Imagine you had done something, passionately, for the last several years of your life. Every wake minute was invested into your project, always with the best intentions at the forefront of your brain. When it comes to your project, you are the undisputed guru, the king, chief chef, chief everything officer, the big Zampano. Even though you are no longer alone, you still hold the key to a special room with all the buttons in it. You have buttons to make people who play with what you have created appear, disappear, you can make them happy or angry, proud or ashamed. You also have an ultimate kill switch button, for emergencies or when your project is being attacked by shady characters.

If you are anything like me, you have struggled hard and worked even harder to be the best you can be at anything you do. Striving for excellence, reliability, honesty and a respectful environment is your number one priority. Integrity rules. This behavior pattern may manifest itself in your relationships with people, in your professional life, in your writing or anything else for that matter. Youngsters and teenagers may refer to you as “odd” or weird”, oldies and people who’ve been around the bush often, can see you as hard-nosed and tough, politically incorrect or view you as an eccentric.

At times, making your own tracks in the snow (something my parents and grandparents instilled in me) is a downright hassle. I quote my dad when I say: “Go where there is no path and leave a trail” and I quote my mom when I say: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life“. Then, I quote my grandfather, when I say: “You can lie to a million people and get away with it – but the one you cannot lie to is yourself“. All of these quotes are correct and can be applied to everyday life, in almost every aspect of it. But, each activity requires us to determine our goals.

Set a goal – Make a plan – Get to work – Stick to your guns – Reach your goal…

“Done. What’s next?” A perfectly viable question to ask, when you have completed something you had set your mind to. It could be weight-loss, breaking up with someone, saving money for a new car, or – as in my case, creating something from nothing, step by step, by the birth of http://www.seaplaneforum.com. It’s done! It’s there! People use it! People like it! People hate it! Whatever!

Sure, sometimes we have to adjust goals and grow them, but eventually, there comes a point when you have done everything humanly possible to make it all reality. The rest requires you to manage and observe, but you are no longer the “creator”. Whatever you have done suddenly starts progressing on its own terms, with its own conditions. Your “baby” may be a book you wanted to write and publish, a life advice blog, a new career, or, as in my case – the creation and growing of an international platform for seaplane pilots, who have been kept from open online interaction for decades. Your “baby” resembles you, for a long time it has defined you, but eventually it starts walking on its own. When do you let go of your brainchild? When do you let it roam free, in whichever direction it wants to go? How do you know of your book will sell? Fact is: You don’t. Your book needs to sell itself. Your live- advise blog must remain interesting enough for many people feeling the desire to read it. Your career will need constant work and dedication to remain alive, but it very much progresses on its own terms, entirely ignorant to your wants and needs.

The last four years of my life were dedicated to seaplane pilot communication. I was often struck by the incredible ignorance and corruption of aviation associations and their political kindergarten games. Yet, my baby survived the badmouthing, stonewalling and ignorance and seemingly grew into a well-balanced young discussion board with lots of good people in it. It’s these people who make it what it is…

So… the question of the day is: When do you quit and walk away to focus on something else?

Have you ever dealt with a donkey? If you think you know stubborn, rethink. Almost nothing in the world beats the profound stubbornness of a good donkey. If they don’t want to move, we won’t move them. Sure, we can use whips and electrical instruments to get them to move, but in reality, that’s cheating and unfair. No living thing likes change and no living thing wants to “be changed”. Donkeys are who they are; and in order to function with and around them, we need to find ways of making whichever change we wish to implement – more attractive to them. This requires us to sometimes think like a donkey!

Oh Holy Donkey, you may think! Where the hell is he going with this?

Most of us normal people don’t spend all of our wake time around donkeys and consequently, experience levels with these animals are variable. But, in some cases we run into characters who resemble the behavior of donkeys. Be it in their ignorance to common sense, their constant desire to be the biggest drama queen on earth, their “pay attention to me” – syndromes or their artful skill in driving others up the wall.  Psychological and emotional distress syndromes are obviously on the rise and one of the most explosive industries in the U.S. will surely be in Psychology and Counseling. People have got huge issues! A anxiety victim of societal dictatorship is lurking behind almost every phone booth.

If these issues were confined to an older generation of people (you know… we’ve been around the bush a few times and simply popped a major fuse) sitting on the counselors couch, I’d understand. But somehow, something strange has happened. More and more young people are developing mental health issues, struggle with life and the sense of it all, failing to find their place in society, unable to perform the simplest of tasks efficiently. The result: Self abuse, reverse psychology behavior patterns, suicidal tendencies, drama, eating disorders, satanism or sudden and sick twisted dependency on religion – all, incidentally indicative of another homo sapient headed for the cliffs.  We understand that the frontal cortex may not fully develop until the age of 25, yet, looking at the development of judgment skills and adherence to basic/ proper social behavior traits leaves people like me wondering if that system has been messed with. What on this planet is converting our youth into such nonfunctional beings? Could it be electronics? Could it be the overuse of medication, vaccinations or other chemicals? Are they raised by their parents to think that they are the center of the universe and must spend life in obnoxious, entirely self-absorbed disregard for anything and others?

Impressionable in nature, these little robots resemble the behavior of drones. They are flying blind, primarily subject to outside control mechanisms, which could be facebook friends, real life friends, overbearing adults, news, or any mixture of such things. Many youngsters show very prevalently that they have not developed properly on a socio-emotional level. Hey! There’s Donkey again! Instead of being able to influence them, some of us adults learn the meaning of the word “Whatever!” as a means to end the discussion. Instead of being able to help them, we find ourselves sucked in by the immense drama and distress these youngsters seem to attract like magnets. When we offer help and guidance, it is willingly accepted, but no change in behavior can be observed. Its like people come out of the sewer they’re in for a few seconds, until they get sucked back in. Meanwhile, there are very many visible signs of overconfidence mixed with severe anxiety attacks. Is this a new form of bi-polarity?

As we know, learning is a change in behavior based on experience. But, anxiety interferes tremendously with the learning experience in any and all settings and in all age groups. Doesn’t anxiety hinder proper categorization systems in the brain? Don’t we go on “shut down mode” when our system recognizes anxiety? Then how do we explain our societies acceptance and welcoming of anxiety as a necessity in life?   We started treating ADD, ADHD and other anxiety disorders with chemicals quite a while ago.  The DSM-IV shows no less than 12 anxiety disorders prevalent today.

