I seem to equate their abilities to mine own and that makes me sh....tttt!!! scared! At this moment there could be an arrie up for sale......
Attitude When........
Attitude When........
Like to hear you guys out there. When you loose a friend in a flying accident then little later down the line one or two more mates mess themselseves up a bit, but come out clean....damage to their plane. How does that put a curve on your own ability, your thought as you are also mixed up in their emotions. I love flying but the name is Skid he he he! I think I fly well ...but those mates also flew / fly well.....see where i'm going?
I seem to equate their abilities to mine own and that makes me sh....tttt!!! scared! At this moment there could be an arrie up for sale......
I seem to equate their abilities to mine own and that makes me sh....tttt!!! scared! At this moment there could be an arrie up for sale......
Demon ...Gochta! But it still feels c..p. I would not like to loose my mates in the flying game. I've run a number of Comrades, Ironman etc..I know what buddies are. I love the friendships I have developed doing this and its part of the passion to keep doing it. Do you think we crazy? I just got the knack of 3 axis flying and its like a duck taking to water. Flew trikes for 100hrs plus and never really felt like I was comfortable. I do feel comfortable now ....but when your mates oooops in 3 axis it makes me ponder a bit....????
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gertcoetzee
- Frequent Flyer
- Posts: 1303
- Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 1:01 pm
- Location: Cape Town
- Contact:
If I may, I'd like to share my philosophy with you
* 15:100000 flying hours is your chance of dying when flying a microlight [UK data]
* 0.4:100000 living hours is your chance of dying a violent death living in South Africa [this I get by extrapolating data published in the South African Medical Journal, 2007]
So, in the world according to [size=0]Garp[/size] Gert, I am 34 time more likely to die while flying, which I enjoy, than just breathing, which I have no choice in doing and which is not always as enjoyable as flying.
Secondly, if I die "prematurely" I should be just as pissed off as I am for being born "too late".
Of course fatalities are extremely sad, and we should learn from every incident, which is why this forum is so important.
Safe flying!
* 15:100000 flying hours is your chance of dying when flying a microlight [UK data]
* 0.4:100000 living hours is your chance of dying a violent death living in South Africa [this I get by extrapolating data published in the South African Medical Journal, 2007]
So, in the world according to [size=0]Garp[/size] Gert, I am 34 time more likely to die while flying, which I enjoy, than just breathing, which I have no choice in doing and which is not always as enjoyable as flying.
Secondly, if I die "prematurely" I should be just as pissed off as I am for being born "too late".
Of course fatalities are extremely sad, and we should learn from every incident, which is why this forum is so important.
Safe flying!
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RV4ker (RIP)
- The Big Four K
- Posts: 5386
- Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: The Coves & FAVB
If you fly for fun, let it be that FLY FOR FUN. When it not fun stop flyin.
I have lost a couple mates to flying incidents (almost a stat myself). I hate it when people say they died doing what they loved. K@K. Dying is not doing what you love... None of us set out to kill ourselves (I think). We try to manage the risks as best we can and enjoy what we do. No risk no reward. That reward may be financial (time in my case) or otherwise. If you are "scared" of what could go wrong decrease the risks (Add BRS, get more training, upgrade to bigger (in theory safer) plane, increase personal minimums, outsource maintenance etc...) To stop flying because someone else (who may or may not have managed the risks like you would have) seems silly in my opinion. Possibly simmilar to not masturbating 'cause of AIDS.
(Not having a go just my 2c...)
Bottom line - Choice to fly is simple. Know what the risks are and then decide if they acceptable. Personally since I have had kids, I no longer do what some classify as "adrenaline" or high risk activities (Skydive, bungi jump, Aerobatics, formation flying, driving at Easter or long distances at night etc). Although the risks are manageable they just too high for me personally given my young family.... Once kids are out the house and self sufficient I will possibly rethink (assuming I am still in 1 piece)... I do not categorise flying (for fun or otherwise) as one of these activities. (I fly as means of transport and when compared to alternatives I am of the opinion that the odds are higher of collecting a taxi or a pissed driver on the road (ie. things beyond your control regardless of equipment or skill level) than dying in my aerie. Avg's favour driving. (ie driving far safer than flying), but I did far more km's than "avg" driver. B4 I flew I was doing maybe 3-4x what the Avg (in statistical terms) driver would do. Fun flying is just that.
