Night flying in the mountians in a cessna 150,

Hmmm ...

Not the combination of words I would choose to use - but I'm sure we all got
the essence of what you're trying to say!

For me though - seriously - I do wonder just how much being "PC" does
detract from safety messages. Often I've wondered if the point would be
better illustrated by a short audio/visual presentation showing unsanitised
dismembered corpses & injured passengers screaming with pain & listening to
children breaking down at funerals when they tell everyone how much they
miss their dad.

Been there - done that. For me the fact that my kids need a dad weighs heavy
on my mind. Sure, some may argue that it's safer not to fly at all - for me
it was all about compartmentalising the risks - avoiding those I felt were
unacceptable (eg night flight in a 150 over mountainous terrain) - and
taking all appropriate steps to minimise others (eg wearing a life jacket
over water - carrying additional survival equipment on cross country flights
etc). One might think of me as a pilot who won't fly if there is so much as
a cloud in the sky, but not so - in reality I only have to cancel very few
because of unacceptable weather and other factors. I don't feel I'm at risk
on days where the weather is less then ideal - and I'm not afraid to take a
look at some of the bad stuff from a few angles - but I have a certain
switch in my head that says "to push it past this point is dangerous - it
limits my options - and I'm just not going to do it" - perhaps a good
standard might be "would you do this or that on a VFR flight test with the
testing officer along side"?

For me, I'd like to think that "thinking safety" is now instinctive to how I
conduct my flying - I see this same attitude in many professional crews of
heavy metal - and yet I NEVER see it amongst the GA pilots I have regular
personal contact with (them being the breed that keep killing themselves).
In contrast I see a large number who think they're 10 foot tall and
bullet-proof. This puzzles me - I'd love to know just what the formula is
that turns "safety unconscious" GA pilots into "safety aware" professional
crew. Any ideas gratefully accepted.

For me it's all about striving to be a superior pilot - and accomplishing
that by using superior judgement to avoid situations that require the use of
(perhaps?) superior skill.

CC





"jd-10" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Matt Whiting wrote:

People talk about safety like it is an absolute and it simply isn't. It
depends on the circumstances

I've read this entire thread and while everyone else is too PC to say
it, I will:

You are a *****ing* fool. As big a fool as the OP. Flying single-engine
in the mountains at night is like playing Russian roulette with 4 of six
loaded.

You are a corpse waiting to happen. If you fly with your wife, she is as
well. It's death-wish assholes like you that give all the reasonable and
prudent GA pilots a bad name.

You're no different than a guy I used to see in Montana, at the annual
Schafer fly-in. I saw him drink two beers and then jump in his 185 and
go fly.

At the time, I told a friend "that guy is a corpse waiting to happen.
He's one of those guys who thinks **** won't happen to him, and one of
these days he's going to paint himself into a corner he can't get out
of."

Less than a year later, the guy was dead, killed in a collision with a
cumulo-granite not far from Schafer, scud running. He took two others
with him, the son of a bitch.

You remind me of that guy. No regard for your own safety, much less the
safety of others. I hope you wise up before you kill your wife.
--
JD-10