What happened to the scientific approach and the theorem that correlation does not imply causation and the rule of cause and effect? How can we treat symptoms (and only the symptoms) chemically (with rules largely determined by a Pharma industry owned and driven FDA) and expect to have any significant impact on their healthy and independent development? Shouldn’t we teach them to be self managing individuals, instead of treating symptoms by pumping them full of medication and putting them on the couch for ever so ineffective and long lasting counseling? Excuse my tin-foil hat, but aren’t we keeping them deliberately stuck, to keep making money off of their dilemma? Does “No child left behind” mean we have to think for them, too?

“HOLD ON A MINUTE!” you may think now. Are you one of these conspiracy theorists, who think that the system is evil, Jason?

You bet your [redacted] I am! I think we are losing a whole generation of children and adolescents to nothing but a social experiment that has gone entirely sideways. I spend a lot of time watching people. In fact, it is one of my most significant hobbies. I can be seen sitting in the mall, watching people, in college, watching people, on facebook, watching people, on youtube, watching people. I watch people all the time. I also take notes on how certain developments affect me individually. I measure my reactions on an aggravation scale from 0-10.  Mental self abuse and self- victimization is one of the things that sends my pen off the charts, I have literally no tolerance for it. For friends and people of importance, I will stick around and help where I can, until I realize that I can’t. Once at the top of my aggravation chart, I willingly accept and admit them into the hands of Charles Darwin.

What is being created will fit perfectly into a globalized world of drones and mix in with (by then) socially accepted norms of depopulation, as outlined in the United Nations Agenda 21 Document. Individualism, liberty and freedom will be non existent. We raise a generation of fearful people, fearful of the future, fearful of society, fearful of everything under the sun, including themselves. We shouldn’t. We should instead be alert and receptive to the fact that whatever drives these kids is not from this world and does not follow the stigma of human compassion. We can do and be better than this and truly, we MUST do better. Lets resist the change and be Donkeys!

The End.

Dear fellow students: Your two year associate/ community college program has more than one purpose. The degree obtained is almost the smallest part of your endeavor. The initial goal is to transfer you from being a recent high school graduate to higher education in a controlled and supportive environment; and to prepare you for the realities of the outside world. The outside world (at least for most adults) consists of a few crazy things, such as WORK, paying BILLS, RESPONSIBILITIES and other strange things, such as OBLIGATIONS. All things relatively strange to our younger population of students and understandably so. Even if living on campus, eating cafeteria meals and spending a gazillion hours interacting with your fellow student mates, listening to beats or grooming new-found relationships, the main reason for you to be on campus is in the educational opportunity hidden somewhere deep inside of it.

College is there to transfer you from being well taken care of, protected and for sure not left behind, to being a critically thinking, better versed personality who see’s , realizes and seizes opportunities as they are presented. A multitude of clubs and society’s, countless opportunities to grow and expand on volunteerism efforts (on and off campus), networking opportunities, help with career planning, counseling, even psychological counseling services are just one  small step away. NOTHING is out of reach. You do not have to rely on a 19 year old’s help and compassion to bail you out of trouble or tell you how smart and beautiful you are. Faculty and Staff (at least at our college @ EMCC in Bangor, Maine) is known to “bend over backwards” for their students, helping where they can to make this all work for you.  Even non- traditional students are often available to help, talk to and sit with when life gets a bit turbulent.

Humans love to make things harder than they have to be though and they attract plenty of drama. A curse, likely placed upon us through the size and sheer power of our brains, can hold us from success and cause havoc in terms of how this “everyday grind” is perceived. Over the last ~ 2 years I have had the opportunity to speak with a LOT of students. Lots of younger, incredibly nice and smart individuals and (sure thing) plenty of “lost cases of idiocy”. Here are a few things worth sharing, to help this younger generation of 18-28 year old’s cope with reality.

• If someone tells you that you should seek professional help or counseling, or invites you to talk with them in case of problems, they generally mean it.
• Anti depressant drugs (sadly over prescribed and often based on faulty diagnosis) “usually” treat symptoms, not the underlying cause of the dilemma.
• Emotional distress/ dependency and Servant/ Geisha style submission to respective girl-/boyfriends (however emotionally or even physically abusive they may be) are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem. “Giving yourself to someone” who then goes out and screws you over, is not LOVE. Sorry!
• Seeking the easy way out of a clinch by the use of today’s most favored word: “WHATEVER!” is not generally indicative of well-developed problem solving skills. Neither is smacking into closing doors, while sending life-saving text messages. Shutting your facebook profile down is not a generally understood sign of mental/ emotional distress, it is generally regarded as childish behavior and despite the best intentions, usually remains unnoticed by all the people with 100+ friends.
• Society lives and falls by certain rules and a certain methodology in terms of how these rules are enforced and managed. Resisting any and all rules of courtesy, respect and common sense (such as playing your laptop music over square in a room designated for studying, or having an ultra important cell phone conversation in the middle of the action, for all to hear) is not generally regarded as extremely social nor is it really acceptable in any setting. In fact, professional environments reject and expel such behavior. Normal hygiene,  occasionally brushed teeth, hair that doesn’t remind one of last nights french fries, and a dress code that resembles at least a basic sense of human decency can be fully expected, even now, in the baby stages of higher education. Remind yourself that you may be discovered by your future employer on this campus. Also, remember the founder of Facebook? He DEVELOPED it. To this day, he’s not USING it all too much and his life is certainly not defined/ affected by last nights highly emotional declaration of variable relationship statuses.
• Oh… smurfing into a classroom consistently late is definitely not OK! Some of us pay good money and travel rather large distances to attend lectures. If you can’t be on time, don’t be there please. You know you wouldn’t do it at work. Your computer problems, which prevented you from completing assigned work are really (really!) YOUR problem. There’s an old saying: A problem on your part does not constitute an EMERGENCY for us. If you haven’t done the work, accept the grade. It’s not high-school and certainly not kindergarten. Nobody’s going to order you to recess.

