So, You Want To Fly???

"So, you want to fly?" 
"Yeah."
"As in fly real airplanes? Really?"
"Really."
"Wow. That's cool."

I have had this conversation several times with people when I told them I was taking flight lessons. To many people, the concept of "pilot" brings with it a certain sense of wonder, mystery and respect - something out of the ordinary. I remember myself sitting in airport waiting lounges, staring with awe and amazement as pilots boarded their aircraft, regal in their uniform suits with braids denoting their rank, donning pilot sunglasses, braided caps, carrying briefcases filled with mysterious papers only pilots could use... and it wasn't only me who would be staring; the rest of the passengers in the terminal would be staring along with me too. I'm sure we would all be thinking along similar lines. After all, what sort of person does it really take to strap himself to a man-made contraption of metal, alloy, glass, plastic, fabric, rubber, thousands of kilograms of fuel, leave the safety of Mother Earth along with the lives of others either intrepid or foolish enough to accompany him, and be able to coax his oversized bird into landing safely back to earth? What does it really take?