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Good morning John:
I couldn't have said it better! Thank you for putting things in
perspective. A very well written piece that I hope everyone reads
carefully and understands!
Maynard Smith, N99843, Tahoe City, CA.
------------------------------------------------
John wrote:
"I have watched this discussion with interest (age vs. medicals, etc.)
and have refrained from joining
in. However, I must write.
About 24 years ago, my Economics professor at Boise State University
wrote a small book called,
"To Slay a Giant". His name is Dr. Barry Asmus. He was a pretty
conservative guy for a college
prof., and his pet peeve at that time was OSHA. I had a copy of the
book, and I don't remember
much about it, except for one line that I memorized, being a student
pilot at the time.
"Our hats go off to OSHA
For Saving Life and Limb,
Those Loony Wrights at Kitty Hawk
Will Never Fly Again!"
My question: Do we REALLY want absolute safety-- in the air, on the
roads-- at any cost? Or do
we in this country value one thing above all-- FREEDOM? We can
disagree in our debate about
the lengths our government goes to protect us from ourselves and from
each other. Would anyone
say that we have MORE freedom now than we had 20 years ago? 40 years
ago? Are we safer?
Yes, we are. Most accident stats are down, and I suppose that is good.
But at some point, we
cross a line that defines us as AMERICANS, not over-regulated beings
that populate other
countries on this globe.
I am still naive enough to believe that most Americans, at least those
of us who were brought up
prior to the current generation, have got a little collective common
sense. For the most part, we
don't need laws with COMPULSIVE or MANDATORY written into them, unless
it deals with
folks who steal five year old kids from their front yards, rape and kill
them.
I personally know of an Ercoupe driver from Buhl, Idaho who sold his
Alon when he was in his early
90's... not because he could no longer fly or pass his medicals, he just
decided it was time. (You
can still find him at most local fly-ins, riding right seat with another
old timer).
I know of another pilot from Buhl who plans to sell his C-182 later this
year upon the celebration of
his 80th birthday. He always said he would like to fly until he is 80.
My Dad turned 78 in June, and
still flies (although not often, and he no longer strays far from the
uncontrolled Buhl airport).
I am so appreciative to have grown up the son of one of these WWII
vintage fathers. They taught
us about working hard, respecting your elders, respecting your country,
and they taught us the love
of flying. Watching them grow old, and seeing more and more of them
pass on to the big grass strip
in the sky has been hard for me.
As we discuss limiting their flying by mandatory measures, let's keep in
mind that, for those who
choose to NOT hang up their wings when the time is right, there are
measures already in place that
will effectively keep them from flying (the dreaded medical). For those
that can pass, and can safely
fly, my hat goes off to you, and may you fly as long as you are healthy
and well enough to do so. If
you have the big one and crash on my house and kill me, well, then it
was my time to go, too. I
hope to see many pilots a lot older than me, flying old planes for many
more years to come.
Unfortunately, the years go by all too fast now. For every older pilot
or enthusiast who comes up to
you at your Ercoupe at the airport, and says, "I took my first ride in
an Ercoupe in '53..." there is
some young corporate buck who comes up and wants to know what that
airplane IS.
I only hope that my son, who is 9, will be able to live in a USA with
the freedoms that we have
NOW-- there is NO hope that he will enjoy the kind of upbringing I had,
or my parents had.
Those days are gone. I fear we will litigate and legislate ourselves
into a corner where no one will
fear venture outside of. We will give up our airplanes, our guns, our
freedoms... without firing a
shot.
Just my two cents. May you all have a pleasant Sunday evening.
John Barsness
N3201H
Boise, ID"
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