Safety? Really?

TestesInSac · Post by **TestesInSac** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 3:35 pm

Anyone else feel a sense of irony here??

Zane5100 · Post by **Zane5100** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 3:37 pm

Not as much as I did Friday watching Kathy get hauled off to the morgue (eventually)...

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 5:35 pm

As you might expect, the B.M. aviators' E-mail list has been exceptionally active post-event this year. Following years of good safety we had some accidents, of the worst sort. So most of us are in the mindset of, "We ourselves gotta get serious about B.Man flight safety or somebody's gonna shut us down."

Aviation isn't like fire play or Thunderdome--nobody needs to get hurt. NOBODY HAS INVENTED A NEW WAY TO KILL THEMSELVES IN AN AIRPLANE SINCE 1914. Every aircraft accident represents a lesson that was learned long ago, so repeating it is a very stupid thing to do. If pilots simply fly as they were taught and don't do stupid stuff, no metal need get bent and no passengers should get scratched.

And unlike fire play or a consensual battle in Thunderdome, there's nothing fun about getting hurt in an airplane.

Jane Eric · Post by **Jane Eric** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:20 pm

PJ ~ I would fly with you within a nanosecond of decision making.

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:52 pm

Jane Eric wrote:PJ ~ I would fly with you within a nanosecond of decision making.

You're on for next year. And I can promise that no wings will fall off.

Jane Eric · Post by **Jane Eric** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:54 pm

Wish I could make the same promise!

Halo Joe · Post by **Halo Joe** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:58 pm

There's a flight training center just north of Tampa. I've wanted to get a pilot's license for years, and now it's looking as if I might be able to. Granted, pilots might be a bit biased, but is it really worth the training and money? (I figger it is, but I'd just like some feedback.)

Oh, and Tom? Irony out the arse, baby.

RebA! · Post by **RebA!** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:59 pm

Safety Third!

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:06 pm

Halo Joe wrote:...I've wanted to get a pilot's license for years... is it really worth the training and money?

The training is fun and rewarding and almost everybody finds at least one of the many aspects of the undertaking to be mind-bogglingly difficult for awhile. You're gonna be re-mapping your brain into a three-dimensional tool. You're going to be solving problems in real-time that CANNOT be paused because the aircraft can't stay in one place while you get your mental ducks in a row. You'll be travelling two to four times faster than people in cars despite some of those cars costing far more than the training airplane. You'll be learning to do things competently and all by yourself that less than one percent of the population can do.

Aviation is a mistress that cost me all of my disposable income and time and relationships throughout all my ages when most young people are having frivolous fun and little else. It was a bargain. I can imagine doing without many things (and for years I did) but as far as I'm concerned a life without aviation is not a life worth having. I plan to be still doing it when I'm 100 years old.

Halo Joe · Post by **Halo Joe** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:13 pm

So, PJ, you're in the "I (heart) flying" column ...

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:27 pm

Halo Joe wrote:So, PJ, you're in the "I (heart) flying" column ...

It's not for everybody. Some people try it, get the license even, and having accomplished a personal goal don't do it anymore. I don't have a problem with that. Everybody doesn't need to be a fanatic. (Although by its nature the activity is no place for total dilettantes--too many inherent hazards.)

I sometimes surprise people with my argument that most aviators shouldn't own their own personal aircraft. Few will fly it enough to justify the investment. (And like all machines they work best when used a lot.) Renting, joining a club, or having partners are some of the other options. One cool thing about ownership, though: unlike cars, boats, and motorbikes, airplanes increase in value over time. Thanks to that my lifetime of flying has effectively cost nothing, should I sell the current airplane outright.

There's always affordable ways to fly if you're financially-creative. I was a teenager when I started.

Halo Joe · Post by **Halo Joe** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:36 pm

[quote="PJThere's always affordable ways to fly if you're financially-creative. I was a teenager when I started.[/quote]

Wish I'd thought of it then. Thanks for the words of wisdom.

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:40 pm

Halo Joe wrote:
PJ wrote:I was a teenager when I started.
Wish I'd thought of it then.

Note that I did give up doing all the things that most teenagers enjoy. But I thought those things were silly and uninteresting anyway. Of course, I was a nerd. (Not that I'm cool now.)

Halo Joe · Post by **Halo Joe** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:41 pm

PJ wrote:
Halo Joe wrote:
PJ wrote:I was a teenager when I started.
Wish I'd thought of it then.

Note that I did give up doing all the things that most teenagers enjoy. But I thought those things were silly and uninteresting anyway. Of course, I was a nerd. (Not that I'm cool now.)

Bite thy tongue, sir! Your avatar reeks of cool.

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:46 pm

Halo Joe wrote:...Your avatar reeks of cool...

No, that's some other smell out there in the pasture.

But if not cool, at least it's tingly.

Lydia Love · Post by **Lydia Love** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 8:25 pm

But if not cool, at least it's tingly.

<Snort!>

Last Real Burner · Post by **Last Real Burner** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:22 am

I can safely say you're cool PJ.

thankfully,
mr smith

rev. lucifer · Post by **rev. lucifer** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:57 am

I love the smell of cow ass in the morning.

Safety? Really?

Safety? Really?

We put safety on the back burner...