Just got finished watching (again) ”Wild Hogs“, the 2007 Touchstone Pictures movie about 4 middle-aged guys who take a cross-country trip on their Harley-Davidson motorcycles. A star-filled cast with Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Marisa Tomei, and Ray Liotta. Very funny movie. Makes me want to learn to ride. There’s even a special feature in the DVD about convincing your spouse to let you buy a Harley. Hmmm.
Ya know, motorcycles in general and Harleys in particular are very popular these days, especially with middle-aged, relatively well-to-do adults. Meanwhile the pilot population is not growing (except for airline pilot wannabees) and small airplane sales are down. So as a pilot, you gotta ask:
Why aren’t more people hog-wild for flying?
Ok, cost is certainly a factor. Owning, operating, or even renting a plane has never been cheap. Then there’s the requirement to get that pilot’s license. But I think there is more to it than this. More visceral. More emotional. Next time, Part 2–Why are we buying and riding Harley and not Cessna (or Piper, Cirrus, Beech, Grumman, etc)?
