akschu wrote:What could possibly go wrong?

Knock out power to 100s of thousands of people and also start a huge fire in an area that is in a severe drought.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_firestorm_of_1991

I echo the views of most here. Just seems like high risk flying for glory. I learned STOL flying because it was a skill needed to get me into tough short mountain strips. It improved my airmanship (air-persons for you PC folk) and I appreciate the skill and proficiency needed to fly this way but it just seems like the whole purpose for this type of flying is being ignored. I guess this is to be expected because STOL flying is incredibly rewarding and enjoyable but it also generates bravado and glory. Some of the accidents over the last few years in Idaho involve really inexperienced pilots attempting some of the most difficult strips in the Backcountry without the proper training or skill. Results are predictable here.



Josh

Josh: 25 years ago no one had a camera in their pocket let alone a digital one, nowadays everybody has a video camera that they can post videos immediately on to social media. 25 years ago we were having the accidents maybe not quite at the same rate but nobody heard about them. A lot of the accidents were quietly taken apart and taken home and nobody knew about them. But you can’t do that now somebody’s surveillance camera on somebody’s front door will take a picture of it and it’ll be on the news before you know it. As for insurance rates some airplanes have actually doubled in price in the last two years. I was told by my old airframe and powerplant instructor about 15 years ago that a C170A model wasn’t worth fixing because it didn’t have any value after it was put back together. But look at them now they’re price now is approaching what a B model was going for about six months ago. If everything is worth more the insurance companies are going to just keep charging us more money every year. It’s getting harder and harder to get somebody to work on our birds at a decent price also if at all.

Bigrenna wrote:Perhaps I'm getting too old... too old fashioned... too cautious.

You are describing wisdom, which I suspect you have gained through years of making decisions, making mistakes, and learning from others.

I too am getting older and have been hanging around the fringes of this community for 20+ years while making a living in military and Part 121 aviation. I don't claim to be wise but have been there, done that enough to satisfy myself (but not enough to have a successful YouTube channel). I have many good aviation stories and hopefully will accumulate many more. But none will start with "There I was, at the STOL competition."

My risk assessment tells me to stay away, but to each their own. Juice ain't worth the squeeze to me. I hope that those who partake and attend do so responsibly, safely, and successfully.

I hope to see you around the campfire sometime.

Oregon180 wrote:Apparently whizzing around/under high power lines in an LSA "skyrockets your skills as an aviator to new heights."

Oh, and by the way, that nasty FAR 91.119 regulation applies to power lines…..

Duh.

MTV

Ag is involved with plenty of creative flying, and we get paid by the acre. The big wires are easy to go under but stuff can happen. One of Kiman's pilots hit a top ground wire last week. Broken bones but Thrush is a tough airplane.

There are jobs that require equal skills as STOL and STOL techniques are not really difficult. Low ground effect takeoff and power/pitch short final deceleration are both safer and easier than Vx or Vy as appropriate and round out followed by uncontrollable hold off.

What Is a Literary Device? A literary device is a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in a story or piece of writing.
Masterclass Staff (Sep 7, 2021) http://www.masterclass.com/articles/22- ... ry-devices

As some guessed, and presumably as others missed, I really wasn't talking about the cost of my policy, and certainly not about end stage capitalism, zoom reserve, nor even event insurance. What I've been thinking about lately is stewardship and the ideas surrounding "can" and "should."

So much of the time we hear folks screaming all about "can," when perhaps the better discussion is about "should." If you strip out "can" and talk about "should," it seems to me a far easier discussion.

I know everyone here shares the same passion, which is what makes this group great... I just don't want people dead, nor do I want what I love so much taken away.

It's pretty clear to me what the problems are, and it's also pretty clear to me that I can't do that much about it... except perhaps implore folks to talk about what's going on... so here we are.

If your bored, Roy Evens posted an interesting read on his blog:


ROY EVENS II
posted May 23rd 2022
https://royevansii.com/2022/05/23/go-around/


I want to think that I’m a better pilot than most. Looking back at logbooks that span shelves in my study one would have a hard time finding any intentional or unintentional bent metal, broken bones, or even nicked propellors in those volumes. However, I find myself watching airplane accident videos on repeat trying to understand not what made one pilot err, but what is keeping me from doing the same.

