“I doubt if they promote aviation in any measurable way if they succeed, but they profoundly tarnish it if they don’t.” – PB.
Precisely. There’s your problem! Every one of us is an ‘ambassador’ for GA – good OR bad --every time we fly. When everything goes right … no one notices, it makes no difference and no one is harmed. When it goes bad, it becomes a feature on the nightly news giving GA still another black eye. And if you’re somehow rich, famous, young, old or otherwise out of the ‘ordinary,’ so much for the worse it is for ALL of us (that’s why PB mentioned JFK) and the bad PR lasts for days, or more. Witness Kobe Bryant’s demise just trying to get around LA traffic. Ultimately, the problem then becomes that The Regulators – you know, the people who are here to help us – then decide it’s their duty to protect society from those pesky bug smashers … thereby harming the larger population of pilots with still more Regulations. We DON’T need no mo’ stinkin’ help! Frankly, I’ve had just about enough of their help. At some point, WE have to take on responsibility.
Let’s draw a parallel example with the fight between FAA and those folks down in Kissimmee flying warbirds. It resulted in harm to ALL of us in the form of the LODA thing. Everything was working just fine until … And now the Administrator has the gall to tell us HE can’t use his executive power to fix what they broke faster than four years. Meanwhile – potentially – safety IS compromised for many of us in the process of them punishing ALL of us for standing up to them.
For me, I think about the risk of just losing my airplane – fuhgetabout me – each and every time I depart the surly bonds of earth. I often reject the inclination – usually for winds – because she’s been my companion for 36 years now. At this point, all of my aviating is recreational thereby discretionary. Having already achieved Master Pilot and Mechanic status, my last aviation goal is to become a flying octenagarian. At that point, I might just decide to fly around the world (sic) in a balloon lawn chair disguised as a black triangular UFO with blinking lights. I guess what I’m really saying is that I want to become an “old” pilot and not smash myself being a “bold” pilot. Age, experience, wisdom and a modicum of good luck does that … don’t ya know. Being careful is job #1 for all of us.
If this young gal pulls it off … great. It won’t do squat for STEM but it will give her bragging rights. If – alternately – she becomes a splat on a mountain somewhere … we’re all screwed. Having liberty also means taking on the attendant responsibility to pay attention to subsequent implications . Let’s cut the crap here … she’s doing this for notoriety, not STEM. In the process, she’s displaying her immaturity. Some adult somewhere is financing her attempt, too.
Ya’ll be careful what you ask for … you might just get it.