Florida Pilot having a bad day.

SoCal RV Flyer said:
I stopped there on the way to OSH. Decent pasta, but the service was sloooooww.
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oh yes.. Very slow but honestly after living here for a few years now i don't notice the slow service. I drove to wichita last week. Everybody was in a hurry and people were tailgating me. It was annoying having to be around people
 
Rory said:
I don’t think that people are deterred from learning to fly by the heightened security.

But as a kid, I remember being invited into an Air Canada cockpit between Iceland and Ottawa, an experience that I’ll never forget.

At the time, crews would sometimes ask people if they wanted to “come up front”. On that particular flight, I remember that at least four people put up their hands, my younger self among them. I imagine that some pilots miss being able to share the experience.

I also remember flying from places like Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and places like Whitehorse and Yellowknife, at a time when security in these airports might best be described as minimal to nonexistent.
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It was mainly a thought. I'm sure there is a wide difference between areas. Was just trying to think of ways that might be possible to do something about to get more GA interest.

Going by my own life, I grew up with flying, dad was a pilot that owned, or part owned at different times different planes, and as a kid was passenger on many flights with dad. Even got to try the controls for a minute here and there.

As a teen (parents divorced, saw dad infrequently) I always had it in my mind to learn to fly. Later on my own as a young man, barely had enough money to get by. No way I could have started flying.

So, many years of putting it on the back burner, the dream kinda died. Only after I was in my mid 30's did I have the possibility if I was careful and saved to learn, but by then the idea had been so long on the back burner I never thought of it. Also probably I think I thought it was like a HUGE sum one had to have to get started. I never thought about it in detail but if I had seen an ad for flying lessons or something that laid out that you "pay as you go" and that it could be affordable I'm sure I would have jumped at it. It was just a vague "man...it really costs".

So even later in life, after I'm like 59, I realize one day I have enough money now to actually do it and start looking into it. My wife was very supportive. I kick myself all the time for waiting too long...I could have been flying for decades if I had been smart enough to realize it.

As I said, I wasn't even sure where the local GA airport was, how to find it, if I was allowed to drive in there to talk to a school. I called them first, and it was a little daunting. Found out what I needed to do to get started and off I went.

So just from my own experiences, I'm thinking to promote GA, get it to be more relevant again, ad campaigns, school trips to the local flying club/airport, get younger folk interested early (at least give them the chance to see if they fall in love with the idea of learning to fly a plane) as well as middle aged folk and even older folk (through ads), making airports where it is appropriate (yeah...folk need to know how to be safe in an airport environment but that is doeable) approachable, with signage that welcomes and directs them to a club or something, or a place they can just watch activity on the runway.

Maybe I'm blinded by my lifelong love of flying (even when I had it on the back burner, I always looked up at small planes, etc.) but I think many just aren't even aware of the possibility. My dad worked for a while in the midwest for AOPA and I know almost all of his work was trying to keep small airports from being shut down by cities, towns, and work to promote, and that was in the 80's etc.

I see bad signs (maybe it was always this way ?) here where I am that airports are being closed, less convenient. Proposed new airports further away get some interest but the mayors and city council don't see the upside, so even when it gets proposed and seems to be even planned, just takes a few people (often ignorant of the reality) complaining to get it squashed. Not sure what can be done and maybe these are dumb ideas, but feels like something could be tried.

Have become friends with a fellow student pilot, norwegian, is right around my age, has a very similar story, even down to the huge regret at not taking it up earlier.
 
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My local airport does stuff like the above. They had a flour bomb drop day, where you could hop in a Cub for $15 or $20 with your two flour bombs and the pilot would fly you around the pattern twice. There were 3-4 planes being used, and they had a long line of adults and kids waiting.

There's also no real fence around this airport, which makes things a little friendlier.

As a newer pilot, I still say the things keeping people away are the regulations and the expense. I'm still considering getting out of aviation because of both as I calculate the fun ratio I have with it. Got screwed over by a mechanic that overcharged me for his poor work to balance his books. You wanna travel with your plane? Need a reasonably fast plane, weather needs to be perfect, need time off to deal with delays vs just spend the $ and buy a ticket on a commercial flight.

But I love that idea of freedom to go where you want (minus restricted/tfr/etc airspace).
 
HornetDriver said:
I'm curious what those of you who think two-minutes to check TFRs before your flight is a heinous and flagrant infringement on liberty would have done instead. Should people be able to buzz the President at 500' while he's giving a speech? Are we just to assume everyone's intentions are good, and let the chips fall where they may?
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Actually, yes. First, the regulations that were already in place prior to the events of 911 specify a thousand foot separation between you and crowds. You should really brush up on this sort of thing if you're going to go fly anywhere there are folks. And few of our aircraft make that much noise from a thousand feet away. Me, were I a politician and someone buzzed me while making a speech? I'd cite the noise as the price of freedom.

In this nation were are considered innocent until proven guilty. There are lots of countries, like North Korea and Russia, where this isn't the case. Might even be safer there.

Last but not least, the POTUS is just this guy. He is utterly replaceable. 8 of them have died in office and the country moved on. We don't want targets on their backs, but we don't have to step all over ourselves either.
 
UngaWunga said:
My local airport does stuff like the above. They had a flour bomb drop day, where you could hop in a Cub for $15 or $20 with your two flour bombs and the pilot would fly you around the pattern twice. There were 3-4 planes being used, and they had a long line of adults and kids waiting.

There's also no real fence around this airport, which makes things a little friendlier.

