D. Patrick Caldwell on The Joys of Flight

I'm not really all that frugal. I put a little money into savings from time to time, but I don't save a whole lot; yet, I somehow never seem to accrue any possessions. I think I've figured out why this is. It's because Aviation Ruined my Life.

Similar to the widespread adoption of the Euro (formerly European Currency Unit or ECU) throughout the European Union, many pilots have adopted the GACU or General Aviation Currency Unit commonly known as the Pilot (pronounced pahy-loh). Exchange rates vary widely, but generally fall between .6 Pilots per US Dollar and .3 Pilots per US Dollar; however, I have made exchanges as low as .24 Pilots per US Dollar.

Although generally accepted by the pilot community as a recognizable currency unit, most people are yet unaware of the Pilot so many aviation enthusiasts refer to the Pilot in UFT or Units of Flight Time. For example, someone who usually flies a Cessna 172 may be expected to pay $125 per hour of flight time (1 hour = 60 Pilots). When his fiancée says, "honey, I really like this purse and it's only 75 dollars," he will think to himself, "but that's 30 Pilots!" though he will tell her, "but babe, that's 30 minutes of flight time."

Another common example is when the A/C breaks on your car and costs 1,250 dollars to fix. As you sorrowfully pay the bill, you think to yourself, "there goes another 600 Pilots;" however, your fiancée is unaware of the GACU so when you get home you'll sit on your couch and pout until your fiancée asks whats wrong at which time you'll tell her, "I'd much rather have spent 10 hours in a plane."

The problem comes in when you take into account that most aviators would rather spend a Pilot than a dollar. Therefore, like many aviators, I squirrel away my money until I can afford to exchange it for a useful chunk of Pilots and I forgo many of life's little luxuries like that xbox 360 I wanted to buy for 120 Pilots or the final season of wings for 15 Pilots.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.