Peter Glover :

Some people retire once, Peter did it twice. The first was planned, an injury precipitated the second, but there was an upside. Time on his hands allowed Peter to concentrate on a his personal passion. His desire to fly.

But we are jumping ahead in the story. Peter has led a life of business and outstanding success in motor sport. His competitive driving spirit surfaced early, and he went on to compete and win motorcar races on tracks around Australia. Recognizing that talent a tyre manufacturer offered sponsorship and a diversion into off road racing and more success.

As you will hear in the podcast Peter later built a rally car to participate in a rerun of the early Redex round Australia trial. So after not driving competitively for over a decade, Peter not only competed but won the race in the Peugeot he had prepared.

While overnighting on an outback airfield during a rally, a random chat with a local pilot reignited his long held dream of learning to fly. The major part of this show follows his experiences of learning to fly, and all the intricacies that followed the decision.

We talk about where to learn, the costs involved, the choice between owning or leasing a plane, the types of pilot licence an individual can get, and lots lots more. And Peters’ particular bug-bear, the over regulation of the sport for private pilots.

The surprise for me was that learning and flying is not the extreme expense I had thought. Certainly it is not a sport everyone can enjoy, but as an example the cost of a really good light plane may be no greater than a mid-price luxury car, or serious four wheel drive.

The sport is regulated by Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Air Services Australia, and this is where the difficulty lies. They provide the structure and safety regulations for international commercial pilots as well as weekend sport pilots. If you intend to pilot a light plane with more than two seats you come under their wing. If you are happy with a two seater called an ultralight then you are under the auspices of the Recreational Aviation Association of Australia.

There are magazines devoted to private flying and any amount of information available on the internet. And if you get a bit serious, simply ring a flying school at a local airfield. It is a sport Peter took up when he was sixty, and you will hear stories of excellent pilots learning and flying at a much greater age than that.

If you would like to contact Peter simply email me at henry@retiredexcited.com and I will pass on any message. Tell us about your experiences in light planes, or if you are a pilot let us know about your early days and the reason you fly. Leave a comment in the Reply box below.

Peace, health and happiness,

Henry

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