Gyrocopter lands on Capital lawn

I'll try to be careful here, but since it has already been brought up several times... his message is to limit 1st amendment rights, and I'm sure he wants only certain groups limited. Using GA by violating sensitive airspace to propagate his message is selfish and wrong. It will damage GA in the long run.
 
Anthony said:
I wonder how close they came to blowing him out of the sky. Actually, I wonder if they even noticed him.
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Flew just at tree-top level at a spend of a car.

But he announced well ahead of time that he was coming and publicized it in the media in Florida. His arrival should not have been a surprise.

The question is whether the knee-jerk reaction will be to clamp down even more on law-abiding pilots now that a possible security hole has been identified.

(I am strongly resisting the urge to make a snarky comment about this being the postal service that he was actually lost, like a letter in the mail...."
 
wsuffa said:
Flew just at tree-top level at a spend of a car.

But he announced well ahead of time that he was coming and publicized it in the media in Florida. His arrival should not have been a surprise.

The question is whether the knee-jerk reaction will be to clamp down even more on law-abiding pilots now that a possible security hole has been identified.

(I am strongly resisting the urge to make a snarky comment about this being the postal service that he was actually lost, like a letter in the mail...."
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Ha,,, People jump the fence at the Whitehouse, one actually gets inside,, uninvited guest walks right in during a state dinner, a few years back a guy crashes a Cessna into the side of the Whitehouse...

And there is a "possible security hole" around DC...:rofl::rofl::lol::lol:.....:redface:
 
N801BH said:
Ha,,, People jump the fence at the Whitehouse, one actually gets inside,, uninvited guest walks right in during a state dinner, a few years back a guy crashes a Cessna into the side of the Whitehouse...

And there is a "possible security hole" around DC...:rofl::rofl::lol::lol:.....:redface:
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The pilot described his gyrocopter as a "flying bicycle," an apt description.
 
ateamer said:
Maybe they watched him and said "it's a gyrocopter...how much damage can it actually do to anything?"
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since model rockets and RC planes aren't allowed in TFR zones, a much larger gyrocopter is apparently capable of major damage.
 
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds....
 
cowman said:
We need more people with his courage. Looks like he announced what he was doing pretty publicly and did everything he could to make it clear he was no threat. His message is an important one too- probably the most important one in the entire political landscape.
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That

Besides who cares if he nails the white house or even takes out some politician, just elect another one, they are very interchangeable.

Much to do about nothing.
 
Anthony said:
I wonder how close they came to blowing him out of the sky. Actually, I wonder if they even noticed him.
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I would have expected a 40mm grenade to greet him. I guess today was the Capitol Police "Take a TSA Agent to Work" day.
 
keep in mind....this is Cherry Blossom season. Lots of tourist in DC this time of year. :lol:
 
Anthony said:
One of the articles I read indicated the SS would have shot him down if he had gotten any closer to the "Speakers Balcony" whatever that is, but he landed just short. The Gestapo is now interrogating him.
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I stayed at the Hay-Adams Hotel once when George W. Bush was in office. The Hay-Adams gives you a perfect view of the White House, and the Secret Service armament on the roof of the White House was ... substantial.

I would suspect the Capitol Police would have something similar.
 
Omnistate isn't as good as its ad copy would have you believe. Mathias did it to the Russkies peak cold war. 'Didn't survive the landing so we can't recall his name guy' in a Cessna did it during the Clinton I years.
 
Two things,

1, he delivered his letter and message via.........wait for it.... Air Mail.

2, I think the bigger story is that he flew that thing from Florida. I wonder how long that took?
 
He started blogging about it two years ago. Local media in Florida carried the story about a year ago. The Secret Service interviewed him six months ago.

He was a 61-year old guy in a 50-knot aircraft on an hour-long flight, and he still caught them by surprise. So...what are the odds they'll intercept actual terrorists?

The accounts I've seen didn't say whether he was a current or former postal employee. If he's not already retired, he may have just cancelled his pension.
 
jbarrass said:
Shoot them down? LOL....

