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Dead
Sell your plane, sell your motorcycle and cars , live a safe and boring life and hope you don't slip and fall in the shower .
Tom |
First my condolences to you for the loss of your friend, Its alwas a tough thing to handle. Your post shows that you are going through the process that all pilots go through when an aviation accident claims someone we know.
for me there is no question, flying is what I do for a living. however, being involved in the more dangerous aspects of flying, air racing,warbirds, and experimental aviation I have not only lost a lot of people to accidents, but witnessed a good number of them. Reno 2011 caused a lot of sole searching on my part as it did for a lot of people that day. At the end of the day it comes down to the same thing every time. We are all going to die sometime. I believe that when that time comes, it really doesn't matter what we are doing, our time is up. I just try to fly as safely as possible and enjoy every minute as if it were my last, because someday it will be. I think that I would regret not doing things I wanted because of fear a lot more. Life is a risk, and we all need to find the level of risk that we are comfortable with. As one race team had as their motto, " the object of life is not to arrive at the end safely in a well preserved body but to slide in sideways, hair on fire at mach 3 screaming that was one **** of a ride." bob burns RV-4 N82RB |
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Flying is more dangerous than driving a car, BUT, if we don't participate in buzzing, if we don't let our planes run out of fuel, if we don't fly VMC into IMC, if we don't try The Impossible Turn, if we stay out of thunderstorms, if we have good shoulder restraints, if we pay attention to the proper maintenance of our planes, and if we train-train-train and practice-practice-practice, the chance of dying in our planes is pretty small. Yes, mechanical failure can still happen and take our lives, but that is way down the list in the causes of fatal accidents. Commit and re-commit to training and always being prepared. That honors the flying lives lost. |
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We all have choices to make while flying, that have a huge impact on the level of risk we are exposing our selves to. |
We all have different motivations for flying I think, my personal feeling comes from a quote by a famous person, I first saw it in Dick Rutan's hangar. Here it is:
"Any coward can sit in his home and criticize a pilot for flying into a mountain in a fog. But I would rather, by far, die on a mountainside than in bed. What kind of man would live where there is no daring? And is life so dear that we should blame men for dying in adventure? Is there a better way to die? -- Charles Lindbergh" |
I am scared of flying. There, I said it. I worry all the time I'm in the air that the engine will quit, a part will fail, and on and on. But the sheer thrill of flying outweighs the fear by tons. Sometimes the fear factor goes up - news of a crash, odd behavior from the aircraft, my personal mental status. But I can't imagine not being a pilot.
I also ride a motorcycle. I used to split lanes in the California Bay Area to commute to work. It's just what I did. I'd hate to do it now. Now I live in an area where bikes semi-regularly run into elk or deer, which are often on the road near my house. I still ride. I can't imagine not being a rider. There are times I choose not to ride or fly. I'm not feeling well or the equipment needs work or the conditions are not conducive. Maybe someday my health will fall to the point that I can't continue but, until then, I will only temporarily stop my favorite activities. Someone recently wrote that they hate the phrase "at least he died doing something he loved". I agree. I don't want to die in an airplane or on a motorcycle. I don't want to die. But I also don't want to not live. |
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Life is precious. It hurts us more when we lose a friend because being a pilot is a very special privilege and a very special bond. Condolences to your friends family.
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Aaron, I am sorry to hear of your loss as well. I have lost far too many friends and acquaintances in my years of flying, and while it hurts like ****, I have never once considered giving up flying. I don't say that as in any way a judgement of other's reactions or decisions, I don't know why I am that way, but I accept it as it is.
I wrote an article for Sport Aerobatics around 20 years ago in which I compared flying, and flying competition and airshow aerobatics in particular, to dancing with the most beautiful and seductive woman imaginable, but she is also a vampire. (Change gender if applicable):) You can enjoy yourself, but you have to watch her like a hawk every second, because the moment you let down your guard, she will bite you in the neck! I still treat flying that way. I love my plane, but I don't trust her. She is going to betray me at any second if I don't check and double check everything, and keep my eyes on her. I don't trust other pilots not to do something stupid and I am ready for them to take the opposite runway when I am on short final. I don't trust myself to not become complacent, and so I try to always leave myself a way out if things suddenly don't go as decided and planned. It sounds as though flying with an attitude like that would suck all the enjoyment out of it, and yet I love it like nearly no other. I can't say why that is. I won't try to convince you how you should feel, only you can decide that. I share only how I have learned to deal with this. I will say as well, having lost friends and family outside of aviation, I have come to the realization of that great trade off - the longer you are alive, the more loss you will suffer in life. Some of those losses will be painful beyond compare. The price we pay for simply being alive, and living long. God bless you, and your friend's family. Great comfort can be found in just being there for those that have suffered loss, and I pray that those who were close to your friend will find such peace. Damon |
RV vs. Motorcycle
I gave up a lifelong love of bikes because I had 2 very close calls with distracted/unaware motorists. I feel 5x safer in an RV where one has 3 dimensions to find safety in and the other aircraft are mainly flown by well trained pilots. Once off the ground and have plenty of altitude and speed, I feel safer than in a car surrounded by the same kind of folks who scared me away from bikes...
Just yesterday we lost a pilot flying a Lancair over at McMinnville, OR which is very close to home for us. I didn't know him but the tragedy still hits us hard. Prayers for his family. Be safe, Jerry |
A different perspective...
Recently lost a close co worker to brain cancer... He was cut down in his prime, and though he lived an active life, death came in the form of something completely unrelated to any lifestyle choice. He always wanted to learn to fly, but his life was too full of other things and never got around to it.
My take from his experience is to live while you are still alive, for tomorrow is promised to no one. |
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