Pilots and driving

(Kevin Darling) wrote in
om:

(Kees Mies) wrote in message
. com...
You are just like me, a very safe driver as long there is nothing to
see up there.
I always get the remark "I'am not afraid to fly with you, the driving
to the airport that is really scary".

Aha! Perhaps this where the old saying came from that "The drive to
the airport is much more dangerous than the actual flying".... not
from statistics, but from spouses and friends riding with the pilot
driving a car!


Almost immediately after the accident, I got into the airplane and went on
a long trip. The phrase 'the drive to the airport is more dangerous than
the flying" rang really true to me.

wow, it sure feels good that I'm not alone...I find I'm doing that all the
time...looking at the clouds, estimating how low they are, thinking about
whether or not it would be a good day to fly. I've even caught myself doing
it for a little too long while driving...thankfully the traffic in front of
me kept moving





"Ratty Boy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:37:28 GMT, Ender wrote:

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers. I
believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to look up
at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The other
day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the wind
was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed it. I
ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in twenty
years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as safe
as I
thought I was.


On the commercial end of things, the pager can often get you into
trouble when you're rushing to the airport.

I find that when I'm not gazing at the sky, my situational awareness is
much better than before I learned to fly.

I see that I'm not the only one to gaze at the sky. I recently spent
some time on the porch watching a T-Storm build up in the distance.
It's still cheaper to have a cocaine habit than a flying habit. But
damn, I think flying has to be more fun in the long run.

I got away with that habit for several years. But be careful. It bit me
finally. An accident is a very humiliating experience. I can tell that
from experience.




"Colin Gibb" wrote in
:

wow, it sure feels good that I'm not alone...I find I'm doing that all
the time...looking at the clouds, estimating how low they are,
thinking about whether or not it would be a good day to fly. I've
even caught myself doing it for a little too long while
driving...thankfully the traffic in front of me kept moving





"Ratty Boy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:37:28 GMT, Ender wrote:

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers.
I believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to
look up
at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The
other
day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the
wind
was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed
it. I
ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in
twenty
years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as
safe
as I
thought I was.


On the commercial end of things, the pager can often get you into
trouble when you're rushing to the airport.

I find that when I'm not gazing at the sky, my situational awareness
is much better than before I learned to fly.

I see that I'm not the only one to gaze at the sky. I recently spent
some time on the porch watching a T-Storm build up in the distance.
It's still cheaper to have a cocaine habit than a flying habit. But
damn, I think flying has to be more fun in the long run.

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers. I
believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to look up at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The other day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the wind was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed it. I ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in twenty years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as safe as I
thought I was.


In San Diego two major freeways merge not far from the end of the main
runways at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station (former Miramar Naval Air
Station - home of Top Gun). There is a lot of lane changing with fast
and slow traffic crossing in front of each other, numerous entrance and
exit ramps, and there are commuter lanes in the center divider that
change direction with the commute. Traffic is always heavy and driving
through this mess requires intense concentration and quick reactions.

Just a few hundred feet above this chaos F/A 18s are making the turn to
final.

I find it extremely difficult to not be distracted by these low-flying
warplanes while avoiding cars all around me. It gets worse in the days
before the annual air show when a large variety of interesting planes
are flying in. A BUFF or C5B on short final really gets your attention!

I've managed to avoid any accidents so far, but it's not easy.


Are there any other places that have high potential for pilot
distraction while driving?



Jeff

Yeah, stay away from Chino airport unless you're actually going to the
airport. And even then, be careful. It's all farm land out there, for now,
and the main road goes right across the departure end of the runways. At any
point (especially the first Saturday of every month), you could be overflown
by B-25s, P-51s, P-38s, or any of a number of other planes. The first
Satruday of the month, the museum there features a certain airplane or
person or era and flies something relating to it. I got to their annual
airshow a little late this year, arriving just as they were doing their
naval airpower demo. Hellcats, Wildcats, Bearcats, Tigercats, an Avenger,
and Skyraiders were part of this, among others.

Man, now I want to go. Oooh, next weekend is "Royal Air Force In Action"
according to their website. I might have to take a trip out there.......