There's about 1.5 million tourists today in the mall looking at cherry blossoms. A lot of damage if ordinance starts flying around. Way more damage than a gyro-copter can do.

Hard to imagine the scenario that allows that to happen in the real world.
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Indeed. It will never happen, except, maybe, if there is a confirmed and legitimate threat. The imbeciles in charge of the security theater know it's all theater (unless they're really morons) and they're not going to blow up a plane over D.C.just to preserve the illusion. There would be far too many questions to answer if that happened. This guy was never a threat to anyone.

The chair of the homeland security committee said the capitol police would have shot him with their "long guns" if he'd got any closer. Hint, there is no closer. If he'd been any closer, he'd have been on the steps. And what would be the point of shooting him down then?

No. He was never a threat. And that is what we need to stress. No one was ever in danger from this man's peculiar exercise of his first amendment rights. No threat. No danger.
 
Maybe the Absent Minded Postman had an invention like flubber he was trying to sell the government. :rolleyes: ;). :D

I just hope the politicians and federal agencies don't overact and restrict our freedoms even further. The SFRA and presidential TFR's are already bad enough.

I love this scene from the AMP movie:
http://youtu.be/fjEUf0s9984
 

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Lindberg said:
Unpossible. I distinctly recall reading that any aircraft not complying with the DC SFRA and FRZ rules would simply be shot down. No way did he get all the way to the Capitol. Must be made up. Security theater works, dammit.
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Stole my comment. Ditto.
 
Lindberg said:
Indeed. It will never happen, except, maybe, if there is a confirmed and legitimate threat. The imbeciles in charge of the security theater know it's all theater (unless they're really morons) and they're not going to blow up a plane over D.C.just to preserve the illusion. There would be far too many questions to answer if that happened. This guy was never a threat to anyone.



The chair of the homeland security committee said the capitol police would have shot him with their "long guns" if he'd got any closer. Hint, there is no closer. If he'd been any closer, he'd have been on the steps. And what would be the point of shooting him down then?



No. He was never a threat. And that is what we need to stress. No one was ever in danger from this man's peculiar exercise of his first amendment rights. No threat. No danger.
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Again. Correct. Politicians will lie to get whatever they want out of this from us, but the real threat assessment was that shooting him down would lead to their heads rolling. And they know it.
 
petrolero said:
That's exactly the kind of person who would fly a gyrocopter. LMAO. :loco: :rofl:
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I fly gyroplanes. I actually have a commercial rating for them. Working on a CFI add-on as well. I also fly a Boeing 777 in my other job - guess I shouldn't be left alone in the cockpit ?
 
What had me wincing were the talking heads, hyperventilating and bloviating all over the TV news. I only watch TV during breakfast. I shut it off after quick scan of the channels revealed they were all doing it. No 'real' news today apparently.

Yeah, I expect a hysterical reaction from our steely eyed congress critters. No way their irreplaceable mental genius should be at risk. What would the country do if we lost 3 or 4 of them while taking a smoke break on the balcony?
 
Art VanDelay said:
I fly gyroplanes. I actually have a commercial rating for them.
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Gotta ask. What commercial purpose is there for a gyroplane? (Heck, autocorrect has tried to change "auto" to "hydro" three times!)
 
Talking, sweater Barbie on Fox called it a "flying bicycle".
 
ggroves said:
Talking, sweater Barbie on Fox called it a "flying bicycle".
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In her defense, the guy did call it that himself in his video where he explains what he is going to do and why. That is probably where she got 'flying bicycle'.
 
Shoot down with what? Even if one of the F whatevers that sometime orbit at 40K feet, I don't think letting a sidewinder loose on the mall area is that great of an idea. Or firing off a SAM from the whitehouse. They probably have the the same problem as ships that they don't go down that low. Maybe if they had some phalanx mounted somewhere, but that lead has to go somewhere after it passes though/by the target.
 
yetti said:
Shoot down with what? Even if one of the F whatevers that sometime orbit at 40K feet, I don't think letting a sidewinder loose on the mall area is that great of an idea. Or firing off a SAM from the whitehouse. They probably have the the same problem as ships that they don't go down that low. Maybe if they had some phalanx mounted somewhere, but that lead has to go somewhere after it passes though/by the target.
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All true. Once again the DHS/SS has been outed.
 