Recently the STOL Drag community lost one of their own. A husband, father of five, and aviation enthusiast tragically lost his life when during a somewhat-sanctioned event at the Mayday STOL Drag Event in Wayne, Nebraska. Being a husband, father of five, and an aviation enthusiast, I shudder at the footage that’s leaked of those last few moments where airspeed, altitude, and ideas were gone with the 15 to 25 knot gusting crosswinds across the plains that day. I find myself screaming at my screen, having placed myself in the cockpit trying to right the wrong, and save a family, a community, and the world from yet another tragedy in this emerging competitive space in general aviation.

The GoFundMe pages will continue to grow, the thoughts and prayers will litter the social media posts, but looking back over the span of the last few years, what we’re seeing was nothing short of inevitable. Last year I couldn’t sleep having read a similar story were another husband, father, and aviation enthusiast nearly lost his life in a similar competitive environment that didn’t need to happen. Competitors at that ArkanSTOL event were witnesses to incidents and accidents like this in the past. Some even voiced their opposition to the unnecessary risks the event purveyors presented in what I thought was the most convoluted competition that could be completed in airplanes until I found this gem on YouTube.

STOL Cross, the latest development in the world of making insurance companies increase their rates, adds even more excitement to the STOL competition world by “presenting its own unique challenges for takeoffs and landings and overcoming the obstacle course in between those landing zones.” Watching their latest promotional video, frames like the one above highlight those obstacles pilots will be faced with, and nothing like unmarked high-tension power lines above and adjacent to many of the landing areas that a direct line-up with the sunlight will surely increase the chances that the new-found NASCAR crash-seeking fans of these STOL events will leave the event satisfied. Less than a week ago a pilot was killed when his inability to maintain flying airspeed on final caused him to stall and spin into the ground. Around the crash site was hardly any obstacles or obstructions that would have made any attempt to go-around difficult. Yet, here we are, adding rapidly rising terrain and unmarked high-tension power lines to the equation.

STOL Cross purveyors taunt the egos of the already higher-and-mightier STOL competitors by alluding to the benefits that those who are fortunate enough to compete in their aerial version of Russian Roulette with “skills as aviators that skyrocket to new levels.” STOL Drag says on their website that they “Making Good Pilots Better.”

Outside of the racecourse, outside of the accidents and incidents, even the questionably-venerable Dan Gryder fails to see the first break in the chain that’s culpable for all these bent props and broken homes. STOL Drag came to the world on the wings of a Carbon Cub emblazoned with the infamous Flying Cowboys insignia. What started as a supposed rag-tag group of like-minded pilots using their airplanes to help others has turned into a culture that’s bending the rules and airplanes at the same time. Within days of the fatal accident, STOL Drag creator Kevin Quinn shares with the world a video of him coaching a STOL Drag competitor flying his airplane low to the ground in a power on aggravated slip with the caption “…working on skills most don’t do very often.” Having been a purveyor of airshows for the span of many years, and a recreational backcountry aviator for a few less, I have yet to see a reason for a pilot to do such a maneuver except for perhaps a razzle-dazzle pass of the airshow line in something faster and more capable than a Cub clone. In fact, one could argue that these non-standard maneuvers being performed low to the ground should have some sort of community-driven permitting process like the airshow pilots require, but I digress.

“You have to get uncomfortable to get comfortable” the caption later reads. A look at the weather during the fatal accident at the Mayday STOL Drag event revealed winds that exceeded whatever requirements the FAA and / or STOL Drag had placed on the event, but whoever lead the charge, whether it be the pilots, the spectators, the sponsors, or the event purveyors themselves, the winds were found to be acceptable for a “traditional STOL competition.” In reality, flying in afternoon crosswinds gusting 15 through 25 knots does not sound like a good time. Add in some hastily-concocted demonstration-turned-competition and images like those shared online (and the hard to watch video) sadly don’t surprise many of us. Whether or not this fateful schedule modification came with a safety briefing, some sort of standards of operation, or anything of the like we’ll likely never know. What we do know is that what pilots had attempted to do that day was well within their wheelhouse, landing airplanes on a specified point along a well-defined runway. Yet, within this comfort, tragedy took place.

My mind races to the CVR of Pinnacle Flight 3701, where two professional pilots tasked with repositioning an aircraft without passengers onboard decided to “get uncomfortable” by stretching the already lackluster limits of the Canadair CRJ-200 Regional Jet. Activating the stall warning systems multiple times while exceeding the structural load factors of the 50 seat RJ, the pilots decided to take the airplane to the limit of its climb capabilities.Ironically, ATC inquired about their cruise altitude later inquiring that they’ve never seen a CRJ-200 at that altitude, to which the crew replied “we don’t we don’t have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here.” Twenty one minutes later, the cockpit voice recorder stops with sounds “similar to impacts.”

