[know.your.why]

...got in a REAL airplane...and was not just bad...but atrocious.

Really? Dude, that dont sound right. Was it the same plane? Was the wind bumping you around? Did your instructor not give you any basics...like add in a tiny bit of right rudder when you go full power on takeoff? Did you over control the plane? You should have at least been able to hold correct pattern airspeed and TPA...rotate, climb, turn to cross/down/base/final and line up decently enough to read the VASI and get her down. Wth happened?

[RckyRaCoCo]

See post #42

I don't know why aviation became such a thing for me(from a very early age)...I got sick on carnival rides, was claustrophobic, afraid of heights...but it's all I ever wanted to do, and spent so much time on it over decades...even AFTER my actual (miserable) flight experiences(LOL).

It's faded now (in my 60's)

Maybe I just liked airplanes..or the fantasy of flight...mistook that for actually wanting to become a pilot.

...just one of those things in life I'll never know for sure.