The TV heads were really going on about it on the channel I flipped to. "He was headed right towards the Speaker's Balcony! It really could have gotten serious!"

They were showing cellphone videos from tourists. It looked like he was about 50' or less, came across the street in front of the Washington monument, over the National Mall, towards the Capitol. Shoot it down? Yeah, I can imagine all the smoke traces from the Stingers converging on that thing, missing, and taking out the Smithsonian, Museum of Natural History, a bus full of 2nd graders from Iowa, and two or three groups of Japanese tourists.
 
A tree top run of an F35 would have been great video, but that whole should cops pursue or break off the chase would have broken out. Maybe capitol police should be given Maules to do low level surveillance
 
tree96 said:
Two things,

1, he delivered his letter and message via.........wait for it.... Air Mail.

2, I think the bigger story is that he flew that thing from Florida. I wonder how long that took?
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He drove up from Florida he did not fly that lawn chair all the way up
 
MickYoumans said:
Maybe the Absent Minded Postman had an invention like flubber he was trying to sell the government. :rolleyes: ;). :D

I just hope the politicians and federal agencies don't overact and restrict our freedoms even further. The SFRA and presidential TFR's are already bad enough.
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I disagree.

First off the problem is enough people actually believe the government has the authority to "restrict our freedoms" ...well they don't unless you LET them.

Second I would hardly say the man was "absent minded" he had a just cause, he made a plan and executed it flawlessly.

Of course the mindless children of the media are undermining what his message is, which is actually a very important message especially now days, I'd say his message is much more news worthy than a little 250lb gyro copter landing on a lawn.
 
Matthew said:
The TV heads were really going on about it on the channel I flipped to. "He was headed right towards the Speaker's Balcony! It really could have gotten serious!"

They were showing cellphone videos from tourists. It looked like he was about 50' or less, came across the street in front of the Washington monument, over the National Mall, towards the Capitol. Shoot it down? Yeah, I can imagine all the smoke traces from the Stingers converging on that thing, missing, and taking out the Smithsonian, Museum of Natural History, a bus full of 2nd graders from Iowa, and two or three groups of Japanese tourists.
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Oh no....make it stop. :rofl:
 
yetti said:
A tree top run of an F35 would have been great video, but that whole should cops pursue or break off the chase would have broken out. Maybe capitol police should be given Maules to do low level surveillance
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OH Oh...... Pick me......
I will fly low level....:yes::):)
 
Matthew said:
The TV heads were really going on about it on the channel I flipped to. "He was headed right towards the Speaker's Balcony! It really could have gotten serious!"

They were showing cellphone videos from tourists. It looked like he was about 50' or less, came across the street in front of the Washington monument, over the National Mall, towards the Capitol. Shoot it down? Yeah, I can imagine all the smoke traces from the Stingers converging on that thing, missing, and taking out the Smithsonian, Museum of Natural History, a bus full of 2nd graders from Iowa, and two or three groups of Japanese tourists.
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I'd pay to watch that movie. Heck that'd be way better than anything Hollywood has done in decades. The aftermath of politicians losing their jobs in droves would be pure fun to watch.
 
James331 said:
I disagree.



First off the problem is enough people actually believe the government has the authority to "restrict our freedoms" ...well they don't unless you LET them.



Second I would hardly say the man was "absent minded" he had a just cause, he made a plan and executed it flawlessly.



Of course the mindless children of the media are undermining what his message is, which is actually a very important message especially now days, I'd say his message is much more news worthy than a little 250lb gyro copter landing on a lawn.
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His message was an extended middle finger at a group of people who've ****ed him. Repeatedly.

Their response was to put him in jail, because they are more important Citizens than he, and they have the armed folks to do it.

Really isn't any more complex than that.

The only skill one needs to have armed guards with missiles in this country is to be able to lie convincingly on TV.

Pretty simple **** really.

The MSM will say whatever they want them to say to keep being invited to their dinner parties to maybe get a selfie with one of them.
 
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