Hmmm… all this leaves one string of things to recommend:

Grow in personality, gather new knowledge and skills, interact with your community, be respectful and courteous and don’t ever take people willing to help you succeed for granted. You are not on this planet to serve your current boy or girlfriend and your job is not to be someones option, while allowing them to be your priority. One thing is for sure: Things will change either now or later (I should know after a divorce) and in the end, your partner completes you, he/ she don’t define you. If your goal is to make a difference, stick out of the crowd and actually make one. You know you can, and so do many of us “old people”.

Good luck!

I hate math, but let’s do some for entertainment purposes. If you owed $1000.00 on your Chase card at a 0% APR, your minimum payment would be $20.00/ month. If your credit card carries interest (usually promotional rates expire at some point) things change a little bit. If you carried the same $1000 on a 14% rate, your minimum payment (2%) would be stretched over 110 months. Your initial payment of $20.00 would be divided in $11.67 on interest and $8.33 towards the principal. Your minimum payment would reduce itself monthly, as you are paying off your balance.

However, if you continued to pay the card off at a steady rate, lets say $20.00/ month your payment cycle would obviously be much shorter (76 months). Logically, borrowing money for shorter terms decreases the total interest paid, all other things remaining equal. Now, how many people do you know, who owe just a grand on their credit card? Lets say you owed $5000.00 at a (more normal APR  of around 18%. Your minimum payment would be: $100.00 and at 18% with a 2% minimum you’d be done after 472 months. Your first $100.00 payment would divide $75/$25 between interest and principal. Again, at a steady monthly payment (better for household budgeting purposes) you’d be done after 94 months…

Chase used the existing loophole to raise minimum payments from 2% to 5% in an effort to “help American’s get out of debt faster”. Haha! Check this out:

At 5% minimum payment and (of course) the same 18% interest rate these $5000.00 will now come with a $250.00 minimum payment. It will take you 103 months to be done. There’s an additional $150.00 taken out of whatever budget you may have, overnight. If yere you able to swing $250/ months steadily, you’d be done after (DRUMROLL) 24 MONTHS. This seems like a good option, but the intent behind the act was nothing short of criminal. Chase knew that customers with sometimes extremely high balances would go belly up. Imagine owing the average $15.799* with an average interest rate of 14.89% and watch your minimum payment go from $315.98 to $789.95

Sick yet? You know what happens if you send less than the minimum, right? Your interest rate reverts from wherever it was to up to, 29% + penalty fees!!! Your chances of getting this erased from your credit rating (biggest scam in history) will depend on your ability to retain a expensive attorney. The shebang will however likely bankrupt you before things are settled.

Here’s what Chase did.

Knowing that the majority of customers had been tricked into ARM mortgages, paying on credit monthly for financed cars, groceries and other goods, they also knew that customers would not likely stop using their credit cards. After a jump in minimum payment, a devils circle was artificially created which will keep Americans in debt, close to default and looking for low transfer offers from other companies. However, many Americans spread their debt between different credit cards. Only cards with no balance are likely to be offered one of the 0% APR – 6.99%APR teaser rates. People also are careful when they read the words: BALANCE TRANSFER FEES.

Averaging anywhere between 3-5%, changing to a lower interest card can tag a bunch of money onto the balance you already owe. After the transfer is completed, your balances will be split between promotional APR’s and “normal APR”. Your minimum payment was (initially) always applied to the lowest APR balance, with everything above and beyond minimum payment going towards interest and principal on your higher interest balance. DANG! What a genius trick! The only customers benefiting from such deals are those who will use the balance transfer, live with a reduced (BUT HOPEFULLY FIXED) monthly payment and STOP USING ANY CREDIT CARDS!

What is the purpose of business?

1. Maximize Shareholder Profits.
2. Stay in Business.
3. Minimum Compliance with Regulatory Environment.
4. Usage of unethical decision-making processes to circumnavigate any and all responsibility in case of disaster.
5. Reduce legal liability by providing pages upon pages in fine print, fully aware that 85% of it remains UNREAD.

If it was up to me:

The U.S. Government would file a class action lawsuit on behalf of its people against Chase N.A. for intentionally increasing American personal debt with fraudulent motive to levels never seen before. As the United States President, I would openly accuse Chase N.A. of terrorism and crimes against humanity. It is exactly what they have done. Financial fraud should be considered an act of terrorism against the United States. Executives having contributed to it should be subject to the same death penalty or life in prison (bare due process) as anyone who has ever been accused of such action and currently detained in Guantanamo Bay. American citizens (in this case, customers of Chase N.A.) should be subject to restitution and damages, calculating their average increase in opportunity costs. Current debt to Chase NA would be forgiven in full. I would simply extinguish Chase N.A. by EXECUTIVE ORDER. DONE! Chase’s Assets (to include any and all subs) would be seized and used to regain losses on the farce of a bailout.

Financial literacy and education is not taken seriously enough in our country. Remember that debt is not freedom (Debt spells DEPENDENCY) and money spent cannot be money saved, EVER. I am sorry, you cannot walk into a dealership for a new automobile and SAVE MONEY. You can SHAVE $$’s of a current payment with refinancing at more attractive rates, but by all human logic I can muster, SPENDING MONEY IS NEVER SAVING IT!

Recommendation:

Get a magnet and slap your credit cards on your refrigerator. Live within your means. Don’t ever borrow against your tax return and never borrow limited life items against your house. Don’t take ARMS. Pay more than the minimum when you can.

Getting out of debt is your way to FREEDOM.

Read up on the Chase Minimum Payment Class Action Lawsuit!

Predictions:

Our fights of the future to secure access to small fields, lakes and airports will shift from fighting the feds and bureaucracy to small town ordinance management soon. We will see an ever increasing number of citizen and environmental movements which will attempt to shut us out and down by any means necessary to accomplish their goals. Over the next half decade or so, our industry will be affected by thousands of bills, discussed on a senate and congressional level, of which many will “sneak through” causing us great harm and damage. Associations may continue to associate (and go to bed) with anyone perceived to be enough of a superstar to somehow increase public acceptance, yet, I believe there will be no value added to the membership by doing so. They may continue to suck up to corrupt politicians and policy makers to seek this seemingly ever- lasting  one who will go “to battle” for what we do and actually represents his citizens in a balanced manner. What they will also do, is to assure that their leaders and managers never go hungry. Yet, the public perception will remain skewed and mislead by an uninformed press, seeking tomorrows headline and more affected by what some town selectman thinks about seaplanes than what we could ever factually prove. Soon, we will see advocacy battles move to the town office, where NOTHING short of our full personal participation will create an awareness within the citizenry. People have no clue about how heavily we are being discriminated against! Nothing short of huge letter writing campaigns will prevent the worst of the worst. We will see social media sites and online discussions become the major concern of trying to protect our minority interests against those who think we are rich, irresponsible, earth-polluting, greenhouse gas causing and arrogant schmucks – who just have too much money. Insulting them will make them more angry because people cannot associate and relate on anything they cannot do themselves. Instead we will have to learn how they think, act and beat them at their own game.