Nothing told those two pilots to throw caution into the wind. Reposition flights, while carried out regularly by commercial operators, are generally handled just like revenue flights. Most operators even operate these flights under the same regulations as those with cargo or customers onboard. The only difference with this accident is the attitude of the crew. Sadly, flights such as Pinnacle 3701 fill NTSB accident databases, and tell the tales of what’s possible when professional pilots become flying cowboys.

We all know complacency kills, but it appears that the opposite of complacency does as well. Comfort or not, we’re still crashing perfectly good airplanes, and, unfortunately, we’re not finding new ways to do it. What I’m learning is that there’s a culture problem that in my opinion is equally culpable in these accidents. Having dealt with the impact that the Flying Cowboys have made on aviation, I fear that the future of the ego-charged STOL competition world is going down a path that will not only bend metal and break bones, but will bury the future of aviation along with it. Whether that future is the children who lose parents who succumb to the pitfalls of these increasingly challenging competitions, whether it be the opportunities for recreational backcountry aviation be mistakingly associated with such tragic acts, I try my best to bite my tongue while I scream at the screen yelling at Tom to just fucking go around, and hope that if I ever find myself in that situation, I’ll follow my own advice.

I mostly don't care for any of these events. As a general rule, my experience has been that they tend to run full of people that are full of themselves. People that think they can really make an airplane sing... until they can't. People that are extremely competitive by nature, and often bend or break something because they can't seem to realize that sometimes the better part of valor is discretion. People that think they impress by the pound on their chest.

The most impressive people in my life have been the people who's merits I've had to uncover on my own.

Having said all that, I despise the talking heads that seek to shut them down even more. What gave that talking head the right to look at the ass clowns down his nose? Were it me I'd say turn it up a notch... Mother Nature will sort it out, and people will learn what we need in place to turn a circus into a sanctioned event, a goat rope into a safe (as can be) competition. After all, at some point road racing was really on a road... We'd live in a pretty boring place were it not for the fools that outlived the foolishness that evolved into better ways.

Take a fool's contest away and you've just given him an opportunity to be a fool somewhere else. The larger problem is not the contest (that can evolve) the bigger problem is the attitude. And on a much smaller scale, the training, and that too will evolve (or go away due to the talking heads) I am at peace with myself calling someone in a smoking hole a fool because I can call myself one. Hopefully I've learned from such foolishness.

The only wish for me is that this tumultuous period would pass sooner, so that the negativity would be gone with it. Too precious is the gift we all have to let bickering over what amounts to someone else's poor decision be our hill to die on.

Take care, Rob

PS; never take the "I've never bent a plane" to say much... One of my positions has always be that the end of the world will not be politics or religion.... but rather semantics and statistics. The talking heads that rely on a career of pristine, have either spent that career in a glass bubble (what a shame) or are merely part of the equation that creates statistics. Call it dumb luck, call it whatever you want, but the same laws of statistics say they couldn't repeat that performance themselves. Accidents... that's what we call them. We call them that for a reason. No one outside of a deranged YouTuber bends an airplane on purpose.

As a sidebar,

Anyone that thinks landing or take off under that wire is unduly hazardous should consider remedial training. Please do not confuse that with me thinking they should be doing it, I just don't think that piece warrants all the hype. The distance under that wire is no different than the distance in width of the field. Perhaps it is even more. We fly in 3 dimensions, and energy management should pertain to them all. If you haven't figured out how to control any of these directions it is simply because you've not built the skills, or have been taught to look at an 'indicator' for where you are / what your doing, (not a bad skill in the appropriate context) and then applying that skill in a VFR (heavy emphasis on VISUAL) world.

If I couldn't fit through that hole with a 100% predictable success rate, I wouldn't have a job.

Take care, Rob

mtv wrote:Now, leading a gaggle of planes around the back country, bagging strips.....guess who the liability target is going to be in the event of an oops? Whoever organized the program. Aircraft insurance policies really aren't very "fat" targets, compared to 401Ks, trust fund babies, etc.

