Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:49 pm
Well hadnt caught up on this thread for a while and it seems to have taken quite a turn!
Just to put my 2 Bob's worth in, some food for thought (though I have a feeling I may regret this!)
In relation to the pilots actions.
What ever the situation, and even if he was being naughty, who can honestly say they haven't misbehaved in the name of fun at some stage of there flying life. Is it fair to judge him on this now when we cant be certain when if it does come out he was he will have to deal with the consequences anyway? I have a very good friend and one of the people I respect most in life both as an aviator and a person going through a very long and drawn out court case for something that happened when he was breaking the rules. The very very sad fact is unfortunately a life was lost in this instance, and as a result he is looking at a potential serious gaol sentence (or a you guys would say, jail).
Now one of the honestly best people I know not only has to live with a life on his shoulders but deal with the consequences after it just happened to go wrong for him doing something I have witnessed hundreds of aircraft, including me doing in the same spot. I cant go into detail as to what happened but I can assure you from watching many videos on this page, a large percentage of you spend alot of time doing the same thing. Would it be fair to judge him as being a bad person, an idiot or whatever words you want to choose because it went wrong for him doing something we almost all have done even though it was technically breaking rules and now has to go through hell as a result of that?
In relation to the term "Toys".
well talk to a 747 pilot? Almost all them I know call what they fly a toy! When I play on a 40 tone excavator I call it a toy! And its certainly no secret that I dont fly a big bad arse 180, Maule or even a Super Cub, in fact my plane is probably the closest thing to a toy on this site, yet that toy over the last fortnight has moved near 1000 head of cattle about 100 miles through some seriously wild terrain, laid wild dog baits over 300 000 acres, and dropped fire bombs creating a 10 mile front to burn off under growth before bush fire season. Plus you would have to spend atleast 10 fold whats its worth to find another aircraft as strong as it (don't be fooled, its a tough old beast), that would come close to matching its STOL performance, and can even consider coming close to its in handling performance. I have a good friend who has spent 5 or 6 times what I payed for my plane on modifications alone to his Super Cub, yet he still cant even come close to getting into most the spots I go in my little beasty. So I guess the moral of the story is, if one is going to take the term toy as an insult, well then what exactly constitutes a toy? I sure as hell don't think a super STOL is.
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it..." HENRY FORD