I have lost a couple mates to flying incidents (almost a stat myself). I hate it when people say they died doing what they loved. K@K. Dying is not doing what you love... None of us set out to kill ourselves (I think). We try to manage the risks as best we can and enjoy what we do. No risk no reward. That reward may be financial (time in my case) or otherwise. If you are "scared" of what could go wrong decrease the risks (Add BRS, get more training, upgrade to bigger (in theory safer) plane, increase personal minimums, outsource maintenance etc...) To stop flying because someone else (who may or may not have managed the risks like you would have) seems silly in my opinion. Possibly simmilar to not masturbating 'cause of AIDS.
(Not having a go just my 2c...)Bottom line - Choice to fly is simple. Know what the risks are and then decide if they acceptable. Personally since I have had kids, I no longer do what some classify as "adrenaline" or high risk activities (Skydive, bungi jump, Aerobatics, formation flying, driving at Easter or long distances at night etc). Although the risks are manageable they just too high for me personally given my young family.... Once kids are out the house and self sufficient I will possibly rethink (assuming I am still in 1 piece)... I do not categorise flying (for fun or otherwise) as one of these activities. (I fly as means of transport and when compared to alternatives I am of the opinion that the odds are higher of collecting a taxi or a pissed driver on the road (ie. things beyond your control regardless of equipment or skill level) than dying in my aerie. Avg's favour driving. (ie driving far safer than flying), but I did far more km's than "avg" driver. B4 I flew I was doing maybe 3-4x what the Avg (in statistical terms) driver would do. Fun flying is just that.
4 Sale (will trade)
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
Skidmark, I really appreciate your post and you are not alone in your feelings.
I got to know Junkie when I purchased my gyro and we shared a hangar together. He was always willing to offer advice and tips with me whilst I was busy with my training and when, less than a week after my first solo, Junkie was killed it really, really shook me up. Perhaps I had been filled with romantic notions of flying borne of childhood Biggles books, but the reality of never again seeing him at the hangar hit hard. Since then I've tried to gain as much flying experience as I can over the last 12 months (just over 150 hours) and as pragmatic as I try to be about accident stats etc, that edge of apprehension is often still there whenever I prepare for a flight, and seeing the space where his trike stood reminds me of my own vulnerability. And yet I remain filled with an absolute passion and addiction to flying. Is this normal? Sometimes I wonder if I'm being utterly selfish to my wife and family by loving and wanting to fly? I did resign from having been a voluntary Reservist Police diver for 16 years because I thought that I might be "stacking up" the risks a bit by doing both flying and tech rescue diving. Was I kidding myself? I don't know... I made the decision and rationalise the flying risk worry as being the added self-motivation to make sure that I fly as safely as I know how. I guess there's not much more one can do... It's that or croaking on one's deathbed succumbing to some undignified old age disease, bitterly regretting not doing all the things one wanted to....
I got to know Junkie when I purchased my gyro and we shared a hangar together. He was always willing to offer advice and tips with me whilst I was busy with my training and when, less than a week after my first solo, Junkie was killed it really, really shook me up. Perhaps I had been filled with romantic notions of flying borne of childhood Biggles books, but the reality of never again seeing him at the hangar hit hard. Since then I've tried to gain as much flying experience as I can over the last 12 months (just over 150 hours) and as pragmatic as I try to be about accident stats etc, that edge of apprehension is often still there whenever I prepare for a flight, and seeing the space where his trike stood reminds me of my own vulnerability. And yet I remain filled with an absolute passion and addiction to flying. Is this normal? Sometimes I wonder if I'm being utterly selfish to my wife and family by loving and wanting to fly? I did resign from having been a voluntary Reservist Police diver for 16 years because I thought that I might be "stacking up" the risks a bit by doing both flying and tech rescue diving. Was I kidding myself? I don't know... I made the decision and rationalise the flying risk worry as being the added self-motivation to make sure that I fly as safely as I know how. I guess there's not much more one can do... It's that or croaking on one's deathbed succumbing to some undignified old age disease, bitterly regretting not doing all the things one wanted to....
