Art cars and safety and lessons...

La La · Post by **La La** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 7:09 pm

Hello,
We just arrived home yesterday. We sent this letter to Jack Rabbit Speaks as well. We are posting this because we feel strongly that everyone should be aware of another accident that happened on Saturday night (in front of the Mutaytor show) just a few minutes after
the man burned. The reason that we feel that we need to let more people know what happened is because we feel it is pretty clear that a few well meaning people with art cars need to be more diligent in the structural integrity of their art cars and better know the limits of what kind of weight they can take.

On Saturday after the man burned, and the music really got going, all the people that climbed up onto this tall two story fur covered art car for a better view became a jumping mass of excitement. We were all having a great time and there was obviously a lot of energy and the playa was packed tight full of people. Along with the energy and excitement also came a lot of trust in this art car that was already WAY over capacity and getting more bouncy by the second. We know this because we parked our two seater metal art bike (UFO santa sleigh) right next to it, and we videotaped all 20 of them piled in so tightly right next to us. One girl was playing the flute up there, and one guy was playing drums on our art bike with a couple of 5 foot long balloons, but most were dancing and having a great time. All at once the whole upper deck toppled over towards us and onto our bike...which thankfully caught them midway down and broke their fast plunge towards the hard playa and
people underneath them. Every wonderful burner around quickly jumped in to rescue all the people tangled inside the broken bike and the art car, and it was a very scary scene. I just kept thanking the gods that we decided to park our big 250 pound metal art bike so close to them, which may have saved the lives of those falling towards the ground, but also more importantly...those that would have been standing beside it...had our bike and the space between us not taken up about 42 square feet in the direction of the accident. The art car owners were obviously very upset, and also hurt themselves, and they were very very apologetic, and my heart goes out to them too. The fact that their art car's upper deck had open access, and got overloaded, was probably not completely their fault....and they also put a lot of work into it. It was all so fast and scary.

I can't help but want to implore the artists that design
art cars to very carefully consider any and all possible circumstances
before they put it out there on the playa for people to dance and celebrate on. After hearing today on our way home, of the death of Katherine Lampman from an art car on the playa, it made it clear to us that we had to speak out here to all the people that didn't witness this accident and what happened. Even though know one else died from the art car collapse I saw, ONLY because of the right set of circumstances, it was still WAY too close for comfort...and it would haunt us if we didn't try to get this out to every burner, so another similar accident might possibly be avoided in the future. We all can learn from this mistake...and celebrate safe and happy in the future!!

So we ask you gorgeous people....
Please be EXTRA diligent on the structural integrity of your art cars!

and...

Please be extra careful when riding on them!

Scary things can happen even in the most wonderful places, and with all the best of intentions.

Thanx for all the love last week...
Peace.

Doc and La La

Jade · Post by **Jade** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 11:20 am

[quote="La La"]Hello,
We just arrived home yesterday. We sent this letter to Jack Rabbit Speaks as well. We are posting this because we feel strongly that everyone should be aware of another accident that happened on Saturday night (in front of the Mutaytor show) just a few minutes after
the man burned. The reason that we feel that we need to let more people know what happened is because we feel it is pretty clear that a few well meaning people with art cars need to be more diligent in the structural integrity of their art cars and better know the limits of what kind of weight they can take.

I'll take this one step further, people need to know how to drive. I looked around the main website here for a complaints department or someone directly responsible for enforcing the artcars to no avail. I'm sure everyone has heard about the person who got run over on the playa last week. Riding out to the edge of the playa on Sunday night I saw numerous cars that should have been yanked from the whole event. I'm pretty easy going, but a big fucking Caddilac cruising at 30mph with no lights is asking for it. I even saw drunk people riding on the hood of a different car to tell the driver where to go. This is BULLSHIT! Last year some jerkwad in a pink Volvo tried driving through one of the big tapestries on the playa...guess what, some people were on the other side of it! This should be the number one priority of the Burning Man staff. Fuck this shit, how many people have to die getting run over before they start pulling these cars? People don't usually die visiting theme camps. Come on now, we gotta do something. Anyone know who I can contact about this? Anybody fucking care at all???

dragonflyannie · Post by **dragonflyannie** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 11:37 am

I do believe you are not alone in feeling this way Jade. I know that myself and everyone of my campmates feel exactly the same.

