I’m learning to fly airplanes, enjoying every moment. After many years of driving, it’s only natural to try and compare flying to driving. The differences, however trivial, are quite significant - makes you think twice about the feasibility of flying cars.

1. There are no roads in the sky. When you fly, you essentially pave the road while riding it. Unlike in a car, no one dictates your route; you’re on your own. To make it even more interesting, you have one extra dimension to explore - going up and down.
2. Once airborne, airplanes have no breaks. Some maneuvers allow you to slow down considerably, but the only way to stop completely is to land.
3. Since there are no roads and no breaks, you can’t just stop at the side of the road if anything goes wrong (or to take a leak, for that matter). If you have engine problems or any number of other issues, you must land immediately. Problem is, you can’t just land anywhere.
4. You must land in an airport. If your engine stops and you can’t glide far enough to reach the closest airport, you only have a few minutes (or seconds) to identify a field or some other surface to land on. You must put panic to rest and concentrate on keeping the airplane stabilized loosing as little altitude as possible, and aim at the chosen landing spot.
5. There are no road signs in the sky, so you must get your information through other sources. These include looking around, talking on the radio, consulting the flight instruments, and feeling G forces acting on your body. These new sources of information take a long time getting used to.
6. You can drive a car with one foot and one hand. To fly a plane, you use both feet and both hands, each having a different function. You steer a plane with your hands and feet simultaneously. Doing this in an uncoordinated fashion might get you into a spin, which will likely shorten your life considerably.
7. Unless you’re a Blue Angel, you don’t get close to other airplanes. In fact, you try to keep as far away as possible to avoid a collision. This has its benefits, in that other pilots can’t see you picking your nose. It also makes flying a very lonely activity (unless you take someone with you for the ride, of course).
8. The dashboard is your friend, not just a pen/phone/clutter holder. Constantly checking the flight instruments is crucial. If you don’t look at the gauges while driving a car, it’s not the end of the world; it won’t kill you. In an airplane, if you ignore or misread the altimeter, for example, this can easily be your last flight.
9. You don’t just hop in and fly, you actually have to talk to the control tower and potentially other pilots on the radio. This adds another dimension of complexity – in addition to having to control the plane, you have to announce your intentions and listen carefully for instructions.
10. Last but not least – flying a small plane can get pretty scary, especially in high winds. You sit in a cramped cockpit, the whole thing sways like a leaf, and there’s not much you can do about it. Oh, and there’s no one else to help you either, so you better know what you’re doing!