Well I’m glad you’re still vertical. Who else would I have to shoot the sh-t with in here? 
Old Warbird Mid Air Collision At Dallas Air Show
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You guys are giving me the shivers .
Some of us do the work that others don't want to touch. It all works in the end.
I don’t fly anymore either, btw. Pretty much gave that up like 15 years ago when I started working overseas. Just kinda lost interest and didn’t really feel like spending the money needed to get the ratings I wanted. Plus I’m getting a bit too old to just be getting into the flying I originally intended on- high performance type stuff. So I decided to get another bike after nearly 20 years away from riding and it’s become a bit of an obsession. It may have even saved my life.
A bit more on my crash recovery observations- An alarming number of crashes we dealt with were simply pilots running out of fuel, and more than one of these clowns had run out of fuel more than once, bringing their POS aircraft down onto sod farms, roadways, beaches or in the surf. One idiot we got off the Florida Turnpike was on his 3rd emergency landing due to zero fuel. Dude was like 77 years old and tried to tell us “someone stole my fuel” while he stopped into Pahokee Airport to take a leak… in broad daylight. Aircraft was a Cessna 172. If you know anything about high-wing Cessnas, the fuel tanks are in the wings right were they meet the fuselage, one on each side. IIRC 172’s hold 18 or 19 gallons per tank. There’s drain cocks for each on the bottom wing surface that are easily opened but the fuel will come out flowing like a little trickle of piss. So it would take a thief 15-20 min per tank to steal the fuel. I know this because draining the fuel was one of our first tasks on a recovery. FAA/NTSB also knows this but even after 3 zero fuel incidents, they still let this jerk keep his license. His plane was uninsured(very, VERY common, even among commercial aircraft) and in a state of noticeable neglect- upholstery hanging, unpainted panels and control surfaces, probably hadn’t seen a wash in 10 years. It is also not uncommon for a pilot, sometimes under the orders of the aircraft’s owner, to run out of fuel trying to get just a few more miles in order to get to an airfield that has cheaper fuel, or because that particular Customs station is quicker.
We recovered the Aaliyah crash in 2001 from Abacoa. Long story short, that pilot spent the previous few days getting coked up on and off, grossly mismanaged the load, was not certed out on the aircraft, stalled right after takeoff at around 200ft AGL, and nosed straight in. He had also just been arrested for possession of cocaine. Why he was even allowed in the air is beyond me. The aircraft they took to the islands was also significantly larger than the one sent back over to get them, so that one possessed a significantly smaller payload capability as well, and they were absolutely loaded to the GILLS with gear and personal effects. The whole tragedy was a disturbing lapse in common sense. Poor girl was in the copilot’s seat so she had a couple brief seconds of sheer unbridled terror before she was killed instantly.
So I said all that to say- If you had any idea of just how absolutely retarded the skies are over any given US city you’d be very concerned to say the least. I can’t tell you how many times I was thoroughly relieved to be finally exiting an aircraft at 12K-14K after a 20 min nervous ride to jump altitude. Pilot error rules supreme.
Here’s an interesting one involving both aircraft and skydivers. I’m going to go with pilot error on this one too. I believe lower aircraft have right of way but shift in weight as the jumpers got into position probably had a lot to do with this. No casualties, thank God. Pilot of the upper aircraft bailed and the lower pilot nursed it in.
A bit more on my crash recovery observations- An alarming number of crashes we dealt with were simply pilots running out of fuel, and more than one of these clowns had run out of fuel more than once, bringing their POS aircraft down onto sod farms, roadways, beaches or in the surf. One idiot we got off the Florida Turnpike was on his 3rd emergency landing due to zero fuel. Dude was like 77 years old and tried to tell us “someone stole my fuel” while he stopped into Pahokee Airport to take a leak… in broad daylight. Aircraft was a Cessna 172. If you know anything about high-wing Cessnas, the fuel tanks are in the wings right were they meet the fuselage, one on each side. IIRC 172’s hold 18 or 19 gallons per tank. There’s drain cocks for each on the bottom wing surface that are easily opened but the fuel will come out flowing like a little trickle of piss. So it would take a thief 15-20 min per tank to steal the fuel. I know this because draining the fuel was one of our first tasks on a recovery. FAA/NTSB also knows this but even after 3 zero fuel incidents, they still let this jerk keep his license. His plane was uninsured(very, VERY common, even among commercial aircraft) and in a state of noticeable neglect- upholstery hanging, unpainted panels and control surfaces, probably hadn’t seen a wash in 10 years. It is also not uncommon for a pilot, sometimes under the orders of the aircraft’s owner, to run out of fuel trying to get just a few more miles in order to get to an airfield that has cheaper fuel, or because that particular Customs station is quicker.
