Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

My brother was Marine Corps, single-engine jet pilot in Viet Nam for two years. He flew as a commercial pilot for Continental Air Lines for the next 36 years. When he retired, he wanted nothing to do with flying small planes because of the general lack of training and skill they represented. He still considers himself a bamf.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

"Sully" Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who ditched his plane in the Hudson River was put through an FAA inquiry as to why in ditched in the Hudson as all the experts and computer modelling said he should have returned to the airfield. He successfully defended his decision as the correct one which was ultimately accepted as correct by the experts. Quick reflexes and great vision had nothing to do with it. There are some fields where the wisdom and experience that come with age have real value and aviation is one of them. He was forced to retire the following year because he turned 60, mandatory age for retirement for commercial airline pilots. That age has been extended to 65.

Laramie Loc: Tempe

In the late 70s I rented a car to a guy who checked a natural gas line across northern Arizona. He told me he used to drive back and forth, stay at hotels and got drunk every night. Tired of it, he got his pilot's license and a twin engined, push/pull airplane. At airports guys would tell him to get to bed, before getting drunk, because "he had to fly".

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, that's always a fear. Whole sporting teams have been wiped out in a single crash. And then, of course, we have "The day the music died."

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

An interesting observation. And didn't Sully contribute his successful ditching of a passenger jet in the East River to his gliding skills?

My father and Uncle shared the cost of a Cessna 172 in the mid '60's. I was with my father (and an instructor pilot) on a training flight when the instructor reached over, pushed the throttle down to zero, and told my father, "Now find a place where you could glide down and land." He did this several times (restoring power before we had to land, obviously) as part of his curriculum. Since a small plane lands at about 60 mph, I was never particularly concerned about an "unscheduled landing" as long as there was a field or highway nearby. I do get nervous in a commercial airliner, though.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

I read about that. Unbelievable.

Abo

LOL

Dave H2

Good friend of mine bought it when he splatted in an accelerated stall after a loop too close the ground. A guy with thousands of hours , age about 65, lapse of judgement cost him his ass.
D

Dave H2

I was a carrier aviator for 9 years and bought a Cessna 182 in civilian life. Flew it for 18 years all over the US. Never concerned about other general aviation, just was careful. Am now an "Old" pilot at age 84+.
D

Abo

1. Competence is not proportional to how long someone has been making an error (how long one has been doing something).

2. The last time I looked, a Cessna 172 is the same today as it was 60 years ago... so its
"safety" has not improved, in fact the average age of aircraft in service is
currently older than it ever was... and an older aircraft is generally more likely to fail than a newer one!
Also the training quality of pilots veries grossly from instructor to instructor and from school to school.

3. The glide ratio of a Cessna 172 is about 8 to 1. So if the airport is more than 8 times
the distance of that aircrafts altitude at the time of engine failure, you'l
be "landing" through a houses roof... even if your imaginary
"single button" actually existed. "A pilot for 50 years" you say... Not
for QANTAS that's for dam sure.

Sorry folks for being so negative... but I've stomached too much horse shit to let it ride.

Just for the record... I am not saying it is less safe to travel by commercial airlines now...
than in the past.

Abo

8 hours bottle to throttle?

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

In late 1978, I rented a almost new Cessna 172 from the Flying Club at Calendar Field (NAS) I needed a check ride, so I had a CFI with me. She was also a sailor stationed at the air station. We noted the aircraft had just completed it annual inspection just a few days earlier. We did a full preflight, I got the left seat, and prepared to fly down the Mississippi River to Venice, to the practice area. I cleared the tower, taxied to the run up area, ran up, and cleared for take off. Pushed the throttle up, and started down the runway. All systems, engine, flaps, and controls were normal. Pulled the plane off the runway, cleared the levee, and made my turn South over the River, still climbing out. Still at full power the engine suddenly shuddered, and flame came from the cowling where it meat the airframe. I pulled power as per training, my mind immediately went finding a place to put this torch down. The highway was out of the question, wires and telephone poles. The pastures were full of cattle, and ditches, no help there. I suddenly saw the balls mounted on the wires running along the other side of the River. These red balls mark a runway over the levee. I remembered a original orientation flight, and a duster runway. It was a well kept grass strip used by 2 Ag Cats, dusters. I was able to clear the levee, dropped down, no power, stalled, and sat down softly in the grass. The Cessna was still trailing fuel. One of the owners of the Ag Cat came over with a fire extinguisher. The 172 had a bit of wiring damage from the fire. A hose connection parted and spilled gas on the manifold and ignited.

ppkwhat Loc: Gibsonton, FL

For me this is a type of stunt that should have never been done, hence the "non" approval by the FAA and post stunt investigation by the Federal folks. I am a pilot myself, have flown from gliders to single engines, multi-engines (up to 4 engines DC4's, DC7's, jets (737-300's and 500's) and aerobatic planes, being at one type rated in all of them and I feel that this stunt was stupid and most probably will incite other idiots (in my opinion), to try to do the same without the minimum preparation, what will lead to disastrous consequences. If "Red Bull" people have money to burn in planes to frankly discard them with these stunts, still it doesn't justify the risk and the example of something totally idiotic. Plane were made to fly safely and securely for the enjoyment of private/commercial pilots and Airline pilots to transport people from point A to B safely.
I certainly hope the FAA brings a huge fine to the people responsible to this demonstration of flying stupidity.
- my two cents opinion!!!!

ppkwhat Loc: Gibsonton, FL

That's true: I started flying in Brazil when I was 17 years old (today I'm 79) and my instructors were an ex RAF pilot an ex Italian Airforce pilot - both flew in WWII and they both had me thru "the rings" first when I flew their gliders, I put about 100 hour in them before even started the engine on a Piper Cub, then a Cessna 170, a Cessna 172 and 182 on witch I got my commercial license and then my first multi engine license on a Beech D18 that I flew as my first transport pilot job - had an emergency belly landing on a peanut farm just a few hundred yards of the runway. During the trip the right engine overheated and sized as I was shutting it down about 30 miles from the airport I was heading to and the left engine did the same about 3 miles from the runway. Did a belly landing on a soft field with minimal damage to the airplane besides bending props and scratched belly of the plane and my 3 passengers walked out of the plane scared but without a scratch. Incidentally, the plane stopped less than 10 yards from the centerline of the runway on a plane that I glided from 3 miles out and around 9,000 feet in altitude to a perfect belly landing ending lined up to the centerline on the runway. If any of you UHH people have ever piloted a Beech D18. you know that plane glides like a rock....

Abo

Rubbish! it was never true... for example:

John Robertson Duigan (Australian Military Cross) lived 69 years

Hudson Fysh... 84 years (An Australian WW1 Fighter pilot awarded the DFC and founder of QANTAS)

Bob Hoover... 94 Years

Chuck Yeager... 97 years.

Even Howard Hughes lived to be 71

The list goes on and on.

You goomers would be better off looking at facts instead of spouting horse manure.