Author Topic: Not a good way to start your day  (Read 6064 times)

Jamesqf

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Not a good way to start your day
« on: November 01, 2013, 12:41:54 PM »
I don't know if this quite fits in "Shame and Comedy", but it is one way to get rid of quite a bit of money in a hurry.  From this morning's local paper's web site:

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Reno Fire Department Battalion Chief Dick Nachtsheim said it appeared as though the pilot was landing a privately owned MiG-21 fighter jet when the brakes failed, causing him to run off the end of a runway and into the bush.
....
Scanner traffic also indicates the pilot was frustrated to lose the plane.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20131101/NEWS/131101005/Update-Plane-crashes-Stead-Airport-pilot-injured

grmagne

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2013, 03:11:04 PM »
Wow, a privately owned MiG-21? It seems the Russian Air Force showed some mustachian initiative by selling off their fighter jets.

marty998

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2013, 05:17:55 PM »
I am scared of old people driving.

A 71 year old getting behind the controls of a fighter jet? Heaven help us all.

Jamesqf

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2013, 09:12:25 PM »
Wow, a privately owned MiG-21? It seems the Russian Air Force showed some mustachian initiative by selling off their fighter jets.

It's actually relatively common.  If you read the article at the link, there are a number of them (Mig 15, 17, and 21) kept out at the Stead airport, plus a number of other ex-Soviet bloc military planes.

I am scared of old people driving.

A 71 year old getting behind the controls of a fighter jet? Heaven help us all.

Effing ageism.  The pilot of the first private spaceship was in his mid-60s.  The "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot?  57 at the time.  Experience counts for a lot more than age does.

wtjbatman

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2013, 10:38:11 PM »

Effing ageism.  The pilot of the first private spaceship was in his mid-60s.  The "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot?  57 at the time.  Experience counts for a lot more than age does.

57 is not the same as 71. Hey, I don't know the guy, he could be a spry 71. I'm sure he is if he's actually piloting a Mig-21 on his own. But 71 and older is definitely getting to the age where we can at least wonder if his reflexes and senses are still good enough to be flying a fighter jet around.

ender

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2013, 10:44:10 PM »
I don't even want to know what the yearly operation and maintenance costs are.


Zamboni

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2013, 05:49:28 AM »
^Seriously!  And my co-worker used to bemoan that the parts for his Alpha Romero were expensive . . .

wepner

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2013, 07:53:34 AM »
Effing ageism.  The pilot of the first private spaceship was in his mid-60s.  The "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot?  57 at the time.  Experience counts for a lot more than age does.

Where does it say how experienced this pilot was in that article? Isn't it ageism to assume/imply that he is more experienced just because he is older?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2013, 09:09:52 AM »
I don't even want to know what the yearly operation and maintenance costs are.
Bundle and save on your auto insurance costs by opening a homeowner and fighter jet policy with us!

mm1970

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2013, 09:11:07 AM »
Well, your reaction time slows when you are older.  That said, I know 71 year olds who are very fit and very spry.  And others...well let's just say my mother died at 67.

Jamesqf

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #10 on: November 02, 2013, 11:02:26 AM »
Where does it say how experienced this pilot was in that article? Isn't it ageism to assume/imply that he is more experienced just because he is older?

You're correct that it doesn't say how much experience the pilot had.  (But it does take quite a bit to get a rating for that type of airplane.)  But neither does it say anything about the pilot's abilities.  There are people who are perfectly competent to fly airplanes, or drive, at that age (or much older), just as there are others who wouldn't be competent at 18.  (Why does auto insurance cost more for younger drivers, I wonder, if age makes you incompetent?)

The point is that the poster was simply looking at a number, and drawing conclusions about the person that might not be valid.  Just as, in a different context, he might look at skin color and draw similar conclusions.

Miamoo

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2013, 11:21:11 AM »
I am scared of old people driving.

A 71 year old getting behind the controls of a fighter jet? Heaven help us all.

Now don't look at it that way!  This 71 year old guy may be as sharp as a tack!  Adrenaline and common sense probably helped him a wee bit - see an emergency and do whatcha gotta do.  He did good.

I'm afraid of old people driving as well.  I'm an old people (grammatical error intentional) and drive as little as possible for my own sake and as to not scare the crud out of the young'uns.  Being considerate dontcha know?

Jamesqf

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Re: Not a good way to start your day
« Reply #12 on: November 02, 2013, 10:55:31 PM »
Now don't look at it that way!  This 71 year old guy may be as sharp as a tack!  Adrenaline and common sense probably helped him a wee bit - see an emergency and do whatcha gotta do.  He did good.

And if, as the article says, it was a case of the brakes failing, there is not much you can do.  I've flown out of Stead airport quite a bit: in a plane as hot as the MiG-21, I doubt that it would be possible to take off again in the amount of runway you'd have left after you discovered the brakes weren't working.

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I'm afraid of old people driving as well.

Yeah, but I'm scared of young & middle-aged drivers, too :-)