Lancair IV-P lost near Lansing MI

On 2 Jun 2004 20:26:52 -0700, (lowflyer) wrote:

(Badwater Bill) wrote in message ...


Most of the rich guys who buy them are
doctors, not test pilots. And, it's those weekend types that get
killed when the thing departs from it's normal flight characteristics.


You sound like the guy to answer a question I've had for a long time.
You know the old saw about doctors and Bonanzas. I've always wondered
if it was true. Now you state essentially the same about
Lancairs...it's doctors (of course they are richer than anyone else
who flies) who "fly them and get killed." Assuming you know what
you're talking about, what percent of Lancairs are owned by doctors,
and what percent of fatal Lancair accidents involve doctor pilots as
opposed to any other profession of pilot? Also, using any definition
of rich you wish, are doctor pilots any richer than lawyer pilots,
business man pilots,etc. I have no bone to pick here other than
wanting to know whether this stereotyping is justified. I won't know
unless you or anyone else can back it up with referenced statistics.

I've always interpreted the "doctor killer" tag as something that
refered generically to someone who has plenty of disposable income but
limited time, interest or motiviation to pusue proper training and to
maintain proficiency. I never took the term too literally. Doctors
are a convenient example of the genus. It's similar to soccer moms.
Not all soccer moms actually have kids playing soccer.
Rich Russell