We recovered the Aaliyah crash in 2001 from Abacoa. Long story short, that pilot spent the previous few days getting coked up on and off, grossly mismanaged the load, was not certed out on the aircraft, stalled right after takeoff at around 200ft AGL, and nosed straight in. He had also just been arrested for possession of cocaine. Why he was even allowed in the air is beyond me. The aircraft they took to the islands was also significantly larger than the one sent back over to get them, so that one possessed a significantly smaller payload capability as well, and they were absolutely loaded to the GILLS with gear and personal effects. The whole tragedy was a disturbing lapse in common sense. Poor girl was in the copilot’s seat so she had a couple brief seconds of sheer unbridled terror before she was killed instantly.
So I said all that to say- If you had any idea of just how absolutely retarded the skies are over any given US city you’d be very concerned to say the least. I can’t tell you how many times I was thoroughly relieved to be finally exiting an aircraft at 12K-14K after a 20 min nervous ride to jump altitude. Pilot error rules supreme.
Here’s an interesting one involving both aircraft and skydivers. I’m going to go with pilot error on this one too. I believe lower aircraft have right of way but shift in weight as the jumpers got into position probably had a lot to do with this. No casualties, thank God. Pilot of the upper aircraft bailed and the lower pilot nursed it in.
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I bounced a C182 off a tree in the mountains and did not crash. A few repairs were needed and my shorts were ruined.
Correction- Lower aircraft lost its starboard wing. That pilot bailed out. The upper pilot made his was back to the airstrip.
Fun fact- USPA regs mandate that if there’s no bulkhead between the cockpit and the jumpers, the pilot must wear a bail-out chute, although I’ve witnessed this rule being ignored on many occasions. This actually became a bit of an issue back when I was jumping hard and some DZ’s were forbidding their pilots from donning bail-out rigs, which is a blatant violation. A lot of DZ’s are little more than tandem mills for tourists and supposedly the DZ owners didn’t want to make their tandem cash cows nervous. In a couple cases the owners literally told their pilots if they didn’t like it they could go fly somewhere else. Again…. MAJOR violation. A vast number of pilots who fly for DZ’s aren’t even paid. They’re doing it for much needed flight-hours so they can advance to bigger and better things. AFAIK it got handled without the FAA getting involved. FAA permits USPA to be self-regulated and self governing as longs as they do things right.
Bail-out rig certainly saved THAT pilots life.
Fun fact- USPA regs mandate that if there’s no bulkhead between the cockpit and the jumpers, the pilot must wear a bail-out chute, although I’ve witnessed this rule being ignored on many occasions. This actually became a bit of an issue back when I was jumping hard and some DZ’s were forbidding their pilots from donning bail-out rigs, which is a blatant violation. A lot of DZ’s are little more than tandem mills for tourists and supposedly the DZ owners didn’t want to make their tandem cash cows nervous. In a couple cases the owners literally told their pilots if they didn’t like it they could go fly somewhere else. Again…. MAJOR violation. A vast number of pilots who fly for DZ’s aren’t even paid. They’re doing it for much needed flight-hours so they can advance to bigger and better things. AFAIK it got handled without the FAA getting involved. FAA permits USPA to be self-regulated and self governing as longs as they do things right.
Bail-out rig certainly saved THAT pilots life.
B25bsaboy
Well-Known Member
I was totally devastated when I heard of the accident! I have no words to add to the discussion other Than "God Speed to these six individuals and may God give you clearance to land in Heaven".
Not perfect, but very nice.
Dug this up from my texts. Said buddy took this shot. Pretty sure that’s Ollie up front in the bombardier seat.
Here is a column I received today about keeping current with pilot skills. This is written to glider pilots, but applies more than equally well to power pilots, and commercial pilots.
I’ve just returned from Japan where I was doing my B787 type rating, followed by line training towards being re-qualified as a copilot with Air Japan, it took three and a half months in total. As you could imagine, my mind has been only on work for all that time, as it’s a way of securing my gliding future and retirement. Prior to those 3.5 months, I was in Australia, but with money only going one way (out!), I found myself doing very limited gliding to save money so I didn’t (literally) run out, I perhaps only did two flights after my season finished in late April 2022. In this article, I aim to talk about recognising your lack of recency & mistakes that I made, plus what I did to correct them.
I felt like I was in the same category recently, so what did I do? Firstly, I recognised that I hadn’t flown for almost 6 months. While my experience vs my club's requirements would’ve allowed me to fly by about 4 days, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. My bi-annual flight review was coming up too, so what better time to do it. It was a good day for flying this day, a few friends told me, “you’ll be right, just do it on the next flying weekend”. I stuck to my guns and had my check flight, which as you’d imagine, went smoothly without any issues. I learnt a few things from my instructor and the direction that the GFA wants to take when conducting these checks, a valuable flight.
The trick is to know in the first place when you’re not current or not feeling your best, take a step back and realise that we are human, humans make mistakes; allow a margin for error (should apply for every flight, but more so on these days) and you almost can’t go wrong.
Safe Circles,
Recency
By Adam WoolleyI’ve just returned from Japan where I was doing my B787 type rating, followed by line training towards being re-qualified as a copilot with Air Japan, it took three and a half months in total. As you could imagine, my mind has been only on work for all that time, as it’s a way of securing my gliding future and retirement. Prior to those 3.5 months, I was in Australia, but with money only going one way (out!), I found myself doing very limited gliding to save money so I didn’t (literally) run out, I perhaps only did two flights after my season finished in late April 2022. In this article, I aim to talk about recognising your lack of recency & mistakes that I made, plus what I did to correct them.