Jp · Post by Jp » Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:09 pm

This should be the number one priority of the Burning Man staff. Fuck this shit, how many people have to die getting run over before they start pulling these cars? People don't usually die visiting theme camps. Come on now, we gotta do something. Anyone know who I can contact about this? Anybody fucking care at all???"

Lots of people care and, like myself, worked our asses off trying to ride herd on out-of-control art cars. However, there are only so many LEOs, rangers, and DMV personnel on the playa at any time. What we need is less of the "somebody should do something" attitude and more of the "I'm going to volunteer to work for the DMV" attitude.

Jp

Trash · Post by **Trash** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:05 pm

Just because you are not a ranger doesnt mean you cannot take charge and talk to someone for speeding or anything else. Everyone looks out for everyone, and tries to make up for the idiot factor especially on the weekend.

This was the 1st year I brought out my own art car. I made a point of driving at around walking speed everywhere. The last thing on earth I want to do is wreck someone elses experiance by hitting them with my car. I also made sure to give a few lost tired people a ride home early in the week who had arrived that day. I also helped rescue an art car who's drivers were out of gas about 3 miles away from where I ran into them. Grabbed my art car and brought them & their gas can to theirs.

Thank you very much to the ranger who gave me a small accurate map which made getting lost people home much easier. And a huge hug to whoever it was that left a beautiful mask on my car for me. One of the other Denver Burner's told me who, but I promptly forgot.

-Trash

III · Post by **III** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:11 pm

>Just because you are not a ranger doesnt mean you cannot take charge

thank you.

the only thing a ranger has that you don't is a radio, some training, and a free ticket. aside from that, they are community memebers, just like you.

just remember that if you're trying to get someone to change their behavior, you usually have more success with honey than with vinegar. expressing to someone that you really don't want to mess up their good time, but that you're concerned that their behavior may ruin someone elses is usually a whole lot more effective than a "slow the fuck down, asshole!". that latter statement should be reserved for actual rangers speeding around, since it will give them an opportunity to practice their conflict resolution skills.

cptnspooky · Post by **cptnspooky** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 9:36 pm

We have been running an art car called the dave train for the last 3 years and stress afety first and foremost every year. We put up safety railings, ensure maximum capaicity on our second story and even have runners with megaphones policing the crowd around us at all times. Unfortunately despite all of our efforts we were still involved with 2 playa injuries this year. People get drunk and dangerous out there. We had one gentleman jump form our car at moderately low speed and just landed wrong breaking his leg. Another poor girl misjudged her step boarding (while we were in motion against our request) and the poor gal went under a tire. It is my understanding that they are both fine now, thank god, but we are retiring the train this year anyway. Your art car stops being so much fun once you hit someone with it. I think the people oughta be a little more carefull as well.

Cheers all, hope you had a happy burn.

PurpleKoosh · Post by **PurpleKoosh** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 11:50 pm

III wrote:the only thing a ranger has that you don't is a radio, some training, and a free ticket.

FWIW, they may not even have a free ticket.... Discounted, perhaps, but the number of actual comps issued is getting smaller and smaller every year.

But you're absolutely right - every single one of us has the right as citizens of BRC to approach someone being fuckheaded and say "Hey! Your behavior is having a negative impact on the city. Can you please chill?"

PJ · Post by PJ » Thu Sep 04, 2003 8:56 am

III wrote:...the only thing a ranger has that you don't is a radio, some training, and a free ticket.