-Tony
Student Pilot
31.3 Hours


"Jeff Glenn" wrote...

In San Diego two major freeways merge not far from the end of the main
runways at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station (former Miramar Naval Air
Station - home of Top Gun). There is a lot of lane changing with fast
and slow traffic crossing in front of each other, numerous entrance and
exit ramps, and there are commuter lanes in the center divider that
change direction with the commute. Traffic is always heavy and driving
through this mess requires intense concentration and quick reactions.

Just a few hundred feet above this chaos F/A 18s are making the turn to
final.

I find it extremely difficult to not be distracted by these low-flying
warplanes while avoiding cars all around me. It gets worse in the days
before the annual air show when a large variety of interesting planes
are flying in. A BUFF or C5B on short final really gets your attention!

I've managed to avoid any accidents so far, but it's not easy.


Are there any other places that have high potential for pilot
distraction while driving?



Jeff

What is it about Chino, anyway? Some years ago I took a ride on a DC-3 that
was part of an air show at Cable airport in Upland, Calif. When I climbed
aboard I noticed a definite aroma of cow manure. I thought maybe the
airplane had been used as a fertilizer hauler, but it had all its passenger
seats. Back on the ground I asked a bystander if he had any idea why the
plane was redolent of cattle poop. "Oh, it's from Chino," he said, as if
that explained it all, and he offered no details.

wrote in message
...
Yeah, stay away from Chino airport unless you're actually going to the
airport.

The biggest problem that I have is remembering not to straddle the
yellow line

Tony

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

In article ,
Andrew Sarangan wrote:

I remember a discussion recently whether pilots are safer drivers. I
believed that to be true until recently. As a pilot, I tend to look up at
the sky while driving, particularly if an airplane is flying. The other day
I was looking up at the clouds to figure out which direction the wind was
blowing. The car in front of me made a sudden stop. You guessed it. I ran
into that car. This would not have happened had I not been a pilot
distracted by the sky. This is my first auto-incident ever, in twenty years
of driving. I guess that still makes me a safe driver, but not as safe as I
thought I was.




--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

Chino is, for the time being, surrounded by farmland. The aroma is part of
the experience and makes it Chino. I tried to tell my friends this as we
passed fields of cows and sheep. They didn't buy it. I guess you have to
really love the airplanes.


-Tony
Student Pilot
31.3 Hours



"Henry Kisor" wrote...
What is it about Chino, anyway? Some years ago I took a ride on a DC-3
that
was part of an air show at Cable airport in Upland, Calif. When I climbed
aboard I noticed a definite aroma of cow manure. I thought maybe the
airplane had been used as a fertilizer hauler, but it had all its
passenger
seats. Back on the ground I asked a bystander if he had any idea why the
plane was redolent of cattle poop. "Oh, it's from Chino," he said, as if
that explained it all, and he offered no details.

wrote in message
...
Yeah, stay away from Chino airport unless you're actually going to the
airport.

On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 15:47:17 -0500, "Henry Kisor"
wrote:

plane was redolent of cattle poop. "Oh, it's from Chino," he said, as if
that explained it all, and he offered no details.

Well, there are stockyards all along the road to Chino, but that
shouldn't linger in the aircraft.

When I did stalls/aerobatic training at Chandler AZ, in hot March
weather, I drove past a stockyard on my way back to the motel, at noon
and again at four o'clock. Each day the smell made me just a bit more
queasy. I don't think I could have done a sixth day of aerobatics.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Expedition sailboat charters www.expeditionsail.com

Cub Driver warbird wrote:
When I did stalls/aerobatic training at Chandler
AZ, in hot March weather, I drove past a stockyard
on my way back to the motel, at noon and again at
four o'clock. Each day the smell made me just a bit
more queasy. I don't think I could have done a sixth
day of aerobatics.

If you're driving past them, sure. The air in the early a.m. at Chandler smells
like the stockyard, and if you're in an open cockpit, there's probably no
avoiding it at last near the airport, but our other *airplanes* don't smell
like cows inside! (that's pretty strange!)