Brian wrote:

George may not be the best person to write these columns, I would guess
that he would probably agree. But so far no one else has stepped up to
the plate to take his place. While it takes only a few minutes to
critisize his work, I am sure he spends a great deal of time and effort
writing these columns. Time and effort that no one else seem willing to
put into it.

Critisizim is good I am sure done properly he appreciates it and his
columns will improve because of it. Critisizim done poorly may only
cause him to bag it and let someone more or less qualified write it.

Brian, Thanks to you and Eric G for the responses.Its kind of funny
that both you and Eric G defend Thelen, and you both admit he is
unqualified to do what he is doing.I just read the November column, and
everything after "What I really think" is pure BS.Thelen is writting
stuff about jets and ATC that he clearly has no understanding of.I now
understand exactly what the original post was refering to.
Let me try to make my critisizim more clear; Think about the main
reason pilots read about other pilots accidents.Obviously it is to
learn from them and try to keep it from happening again.In order to do
this, you need somewhat accurate facts and a logical conclusion drawn
from those facts.This is where George Thelen drops the ball.His columns
(Like the current one) are sadly so lacking that it doesnt do anything
for anyones ability to avoid a similar accident in the future.The SSA
is really missing a HUGE oportunity to enhance the safety of soaring by
not having an accurate and relevant safety column.

Brian
K Urban