That’s not a threat nor is there a solid question as to “IF” this will happen, but, in my opinion “WHEN” and “HOW”. I have been saying it for years, we are desperately ill equipped to deal with it!

A possible solution

It is time for our associations to change course, not with lip service and pointing out how much fun it is and how much beauty is contained in what we do, but by actually responding to the questions raised by thousands of members leaving them. These members did/do not leave to damage the association, they left because they realized that proxy votes and insider deals on who gets which job, as well as “selective attention syndrome” to the direct NEEDS of their pilot community have made it impossible to bring about ANY positive change nor does it allow for them to take part in innovative and modern solutions to problems that will be solved in a grassroots effort. Not with superstars your general John Doe could ever relate to. (Y)our worst enemy is not concerned with which color of leather seats their new Citation or Mercedes Benz should have, I promise! While at the subject, I’d like to point out (again) that small grassroots efforts (perceived as unfitting to the current way of doing things) cannot get exposure on/ in any of the associations magazines or media channels. Assumption: The fewer people know of different ways of doing things, the better? This is the only logical conclusion I could arrive at, after asking repeatedly to share a word or two with some of the members of such groups.

For seaplane pilots this means: Get to know the other guy/ gal. Join us at seaplaneforum.com to take part in a grassroots effort that deals with (y)our fun, beauty and expertise, but also it’s resulting problems, honestly and in open, unmuzzled dialogue. It will allow you to build connections and make friendships, share advise and guidance and last but not least, develop a communication style that allows us to react to today’s challenges locally, when and where they occur.  Ignore the clowns and liars spewing false information and badmouthing our forum, describing it (or myself) as an association enemy. I am not. In fact, the next time I hear such a statement, I will publish it in it’s entirety, with full disclosure of who made it. It’s enough!

I simply believe that our current way of dealing with the preservation of rights and freedoms is not done properly and misses the mark in terms of creating enough awareness within the pilot population. Nobody seems to be aware how much individual effort is and will be required to protect and retain accessible & affordable ways to do what we do. Lets get together, across the board and invite others to the discussion. I am still waiting to see a big, huge roundtable meeting with all the associations and activists getting together to brainstorm and find better solutions to current and future issues. Until this happens, I’ll continue to refuse to support the establishment. I cannot see where they are headed, management & decision processes are not transparent enough. By telling me what I know already (flying is beautiful, amazing, oh sooo nice, blah blah blah!) I have no benefit. Member based organizations enable members to have a voice. Neither do I believe we benefit from seeing smiley faces, handshakes and public shoulder patting. I for one hope we’ll get to it soon, because we are at risk of extinction by “Europeanization”. For those who wonder what that means: Look to Europe to see what a lobby-ism only approach has done to general aviation. Neither more money nor any of the Superstars will make flying more understandable to your regular non flying citizen. WE must do that.

Disclaimer:

Even as a publisher and editor of a website, I have not relinquished my privilege to have and communicate this opinion. It’s not like I have only critiqued without providing possible solutions, either! We can fix what is wrong and come out ahead of this as a stronger and more balanced pilot community. This community won’t be limited to people who can “pay to play” and neither will it exclude anyone willing to help create it.

We are no longer able to just cut checks to our associations, expecting them to fix things for us. What will we do instead?

If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. — Tennessee Williams

]]> http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/realities-part-ii/ Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:30:41 +0000 JaJaBa http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/realities-part-ii/ This is part II of a series called “Realities of Association Politics & PR written by Jason Baker;

But fortunately, there are independents!

Independent discussion boards are generally run by people with a passion for a subject matter. Almost all of them see a specific shortfall in communication and networking opportunities and try to provide just that to the general target audience. While some discussion board owners are financially independent and secure, many subsidize their bottom line by selling privileged memberships and advertising, merchandise and some even actual products, or by accepting and soliciting support from members and industry partners. In many cases, accepting sponsorship from our industry brings “association – like” conditions in terms of what can and can’t be discussed.  While the “tone” of many of these individual forums vary greatly, all of them attract members who are not afraid to “speak their mind”, sometimes in amazingly baffling manner, including name calling and blind accusations.  Its easy to lose track of the tone and general demeanor of ones membership and sometimes this becomes apparent when you feel the need to look for pitchfork hunters and cavemen in your own backyard, after reading some of the posts on display on some discussion boards. For the respective owner & administrator the question ultimately becomes: WHERE DOES THE BUCK STOP? You have promised your members to be unbiased, independent and supporting of their needs and wants to share their thoughts, yet, you are visible to the public and your sponsors do not appreciate being critiqued publicly. Neither do associations! A natural conflict of interest ensues, and sadly, most of the time the mighty $$’s wins. This can be prevented by staying small, charging fees for adverts which can be refunded without taking out a loan and by clearly telling your sponsors, right off the bat, that you will continue to own your site while setting it’s general policy and direction. By staying small and humble as well as personal, you create an environment which encourages exchange while at the same time allowing smaller industry members to advertise through your site. My personal concept on seaplaneforum.com is 100% loyalty and trust based. My members retain the right to discuss, critique or acknowledge even our sponsor companies as long as their manner of doing so is:

• Factual & truthful…
• Honest but free of name-calling, derogatory remarks or discrimination…
• Respectful & courteous in style; and last but not least…
• Providing at least one idea or recommendation that can be used by the critiqued party to change course…

Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?    I, for one, keep my advertising rates low enough so that I can issue refunds, in case my discussion board causes offense. I depend on my members and  supporters to make the effort to communicate in such a way that I don’t have to step in and remind them of these four basic pillars which carry my small endeavor. I depend on my members and supporters ability to see and understand that creating a community and making a difference requires active participation and good will and sometimes better judgement. Grassroots things thrive by those three parameters. Each one of them has an unspoken/ unwritten promise from me that I will value and consider my own members critique and remain attentive to their requests, wants and needs. They know that I will do so independently from their “status” within the community.

