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Climbing Through 10,000....

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
Thanks to Rosie for alerting me to the funny number up in my post counter window - 9,999....I stopped paying attention to it some time ago. But it would be a shame not to recognize the amazing benefits I have received in my life from participating in Doug's little social experiment here on VAF. I joined the forum when Doug created the site back in 2005(ish), and have enjoyed both the social and the technical aspects of the community ever since. I owe a lot of my success in my "second career" in aviation journalism to the presence of this site as a place to practice.

VAF has always tried to be a bit of civility in an internet world where people forget that they are speaking in public, and often say the darnedest things.....you wonder sometimes if the entire population of the 'net was raised by wolves. The goal has always been to create a place where people could come and ask questions without being slammed as ignorant beginners - and overall, folks do pretty well. When we chase someone away because they are made to feel foolish, it is the community that has failed - not the questioner.

Anyway - to the point. I have been a little quiet this week because we lost my father a few days ago. He was 89 years old, lived a full life, was a member of the Greatest Generation (USS Aaron Ward, DM34, almost sunk at Okinawa...). He wanted to be a Naval Aviator in the war, but couldn't pass the color test - and he encouraged me in my own aviation career, one he couldn't have. Dad taught me (among many other things) that you need to learn to communicate with - and understand - other people if you are going to be successful ... at anything! He was a mathematics educator all of his adult life - and generations of Minnesota students benefitted from his work in problem solving curriculums used throughout the state. He even left us a math problem to be placed in his funeral bulletin. That's dedication!

In addition to making sure I learned my math, he always emphasized the importance of reading and the importance of reading a lot in developing good writing skills - and I am tempted to believe that he was right....

Dad flew with me a number of times in my life, but by the time my RV came along, he was no longer limber enough to climb over a cockpit rail - so didn't get the chance to fly in the airplanes I built. But he was with us in spirit.

Dad - this 10,000th post is for you!

Paul
 
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Thanks Paul, very touching for me. Today I was able to give both my parents a ride in my RV, Very Thankful...
 
So sorry for your loss Paul. Sounds like your father was a pretty sharp man. My father was from the same generation and the same basic thought process. It's been 10 years since he passed and I still miss him. I was lucky enough to get to fly with my dad in the 4 a few times, something he really enjoyed.
A very nice post or toast to your father.
Ryan
 
Here here

Paul,
When I first explored VAF years ago, your professional approach to all aspects of this community quickly caught my attention. Now reading your insightful background about your father, it makes even more sense that the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.

As the sun sets here tonight, I reflect on your family's loss. I am also thankful for the son he crafted, plus his many other students who benefitted from his professional example and continue sharing his spirit. While I never met him or even you in person, I am convinced he was one of the best our country ever had in uniform and serving in other very meaningful ways like education.

Thank you for providing a positive example in our VAF and overall GA communities, plus the chance to know a bit about your father. Tailwinds and following seas...
 
Sounds like a real role model

I'm sure he was proud of your achievements too. Sorry for your loss.
 
Congrats on your 10k! Losing a Dad is tough. My condolences. My Dad passed away Feb last year, would have been 89 now. He was on the USS Guam at Iwo Jima and then went into China until it was liberated. US Marines.

Keep it up until 15k if Kitplanes does not burn you out :)
 
Sorry to hear that Paul. Nice reflection of your Dad, I'm sure he very pleased with his son.
 
Paul, we've not met in person. Not yet. But I follow all your posts with great interest. This one really hit home. I lost my Dad a year ago. He would be 86 now. He was not an aviator. In fact, he was afraid of airplanes for many years. But he loved helping me work on my 7A. He was a veteran, too, having served in the Navy.

When I first started, I told him I had a dream... I wanted to take him flying up to Montana some day to have lunch with my aunt (his sister). We could be home in time for dinner. He scoffed at the idea, saying "ahhhgg... you'll never get me up in one of these contraptions". After helping me for some time, though, seeing the quality of the kit components and how it was all coming together, he changed his tune, no longer scoffing at the idea. He was so impressed with it all. He and my Mom enjoyed going to fly-ins with us. He marveled at all the airplanes, loved watching them fly. Last time I reminded him that I still had that dream on my mind, he simply said "you better hurry up and get this thing finished... I'm going to get old one of these days!" :D

We never did get to make that trip. But he mainly enjoyed the tools, the shop, seeing the things I was doing, and just hanging out with me. He loved building things. A good number of the rivets in my plane are perfectly driven, thanks to him.

