Having been a surfer and having ridden thousands of waves, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, and on many different types of surfboards, has been a special part of my life, for all of my life. During my lifetime, I became a Naval Aviator and amassed over 4,000 hours of flight time over a 12 year span. I developed a love for flying, just as I did for surf live.
Thus, when I say that surfing is like flying, I speak from experience and lots of it.
From
the time you climb into your vehicle heading for the waves to go
surfing or the airport to go flying, there is a special feeling of
anticipation and excitement. The adrenalin in your stomach starts
churning. It seems that the ride is lasting forever. That’s why you see
surfers running to the water with their surfboard under their arm or the
pilot hustling through flight filing and out across the tarmac to his
aircraft. They can hardly wait to get going.
Paddling out through
the incoming waves to get into position to catch a wave gives you the
same feeling of excitement as starting your airplane engine and taxiing
out to the runway for takeoff.
Here comes the wave, you are in
position and spin your board around and start paddling to get some speed
up to catch the wave. You feel yourself being pulled along with the
wave and then you are in the wave and stand up on your surfboard turning
in the direction you want to go down the line. You are up and flying
feeling the salt spray and the fresh air on your body and face. You feel
alive and free, a feeling that most people will never be able to feel
or understand.
You are sitting in position on the end of the
runway, your takeoff checklist is complete, you notify the tower
controller that you are ready for takeoff and he responds, cleared for
takeoff, make a left turn at the end of the runway and continue your
climb. You add full power, holding the brakes, you then release the
brakes and the airplane starts rolling down the runway building speed.
When you reach takeoff speed, you ease back on the stick and start
flying. You continue gaining altitude and when you pass over the end of
the runway, you make a left turn climbing on course. You climb to
altitude and level out and at that moment you let out your breath
looking over the countryside and feeling that feeling of freedom and
excitement.
Catching the wave and taking off in an airplane give
you the same fantastic feeling. Surfing a flying are both individual
sports that connect you with nature, whether it be in the water or in
the air.
When you get on the wave, you learn to trim your
surfboard so that you will be more efficient and so that you will be
able to ride the wave better, do your special maneuvers and at the end
or that wave, you will paddle out and repeat the process for as long as
you can.
The same is true with flying. You always want to have the
plane trimmed to make flying the airplane easier. If you are out of
trim, you will be fighting the controls to stay on course or if you are
doing acrobatics or other maneuvers, they will be very difficult. So
keep your surfboard and your airplane in trim.
What a rush it is
to successfully ride a beautiful wave to its completion, whether all the
way into shore or to where the wave runs out and you turn around to
paddle back out for the next one. Landing the airplane at the end of
your flight is the same as finishing your ride on the wave. You have a
tremendous sense of joy and satisfaction. The fun and success you
experience in both cases is awesome.
There is another thing that
really makes these two sports so similar. You have your surfing buddies
and your flying buddies that you talk story with. This is almost as much
fun as the actual surfing and flying. The conversations are very
similar. A big part in explaining how good that wave was is how you
explain the angles and maneuvers with your hands. Without your hands,
you couldn’t tell the story. You tell about the best waves, how big they
were, what great maneuvers you did and then you get to hear the same
from your buddies. It is so much fun talking about your surf and then
planning for the next time out and where it will be. By the way, surfers
are a lot like pilots, the waves and stories get bigger and bigger.
If
you have never been around two or more pilots talking, you have missed a
real experience. They really talk with their hands and normally with
both of them at the same time along with their mouth. Then they are all
talking and moving their hands at the same time explaining how smooth a
landing or takeoff the made, how they performed the acrobatic maneuver,
or in the case of navy pilots, how they flew in formation and how they
made the carrier landing.
Both surfing and flying bring you
satisfaction, fun, joy, camaraderie, story and lots of fun memories. So,
go do it. Get in the water and the air! Surf Life!!
An online surf shop representing the latest surfboard products, is where you can get a good review of top of the line surfboard types and designs. You can talk with Chuck to discuss in detail the various options for you to ensure that you select the proper surfboard that will bring you surfing fun and success.You will experience the thrill and excitement of surfing.
Chuck believes that surfing will change your life forever. Just like flying airplanes, surfing is a sport that will give you the special feelings of being free and in close contact with nature. You will be able to apply the love you will obtain from surfing to everything you do and you will learn how to Surf Life! What a joy!!
To find out more about what surfboards, Standup Paddleboards, and what types and designs are available, visit the Oak Street Surf Shop at. You will also be able to talk to the experts with over 70 years of surfing experience. Visit the site now!
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