Fun of Flying

I love dreams. They're often a lot more interesting than my waking life.

Years ago I learned lucid dreaming so I could stop nightmares. I realize I am dreaming and wake myself up when things get too unpleasant.

But here's a non-lucid dream I had last night:

I was taking flying lessons in a small single-engine plane. (Many years ago I completed 6 hours of flying lessons but went no further because I ran out of money.)

In the dream the pilot-instructor (who looked like actor Gene Hackman) landed on an incredibly short backwoods runway in Jamaica. Then he got out of the plane and told me to take my first solo flight.

Funny how I remembered detailed information about flying a plane in the dream. Like taking off directly into the prevailing wind so you don't have to "crab" the aircraft (turn it slightly sideways toward the wind.)

As soon as I got airborn, I noticed the engine was struggling to function properly. I made a quick landing and opened the engine cowling to investigate.

And here's where the dream gets really weird. Inside the engine compartment was a baby vulture eating the entrails of some animal!

What does it mean? I have no idea, but it was fun/bizarre to experience.