Hi Guys,
I just wanted to throw in my feelings on this topic too, and allow me to give an example...
I lost a very good mate and colleague early last year. We were planning on buying a blik aerie together, test flew it on the Thursday, and on the Friday evening he drove into the back of a still-standing truck on the N1. Him and his wife heard 1 week earlier that they were pregnant. The guy had a passion for flying, yet died on the road.
Skidmark, I hear what you say about having so many friends and loved ones. Some of us are lucky to have a group of friends the size of a small town. Many people always brag about how many people they had at their wedding, or how many people they had at their 30th, 40th or 50th birthday. To me it's about how many people will be at my funeral one day! I'm making it my own mission to make sure that there are hundreds of people at my funeral! And that's what makes our flying community so strong, together with this forum.
Just a few thoughts......
I just wanted to throw in my feelings on this topic too, and allow me to give an example...
I lost a very good mate and colleague early last year. We were planning on buying a blik aerie together, test flew it on the Thursday, and on the Friday evening he drove into the back of a still-standing truck on the N1. Him and his wife heard 1 week earlier that they were pregnant. The guy had a passion for flying, yet died on the road.
Skidmark, I hear what you say about having so many friends and loved ones. Some of us are lucky to have a group of friends the size of a small town. Many people always brag about how many people they had at their wedding, or how many people they had at their 30th, 40th or 50th birthday. To me it's about how many people will be at my funeral one day! I'm making it my own mission to make sure that there are hundreds of people at my funeral! And that's what makes our flying community so strong, together with this forum.
Just a few thoughts......
ZU-DFT Aquilla 582
Skidmark , I have been through this a number of times in my life motorcycling , skydiving , flying both trikes and ppl bliks. I went through a period of doubting my own ability. I beleive the only way to get your confidence in yourself back is get a good instructor to spend an hour or two with you and practise all emergency procedures until it becomes second nature again . I also practise simulated engine failures on a regular basis and you cannot beleive what it does for your confidence when you know that when you need to you can put it down right 1o out of 10 times . I have just started my gyrocopter licence and will have to make sure I understand and can confidently carry out an emergency proceedure before putting wife, kids ,friends in the gyro.
I am sure that the mates that I have lost would want me to continue doing the things that we really love.
Get in your machine and fly and enjoy. Just my ten cents worth.
Blaine C
I am sure that the mates that I have lost would want me to continue doing the things that we really love.
Get in your machine and fly and enjoy. Just my ten cents worth.
Blaine C
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Dish
- Toooooo Thousand
- Posts: 2261
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 10:02 pm
- Location: Johannesburg / North Riding / Panorama
.
Its never pleasant to lose anyone in our close fraternity whether one knows them well or not. I echo all the sentiments of the previous posts. From my perspective I feel that I know many of the lads here well.... even though I havent met them personally. Those that I have have become friends and are good lads and solid, safe pilots.
My softness has also questioned on many occasions how anyone would know to contact her in case of an emergency. So my tuppence worth is that I do always fly with a cell phone and under the contacts section is ICE (in case of emergency) - Nici, or ICE Dad etc... which apparently paramedics or emergency crew generally look for. Is there a medical / emerency person that can confirm this??
Demons Idea of a non-erasable contacts board is a great one and i agree that a whiteboard with your flight plan is a brilliant idea. I will certainly be putting one up in my hangar.