Agreed. But what was truly needed on Wednesday night out amongst the art installations was a radio--and some quick-acting LEOs. Some nitwit was screaming back-and-forth, back-and-forth, at very high speed on a two-stroke motorcycle. He had lights on (perhaps only because they're hard-wired to the ignition on modern motorcycles) and it was perfectly obvious from miles away that somebody was vastly exceeding 5 mph out there amongst art installations, pedestrians, and bicyclists. I was hoping a piece of rebar would kill him before he hurt somebody else. Perhaps he quit when the dust storms hit.

If I'd had a weapon I would have felt it irresponsible to not have taken that asshole down. The ideal thing, had he gotten close enough to me, would have been a 2x4 through the front spokes. And no apology.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 9:18 am

Trash -- Your art car was awesome! You gave us a ride early in the week and it was fun. (Just for the record we weren't lost!) You were very safety conscious and open hearted. BTW -- I was the guy in the dress...

Dave's Train -- The girl who got run over was behind us at the Burn. She was on crutches but otherwise OK. She told us about how she got injured and accepted all blame herself. She was a bit sheepish about it. I know it is hard, but please don't feel guilty about it.

Sark · Post by **Sark** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 10:33 am

As a self appointed Designated Driver of two different Art Cars I noticed a trend. The owners of both cars became tired of always being responsible and driving. They decided to chill, or party, at camp, while someone else - usually the most fucked up person - thought it would be cool to cruise.

Not to make it a police state; but, I think upon registering a vehicle it should be strongly expressed that the car and it's behavior will be the complete responsibility of the owners. In other words - don't give the fucking keys out to loaded friends.

#1 solution - step in and help police ourselves. there will be others who support you. No one needs to die or be permanetly injured.

TestesInSac · Post by **TestesInSac** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 10:43 am

PJ wrote:If I'd had a weapon I would have felt it irresponsible to not have taken that asshole down. The ideal thing, had he gotten close enough to me, would have been a 2x4 through the front spokes. And no apology.

Hmmm, sounds like there's another use for "candy cane" rebar stakes...

III · Post by **III** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 10:51 am

i'm tellin you: enchanted rebar forest

cptnspooky · Post by **cptnspooky** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 10:54 am

Sark,

your comments are on the money. I noticed a lot of people driving art vehicles who should not have been as well.

For the Dave Train, we always designated a sober driver, had safety crew running around the car at all times ensuring people got on and off safely, we even install a granny pedal to keep us at low speeds as it is hard to tell how fast you are going from three floors up. Boy were we glad we did. Taking a field sobriety test on the playa is an interesting experience. But you are right, it is a lot of work and commitment to maintain a vehicle. So much so that i don't think we will do it again.

Blyslv, thanks for the update on the girl who fell under our car. We wanted to find her to check up on her after the accident but could not locate her camp. We do not feel guilty for the accidents that take place on the playa, but you can't help but feel like somehow you could have done more. Funny thing is, the more safety measures we implement each year, the more injuries we have. It has just become more work than it is worth. For me personally, I did not have a lot of fun this year until we parked the train back at camp and felt like I could actually relax and go party.

If anybody has any information on the guy that jumped off and landed with a broken leg, I would love to hear more on his status as well. Last year, my ex girlfrined broke her wrist and had to be driven to Reno. I am glad at least that the girl we ran over was able to stay for the burn.

Team Dave Train

PurpleKoosh · Post by **PurpleKoosh** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 1:21 pm

Sark wrote:Not to make it a police state; but, I think upon registering a vehicle it should be strongly expressed that the car and it's behavior will be the complete responsibility of the owners.

The first item listed on the copy of the DMV Regs we gave to every person who came in was "We are licensing the VEHICLE, not the driver." We made it as clear as possible that it didn't matter who was driving; if the vehicle was seen operating unsafely, action would be taken. Unfortunately, the Rangers can't be everywhere to see things, and some people fell through the cracks.

