So, can we quit making believe the man can't fly?

You have to give him credit...

Marc

Nobody said he couldn't fly. He is an accomplished pilot (according to
his Kiwi pilot, once the flight plan is plugged into the onboard
computer, he "flys" the autopilot most of the time).
Something is up with the need to make "world records". So he can steer a
plane for 63 hours. BFD. Also, I don't buy the "we may run out of fuel"
gambit. Nice try but a pretty transparent hook.
Is he that insecure that he needs to buy records if he can't make them?
WTF? He wanted to "win" a slot for the Hilton Cup last year so bad that
he had Terry (who is a good guy)win him a slot, pushing out a very
deserving Tom Kreyche. Steve could have come anyway as a guest of Barron.

It's obvious that I don't like the guy. I look at his personal actions
and judge from there. Admittedly, I am not impressed by money or
"records". I believe him to be dishonorable and dishonest.
I know that most don't agree with me, but some do.

Marc Ramsey wrote:
You have to give him credit...

Marc

Crusty O'l Fart wrote:
Something is up with the need to make "world records". So he can steer a
plane for 63 hours. BFD.

It's not the steering the plane for 63 hours that would have killed me
(though I likely would have fallen asleep after 10 hours or so), it's
the takeoff and landing. I'm sorry, it is quite an achievement, no
matter how easy it is to dislike the person who did it.

Is he that insecure that he needs to buy records if he can't make them?
WTF? He wanted to "win" a slot for the Hilton Cup last year so bad that
he had Terry (who is a good guy)win him a slot, pushing out a very
deserving Tom Kreyche. Steve could have come anyway as a guest of Barron.

I fail to understand how he could "win" a slot in this fashion. Since
when has it been legitimate to claim a Hilton Cup flight with someone in
the back seat? If there wasn't anyone in the back seat, and he simply
followed Terry around, this wouldn't be the first time that has happened.

From the limited interactions I had with him (I was paid to work on the
Perlan project for a short while), he was about as insufferable as
roughly 50% of the people I run into on a day to day basis. So what?

Marc

Admittedly, I am not impressed by money or
'records'.

Okay, although you qualify as another lame anonymous
poster...I'll bite.

How do you differentiate him from...an Open Class competition
pilot? Or do you?

As far as I am concerned, until Steve does a solo flight in a glider
for a record or for that matter a gold or diamond distance, I will
still think of him as someone that has a ringer in the cockpit while he
claims the record. Yes, what he did was great for the sport of aviation
in regards to the around the world trip but the jury is still out on
his glider flying.....
As for the Open Class competition pilot, maybe I am wrong but I can't
ever remember seeing him listed on a regional/national/world
competition results page. Do you consider someone who tries to break
world records a competition pilot or is it someone who flies in
contests a competition pilot?
Brian

Stewart Kissel wrote:
Admittedly, I am not impressed by money or
'records'.

Okay, although you qualify as another lame anonymous
poster...I'll bite.

How do you differentiate him from...an Open Class competition
pilot? Or do you?

Crusty O'l Fart a écrit :

It's obvious that I don't like the guy. I look at his personal actions
and judge from there. Admittedly, I am not impressed by money or
"records". I believe him to be dishonorable and dishonest.

There is nothing dishonorable being a billionnaire, and though its
gliding skills, as we all know, have been perhaps *a little exagerated*
for press relations needs, I think what he has accomplished is unique :
holding three world records around the globe successively in balloon,
sailship and aircraft !

And there might be many more dishonorable ways for a billionnaire to
spend his money ;-)

And when such a famous man in a glider, with or without another pilot,
is a chance for the soaring sport and we'd better try to seize this
opportunity to make media talk of our sport rather than trying to
minimize his feats by jealousy or whatever other bad reasons...


--
Denis

R. Parce que ça rompt le cours normal de la conversation !!!
Q. Pourquoi ne faut-il pas répondre au-dessus de la question ?

Perhaps my analogy was a little obtuse...

If Steve wants to spend a lot of money to buy performance...ie
flying solo around the world...how is that any different
then guys who use their fatter wallets to buy performance
in glider classes?

Hell, I don't think it is a stretch to say, as John
Shelton did....that glider racing has evolved so that
many who do it seem to be rich guys who seem to have
a lot of extra time. Yes, I know that is not universally
the case...but I could rattle off several examples.

Price out a new competitive glider in any of the major
racing classes....then add several free weeks every
summer to campaign it....not for the average working
stiff.

As far as his two-place records...I surely would not
be interested in how he obtained them for myself....but
I don't hear Terry complaining.





At 22:30 03 March 2005, wrote:
As far as I am concerned, until Steve does a solo flight
in a glider
for a record or for that matter a gold or diamond distance,
I will
still think of him as someone that has a ringer in
the cockpit while he
claims the record. Yes, what he did was great for the
sport of aviation
in regards to the around the world trip but the jury
is still out on
his glider flying.....
As for the Open Class competition pilot, maybe I am
wrong but I can't
ever remember seeing him listed on a regional/national/world
competition results page. Do you consider someone who
tries to break
world records a competition pilot or is it someone
who flies in
contests a competition pilot?
Brian

Stewart Kissel wrote:
Admittedly, I am not impressed by money or
'records'.

Okay, although you qualify as another lame anonymous
poster...I'll bite.

How do you differentiate him from...an Open Class
competition
pilot? Or do you?

Then you don't know Terry very well.......

Stewart Kissel wrote:
Perhaps my analogy was a little obtuse...
....but
I don't hear Terry complaining.

I beg to differ....

Skiing? Cycling? Hunting? Golf? etc, etc...

So why don't you list those sports you consider comparable?

Auto racing? Sailboats?

How many glider pilots participate in sports more expensive
then this one?



At 08:00 09 March 2005, Ted Wagner wrote:
Price out a new competitive glider in any of the major
racing classes....then add several free weeks every
summer to campaign it....not for the average working
stiff.

This is not different from other sport requiring any
degree of hardware or
training expense.

Hey, I can't stand the guy either, and I don't even know him. But I'd
trade places with him in a heartbeat! If I had lots of money, I'd be
playing seriously with my toys, too.