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Here, he helped me assemble the mains, grease up the bearings, and put it all together. I could list a lot of examples of his help.

P1050366%20(Small).JPG


Thankfully, I still have my Mom, and I'm hoping to do some flying with her in the very near future. Thanks again for your post. What a great tribute to your Dad.
 
Paul,

The other night while flying over the Atlantic looking into space I was thinking about you and now as I post this I am thinking about your dad.

Sorry for your loss.

 
Sympathy

Hi Paul

Sorry to learn of your Dad's passing. Your tribute to him was awesome. Your aviation career is a living monument to your Dad.
 
Father & son teams are awesome.
I have 4 sons, 2 are mine from my first wife, two are borrowed from my second wife. All are great, I hang out with them when I can.
My dad was a WWII Navy Vet too. A Boeing engineer and Boy Scout 'Scoutmaster', he introduced me to flying thru his friends (he didn't fly) and got me into Air Scouts.
His passing was sad, because his contribution was so great.
I understand how you feel.
 
10,000

Paul, What a fitting tribute to your dad.

As I struggle to get my 89 yo mom (dementia +) back to health after falling and breaking her hip I too am thinking about the WWII generation. Mom worked in the "war plant" in Dallas as she calls it, making parts for the P-38. Dad was with the Marines on Guadalcanal and lost his last battle a few years ago.

Sorry for your loss and sharing a little bit about his life. Sounds like he passed some of his best qualities on to his son.

If I don't make OSH I hope yo see you again next spring at SNF.
 
Wonderful tribute

Paul,

You wrote a most heartfelt tribute to your Father and I am sure all your RV friends appreciate it as much as I do. Would it be possible to share with us what that math problem your Dad left behind might be? If you choose to keep it private though, very understandable...

Sincerest regards to you and yours,

Jerry Cochran
 
Math problem

David Dye would like nothing better than to expand his world of students by us sharing the problem (and solution) but we need to use his words. We'll do so when we have a chance. Thanks for asking.
 
Condolences

Paul,

So sorry to hear of your loss. My father passed at 86, crewed on the B-25, B-17, and B-29 and others in WWII.

Undoubtedly your father took pride in your work, leading the efforts to assemble and operate the greatest flying machines ever built. You are missed here.

Carl

e0c4f8fbecea9eca14e5c8dd71f1298f_zps6fd8ec91.jpg


..
 
Paul,

Number 10,000 for Dad - mighty fitting - and for sure he was mighty proud of your accomplishments.

Sorry to hear of his passing.
 
A most appropriate 10,000th post Paul, honoring the memory and influence of your father on your life and others as well. I would have to think he was very proud of you too- a fine man often produces a fine son.

As long as great memories survive, nobody truly perishes...
 
The Puzzle.....

It's not Fermat's Last Theorem - it should be solvable by most! You have to remember that Dad was proud of his Minnesota heritage (as am I), and framed most of his puzzles and problems in those terms. (High School Basketball coaches were almost all math teachers back in the day - hence, that sport showed up frequently...):

A Problem to Solve
(written by Dave Dye to be part of his obituary)

There used to be 477 high schools playing basketball in Minnesota. All of them played in the annual district, regional and state tournaments, where they played until they were beaten (single elimination format.) The problem is: how many games were needed to determine which school would be the state champion? (The solution of this problem requires the student to exhibit problem solving techniques, and this is the kind of thinking skills mathematics teachers want to develop in their students.)

The answer? Oh...that would be too easy. You'll have to wait until enough of you have pontificated on it first!

Paul
 
One, the game between the last two surviving teams from the prior rounds of elimination.
 
Iron,
Please accept my condolences on your Dad's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Louise, and your family.
 
