The Rohrbaugh Forum

Miscellaneous => The Water Cooler -- General Discussions => Topic started by: JoshA on September 21, 2014, 12:26:04 AM

Title: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 21, 2014, 12:26:04 AM: Just curious if anyone else on this site happens to be a pilot.

It's not too common to find guys into guns and planes, but this isn't the usual group of gun enthusiasts either.

I have grown to appreciate the minds of most of the guys on the site. I hope the site stays around for a long time whether or not the R9 is a production gun in the near future.

But enough of that, anyone fly airplanes out there?
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: 72AV8R on September 21, 2014, 08:10:46 AM: I did for 37 years. Too old for the big stuff anymore. Only a 3rd class medical after heart surgery so no instructing.
Just an occasional Cessna rental to take the grand kids for a ride. I agree with you about this forum, great bunch of folks.
I hope the new company gets their act together and starts production and warranty work on the best CCW made. Bought
a Seecamp .32 for my wife and found their forum another wealth of information. I recognize a few screen names on both
sites.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Richard S on September 21, 2014, 10:34:30 AM: He will be too modest to post it, but our long-time member, "Tracker," is one of the finest carrier pilots the United States Navy ever produced. This was one of the birds, a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (initially dubbed "Heinemann's Hot Rod" after it's chief designer, Ed Heinemann) that he flew in harm's way.

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/A-4Skyhawk2.jpg)

"Tracker's" Navy service was followed by an equally distinguished career as a commercial airline captain.

As for myself, I used to do a little recreational flying "burning up the sky" at speeds sometimes approaching a breathtaking 90 mph (with a favorable tailwind) in a Cessna 150 Aerobat based at Godfrey Field in Leesburg, Virginia.

_____

I should hasten to edit this post by noting that I'm a Hell of a lot better sailor of sloop-rigged sailboats and driver of small English and Italian sports cars than I ever was a pilot of Cessna 150s - but at least I never "bent my bird." 8)
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: 72AV8R on September 21, 2014, 05:48:42 PM: One of my former EAL colleagues showed me a tee shirt that says, "The older I get, the better I used to Fly"!
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 21, 2014, 07:23:57 PM: I have heard that before and that is why I always use my press agent. Seriously, though, I have observed over the years that outstanding pilots never have to extol their virtues and they let their abilities, skill, and experience speak for itself. Additionally, one definition of a superior pilot is, "one who doesn't allow himself to be placed in situations where he must use his superior skills."
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: 72AV8R on September 21, 2014, 08:06:29 PM: Well said.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: backupr9 on September 21, 2014, 08:09:02 PM: Another example of the value of situational awareness.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Craigt on September 21, 2014, 09:20:19 PM: Private, single engine, land. Owned a Cessna 172 Skyhawk for a while. Helping to run a family business and a wife and young family took a lot of time. Have not flown pilot in command for close to 30 years.

As the saying goes...there are old pilots...and bold pilots...but no old bold pilots.

I salute those who have served our country. Those who have flown off carriers I hold in total awe.

Craig T.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 21, 2014, 09:58:55 PM: Thanks for helping to keep the home of the free and the land of the brave safe Tracker. Quite an awesome bird 😑

I'm a 350-400 hr single engine pilot with a complex rating. I haven't flown much for the last 2 years with too much going on, but I finally spent some time getting safe and current again recently.

I am trying to figure out if I want to continue to fly or hang it up.

It seems like it is so expensive to fly and in the end you don't really get to save an incredible amount of time on the 200-300 mile trips I have tended to take over the past 7 years. I don't have the time to get much further than that away with a wife, 5 kids and a business to act like I'm running.

It's also pretty risky business flying only 3-5 or so hours per month (on a good month). I feel like I am constantly knocking the rust off.

For those of you who used to fly and decided to quit for reasons other than age or health, what motivated you and how did you reason through it?

I almost feel like it would be awesome to keep the option open with my oldest going away to college next year, and if I don't use my ticket then it's probably time to move on to another mountain to climb.

I just feel like a part of me would wither if I stopped flying. All work and no play makes josh a dull boy. Also there is a challenge in flying that Keeps you feeling alive and in the mix of some of the coolest technology out there.

In the end it's like I feel like I'm equipped to do some really cool things, but don't seem to have the time to really get out there and do much with it.

