Zane, don't you dare apologize. You have nothing to apologize for.

So who else writes books about Idaho? Any authors or photographers that have NOT threatened you? I might like to buy one of THEIR books. I simply don't buy from bullies.

Yep, I have recommended His books to several people and own a few I will certainly be looking for other publishings to recommend instead.

Well I am going to call a spade a spade here and offer my opinion, which is great because you can't be sued for having an opinion.

I looked at Mr. Hanselman's website and well it is my feeling he is feeling the frustration of not staying current with the times.

Yes he has some books on flying the back country for sale. Don't know what the content on the inside is like, and I probably never will. His material loos as old and dated as his website its self that I am guessing is a circa 1998 design.

I think what we are seeing here is in the same vein as the "Real Photographers" who only shoot film and sit around lamenting how digital has ruined photography as a profession.

It is my feeling he is probably angry and bitter because he isn't selling books, and because of that probably sucked down into a bunker mentality with no new ideas and with out the drive to make his old ones current.

As I see it he is probably just jealous of BCP because he does not have the talent, drive or wherewithal to create anything like what this site has become so he is lashing out in the only way he can.

Again that is just my opinion.

Oh also one of his most recent facebook posts references his airplane N400DH being sold to the insurance company.

A quick google search turned this up.

http://aircrashed.com/cause/cDEN04LA052.shtml

"On March 15, 2004, at approximately 1030 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182P, N400DH, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during departure from Dark Canyon Middle Point, a dirt airstrip 35 nautical miles west of Monticello, Utah. The private pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Moab, Utah, at approximately 0800.

According to the pilot, he departed Moab, Utah at 0800 and had landed at Hite and Brown's Rim, before proceeding to Dark Canyon. He reported "7-10 knot [winds] generally out of the east." The landing at Dark Canyon was uneventful and after parking the airplane, he noted that runway surface was rough with "clump grass" and the dirt was soft. At 1028, the pilot noted the "winds [were] variable from 7 to 10 knots with gusts to 15 generally from the east" and elected to depart to the east. The ground roll was slow due to the soft dirt. Approximately two thirds down the runway, the airplane struck a "hump" and became airborne. The pilot lowered the nose slightly to gain airspeed. At the end of the runway, "the wind shifted from a headwind to a tailwind" and the airplane settled into the juniper bushes at the departure end of the runway and nosed over. Both wing spars were bent, the windscreen fragmented, and the nose wheel strut was bent aft, crushing the bottom of the fuselage. An examination of the systems revealed no anomalies."

So he piled her up out in Moab, which can happen to any of us. I did a little more searching found that in 2006 he registered N121M a 77 Model 182Q then it was re-registered in 2012 to someone else.

I was able to find no images of this aircraft when I looked. I don't think he photographed or flew it much.

It is the prior 182 that is on the cover of his book, which says that it has been a while since he wrote it.

From what I can find he no longer has an aircraft.

It's too bad, I feel bad for the guy, but at the same time doesn't make what he did here right.

I think the most unfortunate part is the guy probably has a lot of good knowledge and experience, he could drag himself over here, become a contributing member and make a lot of friends and probably sell a lot of books because of it.

Hey Nick, that might be getting just a hair personal. I realize it is public information, but we prob shouldn't turn this into anything more than it is, which is just BCP avoiding copyright issues.

Thanks.

So here is an idea for you young techies looking for adventure. You make a book like Galen's in digital format. One that can be carried on a tablet for reference. I'll bet Chris at shortfield.com has thought of this already.

I pay $80 a year for Flight Guide digital on my tablet. It updates on a regular basis. I like it.

Do that for our backcountry strips and you will make a small fortune. Emphasis on SMALL.

We need the tech guy. Lots of us have airplanes. We could make this a group effort and split the profit's, or losses. With the ability easily send digital data it makes this possible.

Maybe Chris can convert his online pictures and narrative to a down loadable format. I would pay for that, and I bet others would too.
We have amacbean too. Lots of talent her at BCP!

Just thinking.

Cheers...Rob

Great Idea Rob!

Zzz wrote:Hey Nick, that might be getting just a hair personal. I realize it is public information, but we prob shouldn't turn this into anything more than it is, which is just BCP avoiding copyright issues.

Thanks.

Yeah probably, I always try to see things from someone else'es point of view. And that comes two fold, it pisses me off when people attack things I like, and I like this site a lot so I kind of take it personally.

But at the same time after digging through all of that what I really feel is bad for the guy, can't be easy being in that position.

I feel like what he has produced if updated could actually make a really good resource. Actually sounds like a project id like to take part in.

Just unfortunate when it turns into something like this because no good comes of it.

How about I create a mobile platform for a moderated open source airstrip guide.

Then give it away for free, because this shit is already too spendy.

May not work unless folks put in good content.

Wow! Very discouraging! Big bummer you had to deal with that, Zane.

But hey, don't forget you'all. There is a pretty good source that is linked from this site as well. SHORTFIELD.COM

Lots of great information, pictures and videos on there. And it can be updated by you members if your signed up on it.

Also, maybe that can be updated to include an App??

RanchPilot wrote:I'm really bummed out by this whole thing. I don't know Mr. Hanselman personally, but I have several of his products and think they are among the best resources available for the kind of flying I like to do. I also have to say that, when sending me one of his products via rush delivery so I'd have it in time for Caveman, he went above and beyond to make sure I got it and included some other materials for free.

I have no idea why he handled this situation like this, and wish he had handled it differently too--especially since the pic was just a link to something already on the web. I think Zane has handled the situation as well as can be expected under the unfortunate circumstances.

