A private pilot from a locked-down state asks: Should I feel guilty about flying my plane during the COVID-19 lockdown?
My 94-year-old mother is fond of saying that life is too short for guilt. So there’s some perspective for you. Of course, she usually says that in relation to her profound consumption of chocolate.
Still, so long as it’s not immoral, and it’s legal in at least some states, I use her advice as my guiding principle on many things in life.
Including my own flying during the pandemic.
Set down your pens and pitchforks! Let me finish.
For background, let me reveal that I spent half my adult working life in public health, so I have a good background for understanding the purpose of the lockdowns and the risks to public welfare when people don’t take them seriously. On the other hand, my father was an economist, so I have some perspective on the challenges on that side of the equation.
But I’m not here to talk about — or take sides on — public and political policy.
In terms of guilt, I think the first thing you need to ask yourself is: What are you feeling guilty about? That you are finding joy in hard times? No need for that.
Or do you feel guilt that you might be violating the stay-at-home order by flying? If that’s the case, let’s consider what the intent of a stay-at-home order is. Not the niggly rules, details, and sometimes bizarre exceptions that vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county, but the fundamental purpose.
The fundamental purpose of a stay-at-home order is to limit contact between people to slow the spread of the virus to keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed and to give medical science time to develop tools to combat it.
And you can fly GA and limit your contact with others at the same time.
Taking myself as an example: I can go from self-isolation in my house to self-isolation in my car to self-isolation on my drive to the airport to self-isolation in my hangar to self-isolation in my airplane to self-isolation in the sky, all without contact with another human being. Really, it’s the ultimate in social distancing.
Regardless of the letter of the law, which I don’t believe I’m violating, I’m dead certain that I’m within the spirit — the intent — of the law.
It’s not like I’m going to a packed beach with a bunch of strangers. As an airplane owner with a rented private T-hangar, my aviation world is simply an extension of my home. To me, going from my house to my airplane hangar is the same as it is for any other citizen going from house to garage although, granted, it’s a bit farther.
Now, if I were using rental aircraft, or if I were hangared in a community hangar, it might be a different story when it comes to contact risk.
But for people like me who own their planes, and who have single-plane hangars (or outdoor tie-downs), the only potential area of contact with others is at the fuel pump, and I challenge you to park two planes in such a way for refueling where you’d have less than the recommended 6 foot buffer.
As for gassing up my car after a number of airport runs, rather than choose the cheapest gas around like I used to do, I now go for the most expensive (which is still waaaaaaaay cheaper than I was paying at the cheapo place before all this started), where I have the place to myself.
All of that said, using good Aeromedical Decision Making — ADM for the 2020s — I wear a cloth face mask when fueling, along with the “clean hand/dirty hand” method for limiting contact with the environment, and then I use plenty of hand sanitizer after fueling up.
After all, I do have that 94-year-old mother to think about. I don’t want to risk bringing COVID into the house.
Still, by being careful in these ways, and the self-isolated nature of my flying, I feel the risks are virtually non-existent, and that I’m obeying the spirit of even the strictest of the stay-at-home orders in the country.
I see no reason for guilt, for myself, or you, or for anyone else flying during these “challenging” times — especially for those pilots who have access to airplanes that aren’t shared by many people.
Still, all of that being said, I think it’s fair for people to ask: Why fly at all? Even with the risk low, isn’t there some risk?
Perhaps, but I view it as my civic duty to fly.
The patriotic thing to do
Here’s the thing: To stay in good working order, planes must fly regularly. To stay safe, pilots need to fly regularly. So both “man” and machine require regular exercise to stay healthy — and I believe that it’s critical to the nation that general aviation remain healthy. It is a unique national treasure, and one that may need to be deployed in the near future, given the size and geographic spread of our country.
Think about it: What if tomorrow a pill were invented that could protect everyone from the virus? What’s the fastest way we could get it to our population, so we could save lives and reopen our country rapidly? Right. General aviation aircraft. Thousands of small planes that can fly into thousands of small airports to reach millions of citizens.
