When I was little, my uncle had a private pilot’s license. I was fortunate beyond words to get to fly a couple of times in small aircraft with him. It’s a hard thing to quantify, really, but in retrospect I believe it had a tremendous impact on my interests. Aircraft are really cool to many people, but having been up in something beyond the common airliners that most people experience, or beyond seeing the coolness of military fighters that most boys find themselves infatuated with, seems to have had a major impact on me.

Given that pilots licenses are so expensive these days I’ve limited myself to flight sims. Today, though, I had a chance to visit the corporate hangers my company owns. And although I could go on for some considerable time about what I learned about my company’s history of aviation and current practices thereof, the most important thing I came away with today is inspiration.

Will I become a pilot, for a corporation or just as a hobby? Honestly, probably not. But what private jets can achieve, both for the greater good or for the company itself (way beyond the silly ideas of wining and dining business associates, which is frowned upon for my organization) inspires me a great deal. I would like to become a pilot. I don’t know if my finances will ever allow it, but I would enjoy it. It’s a sort of aspiration I’d be ok with not achieving.