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

I am determined to learn to fly. It may cost the earth but there is no other way i am going to get ny closer to the stars. There must be away around parying for the lessons, if there is a scholarship avaiolable i am going to scratch and claw my way through any selection commitee an then I hope i will be able to realise just one of my dreams, to fly with the birds.

Oh I know what you mean.

Of course, you could always join the Guardian Angels here & get some wings that way
Seriously, if I'd have had the chance, I would have been an astronaut.
I'm an amateur astronomer
Nice to meet you.

If you want to fly but are short of cash, try paragliding. No licence is necessary, you can kit yourself out with your own wing plus all additional gubbins (harness, flying suit, helmet etc.) for less than £2000 and from novice to club pilot proficiency levels the lessons should cost no more than £500 or so. You can then literally fly like a bird, silently soaring along ridges or spiralling up through thermals. (club pilot is the minimum recommended level for safe solo flying without a supervising instructor on the ground).

If even those costs put you off, I strongly suggest you contact a paragliding school and at least get to elementary pilot level. You won't need your own wing (you can use the school's wings) and you will very quickly be making solo flights down the sides of hills in radio contact with an instructor. It is by far the quickest way to get in solo control of a bona fide aircraft, but you do need to be fit for the walk back to the top.

Best of luck...
H.

Why not try Hot Air Ballooning? See my article on it to find out how I got involved FREE!

And while we're all suggesting our favourite air sports, why not try gliding. Have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A325748 Beautiful long winged engineless aircraft, silently soaring in the air currents along with the birds. And it's honestly not that expensive - if you're the appropriate age-group some clubs have cadet and student schemes to make it even cheaper.

Did you take flight, Daubers?

Not yet, but I keep tryin.