Top Pilots Make Mistakes
The first thing to be aware of is that we’re not perfect, we are human, and humans make mistakes. No matter how experienced we are, incidents and or accidents can still happen to us. Recently a friend who had 10,000hrs & another with 3000hrs plus, with a no accident history, had an incident that required some repairs to his glider. Both had been working themselves hard with family commitments, work, and house chores over the time prior to the incident, add in some Australian heat, pressure of the competition or flight, the ducks do line up. When times like this occur, it’s time to take a step back and realise that even the seemingly perfect and top pilots can make mistakes when not current.I felt like I was in the same category recently, so what did I do? Firstly, I recognised that I hadn’t flown for almost 6 months. While my experience vs my club's requirements would’ve allowed me to fly by about 4 days, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. My bi-annual flight review was coming up too, so what better time to do it. It was a good day for flying this day, a few friends told me, “you’ll be right, just do it on the next flying weekend”. I stuck to my guns and had my check flight, which as you’d imagine, went smoothly without any issues. I learnt a few things from my instructor and the direction that the GFA wants to take when conducting these checks, a valuable flight.
Know When to Step Back
I like to finish every flight with a competition finish simulation, mainly for fun and only when the environment and conditions are sufficient. This first flight back in the air was no different, though I noticed that when I was at 500’, I wasn’t in the usual energy state that I’m usually in. I had 110kts on the ASI, but a bit too far out to convert it into the 130kt at 50’ at the finish line. I took a step back, knowing that I could make it work if I wanted to, but realised that I wasn’t current and this wasn’t the time or place. So I backed off the competition finish, bled off the speed in level flight, joined the circuit, and lived to tell another tale.The trick is to know in the first place when you’re not current or not feeling your best, take a step back and realise that we are human, humans make mistakes; allow a margin for error (should apply for every flight, but more so on these days) and you almost can’t go wrong.
Safe Circles,
I stopped flying because I was unable to fly enough to keep my skill level at 100%.
Good lesson for many areas of life especially with the teen years passed for a while now …
I started losing my edge in my late 40’s. Like right at 49. I figured age was taking its toll naturally but I’d become somewhat of a sedentary slob after returning to the States and rejoining the rat race. I decided on some significant lifestyle changes and that honed things up a bit. Pretty much the obvious. Less alcohol, more water. Less complex carbs, proper nutrition. Getting good cardio via bicycling. Weights a couple times a week. Stretching. I make myself read a couple books a month for mental crispness(I gravitate toward history). It’s not rocket science, just try to do the right thing. I also got on low dose TRT, which I highly recommend looking into if you’re pushing 50 or older. It works. Just ask your Dr next time you’re getting one of your regular medical check-ups …Those are good for peace of mind, BTW.
I think it’s all really helped, but like I said, I‘ve substantially pumped the brakes on my more “jaws of death” activities, but I still dabble. Honestly it all came down to that those things were just not the way I wanted to die. In addition to riding, I got back on the drums after 20 years. Both help, especially my motorcycles. I get out to planned cultural and artistic events quite a bit. IMO these help too. An ex-SEAL buddy of mine told me after I came home that the key is to “Stay relevant.” A “good ol’ boy” redneck buddy of mine also once told me “Gettin’ old ain’t for pussies, bud.” Both of those quotes really stuck with me.
We all in here have a bit of an advantage over the average shmo- a passion for motorcycles. Don’t squander it. For me it was a rebirth.
Ride hard, and ride often.
I think it’s all really helped, but like I said, I‘ve substantially pumped the brakes on my more “jaws of death” activities, but I still dabble. Honestly it all came down to that those things were just not the way I wanted to die. In addition to riding, I got back on the drums after 20 years. Both help, especially my motorcycles. I get out to planned cultural and artistic events quite a bit. IMO these help too. An ex-SEAL buddy of mine told me after I came home that the key is to “Stay relevant.” A “good ol’ boy” redneck buddy of mine also once told me “Gettin’ old ain’t for pussies, bud.” Both of those quotes really stuck with me.
We all in here have a bit of an advantage over the average shmo- a passion for motorcycles. Don’t squander it. For me it was a rebirth.
Ride hard, and ride often.
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NTSB Preliminary Report. Basically everything that was more or less already known, just in heavy detail. Looks like little to no altitude guidance was issued.
Thanks, DoorPosition.
Air boss/aircraft radio traffic released by the FAA…
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vlieDeA8qEc
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vlieDeA8qEc
Sad
The Texas Raiders was practically based in my backyard about 4.5 miles away at Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport. I can't count the number of times she has flown over my house. There is nothing quite like the sound of those 4 turbo-supercharged radial engines. My biggest thrill and fondest memory was on my Tiger and noticing a shadow overtaking me and then hearing her as she passed over.
The flyover felt a lot like this video.
The flyover felt a lot like this video.
