Flight to Las Vegas Pirep -- Part I

However, some time ago you posted about some "idiot" who landed at your
airport in a snowstorm after what must have also been an exciting flight.
There was no end to the reaming he got here. He himself however thought he
did fine, and demonstrated superior skill.

We don't know if he, himself, thought he did fine. I think it's more likely
that he considers himself lucky to have survived. A snowstorm is not
comparable to a windy day in any way -- but I get your drift. (No pun
intended... :-)

This angle points up several problems inherent with writing about our flying
adventures in this forum:

1. Interesting writing is, by definition, creative. Within the limits of
the facts, one must build tension -- and release it -- in order to maintain
interest. Otherwise, it's a travelogue, and we all know how interesting
those are.

On this flight there was no need for embellishment or exaggeration -- it was
exciting enough! -- but some people apparently read more into my words than
are actually there. Within the confines of truth, I endeavor to make my
writing as interesting as possible, which some people may read as hyperbole
or bluster. In this case, anyway, it wasn't.

2. Writing about transcontinental flying in Spam Cans opens one up to
criticism and back-seat flying of all kinds, simply because so few people
actually do it. Most of the pilots on our field -- and, probably, here --
never fly beyond the confines of their $100 hamburger flights, ever, and
probably regard attempting a flight of this magnitude as foolhardy.

3. My threshold for danger may be different than yours. Some folks might
regard what we did as foolhardy -- but many people regard flying Spam Cans
at all as insane. At no point on this trip did I feel threatened, out of
control, or in danger -- but I will allow that this fact may be a product of
our many cross-country (not cross-state) flights over the years. In other
words, I've flown in worse conditions than this flight, and may therefore be
more immune to a sense of danger than others.

4. It's impossible to include every shred of information about the
decision-making process that goes into a flight of this length in a
descriptive narrative. By necessity, some details simply must be left out,
and in any story I always concentrate on action, not deliberation. This may
make parts of the flight look more like a "hip shot" than they really were.
As Jim outlined in his excellent post, his flight planning was detailed,
extensive and cautious -- but conditions simply weren't as predicted.

So, long story short, I understand what you're saying, but -- in this case,
anyway -- I feel that it doesn't apply.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"