I used to listen to the scientists, but then I found out how they went from being used to make political points to making the points through data manipulation to turning the Academy into a conspiratorial guild.
I now listen to everyone through a healthy filter. It’s more important than a cloth mask, IMO.
If you want to really understand what the potential of a viral epidemic can be, go to YouTube and search for “1918 Spanish Flu epidemic” - there are some very revealing videos that describe and show what it was, how it spread and what was done to eventually stem its transmission. International travel (then mostly by ship of course) had much to do with the worldwide spread of the disease, which had a death rate somewhat higher than appears to be the case with Covid-19. Denial of its existence and severity was rife back then as well, and clearly contributed to the overall total number of deaths from that pandemic (about 50 million worldwide). For the most part, we have far better sanitation conditions in most parts of the world today (especially the US) than in 1917-18, so the comparison is only somewhat comparable. But to underplay this pandemic is to slow the recovery from it, not hasten the recovery.
If Communist China is going to connect to the rest of the world through airlines, then my airline use is going to change. This wasn’t the first of these viruses, and they are obviously not changing their ways.
No reservations more than a couple weeks in advance, no long coach flights, going back to the Mooney despite the costs. May upgrade.
Wife’s still in corporate world and her company is going to do less airline use now as a policy. May be more jets entering their fleet as the economy looks stronger again.
I think this will be a hit to GA because of money, but many more businesses may look into piston aircraft use again. Long term, it very well be a plus.
Calling them fruitcakes isn’t winning them over. Not all their evidence is bad. If we want cooperation, acknowledging all the facts and misdeeds is a better start. There are issues with vaccines, but we are better off if we can all know the facts, have transparency, and push for consensus.
The reason for much of the movement’s strength is that it’s made up of Mom’s who were not listened to. Scientists have made lots of mistakes. Acting like a Mom should go along because she is just a mom isn’t a good plan.
When I do flight instruction I tell my students “hope for the best, plan for the worst”. I really hope Oshkosh goes ahead because that would mean my best hope was realized, but that doesn’t mean I am planning on attending
A lot of what I am reading seems to be the epidemiological equivalent of taking off on a cross country flight into a headwind without enough fuel to get to the destination and no mid flight alternates, because the headwind is forecast to turn into a tailwind.
We North American GA pilots can still fly our own airplanes pretty much how we want. I still enjoy flying my airplane but now do not take passengers and take great care to maintain social distancing when on the ramp and dis-infect anything I touch that is public, which is pretty much restricted to the self service fuel stations.
Many European countries have out right banned recreational GA flying, so I am very cognizant of how lucky I am to own an airplane and be financially secure enough to afford to fly it.
Looks like the church issue in Kansas will be decided in court to be heard on Saturday. There is also a report of homeowners that have second homes in the Outer Banks are suing Dare county N.C. for not allowing out of state owners access to their homes. Suit is based on violation of the 10th and 14th amendments. Even New York governor Cuomo criticized an attempt by Rhode Island governor’s order to pull over all cars with New York plates and threatened legal action if Rhode Island actually followed through with that order. As I said before the longer the economy is restricted and stay at home orders remain the harder it will be to enforce and to just get people to go along.
I have been asked to help out getting another drop zone’s pilots familiarized to flying a Kodak this year. Knowing how much most skydivers think of government regulation I’m surprised somewhere some drop zone has not tried to put loads out in defiance of any state order.
Should have said Kodiak, not Kodak
“I don’t want to sport around Oshkosh with a mask and gloves, but if that’s what it takes”
I’ve had it. It’s stupid for me and millions other like me to be forced to wear masks.
Sorry but lunacy is the new normal.
Massachusetts’ governer just ordered all grocery stores to limit the count of persons in the building - including employees - to not exceed 40% of the rated occupancy limit of their building.
That order likely will be extended to ALL retail establishments, including restaurants, when things “improve” enough to re-open them.
I don’t know of any restaurants that can stay in business under those conditions. And supermarkets and big-box retailers?
Expect long lines EVERYWHERE where you have no choice but to shop. And no lines at all at thousands of permanently closed restaurants and shops.
Welkome to the Soviet Union v2.0.
We cannot allow the cure to be worse than the disease.
Eric,
Having gone through the Academy myself, I think there is truth in what you say. Just ask any graduate student whose research results have contradicted the desires of his/her faculty advisor. I do take issue with your claim of a “conspiratorial guild” though. In my experience the worst practitioners of this misconduct are too willful and self absorbed to mount any kind of organized conspiracy - political or otherwise. Your recommendation of “a healthy filter” should be taken by everyone. So, in the service of complete honesty, I have to say at least half of the scientists practicing today are competent and ethical despite occasional pressure to be otherwise. And that number is much higher among those who choose a career in public service.
Ohio has done that also. I had to go to a different store yesterday when the one I wanted to go in had a line outside. Makes a lot of sense to have a line of people waiting outside any establishment waiting for service with these stupid “stay at home” orders. Now we have to cure the cure!
Self Centeredness. The other national pandemic.
Maybe the millions of us who have already had the disease can attend OSH?
I’m in your camp Eric.
There has been an unforeseen side effect of people wearing gloves and masks in public. What to do with the used ones. An article on local news has pointed out that used masks and gloves have been showing up on the ground around parking lots just tossed instead of properly disposed of. Imagine the viral spread from improperly tossed used gloves and masks, especially at a large event. Kind of defeats the alleged purpose of wearing them in public in the first place.
Oh sure, conspiratorial guild isn’t right. I am no writer. It does seem a guild though. One with secret handshakes and shared beliefs.
My friend was run out of a graduate program because he mistakenly thought he could choose a dissertation subject in line with his advisor’s school of thought. It was rejected, and he was tossed out with that being the only reason. They were trying to get rid of his advisor, and then used his “failure” as evidence his advisor wasn’t up to par.
Part of the problem with computing the death rate is not all Covid-19 deaths are reported as such. In NYC, only those people diagnosed with Covid-19 prior to dying (which are primarily hospital patients) are counted as a Covid-19 death. If someone dies at home with all the symptoms of Covid-19 but hasn’t been tested, they are listed as “probable” but not listed in the official tally. (UPDATE: NYC has just said they’ll add those numbers, but not given details on how or when).
Currently, the number of people dying at home is 5-10 times higher than normal, which could add 10-20% more to the numbers of reported Covid-19 deaths.
Matt, you are correct. Improperly tossing used masks and gloves is socially irresponsible behavior. Much like not wearing a mask while in public or not keeping social distancing.
We continue to fight for our ‘God Given Right to travel freely’ in OUR OWN Aircraft or we succumb to more regulations. Folks who post on these boards have suggestion more regulation is good for a safer aviation community. Others have posted that regulations hinder advancements made when people experiment and take life threatening chances.
On November 4th, we will wake up to a miraculous discovery that ‘over 99 percent of the people who contracted COVID19 recover’ or ‘The Death Toll is Mounting’. The talking-head TV will be singing and dancing ‘utopia has returned’ or four more years of ‘conspiracy, incompetence and impeachment’.
The 1st and 4th amendment guaranty that the government has NO business with our association and that we are secure in all our effects. If anyone tries to stop you from flying; tell then that “it’s NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” and carry on.