Flying is not a right and with the attitude that any of us can endanger others because we choose to experiment with something that is IMHO, more expensive, unsafe and less reliable than what Vans recommends only adds to the public perception that the aviation community is ARROGANT!
Well then we should all scrap our "unsafe and less reliable" experimental aircraft and buy Cessnas.
I'm sorry, I don't intend to be flippant, but I'm bemused that you, as an EXPERIMENTAL aircraft builder/flyer (I assume, I haven't checked your profile) denigrate others who choose to EXPERIMENT with alternative engines.
I understand your point that making poor choices and crashing experimental aircraft all over the place won't endear our community to John Q. Public. But, do you honestly think the non-aviation public differentiates between the relative merits of "certified" vs "non-certified" engine choices when they hear about an experimental aircraft crash on the local news? After all, it's fairly obvious to me that many seemingly omniscient members of our own community don't take the time to read the full NTSB report on a particular accident before arguing about what caused it.
I will agree with one thing you said -- flying is not a "right" in our country, but that's because we've made it so. I wonder how Wilbur and Orville would answer if you asked if they believed they had a "right" to fly? I submit that we DO have a right to fly; what we don't have, what we've taken away from ourselves, is the freedom to do so -- and that's too bad, but it's also a different debate...
Back to my point: The scary fact is J.Q. Public (or his/her elected representative) could at any time decide experimental aviation is just too dangerous to allow to continue. IMHO, if that happens it won't be because a few of us chose to experiment with alternative engines.
I, for one, am thankful beyond words I live in a country where I HAVE alternatives, and the right and freedom to choose them...
Let us not, in the heat of debate, forget the things we have in common (EXPERIMENTAL aviation), or that what is "right" for one is not necessarily right for all.
Regards,
Mark Sletten
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