And now for something completely different…

[Chris_Doane]

And now for something completely different…

When you were 12 years old, "back to school" time was the worst. Summer fun was out and book reports were in. When you're several years out college, working a so-so job, you'd give anything to be heading back to campus. This fall, after an 8-year absence, I'm quitting my job (sort of) and going back to school. There won't be any 500-seat lecture halls at this school, however, because I'm going to flight school to become a helicopter pilot.

Being a pilot is an idea that's been in the back of my head for a few years now. Anytime I had a bad week at work, I would occasionally tell people something like "To hell with this, I'm going to helicopter flight school!" That line became somewhat of a reoccurring joke, but there was always a little part of me quietly thinking "Maybe one day?"

Vacations out west are probably to "blame" for giving me chopper ambitions. Out there, helicopters are a fairly common sight, doing any number of tasks. EMS flights, fire fighting, search and rescue or utility work are the most common.

One summer, I was mesmerized for 2 days as a Chinook helicopter crew worked to install a new chairlift on the mountain, right outside my window. To see this massive, twin-rotor aircraft work with such precision was incredible. I couldn't look away.

More recently, when a wildfire broke out nearby, another helicopter was brought in to douse the flames on a section of very steep terrain. Once again I sat there, unable to take my eyes off the chopper, while this pilot lowered a huge bucket into a stream 150 feet below him, lifted it back up, flew out of the valley and then swooped down over a ridge to put the fire out.

The words "I want to do that!" went through my head.

The funny thing was, I *had* done that. Well, sort of. Several months before the fire, I'd visited a fight school and done the one-hour "intro flight." Other than taking off and landing, I did most of the flying. It was great, it was awesome, it was….expensive. Really expensive. I left the airport that day wondering how I'd ever make it happen.

While that hour-long flight was a nice escape from reality, the last year or so of my life has consisted of some of the toughest months I've ever known. In addition to some health problems, several of my best friends had come and gone, be it through life changes, disagreements, an immensely difficult case of unrequited love or, in the worst instance, an incredibly tragic, untimely death. The latter two, occurring almost simultaneously, left me wondering how much more I was supposed to bear.

On top of that, the professional side of my life was starting to dwindle. Today, the "car spy" business is not what it was when I started 8 years ago. Sales are down and it seemed like more and more testing was being done out of the public eye. Driving around to all the testing hot spots, without seeing a single worthwhile car, gets fairly demoralizing after a while. With gas at $4/gallon, it also gets very expensive. Due to these things, and more, it started to seem like the future of my odd little, niche job was questionable.

The last two months of work had been especially frustrating. Then, when my friend Melissa died (at 38) it predictably made me stop and think about things. It is totally cliché', but she was very good at living life to the fullest. When I thought about how she lived, in comparison to how my own life was going, the contrast was stark. How many more days, weeks, months or years would I spend, burning gallons of fuel, racking up 100-200 miles a day on my car, only to have nothing to show for it? What the hell was it I was doing here exactly? Why should I, or anyone, spend this much of my life doing something that isn't all that enjoyable? Whenever I was out working, and a helicopter flew over, my heart sank. Someone was having much more fun at work than I was. I was being teased from an altitude of less than 1000ft.

Soon, I started to feel like I was just wasting my time. If every person has their breaking point, I was getting awfully damn close to mine. Something had to change or a nice man would come put me in a vest with straps and take me away to a quiet room that had no sharp edges in it. Green jello would be served for dinner.

My life needed something new. Naturally, my first thought went to cars. I'd just had the chance to race some Porsches on a track and it was the most fun I'd had in months. Having a car like that in my everyday life would be awesome, right? Hmm, yes, a new car was in order.

Ever since I got to review the Audi R8, I've wanted one. My week with that car was one of the best I'd ever had. I'd checked the pre-owned listings countless times before, but it was always under the pretense of "maybe one day". This time, I was ready to act on it. I'd sell both my current cars to make it happen. Owning an R8 would make EVERY day a track day. Totally irrational and impractical, sure...but who cares? I located two R8's that could work. One was in Wisconsin and one in Arkansas. Then I browsed an Aston Martin or two, a Porsche…a 2001 Ferrari F360? Oh, hell yea!

