On 2/25/04 2:06 AM, in article 403c579e$1@darkstar, "Mark James Boyd"
wrote:


If I had an unplanned outlanding,
I would really chalk it up to my
own poor judgement, just as I would
think of running out of gas....

Since we are talking about a state of mind (as a set of priorities), no one
can argue with that.

In competition, and even in individual practice/training, others have
priorities which allow for extending themselves beyond the assured and at
least a little way into the realm of chance.

The sailplane land out, per se, cannot be seen as equivalent to fuel
starvation in a powered plane except where pilots of both types
irresponsibly fail to consider the risks and/or act reasonably to minimize
them. The equivalence with running out of gas usually comes when the
sailplane pilot finds his planning and/or execution to be inadequate for
achieving a result to the standards of the community of which he is a
member.

When a combat pilot brings home a ship riddled with holes (or leaves it to
make a smoking hole of its own), whether or not he gets a "dumb ****" award
or an "attaboy" may depend on gun camera film or on how many "friendlies",
on the ground or in the air, owe their survival to his actions: a matter of
risks properly evaluated, priorities established, and goals achieved at an
affordable price.

Of course there are MOH citations for pilots who have gone above and beyond
in a noble cause -- many, if not most, of them rendered posthumously.
Neither SSA Badges, contest points, nor FAI records are awarded on the same
basis.



Jack