Check out the Experimental Aircraft Association. If you have one in your city and you like planes definitely pay them a visit. It's a niche group of guys making their own planes and flying them and they are usually pretty excited about visitors. I went a few times and got on a couple of rides. They even offer free clases for those wanting to learn how to fly. Some of the crazy things I learned is that you can build your own plane for under $10K and if it is under certain weight, I believe 400 lbs, you can flight without a permit. Some planes feature a nice kit of avionics but some are completely manual, not even a radio. The stall speed of the ones I flew I believe is 45 mph and max speed about 80 mph but some little jets can go 200-300 mph.