Then…the rational part of my brain starting fighting back against those boiled over frustrations. If I bought an R8, that would be great. That would make all the driving around I do for work a lot more enjoyable, but I'd still be doing that job. I'd also be burning more fuel and attempting to do a covert job in a car that is anything but subtle. More importantly, it would, of course, do nothing to address my questionable job security. I could easily wake up one day in the not-too-distant future and find I've got a supercar in the garage, but no more job to fund its use.

One of the biggest things holding me back from starting helicopter flight training was the cost. It will run you about the same amount as a college degree or a really awesome sports car. Wait…what?

Here I was willing to spend big bucks on a car, but not something that would potentially be an investment in my future? Yea, that's brilliant. The R8 was simply the path of least resistance. Sell this, do that, sign here and yeeeeeeehaw, I'm living life at 150mph! Easy. Horsepower and German styling had completely clouded my judgment.

Becoming a pilot will be much harder. It will probably take 12-18 months to complete the training necessary to gain all the license ratings I need to become employable. There will be endless procedures to perfect and FAA tests to pass. Even when I do, I will be back on the bottom rung, competing for entry-level jobs. Past that, it could be 5-10 years before I've got the experience necessary to be a pilot like the one I saw fighting that wildfire. I am, essentially, starting my life over. Part of me is pretty scared at that prospect, but part of me is pretty excited too. Besides, what is the alternative? More of the same? Eh, no thank you.

In the meantime, I'll still do some automotive work, but flight training will be my main focus. While it'd be great if I got the first photos of a 2014 Corvette prototype, I think it'd be a million times better to save someone's house from an out-of-control wildlife fire or rescue an injured hiker off a remote mountain ridge.

That said, I'm still totally in love with cars, and I still want that Audi R8 *really* badly, but...I think I'd rather commute to work in a Bell 206 Long Ranger.

I don't know if all this will go as well as I hope, but it's time I tried. No more of this "one day" garbage. Today. Now.

See ya' at the heliport.

-- CD

(Content may not be republished.)

[GMTruckGuy74]

Congratulations on your new lease on life, Chris. Best of luck to you as you go through the schooling, the tests, and eventually the reward for your time and efforts.

[G. David Felt]

SWEET - Way to go Chris. Good Luck!

[Drew Dowdell]

Just imagine the spy shots you could get then! Just hover over milford all day.

And there's no way the guy in the Super Duty could get you without a very long ramp.

Good luck, I know you've been thinking about this for a while.

hums... "What good is sitting alone in your room? Come here the music play!"

[balthazar]

Good luck, man - you only go around once!

[the_yellow_dart]

Congrats on having the cojones to make a major life change like this. Most people just sit at that "so-so" job until they hate themselves.

[Satty]

So instead of Doaniepoo, do we call you Doanieflew?

[William Maley]

Good luck to you Chris

[Chris_Doane]

Thanks guys

Congrats on having the cojones to make a major life change like this. Most people just sit at that "so-so" job until they hate themselves.

Thanks...and, yea, that's just it. There just don't seem to be many positive aspects left with this job. I feel like I'm rotting away. I hate to say it, but I think my friend dying gave me the last little push I needed to make this change. I'd certainly prefer Melissa to still be around, but, it was more/less an "OK, that's it" moment for me when she died. I'm not the most self-confident guy there ever was, but I know I need to at least try this. Letting life slip away for months and years, while idly hoping for things to get better, never improved anything for anyone.

So instead of Doaniepoo, do we call you Doanieflew?

Either will get you a swift kick to the junk.

[BigPontiac]

Congrats! The FAA written isn't that bad if you use something like the Gleim test prep software. Even the practical test was easier than I expected...it's also amazing the stuff you'll know that you won't *think* you'll know if they throw curves balls at you.

I can only speak to the process for Airplane single-engine land, but it's totally worth it when you're done! I just spent 2+ years part-time while working full-time and dealing with family issues to get my PPL. Full-time is the way to go if you can swing it financially.