As a newer pilot, I still say the things keeping people away are the regulations and the expense. I'm still considering getting out of aviation because of both as I calculate the fun ratio I have with it. Got screwed over by a mechanic that overcharged me for his poor work to balance his books. You wanna travel with your plane? Need a reasonably fast plane, weather needs to be perfect, need time off to deal with delays vs just spend the $ and buy a ticket on a commercial flight.

But I love that idea of freedom to go where you want (minus restricted/tfr/etc airspace).
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Do have any sense for if the things you mention work? More folks visiting, taking lessons, or showing interest?
 
There's quite a few people training at our airport, so I'll guess yes. There's also a restaurant there that's pretty good, and plenty of non-pilot people eat there. It's right on the runway, so they're close to the runway activity.
 
Our humble little airport (Cable) really tries to engage with the community. It has a small flight school (with a Cub as one of the rental planes), an EAA chapter that hosts Young Eagle flights to kids, ROTC on the field, some CAP operations, and we have Boy Scouts come in and do projects for the chapter, like painting a compass rose, making new signage, etc. We have a wonderful small-town airshow most years (this year being an exception, as some of the 1943-vintage hangars are being torn down to make an improved ramp area) that really draws the public in. At the approach end of the runway is a spectating area with picnic tables and signage with airport history, where on any given day you can see parents with their kids, watching planes land...only 100 yards away.

I give rides to anyone foolish enough to fly with me. :D One friend thought enough of the experience to join ATP out of Long Beach to become a commercial pilot (his checkride is this Sunday). :)

Some can't get past the big "Experimental" on the baggage bulkhead, though.
 
steingar said:
Actually, yes. First, the regulations that were already in place prior to the events of 911 specify a thousand foot separation between you and crowds. You should really brush up on this sort of thing if you're going to go fly anywhere there are folks. And few of our aircraft make that much noise from a thousand feet away. Me, were I a politician and someone buzzed me while making a speech? I'd cite the noise as the price of freedom.

In this nation were are considered innocent until proven guilty. There are lots of countries, like North Korea and Russia, where this isn't the case. Might even be safer there.

Last but not least, the POTUS is just this guy. He is utterly replaceable. 8 of them have died in office and the country moved on. We don't want targets on their backs, but we don't have to step all over ourselves either.
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I'm aware of the regulations, thanks... might have actually done a fair amount of flying in close proximity to people - within TFRs even.

Great point about North Korea and Russia. You should be able to point a gun at the guy - as long as you don't pull the trigger. Innocent until proven guilty. 'Merica!

You might be fine with a single lunatic being able to circumvent the will of the people on a whim, but you're in the minority.
 
HornetDriver said:
You might be fine with a single lunatic being able to circumvent the will of the people on a whim, but you're in the minority.
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An interesting choice of phrasing, considering what the lunatic in office has been doing to circumvent the will of the people.
 
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Not to derail the topic, but I saw this the other day here in Norway and was amazed.
It's in norwegian but maybe possible to translate using google.
Basically they (citing the source in the article, but seems to be a locked site, members only) mention 183,000,000 kroner (23.7 million dollars) for refrigerator/freezers in the "air force one" planes (I believe there are two and whichever one the president is in is called Air Force One)

https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i...a-nye-kjoleskap-Prislapp-183-millioner-kroner

They write, among other things "De to jumbojetene som brukes til å fly president Donald Trump rundt om i USA og i verden, skal nemlig kunne være i luften i ukevis i en nød- eller krigssituasjon.
Flyene kan etterfylle drivstoff i luften, men må også ha lagringsplass til rundt 3000 måltider til sine passasjerer og til mannskapet, skriver forsvarsnettstedet Defense One."
Translated
The two jumbo jets that are used to fly president Donald Trump around the US and the world, have to be able to be in the air for weeks in case of emergency or war situation. The planes can be refueled in the air, but also have storage for around 3000 meals" (presumably "happy meals"?) "for it's passengers and crew writes the defence nett site Defense One" (there is a link in the article to Defense One).

This is one of FIVE such refrigerators on each plane. They write further that it is not the president that demands this, but the FAA and Military "office" in the white house.

"Derfor er det ingen billig affære å bytte ut to av de fem kjøle- og fryseanleggene som holder 26 oppbevaringsrom kalde under gulvet i kabinen."
Translated
Therefore it is no cheap affair to trade out 2 of the 5 refrigerator and freezer units that keep 26 storage areas cold under the cabin floor"

I don't even know where to start. I'm amazed there could be a situation where Air Force One would be up in the air for weeks at a time. I mean if it is that bad over the whole US...come on down, it's over.

I'm amazed at the cost, but also 3000 meals...man. IF it is like my wife, they don't know what they have and end up thawing the stuff only to throw it out later.
 
On 9-11 President Bush was whisked away on AF1. The press made a big deal of it and him not returning to D.C. That's not how it works though as D.C. could be (and was) a target. So AF1 went elsewhere for the President's safety.
 
LongRoadBob said:
As I said, I wasn't even sure where the local GA airport was, how to find it, if I was allowed to drive in there to talk to a school. I called them first, and it was a little daunting. Found out what I needed to do to get started and off I went.
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I think this is one of the biggest hurdles to aviation. People believe airports are forbidden places, that they're not allowed to go there and if they look in that direction then they'll immediately be hauled off to jail on suspicion of terrorism. They think that airplanes are death traps, ready to fall out of the sky at the least sign of inattention from the pilot. They think pilots are supermen and that women (or men if you prefer) must be screaming for us and throwing their underwear at us as soon as we appear.

If you want to fix all that, make flying a normal activity. Educate people what is it really is. And ladies, please...my collection is large enough already....
 
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