This is exactly why we are not having a fly in at Seeley Lake this year, most likely ever again. We can get event insurance, that only costs $350. However that only covers the airport owner and our local aviation foundation. It does not cover the three of us who organize it personally, even though we are the Prez, VP and treasurer of the foundation. Homeowners liability does not cover you for this. An umbrella policy might, if it does it doesn't pick up until after the homeowners runs out. So umbrellas don't even start until the first $300 or $500K gets paid out.
Polson had a slip and fall lawsuit as a result of their fly in a few years ago. These suits seem to start at $500K and go up from there. And the first question asked is why were you there? Well such and such had a fly in. That person or group is the first name to be sued.

Rob wrote:
Having said all that, I despise the talking heads that seek to shut them down even more. What gave that talking head the right to look at the ass clowns down his nose? Were it me I'd say turn it up a notch... Mother Nature will sort it out, and people will learn what we need in place to turn a circus into a sanctioned event, a goat rope into a safe (as can be) competition. After all, at some point road racing was really on a road... We'd live in a pretty boring place were it not for the fools that outlived the foolishness that evolved into better ways.
.

What a great comment! I would venture to guess most of the comments are from 50+ year olds, and have forgotten the shit they pulled when they were younger.
We are in bad spot when we think we own the space.....whether it’s hiking, boating or flying.
Cheers!

Rob wrote:Having said all that, I despise the talking heads that seek to shut them down even more. What gave that talking head the right to look at the ass clowns down his nose? Were it me I'd say turn it up a notch... Mother Nature will sort it out, and people will learn what we need in place to turn a circus into a sanctioned event, a goat rope into a safe (as can be) competition. After all, at some point road racing was really on a road... We'd live in a pretty boring place were it not for the fools that outlived the foolishness that evolved into better ways.

There is a distinction between people looking down their nose and having 5-6 working brain cells that clearly point to a future accident that will be the basis for negative attention and regulation of what we enjoy doing.

If it was as simple as retroactive birth control, then agreed, but it isn't that simple. The sanctioning body of their sport isn't in the business of selling tickets and entertaining, rather, it's controlled by the federal government, and pretty frequently acts like GA is in it's way.

I agree with what Bigrenna said above. Spot on Greg!

I think the “dude awesome” dirt bike mentality in all of this is actually hurting us overall and not helping. Throw in GoPro’s and YouTube and that just accelerates the damage.

Kurt

I read a lot of the comments on a Facebook post that helped bring this to attention. The feller that did the drone work indicated this is outside of Hayward, CA but the actual event would take place elsewhere not near the big power line.

I like watching anyone who is skilled manipulating a machine to it’s limit. That includes STOL aircraft, working ag planes, race cars, Hell even welders and road graders. I will never possess the skills required to do what those guys are doing and that’s OK with me. Hopefully they can find a way to do it that doesn’t bend rules (some kind of closed course) and unnecessarily endanger the fans, similar to the various other motorsports.

Terry wrote:

Rob wrote:
Having said all that, I despise the talking heads that seek to shut them down even more. What gave that talking head the right to look at the ass clowns down his nose? Were it me I'd say turn it up a notch... Mother Nature will sort it out, and people will learn what we need in place to turn a circus into a sanctioned event, a goat rope into a safe (as can be) competition. After all, at some point road racing was really on a road... We'd live in a pretty boring place were it not for the fools that outlived the foolishness that evolved into better ways.
.

What a great comment! I would venture to guess most of the comments are from 50+ year olds, and have forgotten the shit they pulled when they were younger.
We are in bad spot when we think we own the space.....whether it’s hiking, boating or flying.
Cheers!

I dunno.

I've been reluctant to chime in on this thread because usually if people decide they don't like what I say then they take a hike from BCP. Probably typed up 3 replies and scrapped em. Well, I'm a real guy with opinions. Bear with me. And Terry, I know where you live.

I think it's okay for people to say "that's a bad idea" when most of us agree it is, even if we value the freedom to do it. Sorry to see a few of you guys retract your comments because you didn't want the heat from whoever on here... Sure, we've all done stupid stuff and are here to type about it, luckily. But have you ever been rear-ended by another car, or been hit by someone that was out of control on whatever...an ATV, motorcycle, jet ski, car, etc? I have. And it's a feeling of anger and "what the fuck is wrong with you? Your lack of prudence and being out of control has injured me or damaged my property." Usually not that reasonably worded in the situation, naturally. But serious anger that this person fucked up because they were knowingly not doing things in a measured, controlled manner. The minute you start doing stuff around/close to other people you accept a whole new set of responsibilities that aren't really covered by "let nature sort it out."