Jade · Post by **Jade** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 1:22 pm

Lots of people care and, like myself, worked our asses off trying to ride herd on out-of-control art cars. However, there are only so many LEOs, rangers, and DMV personnel on the playa at any time. What we need is less of the "somebody should do something" attitude and more of the "I'm going to volunteer to work for the DMV" attitude.

Jp[/quote]

We're not the ones that need convincing here that these cars are dangerous or people get drunk, high, etc. What I'm asking is who even gives them a DMV license at the beginning of the week? Some of these cars are vastly unsafe, case in point, anyone see the other Cadillac with the giant drill bit twirling out of the front of it?? That thing should've been lit up like the sun at night if they're going to drive it around. Ooh yes, I feel so giddy though knowing that we haven't exceeded some statistic as in there should've been more deaths with 30K people, tons of drugs and activity. What the fuck does that mean? I'm not gonna get run over or someone else by some giant pink elephant, there's no romance in a death like that. And as for me policing someone, yeah OK, on a small scale, I was even yelled at one night by someone when I had been caught out for the day and didn't have my bike light a night. Yeah shit happens, but not all the time, and especially if you're in control of 2-10K pounds of moving steel you don't consistently keep risking your and everyone else's life. Imagine me stopping some carload of 15 people high off their asses with no badge, that'd go over like a lead balloon...nor do I want to play police cop. Are you saying that Rangers(real Nevada state rangers, or cops) don't have the authority to pull people over? Come on now, we all know there was a couple of these pigs like every block sprawled out all over the playa and esplanade. I'm not saying BM should be toned down like Disneyland either, there's just some things should not be, death is one of them.

plasma · Post by **plasma** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 2:41 pm

[/quote]What I'm asking is who even gives them a DMV license at the beginning of the week? Some of these cars are vastly unsafe

unfortunately this year many "art cars" were not registered, or simply weren't really art cars, as much as i resist criticizing anybodys' idea of art. this lack of registration did not stop many people (that i would otherwise call 'participants') from operating these machines to the detriment of others' enjoyment, or worse, health. as one of the many brc rangers who come from a professional background to gift our skills, (13 years of emergency medical and firefighting is 'some training', in my case) not to be traffic rangers (that's what blm is for), and as an artist fascinated by the creative energy black rock city can exhibit, i share the disappointment expressed by many here, but did not let it show while on duty. we are all free, as community members, to encourage our neighbors to be responsible and creative in our burning experiment.

Jane Eric · Post by **Jane Eric** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 5:22 pm

Capt. Spooky, I'm glad to hear that you and Team Train are doing more than okay. We considered and tried out a couple of stewardesses for Playa Air this year and while they were out I could not stop thinking about whether or not safety was their number one concern. The pyro license we received for our flamethrower was issued to the captain and myself only we had several disable points to keep the curious fingers from doing anything when pushing the big red button. I'm beginning to think that stewardessing is as important to consider as driving and pyro.

PJ · Post by PJ » Thu Sep 04, 2003 5:34 pm

Jane Eric wrote:...stewardessing is as important to consider as driving and pyro...

You should certify your own hijackers too. Things go much more smoothly when the terrorists and flight crew are on the same team.

Capthayes · Post by **Capthayes** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 12:19 pm

I originaly posted this on another thread but it's probably more appropriate here

I would like to share a few thoughts based on my experiences piloting my Art Car the "Silver Lining" (red, white, and blue cruise ship) over the last few years.....

On scooters.....I would like to ban all two-cycle engines because of the annoying noise, but then again I would like to ban my neighbors from playing "thumpa, thumpa, thumpa" between the hours of 8 am and 2 pm so I could sleep, but that is not a reality. Instead, I'm just bringing better earplugs next year. However, the biggest problem with scooters, other two-wheeled motorized vehicles, and even bicycles, is not the vehicles themselves, but the small portion of people who ride them with no respect whatsoever for the safety of others. I don't care if you're on a Harley or a Huffy - OBEY THE 5 MPH SPEED LIMIT, at least in the conjested areas. I love Burning Man, it has become the most important ritual in my life. I don't care what it says on the back of the ticket, Burning Man is one lawsuit away from ending! By purchasing your ticket you do not, and can not, legally sign away your right to sue. Trust me, the first time a 22-year-old upper-middle class kid with well connected partents gets run over the fire will go out and the party will be over. This leads to my next point...

