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I
agree with Rob. I was in contact with an owner who decided he didn't need
transition training, amoung other things, when his legacy was finished. I
politely sat down and discussed various scenarios and outcomes with him three
times, but he finished the last conversation by saying he was an old man, this
is what he wanted to do, he was going to do it his way, and if he died in the
process.... that's okay. How can you respond to that?
I
learned that an acquaintance was flying with this owner during test
flights. Again, I had several polite conversations with the passenger
pointing out the dangers of his decisions, and I was assured that everything
would be okay. After they both perished at the end of a dumb and dumber
scenario, I learned that the passenger had three small children at home. I
feel that if I had come unglued and started yelling at this
gentleman, maybe he would still be a father to his children. I should
not have been polite and I should have been more than gently
persuasive.
You
can't fix stupid. You need to care, you need to be curious and you need
training to stay healthy in this hobby. Since we don't have the
homebuilt airplane police, one only needs money to get into these fabulous
airplanes. The large majority of homebuilders I know are concerned and
safety oriented, but it only takes a few ding dongs who insist on rejecting
reality to continually demonstrate
Darwin's theory. You can pick them out of a crowd. I think
the best we can do is to identify them and
try to help limit collatoral damage.
Did
you inquire if he was using a Technical Advisor or other resource? Aand
then go around, by way of the back door, to gain entry that way?
I'm
not saying you didn't do due diligence in this instance, but if we have a
high degree of certainty that a person's life might be on the line; or even
worse, an unsuspecting buyer may later purchase this
accident-waiting-to-happen, then 3 attempts to warn someone of a foreseeable,
very serious problem does not sound like overkill (pun intended).
I've
been stupid, and sometimes I've been stupid 3 times in a row, but I would hope
that anyone that saw I was making such a serious mistake, would not
simply walk away, satisified that they'd 'done their
duty'.
Chuck Jensen
As I grow older, I realize that I can say what needs to be said without
insulting people. And yes, I can be more blunt with my friends.
However, a couple of years ago I was being shown a Legendary Mustang kit at
the local airport, which is surprisingly similar in construction technique
to our Lancairs. Some construction aspects were done very well and
some were not. The bad ones that I remember all involved the wing fuel
tanks. The fuel tank sealer was poorly applied without good coverage
-- there was exposed fiberglass in many places. But worse were the
holes in the ribs that were not closed out with micro. THERE WOULD BE
HONEYCOMB DIRECTLY EXPOSED TO FUEL. I told the builder that he needed
to close out the holes so as not to allow fuel to contact the honeycomb and
gradually soak thru the entire wing skin. His response was appalling
-- he had taken the hole that he cut out and stuck it in a jar of avgas to
see if it would break down over time. It looked okay after six months,
so he was unconcerned.
I told him three times that he needed to close
out the holes that were to be exposed to fuel. I was polite about
it. I told him how I o make sure to get good coverage with the fuel
tank sealer. Did he listen? No. However, I stopped short
of calling him a f**king idiot with a death wish because it would not have
made a bit of difference. If he ever finishes his plane, he WILL be an
accident statistic. Guaranteed.
What would you have me
do? Talk to the brick wall a little longer? Call the "homebuilt
airplane police"? I said what needed to be said, three times, and was
rebuffed every time. No, I walked away and told myself that Darwin
still works, but in this case it will take a little longer.
-
Rob Wolf
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