Ravenwood - 05/12/05 08:15 AM
When I heard about the evacuation of the White House and U.S. Capitol Building yesterday, I knew Neal would be all over it this morning. As a private pilot, he routinely counters the war against general aviation. The security overreaction to a single engine Cessna was laughable. But Neal isn't laughing.
Now the media is going to hit us with all sorts of scare stories about general aviation. This morning CNN had a reporter at the Smoketown, Pennsylvania airport from which the small Cessna departed. The reporter told us in somber terms that "this airport has no control tower" and "the pilots can generally come and go as they please." Oh, the humanity! Pilots being able to come and go as they please! How can that be allowed to happen? We're all gonna die!Neal correctly points out that the danger posed by small private aircraft is virtually nil. Especially compared to the destructive capability of a van load of explosives. Just ask anyone impacted by the Oklahoma City or World Trade Center bombings about that.Today will be a typical day of general media bashing of general aviation. Somewhere in this country in the next few days various media outlets will be recycling their old anti-general aviation stories. We'll see pictures of small airplanes near nuclear power plants and over large cities. To hell with the facts .. this is spectacular stuff!
Or that kid in Florida who tried to use his small plane as a weapon. And merely killed himself by hitting a building.
Posted by: Brian J. at May 12, 2005 8:38 AMThe war on General Aviation has a lot of simularities with the War on Guns. Both are waged by bigots who have a poor understanding of what they are attacking and are immune to reason.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam at May 12, 2005 8:54 AMWhat Sam said. In fact, this breathless astonishment that "pilots can generally come and go as they please" reminds me of the hysteria around the "gun show loophole." You mean ordinary citizens can sell guns to each other without asking permission from The Authorities???? Dear God!
Posted by: Thibodeaux at May 12, 2005 10:31 AMBoortz is usually right on. He's a bigot when it comes to smoking, however. He regularly shows his ass about the issue. Today, for instance.
Posted by: Brett at May 12, 2005 11:26 AMI used to go through Glenns Falls NY in a radio-less Aeronca 7AC on the way to the Adirondacks; not only didn't they have a control tower, but they had commercial flights. If Allegheny was coming in, you generously gave them the right of way, and nobody had any problem. It's not as if you're blinded or something.
As for unaided navigation, it's basically getting lost from point to point. It's mostly figuring out what the map makers are likely to have put on and not put on their map, and holding a steady bearing so you can deduce things from later clues.
If an unidentified airplane is approaching DC at 90 mph, I think except for some bureaucrat covering his ass nobody would pay any attention.
Posted by: Ron Hardin at May 12, 2005 11:56 AMBAN ALL 50 CALIBER ASSAULT CESSNAS!
Posted by: Brass at May 12, 2005 12:16 PMThe other thing the anti-GA and the anti-gun crowd have in common is the constant attempts to shut down pre-existing airports/shooting ranges by building houses nearby and then complaining about noise and safety "issues".
Posted by: Andrew Upson at May 12, 2005 4:31 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