Looking forward to some feedback. Thanks fellas.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 21, 2014, 10:52:51 PM: Your 5th sentence answers your question: flying 3-5 hrs a month is not enough to maintain proficiency if you have not flown as a professional pilot and/or completed a very extensive/intensive flight training program. Three landings every 90 days on top of 350-400 hrs TT will not do it; I suggest you find a new mountain to climb. The landscape is littered with single engine hobby pilots who are ill equipped to handle difficult situations.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 21, 2014, 11:02:50 PM: Yeah you are probably right. Just hate to turn and walk away. I guess that beats the other alternatives though.

Anyone know of some other cool mountains to climb around on?
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 21, 2014, 11:45:43 PM: K3 is quite cool and has some spring cancellations available for climbers.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 22, 2014, 08:51:04 AM: What is K3 Tracker? A quick google search was not the way to go on that one.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 22, 2014, 10:26:58 AM: K3 is also known as Broad Peak and is about 5 miles from K2, its taller brother, between China and Pakistan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Peak
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 22, 2014, 10:30:26 AM: I may be looking for a different mountain. LOL.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Richard S on September 22, 2014, 12:23:04 PM: I did some rock climbing before losing the first joint of my right ring finger in a bit of "unpleasantness" back in the 1970's - an incident that I actually "won on points" based on a scale of permanent damage inflicted. Nonetheless, the loss of that piece of finger took an edge off of my ability to hang onto a vertical rock-face. Before that, however, I had El Capitan on my "bucket list":

http://www.supertopo.com/climbingareas/bigwalls.html

And that narrative relates to a question in one of your earlier posts in this thread - why I gave up flying. I did so after finally realizing that I would never be more than an adequate pilot but never a superb pilot. I simply didn't have what I call "the X-factor" when it came to flying skill. In my mind life is too short to expend time and resources on activities in which I cannot excell. I therefore gave up recreational flying and devoted my spare time to such things as sailing, SCUBA diving, sports car rallies, shooting sports, and riding my 17-hand hunter-jumper thoroughbred. (Speaking of the last of those, if you really want something exciting between your legs try riding a 17-hand thoroughbred at full gallop cross country with a four-board fence looming up 100 yards ahead.) 8)

_{[Edited typos.]}
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: bobsmith on September 22, 2014, 01:56:21 PM: Quote from: JoshA on September 22, 2014, 10:30:26 AM
I may be looking for a different mountain. LOL.

Adventure Bikes. I

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1003163

This trip got a little extreme, but there are all levels of rides you can do. There is a trail/road system all the way across the US now.

Read some of the trip reports. It's still real exciting, but most of the injuries are limited to broken appendages not death. You can ride ALL day on $20 worth of gas and see some amazing back country.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 22, 2014, 04:20:07 PM: Now, riding horses and flying airplanes is an interesting comparison. At age 12 in deep East Texas I was riding my grandfather's favorite horse named Buckshot. Buckshot was a quarter horse from the King Ranch and a very proud animal. While riding Buckshot he decided he had enough of me and stopped suddenly, throwing me unceremoniously over his bowed head onto the hard dirt. I hit firmly on both buttocks and that was my final horse ride. That rude exercise would have been roughly equivalent to a bolter in carrier flying. It wasn't until 11 years later that I discovered I had an inclination for flying in Navy flight training. After no bolters in 300 carrier landings Buckshot had done that to me in one ride. Maybe there really is an inverse correlation between airmanship and horsemanship.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: JoshA on September 22, 2014, 10:19:55 PM: I will have to check some of the links later. Thanks Bob and Richard for the ideas.

As for Tracker and his inverse relationship between horsemanship and flying...

Lol. I guess I could try riding a horse and if it goes exceptionally well I should definitely give up flying eh?

Keep the ideas coming please.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Douglas on September 22, 2014, 10:36:01 PM: Quote from: tracker on September 22, 2014, 04:20:07 PM

Now, riding horses and flying airplanes is an interesting comparison. At age 12 in deep East Texas I was riding my grandfather's favorite horse named Buckshot. Buckshot was a quarter horse from the King Ranch and a very proud animal. While riding Buckshot he decided he had enough of me and stopped suddenly, throwing me unceremoniously over his bowed head onto the hard dirt. I hit firmly on both buttocks and that was my final horse ride. That rude exercise would have been roughly equivalent to a bolter in carrier flying. It wasn't until 11 years later that I discovered I had an inclination for flying in Navy flight training. After no bolters in 300 carrier landings Buckshot had done that to me in one ride. Maybe there really is an inverse correlation between airmanship and horsemanship.

