDonalds fries, Japanese game shows....blogging (gulp)...