As for the rest of us, I think there's a difference between supporting Zane (which I do) and trashing Mr. Hanselman. I don't think we are advancing the purpose of backcountry aviation by making a bunch of negative comments here. It strikes me as a bit of a circular firing squad for all of us who love the backcountry, many of whom have benefited greatly from his flight guides.

I agree with the consensus this should have been handled differently. Maybe we should just leave it at that? Vote with your dollars, if you want, but I'm not sure anyone benefits from any more heat being added to this situation.

My two cents.

Well, said! I'll throw my cents in and make it 4.

I've met Galen a few times several years ago. Great guy. He freely gave me pointers on flying and fishing (you know a guy is good if he gives away fishing tips).

Aside from this thing with his images I dare guess he has done as much or more than anyone alive to promote backcountry aviation. Before sites like this became so great Galen's book were the best resource out there. I have all his books and highly recommend them. Some of the stories in his Baja book are awesome.

So,,,, IMHO he has had a lapse in judgement here, but in the past he has been a great promoter of our craft and in my personal experience a good human being.

That wrecked 182 was part of the cost to produce the Utah book…… And with out him we would not have the fantastic Idaho and Utah maps.

soaringhiggy wrote:Great Idea Rob!

+2!

And what RanchPilot said. +5 on that one.

Too bad Galen didn't think this through more. Just too small of a community to be shooting yourself in the foot. I think instead of Galen going into an offensive threatening mode, taking a proactive approach would have been a much better. I too have all of his books and think they're a great resource. But, it has been proven in the past that BCP and Shortfield.com can be as equally a great resource for airstrip information.

I also now wonder how many new book sales Galen received because of this publicity? If any.

UtahMaule wrote:I've met Galen a few times several years ago. Great guy. He freely gave me pointers on flying and fishing (you know a guy is good if he gives away fishing tips).

Aside from this thing with his images I dare guess he has done as much or more than anyone alive to promote backcountry aviation. Before sites like this became so great Galen's book were the best resource out there. I have all his books and highly recommend them. Some of the stories in his Baja book are awesome.

So,,,, IMHO he has had a lapse in judgement here, but in the past he has been a great promoter of our craft and in my personal experience a good human being.

That wrecked 182 was part of the cost to produce the Utah book…… And with out him we would not have the fantastic Idaho and Utah maps.

Thanks, UtahMaule. I was going to post something along these lines, but you said it better than I could,

It's useful to remind ourselves that not everyone understands the workings of the web as well as many of us here do. I've had conversations with photographers, writers and musicians who were flabbergasted when told that putting something on the web would allow anyone else to link to it, that it would show up in search results, etc. I think the root of this unfortunate kerfuffle is just a lack of understanding of how the web works on Galen's part. My hope is that with time, hatchets will be buried. Backcountry flying is such a tiny world. We can't afford to turn against each other.

Galen's work goes far beyond just pictures and info about airstrips. What makes me go back to Fly Idaho! and his other books over and over again is all the historic background info, hiking trail tips, hot spring info, etc. that he put in there for each strip. I think anyone who has read his books can appreciate the amount of effort that went into putting them together.

Oregon180 wrote: I think the root of this unfortunate kerfuffle is just a lack of understanding of how the web works on Galen's part.

That is exactly it. Well said. Unfortunately, my attempts at an explanation fell on deaf ears and were met with the response I initially posted about.

If he gets some more sales from this, I don't care, that's great. The more people with airstrip information in their hands the better. If fact, had he said: "Hey Zane, I noticed that you guys are showing my photo, maybe you could insert a plug for Fly Idaho?" I would have gladly done it and scratched his back without a moment's hesitation. Instead, we have this.

Always start with honey instead of vinegar in this small world.

Do not link to or embed his images here if you want to keep BCP (and me) free of legal conflict.

Thanks. -Z

Zzz wrote:

Oregon180 wrote: I think the root of this unfortunate kerfuffle is just a lack of understanding of how the web works on Galen's part.

That is exactly it. Well said. Unfortunately, my attempts at an explanation fell on deaf ears and were met with the response I initially posted about.

If he gets some more sales from this, I don't care, that's great. The more people with airstrip information in their hands the better. If fact, had he said: "Hey Zane, I noticed that you guys are showing my photo, maybe you could insert a plug for Fly Idaho?" I would have gladly done it and scratched his back without a moment's hesitation. Instead, we have this.

Always start with honey instead of vinegar in this small world.

Do not link to or embed his images here if you want to keep BCP (and me) free of legal conflict.

Thanks. -Z

I think this really sums that up:

https://itd.idaho.gov/aero/

ok Utah Arizona Oregon Montana and Nevada (and more) your turn.

WilgaBeast wrote:How about I create a mobile platform for a moderated open source airstrip guide.

Then give it away for free, because this shit is already too spendy.

May not work unless folks put in good content.

Considering that I write code for a living, count me in. Fire up a GitHub project?
Android only for me, though...

UngaWunga wrote:

WilgaBeast wrote:How about I create a mobile platform for a moderated open source airstrip guide.

Then give it away for free, because this shit is already too spendy.

May not work unless folks put in good content.

Considering that I write code for a living, count me in. Fire up a GitHub project?
Android only for me, though...

If you guys are serious about that, there is a council of people you should have a brainstorming meeting with. Chris from shortfield.com and me among them. Possibly Oregon180. We have decades of software development experience, and there is a definite strategy for multi-platform content delivery.

Zzz wrote:If you guys are serious about that, there is a council of people you should have a brainstorming meeting with. Chris from shortfield.com and me among them. Possibly Oregon180. We have decades of software development experience, and there is a definite strategy for multi-platform content delivery.

Count me in on that session also.

I don't know much about anything. I want to sue, or more likely counter-sue somebody someday just for the experience.

But to bring it back home, I did find this vintage footage of Zane.