RESPECT THE ART VEHICLES. I know it seems like a whole lotta fun to cross the path of an art car, but when someone rides or runs out in front of a moving vehicle, the natural inclination of the pilot is to slam on the brakes. This is very dangerous when you have 14 inattentive people standing on the top deck. The people who pilot my ship, and myself, have learned in the last two years to avoid our natural inclination to hit the brakes and have learned to gently turn the ship to avoid a collision, but if people keep behaving the way they have, an accident is inevitable. If I am forced to make the choice between hitting someone and having 14 people go flying from my roof I know what decision I will make. Please don't force me to make that decision.

One more note...It is my greatest pleasure to give my guests rides around the playa. The feeling of sailing 10 feet above the playa and cruising along at a leisurely pace is extraordinary. It was that feeling, a feeling I experienced on another art car during my first burn in '01, that inspired me to build the "Silver Lining." But there isn't room for everybody, and the safety and comfort of my guests is always of paramount importance. I can only speak for myself and if I refused to give you a ride, here's a list of possible reasons why...
1.We were running a Private Charter. Occasionaly I will take out groups of people who spend much of their time working at the event. Please respect they're opportunity to have as much fun as possible in the short time they have to have it.

2.We were full

3.We didn't have room for your entire party

4.You jumped on with out permission, I know other art cars allow this, but Burning Man offically considers it stealing and so do I. No thieves on the ship! If you want a ride ask myself or someone else on board. We'll either tell you we're full or invite you on-board

5.You were too FUCKED UP! If I or anyone else thinks you're going to be a danger to the other guests on-board you are not welcome. The ship is not a drunk-bus. If your are i'll I will always give you a ride to the medical tent, but if your just fucked up you can get home with the same two feet that brought you to the middle of the playa. Besides, I sleep in the ship at night and I will not have anyone on-board who is likely to puke in my home!

I know that everyone hates rules, but we need a few to keep the event from ending. Please respect Art Cars the same way you respect all the other art on the playa. And if you can't respect the art of the Playa don't come to the event. Leave not trace also means levaing no trace on sombodys art unless, as in the case of the temple, leaving a trace becomes a part of the art. And on that note there's a huge pile of lost-and-found items that are left on the ship every night-but I'll save that for another time...

That is all,
Capt. Hayes

atom 13 · Post by **atom 13** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 1:52 pm

hey everyone I hope you all had a good burn this year. I wanted to say my part in this whole thing. I did notice lots of motorized odds and ends this year on the playa that should not have been there and lots of people speeding. I did however see our ranger doing something about it. Its not that people did not tell them to drive its that the drivers did not give a shit i feel. Also did you notice all the advertisements this year as well? I was camped at Get Lost and right next to us was about 13 RV's all parked in the way back of a theme camp in the typical square pattern with there party on the inside and no theme camp on the outside. Oh they were kewl enough though to make a tower so they could view everthing with a spot light and had there very own water truck but they never said hi or talked to anyone else. Anyway i am ranting. What i really meant to talk about was THE AIRPORT. Holy shit is this a scary place. For the first time this year i went out there with my girl to check it out and see about getting a ride for some trade. What i saw was to frightening to ever want to go back. They had an open bar there and when we arrived i dont think i saw a real sober person. When letting people go to there planes it was a look at a badge and they are off. There was no hey are you sober question or even a glance to see if they were sober. I am very afriad now cause i know that they fly over BRC and am now worried about getting hit from a plane in the air. Anyone think i am nuts?

atom

Jane Eric · Post by **Jane Eric** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 1:58 pm

Yeah, you're nuts. The airport is run by tiger-tiger. It is an international airport with a full on customs and it's the real deal.

