How David Gilmour's Fear of Flying Became Pink Floyd's 'Learning to Fly'

David Gilmour had never piloted a plane before the mid-1980s, but after a friend dragged him into a small aircraft, he got hooked. He started taking flying lessons during the sessions for A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and that real-life nerve-racking first solo became the skeleton of the song. The lyrics aren’t a vague metaphor — “into the distance, a ribbon of black” describes literally looking down at a runway from the cockpit.

To capture the sensation, the band recorded actual cockpit sounds from a Cessna 172. Engineer Andy Jackson rode along with a portable DAT recorder, catching engine hums, stall warnings, and the pilot’s chatter. Those sounds were mixed into the song’s opening and bridge, turning a pop-rock tune into something that feels like you’re sitting in the seat next to Gilmour. The song was co-written with Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, and Jon Carin, but the central image — a man alone in the sky, learning to trust himself — is pure Gilmour.