Now imagine how Tom Weiss felt as an ICP Savannah piloted by a goofball rocketed straight up directly in front of his 170 on downwind at High Sierra 2014. The guys who first ran to the scene still have PTSD about what they saw.

I watched that same goofball fly a 10 foot AGL super-tight downwind at your strip years ago as Brent was on short final. It was just a dumb move, and this was about 15 minutes after he'd pulled the SAME EXACT MOVE while departing Independence, that got him killed months later.

Why rehash this old business? Because I regret not admonishing him at the time and saying "hey man, that kind of flying is going to bite you someday, and maybe take another pilot out with you." Would he have listened to me, also a fairly low time pilot? I dunno, my dad constantly hounded me with safety speeches about motorcycles and airplanes my whole life and they were always kinda there in my brain in the background even when I was dabbling with being an idiot. And those sayings the old timers came up with, like "the superior pilot uses his superior judgement..." they are stuck in there too somewhere, behind the password to my Instagram account.

I would never invite more regulation, let's drop that idea right away. But we are powerful as peers and mentors. The guys who are new to flying because they are drawn into it by the STOL stuff just don't have the frame of reference. They don't have a list of dead friends yet. They don't know what they don't know and maybe they still think low altitude stall/spin crashes are survivable with a helmet. They're not yet over the attention high that TikTok or Youtube gives them. But we can still say, without worrying about being thought of as 'not cool' that "hey I think this type of flying leaves you no margin for error and it's not worth the risk. Maybe log 500 or 1000 hours TT before you ease into that stuff."

I picked a bad week to quit sniffing glue I guess. Hopefully you can see my points through the melodrama. Some of the other posts did a better job of articulating it than me.

Zzz wrote:

Terry wrote:

Rob wrote:
Having said all that, I despise the talking heads that seek to shut them down even more. What gave that talking head the right to look at the ass clowns down his nose? Were it me I'd say turn it up a notch... Mother Nature will sort it out, and people will learn what we need in place to turn a circus into a sanctioned event, a goat rope into a safe (as can be) competition. After all, at some point road racing was really on a road... We'd live in a pretty boring place were it not for the fools that outlived the foolishness that evolved into better ways.
.

What a great comment! I would venture to guess most of the comments are from 50+ year olds, and have forgotten the shit they pulled when they were younger.
We are in bad spot when we think we own the space.....whether it’s hiking, boating or flying.
Cheers!

I dunno.

I've been reluctant to chime in on this thread because usually if people decide they don't like what I say then they take a hike from BCP. Probably typed up 3 replies and scrapped em. Well, I'm a real guy with opinions. Bear with me. And Terry, I know where you live.

I think it's okay for people to say "that's a bad idea" when most of us agree it is, even if we value the freedom to do it. Sorry to see a few of you guys retract your comments because you didn't want the heat from whoever on here... Sure, we've all done stupid stuff and are here to type about it, luckily. But have you ever been rear-ended by another car, or been hit by someone that was out of control on whatever...an ATV, motorcycle, jet ski, car, etc? I have. And it's a feeling of anger and "what the fuck is wrong with you? Your lack of prudence and being out of control has injured me or damaged my property." Usually not that reasonably worded in the situation, naturally. But serious anger that this person fucked up because they were knowingly not doing things in a measured, controlled manner.

Now imagine how Tom Weiss felt as an ICP Savannah piloted by a goofball rocketed straight up directly in front of his 170 on downwind at High Sierra 2014. The guys who first ran to the scene still have PTSD about what they saw.

I watched that same goofball fly a 10 foot AGL downwind at your strip years ago as Brent was on short final. It was just a dumb move, and this was about 15 minutes after he'd pulled the SAME EXACT MOVE that got him killed months later while departing Independence.

Why rehash this old business? Because I regret not admonishing him at the time and saying "hey man, that kind of flying is going to bite you someday, and maybe take another pilot out with you." Would he have listened to me, also a fairly low time pilot? I dunno, my dad constantly hounded me with safety speeches about motorcycles and airplanes my whole life and they were always kinda there in my brain in the background even when I was dabbling with being an idiot. And those sayings the old timers came up with, like "the superior pilot uses his superior judgement..." they are stuck in there too somewhere, behind the password to my Instagram account.