What you think you saw may have just been the timing you were out there. We've been out several times and yes, saw plenty of action, but also saw the infrastructure, the paperwork required and the intent on tiger-tiger's face. I'd fly there again in a heartbeat.

Jane Eric · Post by **Jane Eric** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 2:00 pm

Capt. Hayes, I can sympathise with you completely. We had numerous fuckwits who thought running in front of Playa Air out of the dark with their wings/arms outstreched was the funniest thing we'd see all week.

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 2:23 pm

atom 13 wrote:THE AIRPORT. Holy shit is this a scary place. For the first time this year i went out there with my girl to check it out and see about getting a ride for some trade. What i saw was to frightening to ever want to go back. They had an open bar there and when we arrived i dont think i saw a real sober person. When letting people go to there planes it was a look at a badge and they are off. There was no hey are you sober question or even a glance to see if they were sober. I am very afriad now cause i know that they fly over BRC and am now worried about getting hit from a plane in the air. Anyone think i am nuts?

I'm a long-time pilot that flies into B.Man every year. The Airport is as effectively controlled as is any international airport. There's a bar (ditto SFO). The FAA mandates that nobody can pilot an aircraft if they've had anything to drink in the last eight hours. (Ditto airline pilots.) But nobody is giving pilots breathalyzer tests (ditto at SFO). It's legal for passengers (but not pilots) to drink during flight (ditto on the airlines.)

Pilots get stamped so the gate staff knows who camps out there and who doesn't, mostly to help prevent people from sneaking in without buying a ticket.

You're WAY more likely to be hit by a bicycle or art car than an airplane for many reasons: 1) Simple probability. 2) The event is surrounded by thousands of square miles of flat desert. Why would a pilot making an emergency landing choose to set it down atop you and the stuff surrounding you instead of smooth dirt?

If a pilot has been drinking and chooses to fly, it's extremely likely that other pilots will do what they can to prevent his doing so. Irresponsible flying hurts the event more for them than for anyone else. Following many years of safe aircraft operations there were two injury accidents this year, one fatal. Plans are afoot amongst the pilots to crack down on their own kind that are seen operating irresponsibly. Note that the FAA regulations require that airplanes fly no lower than 1000' above an assembly of people; if anybody flies lower than that over (not around) the town they're in violation. (500' is OK over unpopulated areas.)

If you desire a sightseeing ride, chat with a pilot and verify that he seems to be a reliable individual. He probably will be, but why not become fully comfortable with the idea? A gift is not mandatory, but like everybody else pilots have been known to be more eager to give rides to those that donate their girlfriend to the airport bar. Or a snack. Whatever.

Rusted Iron · Post by **Rusted Iron** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:53 pm

I had to be the Hated One several times last week. Enforcing the Rules of the Rat; No one drives unless they are completely sober. The car does not move during a sand-storm or in any other conditions that limit visibilty. The top of the Rat holds a maxium of five people. No one rides on the back bumper. No one rides on the top of the Rat's head. (That was a last-second add-on. I didn't know anyone would try to ride up there until someone did.) People grumbled and bitched but, suprisingly, they followed the rules.

Capthayes · Post by **Capthayes** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 3:52 pm

I'm glad to hear that other people have rules for riding their art cars. Judging by the behavior of some of the people who tryed to hop on-board while we were moving I got the impression that I was the only one on the Playa who didn't consider his/her art car a free-for-all. I'm also glad to hear that there are other art car owners are as serious about having a sober driver as I have been. I was very disapointed that when I met the art car pilot that ran into Thunderdome last year, and he took great pride in his playa name"Capt. Hazelwood". Im just afraid that when it comes to this list we're all just preaching to the choir.