To be continued…

All associations depend on membership dollars to finance their programs and initiatives. These days, membership dollars are harder to get, due to the incredible impact our stricken economy in the United States has had on general-  recreational -  and business aviation. People have tightened their belts even in areas previously unexpected – such as their dreams and passions for flying. That’s normal and makes sense.  All three sectors of aviation are under combined and strong attack from all directions. Environmentalists & wilderness programs cause remote & private airstrips to be closed at alarming rates, countless small airports and flight schools are already or just about to come under attack by citizen initiatives. Lakes used by seaplanes for decades suddenly present a safety risk, or are portrayed a  a risk-factor in environmental pollution. Even invasive species are often wrongfully named as causal and closely connected to seaplane activity, even though such claims are largely unsubstantiated. Local ordinances prohibit or prevent our flying activities without much public fanfare and sometimes, fighting town-hall on such issues comes at large financial expense for litigation. The amount of trouble is truly staggering, when the pink sunglasses come off. Lets add to this another important factor, which does a lot of damage – sometimes irreparable in nature- and bare all recourse. Transport Security Administration and FAA seek to control, monitor and change how Americans perceive aviation safety and security. Feeling depressed or discouraged? That’s not the intent of this article, so please keep reading.

What do we need?

When we select which association to belong to, be it the NRA, AOPA, EAA, SPA or even our local cucumber growing club, we must have a reason for it. Many associations come with amazing magazines, online and in print, weekly newsletters, interactive websites, message boards, some even tweet, blog & facebook to share in the joys and enjoyments of our industry. You sure get 10% off your insurance policy with a monopoly insurance company, rent cars at a discount and sometimes you can even destroy your credit, while pumping 20% interest into some credit card scam, available only to members. While the selection and printing/ publication of many magazine and blog articles and news reports are driven by how well they fit into the magazines purpose and agenda, much is also dictated by advertising customers who have spent astronomical fees to have their adverts displayed. Ask yourself the following questions, when trying to evaluate something’s community value: Would your honest and factual review of Garmin’s customer service be printed in a magazine heavily subsidized by Garmin? Could you talk about Cessna or Beechcraft in a magazine that depends upon advertising revenue from just these companies? How about the discussion board? Word travels fast online, hence a single vent or rant can reach hundreds of members almost instantly. Consequently, association message boards are kept squeaky clean when it comes to discussions between members about certain practices or problems. Heavily moderated under the premise of “must be aviation related” all association MUST constantly monitor and censor things. Some say that it isn’t so, but after ~ 2 years as an association message board administrator (volunteer service, by the way!) I can attest to this fact. Message boards are intended and provided for PR purposes and positive news only. All else is perceived as a liability and risk to advertising revenue. Discussion boards can reveal a lot of things never printed and make painfully clear if your association leaders or representatives are up to par with what their members think. Sometimes there are challenges in reacting and responding to concerns and trouble, too. Communication skills and skin thickness can be tested, often with amazing results. But most of the time, management and leadership remain largely absent and non responsive to anything for fear of actually having to answer to their members. Being accessible and having to provide specific answers in a transparent/ public setting is perceived as dangerous. It is safe to assume that I could prove this statement to be true and factual in a court of law. Even in the independent discussion board arena, litigation sometimes sets the ultimate tone and direction as I have learned.

To be continued in Part II…

It will not matter what you owned or owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It wont matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived at the end. It won’t matter if you’re beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built. Not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.  What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss, when you’re gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

A life lived that matters is not of circumstance, but of choice.

]]> http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/opinion-discourse-discussion/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:01:39 +0000 JaJaBa http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/opinion-discourse-discussion/ The Seaplane World

Seaplanes have been around for decades.

On March 28, 1910, the first successful seaplane take-off from water at Martinque, France, occurred. The seaplane or Hydravion was flown by its inventor, Henri Fabre.

That’s 101 years of heritage we are rightfully proud of. Seaplanes have contributed a lot to societies and economies, and even though the ‘sport’ remains as a microscopically – tiny niche product of aviation, seaplanes are flown by people who want to connect H2O with Lift. This is done very passionately and usually at great financial sacrifice.

For the most part seaplane pilots stay to themselves here in the U.S. of A. Entrance into the ‘special’ club is usually granted through acquisition of a seaplane rating and that does usually not occur very early in a aviators life. People generally start flying land planes, get the opportunity to ride in a seaplane, or see one on a nearby lake and get nosy. Even when the seaplane rating is finished, many turn back to land planes and put seaplanes on the back burner, until the flying budget allows for such ‘escapades’.  Consequently, when the average seaplane pilot arrives in the cockpit of a seaplane, they are financially settled, rather successful in their trade or profession and also experienced enough to have built their own opinion on things.

Exclusivity is rather well established in our industry, which can make entrance and existence for younger people (as a valuable partner) very hard. When a greenhorn enters the stage, reactions can range from smiles and cheers to downright embarrassment for the greenhorn. Questions may or may not be answered, the quality of answers may be affected by the mood of the person answering them, and is generally affected by what the individual considers important. It is entirely possible to learn how to fly seaplanes in Maine or Minnesota and never find out where else there may be another individual going through the same thing, just with access to different information. If we stay local and close our eyes to our surroundings, we tend to lose a lot of valuable input from others. Especially when it comes to advocacy and training, exclusivity and local focus is very dangerous – as it creates homogenous environments.

To counterbalance this phenomenon and to start working on getting seaplane pilots into a more communicative mood, the seaplaneforum.com was born. Worldwide online communication between seaplane pilots has been limited to non-existent. Many aviation associations have become corrupted with financial greed and lobby-ism power and no longer have the capacity to focus on small issues and people. Some associations remain small and powerless bottom feeders, but none of them really focus on Joe the Pilot. In the grand scheme of things, the opinion and perception of a single member or group of members does not really matter, as everyone hunts for the “BIG PICTURE”. In digital photography, we come to realize that a big picture is made of many pixels (dots) which all have to interact and match each others characteristics to make the picture look good. In a human communication environment, this cannot happen without talking to each other and exchanging opinions.