I would never invite more regulation, let's drop that idea right away. But we are powerful as peers and mentors. The guys who are new to flying because they are drawn into it by the STOL stuff just don't have the frame of reference. They don't have a list of dead friends yet. They don't know what they don't know and maybe they still think low altitude stall/spin crashes are survivable with a helmet. They're not yet over the attention high that TikTok or Youtube gives them. But we can still say, without worrying about being thought of as 'not cool' that "hey I think this type of flying leaves you no margin for error and it's not worth the risk. Maybe log 500 or 1000 hours TT before you ease into that stuff."

I picked a bad week to quit sniffing glue I guess. Hopefully you can see my points through the melodrama. Some of the other posts did a better job of articulating it than me.

Well crafted response.

Zzz wrote:I think it's okay for people to say "that's a bad idea" when most of us agree it is, even if we value the freedom to do it. Sorry to see a few of you guys retract your comments because you didn't want the heat from whoever on here... Sure, we've all done stupid stuff and are here to type about it, luckily. But have you ever been rear-ended by another car, or been hit by someone that was out of control on whatever...an ATV, motorcycle, jet ski, car, etc? I have. And it's a feeling of anger and "what the fuck is wrong with you? Your lack of prudence and being out of control has injured me or damaged my property." Usually not that reasonably worded in the situation, naturally. But serious anger that this person fucked up because they were knowingly not doing things in a measured, controlled manner.

And that is why regulations come about. "A person's freedom ends where another man's freedom begins". In addition, there are states within the U.S. where reckless driving in an ATV, motorcycle, jet ski, etc. is an arrestable offense or a minimum a misdemeanor in most if not all. It's like that for a reason. Obviously, from a philosophical POV your freedom's are a bit different, " We are naturally free. We are free to do what we want, when we want, how we want, within the bounds of the “law of nature.” Just because you have the natural freedom to drive recklessly, doesn't mean someone else won't try to stop you if you're endangering them. Now, how do we define recklessness? That's not for me to say, everyone's opinion will be different. For example, most state's have completely different law's in how they determine reckless driving. Which is to also say, only the opinion of a select few will even matter when it comes to creating/amending the definition. Let that marinate. Sway the opinion of a few "important" individuals and that regulation could be worded completely different. When it comes to airplanes, the majority of the population isn't thinking about a Kitfox (or even know what the hell that is) when they hear that an airplane got in trouble for buzzing someone's house and not landing. They just think, ah some rich asshole thinks he can do what he wants. They don't have the background knowledge to actually know what's going on. And that's part of the double-edged sword of living in democratic republic. The good news is, we're all entitled to our opinion and the right to speak about it how we see fit. Right or wrong is a matter of opinion and certainly a matter of perspective.

From the looks of it, this seems to be a bad idea.

this

mtv wrote:

Oregon180 wrote:Apparently whizzing around/under high power lines in an LSA "skyrockets your skills as an aviator to new heights."

Oh, and by the way, that nasty FAR 91.119 regulation applies to power lines…..

Duh.

MTV

I think about what it means for his widowed wife, his five suddenly fatherless children, plus his son in law and first grandchild. He had moved into an airpark to make aviation as a central part of his family's life. Living the dream. Its effing tragic. What I don't think about are insurance rates, hull values, some hollow definition of freedom, etc. I guess I have different priorities.

It's clear that flying, including backcountry flying, has been relatively safe over the decades compared to a lot of things. It's also clear why there doesn't seem to be a major overlap in the people that use the backcountry and these kinds of events. Different priorities. Most want to make memories for themselves and their families at their favorite hiking, hunting, or fishing spots, enjoying the best of what's left in a rapidly changing world, and to do it as safely and humbly as they can as they enjoy the stunning places we are all grateful for from the air.

I don't make any judgements about these side shows. They have little to do with any real skills, judgment, or reality of flying into the backcountry. But I wish that a lot of families like Mr. Dafoe's will be able to safely enjoy backcountry flying in the future before it all either burns up or other events conspire to end yet another era, and that these sorts of competitions don't add to the headwinds we already face. I'm always shocked and grateful at how much has remained in flying in the past 40 years, unlike so much else that has not.

Someone here said the FAA was regulating as if GA was in the way. That's probably true. I'd like to think that the regulations that have addressed safety for the ways we've flown for generations would be sufficient, and I'm not interested in having to find out what some regulators or land management agencies might contemplate to address ad hoc circuses, either at competitions or in the backcountry.