You didn't bolter in three hundred traps? Is there some kind of triple-centurion patch?

As a layman, familiar only with the terms and broadly with what is involved, that is staggering to me.

-And I'm not easy to impress. I haven't made my living for the past couple of decades working in a bank. (Not that there's anything wrong with that! ;) )

Is that a record? Is it unusual?

I imagine it as almost inconceivable sir.

Hats off to you, you Scooter-stud you! I spent the past week in Oriskany, NY training, and because I'm a brat the location had me (no shit) thinking of guys like you.

-And here we are. Small world. 8)
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 22, 2014, 10:49:36 PM: They don't keep records of such things but that is the truth, 100 of which were at night. Of course, anything as minor as a hook-skip can cause a bolter, so there is a lot of luck involved. One of the reasons that bolters aren't recorded is that it is a safe maneuver and gives one another chance for an engagement. I watched a pilot make 6 bolters and he was running low on fuel so they bingoed him to the beach. The pressure felt by the pilot squares with each succeeding bolter so steady nerves are very helpful.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Douglas on September 22, 2014, 11:11:51 PM: "Luck" is a major part of history. Ask Kublai, or Teddy Roosevelt, et. al.

-And I know, I have a degree in it.

So you really are a stud. That is f***ing awesome.

There are many reasons I feel privileged to spend time on this site. I have always been treated with respect and courtesy here, and frankly, I deserve and demand it.

-And if you've spent your life as a part-time night watchman in a toilet paper factory in Siberia, I will treat you with the respect that every grown man has earned. Always.

But come on!!!! A Skyhawk guy with steady nerves, AND a lucky bone?!?!

It is my honor to be here.

What years did you fly sir? Maybe you kept my Dad alive in Vietnam, etc.

What a great place this forum is.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 22, 2014, 11:21:38 PM: Good for your Dad and bless him for his service during a most difficult time. I made three 6 month cruises, two to WestPac and one to the Med from 1963-1967 when I decided enough was enough.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: Douglas on September 23, 2014, 12:06:30 AM: Okay then, just a bit ahead of him.

Dad was enlisted in '65.

I will always be indebted. -To you all.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 23, 2014, 10:27:29 AM: Thanks for sharing your proud legacy of your father and his military career, Douglas. I also appreciate your mentioning the Oriskany that, as you know, was named after the town where a Revolutionary War battle was fought in 1777. I didn't know that there is a ship's bell, anchor, and an A-4 on display in the town park.

All of these things serve to remind us of the supreme sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. "If there were no United States Armed Forces there would be no United States of America."

Also, thank you for keeping my daughter and granddaughters safe in NYC. I didn't realize that Oriskany is the training base for New York's finest.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: MaddogR9 on September 26, 2014, 10:42:19 AM: IFR, Multi Eng......

Loved flying....as a private pilot only I just didn't do it enough every week/month... Sold my last plane in earlier 2010. Seneca..... I really enjoyed it..........

My best to all pilots.....Really admire those that served........thank you.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: ricardo on September 26, 2014, 08:32:59 PM: Not sure if my reply here is appropriate as I'm not a pilot but had boocoo hours on a C130. Started as a mechanic ended up crew chiefing one in Nam(68-69). We'd fly in-country every other night with supplies or just fly recon all night long. Prior to Nam stationed at Eglin AFB(66-68) with 48th Air Rescue Recovery. Even refueled 2 HH3E(?memory) in flight non stop from NY to Paris in 1967 to commemorate Lindbergh's flight. Good pilots are getting harder to find. R
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: tracker on September 26, 2014, 09:08:54 PM: Your reply is very appropriate and your service is most appreciated. You have seen the full gamut of pilots from mediocre to highly skilled and in many stressful situations; thank you.
Title: Re: Any other fellow pilots on this site?
Post by: bamboobob on September 26, 2014, 09:49:07 PM: Any one check any Flightaware type stuff on net or smart phone.
A pilot I recently met looked up where overhead jet was going.

A friend is currently disassembling a Grumman trainer in his back yard. (a very small city lot, hiding from city code enforcement using some borrowed bushes to hide part view of it )
No more tight low circling of nuke cooling towers like before 911.
He also has 2 plane kits at home.

VERY COOL ------ https://flightaware.com/live/