For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
By ROG
#1808166
As you get older you will come up against ageism.
Most people under 30 think everyone over 60 is ancient and brain dead--that is until they reach 60 and are then assumed brain dead themselves.
I recently made enquiries ref car hire--as I wanted to fly north and then hire a car, I have my own vehicle at home which i"ve managed to drive with only a couple of minor knocks--last one 30 years ago -AND IT WASN"t MY FAULT-"onest.
The age limit varies --70-72-75-78 . BUT at Enterprise no age limit--if you have a license they will rent you a car.
At our club some insures have an age limit on hiring.
One aircraft is 75 another is72. Again as with car hire some insurers assume if you pass your medical you"re ok.
On the plus side you get free prescriptions--bus pass(if you want to sit on a bumpy bus with screaming kids).
OAP lunches--which I don"t ask for.. and at xmas you get a fuel allowance £100 or over 80 £200--certainly helps to top up the cherokee---You mean it"s not for the plane !!!
I recently had a "senior drivers check up". As according to my wife I never drive at the right speed--the day I did she wasn"t with me,
Any way this ex plod driving instructor turns up--"and who"s idea is it ROG said he. Mine -quoth I.
AND WHAT IS YOUR USUAL DRIVE--
ME--to the local airport
him--whys that
ME- I keep my plane there
At this point he obviouly thought -this poor old s*d thinks he"s got a plane. Easyjet or similar
Anyway after a short drive -got there saw plane and he realised I hadnt quite gone--big change in attitude.
Trust you"ve not gone to sleep reading this --
As these call centre staff say on the phone--"how did I do"
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By Rob P
#1808168
The driving check is a good thing to do, the earthbound equivalent of an instructor hour. (Google ROSPA)

I just wish that it was the people who need their driving checked that did it, rather than the conscientious ones like Rog (and me) :D

Rob P
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By Genghis the Engineer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1808184
I went to a talk a few years ago by a fellow in his early 60s who worked as a test pilot for Boeing. He described being interviewed by a young creature from the local newspaper for a human interest story.

Her: So, you are 60, have 5 children, and 12 grandchildren.

Him: That's right.

Her: And you go to work and test fly fighters ?

Him: I do

Her: But you're not exactly Tom Cruise, are you?

Him: "You don't understand. I'm not trying to be Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise is trying to be me."

(Might have the pre-amble a bit wrong, but I remember the punchline word for word.)

G
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By akg1486
#1808188
Genghis the Engineer wrote:Her: So, you are 60, have 5 children, and 12 grandchildren.

...

Her: But you're not exactly Tom Cruise, are you?

Tom Cruise is actually 58, so not far off in age (now).

Wonderful punchline to the story! :thumleft:
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1808189
The nicest thing about being old is when your flying instructor/examiner is almost as old and so understands to allow perhaps one or two seconds more reaction time than a young thrusting hour building wannabee AFI.

I'll tell you the story about the Piper undercarriage auto-extend system sometime.................................. :lol:

Peter :wink:
By ROG
#1808193
PETE--another nice thing is when someone tells you how old they are and they"re still flying and you"re 10 years older than them.
I usually say condescendingly "you"re very good for your age"
I must admit to always looking a bit younger than I am--after doing 3 years in the RAF this guy said to me--"do you good to go and do your national service". I couldn"t get into an X film till I
was 24.
By ROG
#1808197
PPS----In case anyone"s interested I now have a "sturstificate" with competent driver on it.
B---y difficult removing the in bit ,
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By Rob P
#1808198
The verdict from mine, a masterpiece of creative writing, was

"A safe drive with a sense of purpose" :lol:

Rob P
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By kanga
#1808204
ROG wrote:PETE--another nice thing is when someone tells you how old they are and they"re still flying and you"re 10 years older than them.
I usually say condescendingly "you"re very good for your age"
I must admit to always looking a bit younger than I am--after doing 3 years in the RAF this guy said to me--"do you good to go and do your national service". I couldn"t get into an X film till I
was 24.


I had a US DoD colleague who had quit teaching Math at a (typically large suburban US) High School in her mid 20s and joined the DoD because, she said, she got fed up with fellow-teachers and even senior pupil 'monitors' challenging her in the corridors and asking if she had a Hall Pass :? :)
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By AndyR
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1808230
Rob P wrote:The verdict from mine, a masterpiece of creative writing, was

"A safe drive with a sense of purpose" :lol:

Rob P


Precisely how RoSPA ‘teach’ on the advanced motorcycle course. I’ve not done a car one.
By Highland Park
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1808242
Rob P wrote:The driving check is a good thing to do, the earthbound equivalent of an instructor hour. (Google ROSPA)

I just wish that it was the people who need their driving checked that did it, rather than the conscientious ones like Rog (and me) :D

Rob P

I’m going to do the RoSPA advanced driving test next year, purely for my own pleasure and to make me (hopefully) a better/safer driver. I wasn’t sure whether to follow the RoSPA or IAM Roadsmart route, but on the advice of a friend who’s an ex police driving instructor/examiner I’m going with the former.

Ian
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By Rob P
#1808245
I have IAM on two and four wheels. The main benefit is making you think about things, particularly approach positioning, observation and anticipation.

All-round good thing.

Rob P
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1808264
I am not too old to be President, or to fly 300 people on hols, but I am too poor to throw my hat in the ring for either rôle :lol:

A big benefit of getting older, along with the justifiable carrying of a flask of hot drink for any journey, is that you stop worrying about 'making a fool of yourself', or worrying what people think about you. It's liberating. Try something new, enjoy the challenge and the new experience, don't get upset if you aren't good at it.

Art - 20 pictures painted, only one of them looks better than a 2 y.o. would produce, but playing with colour and texture, light n dark etc is such fun!

Home hairdressing during lockdown v1.0 - wait a couple of weeks, it'll grow out :lol: By lockdown v2.0 the new haircut may well be better than the paid versions were :thumleft:

Ten pin bowling - just use the bumpers. Gives everyone else a laugh.

Learning to play Pool - let MrT6 teach you, he'll enjoy the laugh when the angles are wrong but be very careful not to improve too much. You should see his face when he thinks he's about to get beaten :shock:

Learning to fly- well now that DOES matter, but unless you see our tail number on Flightradar you'll never really know how bad I was that time....

Back to OP - it is a good idea. Thanks for mentioning.
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