When we have opinions and communicate them, we take a risk. Maybe nobody will run us over with their dump truck, but in stating opinion and sharing thought we must be comfortable with the fact that not everyone will agree with what we have to say. Discourse is born and that can be very uncomfortable for people who have not been conditioned to welcome it and embrace it as something good. Many times I hear complaints about the rough tone in communication with fellow pilots. People simply LOVE to get offended. Pilot A shares his practice to shut the engine down completely to simulate engine failures, Pilot B disagrees and calls the behavior unsafe and irresponsible. Pilot A now has several options: Option 1: Yell “Whatever” and walk away – Option 2: “Ask for clarification and back up from Pilot B and engage in meaningful discourse, or; Option 3: Do nothing. After a little over 9 years in the forum moderator business, I am comfortable saying that the majority of seaplane pilots choose options 1 & 3 more often than not. “Normal” pilots are more used to discussion.

In my opinion this is not caused by ignorance, or arrogance, it is caused by a lack of exercise in communicating with each other. While many think their opinion doesn’t matter or that they cannot answer unless they are able to speak expertly on subjects, many are very afraid of embarrassment. When I ask members of my forum why they don’t post, I find that 75% of them enjoy to read what others write, but do not wish to engage in discussion. The fear of controversial discussion keeps them silent. How sad, considering what’s at stake!

An inviting environment is incredibly important to new member retention. Engaging people who have shared something with the group enables them to become part of it. Currently, we are burning the candle from both ends. The dinosaurs are dying out, while the youngsters are denied access. Very limited learning and exchange of opinion is allowed to happen. Next time you visit the seaplaneforum.com site and read around (because you’re interested) please take the time to ask the following questions:

NON Members:

1. Does my reading here accomplish anything for this forum?
2. Do I, or have I learned something on these pages that was valuable to me?
3. If I became a member/ contributor to the group, are there questions I could ask or maybe even answer?

If the answer to any of the questions above is a yes, then we really need you to sign up and become part of the group.

MEMBERS:

1. What on this forum interests me?
2. Where could I possibly contribute? Help a newcomer? Answer regulatory questions? Share an advocacy concern? Start a picture contest? Vent about something?

If you find yourself as a member just looking to read for your own entertainment, start realizing that everything you read had to be written by someone. Someone who was willing to take the risk and put their piece of opinion out there. Someone who may or may not be comfortable with discourse but is there, trying to be part of the group, nevertheless. Unless you take them in, they will go belly up like a dead fish and disappear.

Communities are incredibly hard to build from scratch. Again, I am asking for help with it from those on our side. It cannot be done by me alone or just a handful of people.

Discuss!

Our aviation world is struggling. It’s struggling with the aftermath of an event that happened almost 10 years ago, September 11th of 2001. It was that day which unlike any other in our recent past, has put a heavy ding on what we do. It has deeply changed our citizens perspective of being immune from terror, fear and injustice. The events of 9/11 woke our country up to the many shortfalls of our systems in place to protect us from such harm.

The agencies came to the rescue, with too little too late, but nevertheless, they came out swinging. Our country launched into a seemingly never ending “War on Terror”, visibly abroad, outside the U.S. but more so and not quite so visibly, against it’s own citizens internally. A frenzy of paranoia ensued, allowing for knee jerk reactions to something that was not truly fully preventable. Experts argue that with all the precautions in place today another September 11th is fully possible. Since this dark day in our countries history, we have not celebrated a fourth of July without raised terror warnings.

What we have also never done the same way again is fly airplanes, be it on the airlines or privately – exercising the “privilege” of manned flight. Miraculously, our quickly established freedom killer agencies found and continue to find the most indications for another attack on our country around the major holidays, when air travel depends the most on it’s pristine ability to function. Just in time to keep the events fresh, our awareness about all the evil is reactivated. Some argue that fear is a perfect tool to cramp new regulations down the citizens throat, some argue that only fear of terror prevents it. Better safe than sorry! I hear it all the time. Flying wise, we have lost a multitude of  freedoms and liberties we used to have. Our constitutional forefathers would turn in their graves, if they had to see what we have done to the U.S.A.

This Guy would turn in his grave, too!

But, aviation is not only under attack from it’s everlasting, true to the bone, concerned about the public’s safety, Government! The regulatory agencies have created enough havoc to bring us to our collective knees, but there is more. Much more! A newly developed style of environmentalists have encroached upon our liberties, some of them entirely focused on bringing an end to aviation as we know it. They do not attempt this feat by mere logic & dialog. NOPE! They sue. Courts settle complaints of paddlers and tree hugger’s , if the governing local agency does not collapse instantly. Their goal: ABSOLUTE SUBMISSION. There is no compromise, no common ground. The complaint can focus on the noise our aircraft make while being operated or on the fact that they use leaded fuel. If that’s not good enough, they reach out to milkmaids explanations as to why flying is dangerous, sometimes with idiotic, self declared experts speaking on behalf of them, quoting the most ridiculous reasons for why General Aviation must be eliminated.

For seaplanes and those who fly them, this means a changed environment. For most it means a sudden change, unanticipated, one they are ill prepared for. They are not ill prepared because they are mentally challenged, mind you! They are ill prepared because they have been kept in the dark, for decades, about the impending crisis. For decades we have operated out of lakes, rivers and puddles, safely and respectfully to our environment. We’ve done all the things good people do. Communicate, educate, take people for rides, so that they can see that what we do is not all that crazy. Look! Fish do not suddenly pop up dead, just because a seaplane landed or took off. More invasive species are transported by birds, turtles and boats (driven by sometimes utterly drunk drivers) than we could produce in a decade. We have been proactive and nice, we have been good diplomats. Did it work? I am sorry, but I doubt it did! I think we do not communicate enough, fast enough, real enough and hard enough. We do not share, collaboratively, what we have learned along the way. We do not properly communicate seaplane accidents and incidents, which in some sick twisted way have and continue to be used against our arguments. We keep a lid on things! Would we not do so, god forbid, the press could learn, do better research and find facts from idiotic fiction!

The matter of the fact is: We are being taken out of business!

