h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A546635

Hi there, please tell me what you think.

I don't doubt that you have coverd the ground on what you include, but I'm afraid this article reads like an information pamphlet direct from the FAA.

There is nothing in this article but the list of things that must be done in order to qualify to take the test.

Have you taken and passed either of these certification procedures? Do you have a pilots license?

If not then you probably should be writing an article on why you or anyone would want to learn to fly.

If you have passed these tests, then I, at least, would like to know what it was like to be in control of a small aircraft all by yourself for the first time, told in suitable h2g2 mildly sarcastic third person. Perhaps, you could spend some time outlining specific terrors and mistakes that can and have been made but ending on a suitably optimistic note.

I worked at the FAA for a while as a non-pilot doing MI support work. I was constantly impressed and amazed at how many people there are complete fanatics about flying and the energy and emotion they had invested in flying.

I'm really not interested in a list of the regulations that I could get for myself from the FAA website. Please tell me why you care and why we should care. Use your list as a set of section headings and demonstrate for us what is really involved while sitting in that seat with the yoke in front of you and a panel of dials and gauges letting you know exactly what could go wrong when there's absolutely no chance to pull over and park while you sort yourself out. Then explain why the effor is worthwhile.

Amaze us.

I hope I'm not being too harsh on you, but this is a subject with possibilities far beyond an FAA handout.

Barton

thanks barton. i have read your comments before, and i believe you are definitely worth listening to. in this particular case, after reading you comment, it seemed suddenly obvious to me that my article read too much like a check-list....

however, as a pilot, i wrote it since i remembered how much i wanted to know what exactly was expected of one trying to gain a pilot's license. with that in mind, i geared this info to anyone seeking the necesary check-list. if my old flight instructor saw this article he might also wish to hear some personal stories (all pilots like to exchange stories, as you pointed out), but i know he would recognize this as the same thorough checklist that he read to me when i first showed up at the airfield and asked him what would be involved in getting a license. this article is for anyone who seeks that information. so maybe my title needs a change? or maybe i should include this explanation in the article? let me know if you please.

but i admire your output for what reads between the lines as that you are maybe a person who enjoys stories from the likes of greats like richard bach, etc, etc which i read to no end. in the future, and when i gain the courage to step out of my comfortable anonymity on this most personal subject (flying and poetry), i will write articles like that. right now i dont care if my article doesnt get 'edited', i just want the guide to include a (non-edited or edited) thorough 'learning to fly' checklist.
thanks for taking the time to give me your output, i agree with you that flying stories are great as opposed to FAA checklists, and are more exciting to read. people like richard bach or chuck yeager have a lot of guts writing publicly about such a personal subject.
mav

I like reading most things, even checklists.

But, what I really like is creeping into other peoples heads and staring out their eyes. I'm just as frightened to post here and invite that scrutiny as you say you are. But, there is also a profound sense of pleasure in the sharing which I invite you to experience.

Along with that comes a sense of accomplishment knowing that, after the initial criticism and polishing comes a the glow of knowing that your peers, here, have recognized that you have contributed not only to the guide, but to their lives.

I agree, that the information should be available and if it isn't, then by all means post it here and elsewhere. And, if that is all you are ready to post, then I think that what you have here is sufficient except for giving a real idea how how much time and cost is involved in satisfying the FAA that you can be trusted with a potential air to ground missle.

Go to it.

Barton

yeah, i see now that you're right. (took me a while though huh?)
i'll think for a while until i find that the time is right to stick it out there...though i must admit to myself that i am full of excellent personal flying stories, i must also admit that i am also worried of some other pilot out there reading my story one day and thinking, what the heck is he bragging about flying or what? there is a definite heirarchy among pilots and i feel that a personal view might endanger my staying humble in that heirarchy at this time...
thanks
mav

Hi Mav!
Good to find another pilot on the site - although the aircraft I fly don't have engines and I'm still not a solo pilot.
First of all, well done for taking the plunge and offering your first article up to peer review. Second, congratulations on a thorough list of the steps involved in learning to fly in the US. However, I have to agree with Barton that I'd like to see some lighter moments in there too, maybe something to convey the joy of being up there with the birds and to inspire others to take up the sport.
There are all kinds of articles in the Guide (including mine *shameless plug* on the subject of gliding http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A325748). Some are factual, some pure entertainment but all tend towards a narrative style rather than bullet point lists. Others may not agree with me, but I think your article would fit better into the edited guide if you stitched together the details with some more personalised sections. Just my opinion, feel free to ignore
Don't forget, anything you write will come up in the search engine whether or not it makes it to the edited guide - so whatever happens to this entry, budding pilots will always be able to find the info here.

Incidentally, I'd love to see you write an entry or two on the experience of learning to fly or being a pilot. Go on, you know you want to...

Barton

metal chicken, a glider pilot huh? ill read your piece on gliders and give you a comment in a few minutes. thanks for your input. i understand now what barton meant about a lack of personality to my article, and i think i just need to gather the courage to include personal notes to my entry. flying is very personal to me, definitely my achilles heal, but im sure once i open the flood gates on my flying stories it will all be downhill.
so thanks for the input, to you and barton, and i will definitely start reworking that article.

Congratulations! This entry has passed the rigorous testing of peer review and will eventually be referred to a sub-ed.

Thanks for your recommendation. You'll be glad to know that we think this entry is great, and it has now gone into the Editorial Process for future inclusion in the Edited Guide. When it does get into the Edited Guide, we will email to let you know, but please bear in mind it can take a while for entries to go through the sub-editing system. Thanks for writing for the guide!

*Michael Notforyou*
Official Scout, h2g2
Researcher U113408

Well, there you go.

Once again it is demonstrated that I and others have much to learned about what will prove to be a satisfactory article.

I'm happy to say that I thought what was there was fine and I'd love to see an article from you titled "Why Fly" or some such.

Congratulations!

Barton

Well done Mav!

See what can happen here when you're brave enough to contribute?

MC

PS I'm looking forward to reading more from you on flying too

hey barton and metal chicken,
so finally, after a bit of talk with you two, i see the value of a personal touch in an article. i am convinced now that i should try to also write 'flying' material of a more personal nature, thanks to your spending time to open me up to this kind of writing. i want you to know that public writing is new to me, and i am very grateful that two people that i dont know would spend time and effort to demonstrate to me that my personal insights could be of value to someone. i hope that you continue these random acts of kindness, and that you know that i am impressed by your show of character.
thanks
mav

Our pleasure mav

Always.

Barton

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they have not been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they have not been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!