Too Old?

Gezellig wrote in news:6i0carFo8ma9U1
@mid.individual.net:

Recently a 72 yo went blind in flight (stroke?) and safely landed in the
drink in FL. Several comments were that age should be considered in
keeping your PPL. I can see this makes sense /but/ it would prolly be
illegal.

There have been people in their 90s with commercial certificates. I know
someone who taught after he retired well into his 80s and continued to fly
into his 90s.
Then there's Bob Hoover and Duane Cole...



Bertie

In article ,
Bertie the Bunyip wrote:

Gezellig wrote in news:6i0carFo8ma9U1
@mid.individual.net:

Recently a 72 yo went blind in flight (stroke?) and safely landed in the
drink in FL. Several comments were that age should be considered in
keeping your PPL. I can see this makes sense /but/ it would prolly be
illegal.

There have been people in their 90s with commercial certificates. I know
someone who taught after he retired well into his 80s and continued to fly
into his 90s.
Then there's Bob Hoover and Duane Cole...



I know somebody who was Chief Pilot for Eastern and still flies at 92 --
then we had another old Eastern guy who died at 102 -- he was flying his
Bonanza until shortly before his death. Car rental companies wouldn't
rent to him because he was too old!

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.


Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.


Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques

I have a friend in our soaring club who flew Corsairs as a USMC pilot in WW2
and still flys regularly in our club - usually the first to launch and the
last to land. To top it off, most of the time he flys his Pitts to the club
from his home field.

Ben Jeffrey

Ben Jeffrey wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.

Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques

I have a friend in our soaring club who flew Corsairs as a USMC pilot in WW2
and still flys regularly in our club - usually the first to launch and the
last to land. To top it off, most of the time he flys his Pitts to the club
from his home field.

Ben Jeffrey



Some of the "older" pilots are in phenomenally good health. I deal with
a lot of them on a daily basis. They're amazing!

--
Dudley Henriques

On Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:30:50 -0400, Dudley Henriques wrote:

Ben Jeffrey wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.

Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques

I have a friend in our soaring club who flew Corsairs as a USMC pilot in WW2
and still flys regularly in our club - usually the first to launch and the
last to land. To top it off, most of the time he flys his Pitts to the club
from his home field.

Ben Jeffrey


Some of the "older" pilots are in phenomenally good health. I deal with
a lot of them on a daily basis. They're amazing!

And some aren't Dudley neither of which is the point. The point is that
Fed/FAA gets aggressive, age could come into question regardless. For
that matter, why not a local port like Vegas throwing up their own
rules?

Gezellig wrote:
On Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:30:50 -0400, Dudley Henriques wrote:

Ben Jeffrey wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.

Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques
I have a friend in our soaring club who flew Corsairs as a USMC pilot in WW2
and still flys regularly in our club - usually the first to launch and the
last to land. To top it off, most of the time he flys his Pitts to the club
from his home field.

Ben Jeffrey

Some of the "older" pilots are in phenomenally good health. I deal with
a lot of them on a daily basis. They're amazing!

And some aren't Dudley neither of which is the point. The point is that
Fed/FAA gets aggressive, age could come into question regardless. For
that matter, why not a local port like Vegas throwing up their own
rules?

The one's that aren't should fail the medical. THAT is the point. The
"system" is supposed to discover and weed out those not medically fit to
fly.
As long as you can pass the medical, you fly. It's THAT simple!
Nobody says the system is perfect. There will always be those pilots who
slip through a medical check and then have a heart attack while flying.
Personally, I would be an advocate of more frequent medical checks for
pilots of a specific age determined by accident stats and medical
histories.
Of course if they went that route, you'd have the ACLU on their ass
screaming about "rights".
There is only one additional safety gap in the present system; that
being the individual choice of a pilot to voluntarily stop flying after
having a medical issue during the period between medicals.
As I said, it "ain't " a perfect system by a long shot!


--
Dudley Henriques

In rec.aviation.owning Gezellig wrote:
On Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:30:50 -0400, Dudley Henriques wrote:

Ben Jeffrey wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.

Hell Orval, it took that long for some of us to get proficient :-)))

--
Dudley Henriques

I have a friend in our soaring club who flew Corsairs as a USMC pilot in WW2
and still flys regularly in our club - usually the first to launch and the
last to land. To top it off, most of the time he flys his Pitts to the club
from his home field.

Ben Jeffrey


Some of the "older" pilots are in phenomenally good health. I deal with
a lot of them on a daily basis. They're amazing!

And some aren't Dudley neither of which is the point. The point is that
Fed/FAA gets aggressive, age could come into question regardless. For
that matter, why not a local port like Vegas throwing up their own
rules?

Because local airports can't make special rules just for them that are
contrary to FAA rules.


--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Orval Fairbairn wrote in
news
In article ,
Bertie the Bunyip wrote:

Gezellig wrote in news:6i0carFo8ma9U1
@mid.individual.net:

Recently a 72 yo went blind in flight (stroke?) and safely landed
in the drink in FL. Several comments were that age should be
considered in keeping your PPL. I can see this makes sense /but/ it
would prolly be illegal.

There have been people in their 90s with commercial certificates. I
know someone who taught after he retired well into his 80s and
continued to fly into his 90s.
Then there's Bob Hoover and Duane Cole...



I know somebody who was Chief Pilot for Eastern and still flies at 92
-- then we had another old Eastern guy who died at 102 -- he was
flying his Bonanza until shortly before his death. Car rental
companies wouldn't rent to him because he was too old!

I know quite a few pilots flying well into their 70s -- some in
high-performance planes.


Yeah, and why not. I think Pappy chalk operated commercially into his
80's, for instance.

OTOH, I know a pilot who died suddenly just the other day at 47...

A commercial one too...



Bertie

Anthony, have you ever taken a flying physical? What are the requirements?
How do they differ?

At best, they are a minimal screening, far from an extensive examination. Of
course, since you are not a physician or pilot, you wouldn't understand
these issues.