Rob, your post reminded me of the ability to be more tactful
(and my further need to work on it). The financial cost to the remaining
family members and the flying community must then be a necessary cost of our
beloved activity. As a Tech Counselor, it is obvious how often and
solidly entrenched the right of Experimenter are.
After a near fatality to one friend in a group of many, one of
them piped up with a quote that I occasionally use. "The Tree of
Life is Self Pruning". How unfortunate that phrase remains in our
jargon. We need to instill a passion for improvement, a tolerance of
another's objective observation and a willingness to take more of the financial
responsibility off of all the survivors who pay future premiums beyond our
passing.
John Cox - regularly speaking to the choir and those standing at
the brick wall without a clue as to our post
From: Lancair Mailing List
[mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of rwolf99@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 5:14 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Diplomacy and Tact
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