Instead of collaborating, we fight silly email wars, we seek the good message in huge “grease in your ear” telephone conversations about how the world will change, oh so soon. Meanwhile – Lows Lake is being closed to seaplanes. Meanwhile the environmentalists sue. Meanwhile our generational conflict remains unaddressed in it’s entirety. Meanwhile we just accept that seaplane pilots don’t like to type and share their knowledge. We don’t push them, we don’t pull them. We leave them be! Those in charge of pretty much all the major aviation organizations (insert 3 or 4 letter abbreviation here) have been challenged, asked, begged, screamed at… and still – things are the same. Blanket statements, idiotic blah blah, fake solutions, lies and bullshit, red tape, lack of transparency, lack of basic style and respect for your fellow airman. The emperors need their underdogs and peons to get their mission accomplished. Focus on the good news, entirely blind to the fact that for every waterway rescued from closure to us, there are 10 (ten) in the pipeline, currently being attacked. Limited written communication, if it can be done the choice is to talk on the phone, as nobody can ever hold anyone accountable for their lack of action, compassion and understanding. It’s nothing short of a shame. It’s untrue in it’s very nature.

What I believe will happen soon: These organizations will dissolve, become silly luxury clubs for the rich and beautiful, shadows of what they were intended and funded to be. We can’t fix them from the inside, and we have no right to critique them from the outside. So, what do you do? Do you believe you can be part of an association that acts slower than the Federal Aviation Administration? Do you think your money makes a difference? Can your association leader truly relate to a peon, who can’t afford the gas/ insurance/ hangar or maintenance to their aircraft? Can they deal with people who are not writers and book authors, in perfect mastery of the English language?Can they still deal with you, after you become emotional, because the lake in your back yard is being taken by nothing but pure ignorance? Can they motivate 7.000 or 430.000 members to get up and fight? Can they continue to ask you to jump on a broken, leaky boat? What’s the goal? Drown in unity? Good questions, bad questions, constructive or not – I do not know, nor do I care. What I do know is that I will not be part of the wall of silence. We’ve got too much on the line to remain silent and passive.

To those in charge of any such organization – may I recommend good literature to learn the ropes of effective leadership? You’ll need it!

Signed: Peon.

That brings me back to where I started:

In times of universal deceit – telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act!

Rest in peace, George Orwell!

Clean it up!

Around the world, more and more executives, CEO’s and Presidents increasingly realize and embrace the need to be closer to those in the trenches. There is no better way to learn about troop morale for a military leader, than to be on the ground with the boots of his soldiers.  Remember Herb Kelleher, who would frequently fly aboard his Southwest airlines aircraft to serve and entertain customers?

He was quite a cookie, saying silly things such as “people come first” or “everybody is a leader, no matter what their job is“.  Sounds fishy, huh?

Here’s a PDF that outlines a first few good steps on how to be ethically sound, while being the fearless leader of your organization: Association Ethics is a little guideline that applies equally to Association leaders, Executive Directors, Presidents and other big guns, tasked with making the impossible possible. I try to lead my tiny its y bits y Seaplaneforum.com site according to these simple steps and even though I am probably far from perfect, people seem to like it. At least so far I have not been asked to resign and I have not had to defend myself with lawyers against my own members.

Honesty, courtesy and respect are still bound to go a long ways in winning the hearts and minds of those pesky, disgruntled and critical little members. Basic human communication is really rather simple, it’s by far not rocket science. But, and there is always a BUT, it requires genuine interest and compassion. Being compassionate and sympathetic is not always easy. To just try will already yield you better crops in the long run. It will also give you a more enjoyable environment to do your job in.

People care about the fact that you care and losing touch with them will create a nasty payback. If you look out only for yourself while your group members are struggling with reality, your image and reputation with them will eventually suffer. Reality hurts and if you are better than the person next to you, it’s time to rearrange the deck chairs on your Titanic. Better make the ship look good, while its sinking to the bottom of the ocean. We can throw blankets on the cracks or sing “Kum ba yah”  to make the screams go away, and maybe people won’t see the water rushing in? Yeah, good idea!

Within our aviation world we experience a certain disconnect within the leadership of those groups who are tasked to go to battle for us. They are too busy to talk to us! We once joined them because we believed in the power of active networks, passion, compassion and a common goal but the very leaders are out of reach! We eventually realize that no single soldier can win the war, instead it takes a bunch of them. We learn that some of our members bring loads of money and some bring loads of skills and passion, others have truckloads of time. Each one of them is most receptive to being involved in things early on during their membership in our team. If we engage them early, they will be more active, assume responsibility and volunteer for things that need done.

Greed, corruption and inequality will eventually come back to bite those leaders who slept during Organizational Leadership 101.

When you find yourself deceiving your file and rank members from the truth, have to lie to them or silence and censor them by all means possible, or you have to drag simple things into eternity, expect malicious ambushes against your salary behind every tree, then it’s really time to ship out. Chances are, you are holding up much needed progress and advancements. If your heart is not in it anymore, and you’re starting to “go to work” everyday, biding your time without a solid goal, it’s time to let go of the prestige and face the music. Always look towards the legacy you wish to leave behind. Instead of doing nothing, fess up, dress up and leave with some dignity intact and before the explosive diarrhea sets in.  We need leaders, not Muppet’s.  We’ve had our fair share of Muppet’s – let’s move on – please!

Happy Easter !

Secret Birthday Party!

The Seaplaneforum.com discussion board spent most of it’s first birthday in the maintenance pit. While this could be regarded as a genius mistake in resource management, it is really just the result of  scheduling conflicts. So, the “other forum” will of course remain in the market, no matter what you’ve been told. Jason has not fled the country, has not taken off with all your money and neither has he bowed to “legal pressures” from certain Muppet’s. So far, nothing is scheduled to disappear, be lost, or unrecoverable.

Thanks for all the emails with reports and concerns of the site being down, which has shown anything from “Maintenance” to “GENERAL ERROR” during the last several hours. Our “Forum Gang” will hopefully get to celebrate it’s own 1st year of existence once we return to full business. We look forward to many new members during 2011 and hope to remain the REAL network for seaplane enthusiasts! ;o)

Thank you to Victoria Neuville for her very nicely written Anniversary Post on her blog! Check that one out here!