Paul, please accept my condolences. You reminded me of my Dad. He never got to fly in the RV but I did take him over the Grand Canyon in a 182. His 18th birthday was Sunday, December 7, 1941. He served in Europe but seldom spoke of it.

Bob

Assuming that when there's an odd number, one team draws a bye and advances to the next round, the answer is N-1, or 476 games. Interesting that it is independent of the details, like how many districts there are or the size of the district.
 
climbing thru 10,000

Paul, SORRY about your loss. Thanks for sharing wonderful tribute to you Dad. You are such a great example of what this community is all about. I was fortunate to have flown my mom several time in my 150,but never had chance to fly Dad. Again also thanks for all your great articles on forum and kitplanes.........Tom Hankamp
 
GREAT MEMORIES!

Thanks Paul for all of your contributions to VAF and for using us as guinea pigs to sharpen your writing skills! My condolences to you and your family. This tribute to your Father was heart warming and brought a tear to my eye.
 
I checked and I only have 600+ posts since joining in 2005 as well.

I feel so strongly about the great benefits I have received from Doug Reeves web project that last year I started making donations from things I sale to what I call the Audrey Reeves College Fund. It is kind of like paying it forward by investing in another Reeves to go out and do something wonderful for people like us who love experimental aviation.

Audrey has been involved from the beginning both as a motivator to Doug but also in helping him with keeping up the white pages. Now that she has to buckle down and get ready to becoming a productive member of society my hope is that she turns out like her father and does something that she loves and makes a lot of other people happy in the process.
 
My condolences, Paul. I lost my mom 21 years ago and my dad 16 years back. I was prepared for my mom's death by her 2 1/2 year battle with cancer, but my dad's was more sudden, and hence more difficult to deal with. He still shows up in my dreams. I was looking back at my logbook just yesterday, and saw that my dad flew with me only twice, but it was such a thrill for me to take him up. He would have loved my RV, and would have been fascinated by the skin bonding technology in my Tiger; he loved, respected and was fascinated by innovation. Fortunately, I still get to see that curiosity and innovative spirit in one of my sons, who travels with an empty notebook (to sketch out new ideas) for entertainment rather than reading material. He needs new notebooks frequently. Parents have a way of living on through us, our kids, and in so many other ways.

Congratulations on your 10,000th post! What a milestone, and what a tribute.
 
Paul,
I'm very sorry for your loss.
For your 10,000+ posts containg loads of learning and genuine RVator energy I'm very thankful.
Brilliant DOH-effect from your dad's problem :) If we have 477 teams and one wins there are 476 teams that have to lose one (their last) match. That takes 476 matches, regardless who plays whom or how often the winner has to play.
 
Clues. Or clews for you old time Brits :D

Here are a couple clues from prior posts.

David Dye would like nothing better than to expand his world of students by us sharing the problem (and solution) but we need to use his words.

The problem is: how many games were needed to determine which school would be the state champion?
Paul

OK, I highlighted a line from Louise's post in red, but the bold in Paul's post is something Paul did.

As Marioi said, there were 476 teams that had to loose and only one could be the champion.

The first 475 games did not "determine which school would be the state champion"--------those games determined who was a loser, but no end winner ------ only those who stayed in the competition for the championship.

The champion was only determined by the final game.
 
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Paul, a touching and fitting tribute to your father, especially being your 10,000th post. I lost my father 26 yrs ago today and still miss him like it was yesterday. It's a pleasure to read all the wonderful posts showing the respect to our parents from all the RVators out there. Thanks for sharing!!
 
Dad's Answer....

In his own words:

Solution to the problem: Typically the solver tries to count the number of teams in the districts, but this is met with complications since there are different numbers of teams in each district. To solve; use a technique of problem solving (heuristics) called ?look at the data from a different point.? Here we would look at the losers rather than the winners of each game. There are 476 losers and that means 476 games that had to be played.

Sorry Mike - the problem is from a math teacher - no trickiness or treachery involved! ;)

Thanks for everyone's thoughts - we had a wonderful time remembering Dad with all of his friends and relatives - and now we return to life.
 
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