Lastly, we do what we do because we have an absolute passion for it. We do the best pre flights that we know how, we are apprehensive of dodgy weather and we do our very very best to stay clear of trouble, as i would imagine, we do in our every day lives. I would say that we all avoid unnecessary risks and situations in all walks of life... ?
I have had two scares in my training, and I still have a long way to go. Simply put, if you feel a bit apprehensive, dont fly, or stay around and close to the patch. never put your self in a position where your feeling uncomfortable. Someone said it earlier, rather be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. But Fly because you love it because its your passion and because it takes a week to remove the smile after every flight.. Things will happen as they may....
be safe lads...
My softness has also questioned on many occasions how anyone would know to contact her in case of an emergency. So my tuppence worth is that I do always fly with a cell phone and under the contacts section is ICE (in case of emergency) - Nici, or ICE Dad etc... which apparently paramedics or emergency crew generally look for. Is there a medical / emerency person that can confirm this??
Demons Idea of a non-erasable contacts board is a great one and i agree that a whiteboard with your flight plan is a brilliant idea. I will certainly be putting one up in my hangar.
Lastly, we do what we do because we have an absolute passion for it. We do the best pre flights that we know how, we are apprehensive of dodgy weather and we do our very very best to stay clear of trouble, as i would imagine, we do in our every day lives. I would say that we all avoid unnecessary risks and situations in all walks of life... ?
I have had two scares in my training, and I still have a long way to go. Simply put, if you feel a bit apprehensive, dont fly, or stay around and close to the patch. never put your self in a position where your feeling uncomfortable. Someone said it earlier, rather be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. But Fly because you love it because its your passion and because it takes a week to remove the smile after every flight.. Things will happen as they may....
be safe lads...
RV9
DISH
DISH
-
Low Level
- Frequent Flyer
- Posts: 1204
- Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:18 pm
- Location: Pretoria - Rhino park
My thoughts on this:
Accidents definitely influence the way we think, but everything in life we do, we measure risk and reward.
Even driving to the cafe for milk. If it is raining and dark and your wipers on your car don't work, you most propably stay the night without milk.
I'm passionate about bikes, superbikes more specific. I've met the tarmac on more than one occassion, and also lost two guys I knew well in m/cycle accidents. Everytime the question and the statement were popped to me. Motorcycling is dangerous, taxis, woman drivers etc. Will you get back on a bike again ? My answer - the reward still outweigh the risk by far, and as RV4ker says, I will manage my side of the risk e.g. doing 200 km/h in Church street is stupidity.
Some things you do are definitely a greater risk, but the reward will also be better. As soon as the balance tips, you must stop. That is usually where your heart is not into it any more, and there you will cock up, because of a crooked mindset.
Remember one thing - everyone dies, but not everyone lives.
P.S. Welcome blainec - where and with whom do you train? Introduce yourself on the gyro page.
Accidents definitely influence the way we think, but everything in life we do, we measure risk and reward.
Even driving to the cafe for milk. If it is raining and dark and your wipers on your car don't work, you most propably stay the night without milk.
I'm passionate about bikes, superbikes more specific. I've met the tarmac on more than one occassion, and also lost two guys I knew well in m/cycle accidents. Everytime the question and the statement were popped to me. Motorcycling is dangerous, taxis, woman drivers
etc. Will you get back on a bike again ? My answer - the reward still outweigh the risk by far, and as RV4ker says, I will manage my side of the risk e.g. doing 200 km/h in Church street is stupidity.Some things you do are definitely a greater risk, but the reward will also be better. As soon as the balance tips, you must stop. That is usually where your heart is not into it any more, and there you will cock up, because of a crooked mindset.
Remember one thing - everyone dies, but not everyone lives.
P.S. Welcome blainec - where and with whom do you train? Introduce yourself on the gyro page.
Happiness is: Wanting what you have.
ZU-CFW
My soul called, and it wants it's life back. Only one thing to do. Let's fly.
ZU-CFW
My soul called, and it wants it's life back. Only one thing to do. Let's fly.
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