[Turbojett]

Sounds exciting! Good luck to ya>

[Camino LS6]

This is very,very cool ,Chris.

I wish you all the best and early success.

A pilot's license has been on my "life list" for many years. At one point, I was very close to liquidating everything I had to go learn to fly in Alaska. Things changed, and that dream became a road not taken for me.

I'm glad to hear that you are taking such a road.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

That's awesome man!

Color me jealous!

[knightfan26917]

VERY cool, Chris.

Very sorry about your health issues and your friend's death. Thoughts/prayers en route....

From reading your post, it sounds like we have a lot in common, in several ways. I've known 5 people now, 3 rather close, that have died in the last few months ... and, like you, I've been left wondering if I can really take all of this, especially in light of the newest health issue of mine.

GOOD LUCK with school ... enjoy it.

And, more of us need to heed the "no more one day" rule...including myself.

Cort | 37.m.IL.pigValve.pacemaker | 5 Monte Carlos + 1 Caprice Classic | * CruiseNites_2011_Chi.IL *

MCs.CC + CHD.models.HO.legos.RadioShows + RoadTrips.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Everything is temporary anyway" __ Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians __ 'Circle'

[ocnblu]

Best wishes to ya, Mr. Doane.

[Chris_Doane]

Just imagine the spy shots you could get then! Just hover over milford all day.

Ha, an engineer I know said the same thing. I swear thats not really why I'm doing it.

GM may install an anti-aircraft battery anyway if they see this thread.

[Chris_Doane]

Congrats! The FAA written isn't that bad if you use something like the Gleim test prep software. Even the practical test was easier than I expected...it's also amazing the stuff you'll know that you won't *think* you'll know if they throw curves balls at you.

I can only speak to the process for Airplane single-engine land, but it's totally worth it when you're done! I just spent 2+ years part-time while working full-time and dealing with family issues to get my PPL. Full-time is the way to go if you can swing it financially.

That's good to hear. Im not actually real worried about learning the actual flying...it's just all the procedural stuff that seems daunting. Well, that and learning to auto-rotate sounds like it will be, uh, exciting.

This is very,very cool ,Chris.

I wish you all the best and early success.

A pilot's license has been on my "life list" for many years. At one point, I was very close to liquidating everything I had to go learn to fly in Alaska. Things changed, and that dream became a road not taken for me.

I'm glad to hear that you are taking such a road.

Well, not to turn this into a motivational speaker thread or anything but, it's never too late.

If you're doing something that isn't that great, or that you don't want to do, then.....why are you doing it?

[Camino LS6]

Well, not to turn this into a motivational speaker thread or anything but, it's never too late.

If you're doing something that isn't that great, or that you don't want to do, then.....why are you doing it?

Valid point.

I've been asking myself questions like that lately.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to find some answers.

[Chris_Doane]

Well, not to turn this into a motivational speaker thread or anything but, it's never too late.

If you're doing something that isn't that great, or that you don't want to do, then.....why are you doing it?

Valid point.

I've been asking myself questions like that lately.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to find some answers.

Just make sure you don't ask yourself "what if" for too long. Obviously you have things to consider, but if you spend all your time worrying about all the possible outcomes, or being afraid of them, you're not going to go anywhere. I spent months doing just that, agonizing over what might happen....instead of, you know, actually finding out. Unfortunately it took a friend dying to snap me out of that.

[A Horse With No Name]

Good luck, man - you only go around once!

bingo, I just lost my good friend Kathy at 45, sad to see someone die young...good luck with your new pursuits, Chris!

[Z-06]

You live once and you die once. When you push the comfort zone you succeed. Good luck and happy flying.

[Chris_Doane]

When you push the comfort zone you succeed. Good luck and happy flying.

Yea that's my thought. Hasn't always been my approach in the past, but I'm thinking differently as of late.

Thanks

[Chris_Doane]

The blog I'll be doing:

http://www.chrisdoane.net/heliblog/

[Potluck]

You should take up hunting at the same time.... save on groceries.