The answer to many of our problems is to have a pool of sober art car drivers. I sent a proposal to anomyous camp last year when I got home but I never recieved a response. If anyone else is interested on working on this project for next year please contact me at [email protected]

That is all,
Capt. Hayes

ScottV · Post by **ScottV** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:09 pm

Is it just me or are the art cars with trailers hyper dangerous?
Fall or slip off of anything but the front of any of the non-trailered art cars and your sitting in an embarassed lump on the playa while the art car mosies off. By natural configuration most (not all) art cars (trailered and non-trailered) don't have seating on the front.

Fall or slip from the trailered art cars and you get run over by the trailer.

Side egress only is safer than the ability to get on or off the trailered art cars between the cars. Rules for not attempting to board a moving art car are pretty much ignored.

Though I did see a couple of towed, floatlike configurations where the crew on the tow vehicle shooed away anyone attempting to board the tractor and sent them back to the trailer.

Shouldn't all between car access be banned for trailered art cars?
And maybe even front seating on any art car?

seriously,
ScottV

Halo Joe · Post by **Halo Joe** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:14 pm

Again, I think the Airport passes muster. Super, super cool Whitney from the BRCPO works Customs out there, and I know Tiger (vaguely), and with those two on the job, I'd fly into or out of the BRC Airport anytime.

captain mcguiver · Post by **captain mcguiver** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:54 pm

I hung out at the airport for the first time this year and had a blast. My friend and I were looking for a pilot we had met earlier and were eager to get some aerial shots. I felt that wether we found him or not, we could go out with some ice, mixers and fresh fruit and make a lot of people happy.

We did just that, found someone who knew the pilot we were seeking, and proceeded to run out to his plane. We asked if there would be a problem to go out and leave a note and were promptly given the short answer of "YES!". I think it might have been Tiger. She was very assertive, and very correct. After sorting out an escort for whole 20 seconds we were off.

We found our pilot, but he was already leaving. Oh well, next time. We returned to the airport bar and a gentleman named Christian stood up and said, "Who wants to go up before I get drunk?". We were standing right in front of him and nearly jumped into his arms. A few minutes later and my BM dream was fulfilled. We shot no less than 400 35mm and Digi stills of BRC. When I get them on Tuesday I will throw them into the community. I love aerials, and took it upon myself to take care of it this year.
My takeoff and landing was the softest I have ever experienced. My time with the BRC airport was safe, organized, and fun. Hats off to every pilot and staffer involved. Your biggest problem next year will be trying to get rid of me hanging out there.

PJ · Post by PJ » Sat Sep 06, 2003 10:19 pm

Halo Joe wrote:I think the Airport passes muster....Whitney...Tiger...with those two on the job, I'd fly into or out of the BRC Airport anytime...

The thing is, Tiger isn't an Air Traffic Controller. There's no facility nor procedures for issuing clearances and so on--and there shouldn't need to be with only one runway and a mere 100 airplanes on-field. Any safety problems are due to pilots' behavior and judgement and it's up to the pilots themselves to educate other pilots and maintain an Airport theme camp attitude consistent with having no safety issues.

captain mcguiver wrote:My takeoff and landing was the softest I have ever exeprienced.

That's what you want to look for. Any idiot can crank an airplane around the sky dramatically. Only a perfectionist can fly smoothly. A good landing is like appending a stylish signature at the end of a well-crafted document. No landing is perfect, but perfection should be the goal nevertheless. (A big head start is that the Playa is softer than a concrete or asphalt runway. Might have some bumps though.)

Art cars and safety and lessons...

Art cars and safety and lessons...

Re: Art cars and safety and lessons...

To Jade

Re: Art cars and safety and lessons...

keep each other in check when needed

The Dave Train and safety

Designated drivers and injury status?

Re: Art cars and safety and lessons...

The Dave Train

Re: The Dave Train

dont stop at the art cars

Atom, I think you're nuts.

Re: dont stop at the art cars

Hard work being the Hated One

Trailered Art Cars