"I had landed and just touched the brake, and next thing I knew the
aircraft was on its nose," the 80 year-old pilot said as we approached
him.

A sad story, Peter. Thanks for sharing it.

At the other end of the spectrum, the last few days we've had a couple
staying with us at the inn who just bought a brand, spanking new Maule.
They are well past 70, and we've had a great time hangar flying with them.

When their visit with us was over, we bid them adieu and drove them over to
the airport. 15 minutes after we dropped them off the old fella called us
back to come fetch them.

He had discovered that, after our recent 4-inch snowfall and subsequent icy
conditions, he was unable to walk out to his tail-dragger without falling.
This provided a sudden burst of realization that if he couldn't walk to his
taildragger because of the conditions, he probably shouldn't be flying it,
either.

That's a prudent way to fly a tail-dragger, IMHO. The man knew his
limitations, and thus they were forced to spend another night soaking in the
Red Baron Suite's hot tub.

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"