Granted, I don’t hold realistic hope for such an anti-virus pill, but small planes can also haul Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), food and water, and even toilet paper (if it could be found) to virtually anywhere in the country. A feat larger aircraft and shipping companies can’t match. And even the feds recognize that. The Department of Homeland Security lists aviation and airports as critical infrastructure, “immune” from local restrictions.
Even though it hasn’t happened yet, should the Feds — or even the states —decide to mobilize our GA infrastructure, we need to be ready to serve. And to do that, we need our planes and our pilots to be ready to fly.
So no guilt. As long as you are being respectful of social distancing, not going out for $100 hamburgers with 100 of your closest friends, there’s no reason for guilt. You’re still doing your part.
And more: You’re keeping yourself ready to serve, should your country call on you. You’re not being selfish, you’re being a patriot.
But those people crowding on the beach? Well…they need to feel some guilt.
It seems we attacked the virus backwards .
Maybe we should have protected the elderly, sick ,obese with as many resources as possible and left the other 320 million alone . It seems all the deaths fit in those categories and I’m probably wrong in my thinking ,so feel free to attack me at will.
You are overthinking this (obviously); you have a plane, the airport is open, have some fun (life is short!)
PSSST!
Oh BILL, STOP THE INSANITY ALREADY! There is NO ‘pandemic” – except for the IDEA of one that was planted in your grey matter by those pixels on your television and the talking heads
“The PATRIOTIC THING TO DO” – Really? First off, let’s define a PRIMARY term. We’re being told by the mass media that this is an INVISIBLE ENEMY, i.e., a “VIRUS.”
There is NO “VIRUS” which is Latin for “Poison.” The word “VIRUS” has been hijacked by the Rockefeller Medical-Pharmaceutical Mafia – based on the ‘petri dish’ GERM theory of Louis Pasteur – which has been determined to be completely bogus and Pasteur admitted such in his dead bed confession. No matter, the petro-chemical-pharmaceutical trust make TONS of money off this phony ruse – to OUR detriment and even death.
An INVISIBLE ENEMY provides a sure-fire method of PEOPLE CONTROL. Not only control, but the UN’s “Sustainable Development Program” under Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 for global population reduction. Enter Bill Gates, via his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI, ID 2020, and their many other NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) and the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) – to which Gates is their LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR.
Get the connection now WHY Fauci, Birx and Gates are PUSHING for a VACCINE?
Do any of you realize WHO Killed Africa? That’s not a question, but rather a hard cold FACT. The W.H.O. did in fact kill off Africa’s population via vaccines. Read the Strecker Memorandum or Dr. William Douglas, MD and his white paper “WHO KILLED AFRICA.”
The PROBLEM happening right now with the EVENT 201 PLANNED CoVid-19 pandemic is a massive FEAR program. That’s FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL! – combined with the U.S. population suffering from EXTREME COGNITIVE DISSONANCE from long-term TELEVISION exposure (programming which IS mind control). The result? The people will fall for almost anything from the Medical Mafia EXPERTS and their scare tactics currently being employed by the mass media organs and our fearless leaders.
Listen to this as you go about your business and learn some basic truth…
THIS FIRST RADIO INTERVIEW IS FEB 25, 2020:
https://news-intech.blogspot.com/2020/02/dawn-lester-david-parker-what-really.html
The book is on Amazon. Read the introduction and the back cover. It says ALL you need to know!
https://www.amazon.com/What-Really-Makes-You-Ill/dp/1673104037
READ THE INTRODUCTION AND FOREWORD OF THE THE BOOK “VIRUS MANIA” by German internal medicine Dr. Claus Kohnlein, MD:
https://www.trafford.com/bookstore/bookdetail.aspx?bookid=SKU-000165300
THIS SECOND RADIO INTERVIEW IS MARCH 21, 2020:
https://www.crrow777radio.com/205-one-flu-over-the-coocoos-nest-free/
See also: VIRUS DECEPTION:
https://www.yummymummyemporium.org/blog/the-virus-deception
Best sources for TRUTHful information so YOU can become an AWOKE person:
YouTube Channels – and some of these are being censored and/or completely eliminated, so watch for them on BitChute or Brighteon:
AMAZING POLLY
HIGHIMPACTFLIX or HIGHIMPACTVLOGS
DOLLAR VIGILANTE (and also http://www.dollarvigilante.com – where you can download a FREE 49-page PDF on CoVid19)
WIKI JOE
THE FULLERTON INFORMER
CORBETT REPORT
JASON GOODMAN, CROWDSOURCE THE TRUTH
JOHN E. HOOVER
ADAM GREEN – KNOW MORE NEWS
BROTHER NATHANAEL (BANNED ON YouTube – now on BitChute)
DANA ASHLIE (Look for her on Brighteon)
It’s totally AMAZING how the ‘Sheople’ can be hearded and stampeded by the mass media via FEAR – which for this psychological warfare operation is “FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL!”
