I’ve been intrigued this week by the flight of SpaceShipOne, the privately funded sub-orbital spacecraft built by Scaled Composites. This week, it became the first non-government sponsored aircraft to reach an altitude of 100km which is widely accepted to be the start of “space”.

I don’t recall if I’ve mentioned it in this blog, but I am a licensed private pilot. The sad part is that I haven’t flown as PIC (pilot in command) in over 5 years. Shortly after getting my license I got married, bought a house, and a new car. All of the cash that I was using to go flying disappeared into those new things. I don’t regret that happening — I love my wife and love my house. I do have to admit I do miss the flying once and a while.

It is an amazing feeling to be flying an airplane. I’ll never forgot the day I solo flew an airplane for the first time. As the airplane was lifting off the runway, I remember a big grin spreading across my face and thinking, “Oh my God! I’m flying this thing all by myself!”. A few seconds later I remember thinking, “Oh my God! I’m flying this thing all by myself!” The second time there was no grin though. I’m sure it was more of a frantic, panicked look. Despite that, the flight was a huge success, with three take-offs and three landings. It was an incredible sense of accomplishment to earn those pilot’s wings. I can only imagine what it must feel like for SpaceShipOne’s pilot to earn his Astronaut Wings.