What might have been perceived as the greatest adventure of their lives became an inescapable tragedy — one the rest of us will Monday morning quarterback for years to come, leading to the question “should this sort of thing be allowed?” Yes, without a doubt.
Politics for Pilots
The question of ownership
I was having enough difficulty paying for my flight lessons. Finding and buying an airplane was just crazy. Or so I thought.
It’s the gear that gets us
The truth is pilots can adopt procedures that, if followed, would prevent most gear-up events. We should, too. Fewer insurance claims result in lower insurance costs. Fewer gear-ups also means fewer runway closures. Everybody wins.
Missing the point
We don’t know what we don’t know, until someone helps us learn it. Should we somehow get past the educational requirements of flight training without ever grasping the basics, we’re as lost as we might be on an Algebra II test, if we chose to skip Algebra I and go straight to the big time. Stalls are a good example of the phenomenon of misunderstanding.
Buying with cash for the win/win
Buying an aircraft is closer to buying a house than buying a car. Everything is negotiable, including the purchase price. A lower selling price and a quicker sale can be perfectly acceptable to the seller — a result that becomes attractive to both sides of the equation when offering cash.
Their future is in your hands
In a very real sense, whether these programs aimed at teenagers survive and thrive or wither and die is dependent on you and whether you do something about the problem or turn the page and go on with your day.
Failing to take in the big picture
We will all make mistakes. Many in fact. But if we insist on buffaloing into any and all situations as we see fit, something bad is likely to be the result one day. And it won’t just be the risk of ever seeing Michael J. Fox in person again and having to apologize for blowing a shot in a movie. It might be something much worse and tragically irreversible. A result we will have to live with forevermore, if we survive the experience at all.
Where real wisdom can be found
There very well may come a day when we can’t fly anymore. There will almost certainly come a day when we shouldn’t. We might still have the ability to climb into the cockpit, fire up the engine, and launch into a clear blue sky. Having the ability, however, does not mean it’s a good idea.
Romance aloft can be tricky
If you are one of these CFIs who believes it is perfectly reasonable to troll for a Friday night companion while in flight, I would like to offer you this well thought out and carefully crafted piece of advice without reservation or conditions: Cut it out.