Here’s to YOUR HEALTH! Don’t believe ANYTHING the mainstream mass media are telling you.According to the CIA’s “Operation Mockingbird” and the Congressional SMITH-MUNDT ACT, the media has a license to perpetrate PROPAGANDA. Remember, YOUR ‘BELIEF’ IS THE ENEMY OF KNOWING!
Cheers!
P.S. Wearing a mask ensures you will get a reduction in uptake of Oxygen over time and you will be re-breathing your exhalation of Co2. Not good. Do your own research.
Well gee, I guess those geometrically interesting objects in the electron microscope we used to view in my microbiology courses were figments of my (and the professor’s) imagination? Smallpox didn’t kill a billion people. Influenza doesn’t exist. There is no common cold rhinovirus. Thank you for your enlightenment and I’ll reject decades of established and vetted medical research based on your very enlightening and amusing post.
People who command me to ‘Do your own research’ generally have no clue how research is conducted and would not know ‘peer reviewed’ from a ‘mommy blog.’ The COVID-19 virus IS real. It IS infectious. However, it is not the evil civilization-ending disease that was originally predicted. My doctorate trumps (pun intended) your Google search.
I do agree that much of the hysteria has been the result of an illiterate media and attempts at gaining an advantage by our politicians. Shame on all of them!
It’s OK to wash your hands. That’s a good idea at all times. If you want to wear a face mask, do so. If not, don’t. My day job requires me to wear a mask. I readily comply because they pay my salary. If you are sick, stay home. If you have a compromised immune system, stay home.
If you are a pilot… fly. I’m a part-time CFI and I have continued teaching throughout this debacle. No, I don’t wear a mask while flying. No, I don’t feel guilty.
FWIW; Its impossible to get infected or infect anyone if you are alone in your airplane. So go fly and enjoy life.
It’s not fear of infection. It’s that some people don’t think they ought to enjoy their lives when others are experiencing misfortune, even misfortune completely out of one’s control. Yes, the need for psychiatric counseling is alive and well these days!
Agree
The weather finally broke. I’m going flying now!! No guilt.
I agree with most of the article, but the pill delivery part is a stretch. Ever heard of UPS?
You would be on better ground if you had said “Ever heard of USPS?” UPS doesn’t cover the entire country, and many packages are transferred from UPS to USPS for delivery.
Actually, UPS has ALWAYS covered the entire country. Every address, every home, every business, every physical location where they can make a delivery. They sub out local deliveries to USPS now in order to save cost and make schedule when they can. If USPS can’t delivery it, Brown will!
actually it’s not a stretch, because most GA pilots look for reasons to fly, it’s fun, quite enjoyable, and to have even more of a reason (ie. to help others by flying pills to very rural areas), many a GA Pilot would do that!
Since airfields are not locked down why guilt or patriotism to go flying, just go flying. Make sure to wipe your access card before and after use with a clorox wipe. Make sure to wipe your hands before and after you use the gas pumps. Keep your distance from others around your hangar and after you land. Don’t take people with you when you fly. And don’t hang out with others in any of the airfield cafes as some apparently are finding okay. And make sure to carefully use bathrooms on your local and distant airfields. You are good to go.
Side Note. Your mask is not easily washed as it should be each time you use it because the filters on the sides don’t do well under a soapy clorinated bath. You may want to switch to an all cloth one instead.
Well written. Thanks.
I’ve flown MORE since the pandemic started. The world has gone completely crazy.
I agree completely. One ought to feel guilty if they DON’T go flying. Humans and their psychological problems – what a mess.