Jason J. Baker, Owner/ Administrator of  The Seaplane Pilot Network!

May you, dear reader, forgive me this ramble of emotions, upon the glorious news reports on a seaplane, which violated one of the dozens of Presidential TFR’s covering our great country, this time in Seattle, Washington. “Ironimus” was an anonymous German newspaper character, who oftentimes shared his displeasure about the happenings (or the lack thereof) around him, sometimes in an amazingly direct way. Thousands of people read his weekly column, it is said that the newspaper, I grew accustomed to reading, weekly, had many readers who would read the “Ironimus” before and after reading the newspaper, just to clear and de-clutter their minds from all the rubbish.

“We just landed, sailed in here, nice and peaceful, pulled up to the dock and a guy came out and said I have some bad news for you guys,” said Joseph. “Obama is in town and you guys violated the air space or something.”

Our President was traveling – again – like so many times before. Maybe he was on an economic stimulus trip, maybe he is testing the shrimps in the State of Washington for oil residue, who knows! Who cares?! What many do not know, is that whenever Mr. President fires up the good ol’ lady “Airforce One”, Aviation as we know it comes to a screeching halt, usually anywhere within 30 Miles around him. That’s normal. When we Pilots manage to convince the savings piggy bank to spit out enough to partially fill our empty tanks with highly taxed Aviation Avgas, we usually do a few things, to assure our proposed flight can be done so, safely. We wiggle things, make sure nothing is falling off, we look up at the sky, trying to find out if “Petrus” the weather god may intent to strike us out of the sky, in many cases we call what we previously knew as “Flight Service” (that’s long ago, when friendly FAA people with local knowledge could answer questions) and get a “Briefing”. These days we call “Lockheed Martin” which employs people to do that, and they may tell us everything from weather, runways and taxiway conditions, to the status of navigational facilities across our route of flight. If we have access to a phone or the glorious internet, that is…

When N180CD took off and headed towards Kenmore Air’s shut down operations (supposedly $50.000 in the hole for Mr. Presidents visit and subsequent cease of all aviation)  they may or may not have had access to this information. Hard to say – and probably best answered in citing a statement from an Aviator of the early hour: “I shall not judge the actions or the lack of actions on behalf of a fellow airman, for my inability to see clearly what he saw, after all I WAS NOT THERE!” Is the information readily available? Yes & No. But that’s not the point… besides, there will be enough fellow airmen condemning the negligence, yelling FOUL and several self declared judges will storm out and call for the pilots certificate…

The point and cause for my selecting the “double face palm” above is the irony in the kind of reaction we have grown to expect from our own Government, should we interfere or collide with the Presidents recreational or business & show travel. And… he travels a bunch! Next is Martha’s Vineyard… It’s downright scary! The reason for the visit was this, according to King 5, who has been covering this whole shebang from the start:

“President Barack Obama on Tuesday stumped for Sen. Patty Murray in Seattle on a three-day campaign swing for endangered Democrats, accusing Republicans of thwarting efforts to help small business owners by repeatedly blocking tax breaks for them.”

Here we are! We launched two MULTIMILLION DOLLAR airplanes to protect our President, visiting Seattle, (thereby shutting businesses down!!!) to STUMP for some Senator who is lost in another local case of the TAIL WAGGING WITH THE DOG! “Ironimous” would have a coronary! Not only did we launch the jets, we allowed them to scare our poor citizens to DUCK and seek shelter, by sending them towards a small privately owned airplane with a SUPERSONIC BOOM! The ground supposedly shook (that’s quite normal) and people got really scared (that’s not or should not be all that normal) after all, not too long ago sounds from Military Jets were considered the SOUND OF FREEDOM). Also not too long ago, Airforce One herself caused New Yorker’s to belly flop and scream 911 (the lines got overloaded there again, what a sign!) when we flew another senseless photo mission nobody knew about! I am not a very political person, usually.But come to think of it… they didn’t even get there in time!!

With increasing frequency we the people who stand on the sidelines, watch in pure amazement what is happening to our country, witness a tremendous process. After all, EVERYBODY is considered a potential threat to the President. Not to long ago, I got the better part of getting “close” to a Presidential TFR, and I was even fully aware of it! You do not actually have to penetrate a hard-line airspace boundary to get called to the carpet, though! While the word close cannot be defined, the difference between close and inside, can be defined. Another scary point is that the fighters who shook taxpayers out of bed there, burned thousands of dollars of jet fuel that had better been donated to Kenmore, as “economic stimulus” for derailing several hundred passengers and shutting the place down for the day. I feel sad for the pilot and his passenger, and all the press they have to deal with, but the most sorry I feel for the fooled taxpayer, who is made believe that in today’s world EVERYONE could bring harm to a President. No matter how small, slow, or realistically non dangerous the intruder may be, we reserve the right & are willing (!!) to shoot them down, based on a BLIND & ARROGANT assumption that EVERYONE, American or not, is just another undiscovered Terrorist. That’s a shame – if you ask Ironimus!

Maybe its time to apply some common sense – to travels, golfing, gulfing and the general agenda of dividing our country between right and left. Maybe it’s time to stop and think. Maybe it’s time to go deep and wonder why some idiocy ridden politics and the show effects of playing them keep (y)our citizens caught divided between amazement and utter distress. More work – less show. Airforce One could use a break, too! Wash and wax it, maybe? Check the tires, too.

Prediction: At the going rate of incursions and the utterly harsh reactions to them, I predict the first General Aviation Aircraft to be FATALLY SHUT DOWN by fighter planes carrying the same American flag before 2012 (that’s when the end of the world rolls around, don’t forget) While somewhere in this country, some poor citizen will suffer an untimely death by his/ her house being collapsed from the hunting fighter jet going supersonic, we will see tragedy, before long. Meanwhile, lets STUMP and make a big show. Meanwhile, lets classify everyone a terrorist. Hunt them!

Fly safe & check for TFR’s, he could be coming to your neck of the woods tomorrow to help some fellow struggling “endangered” Democrat! Remember, Martha’s Vineyard is next, but he could go anywhere, at anytime.In case you wonder how to do that, see the attached file: NOTAMS – your Government accepts NO EXCUSES, and you can rest assured that once a sidewinder is launched to take you and all your negative intentions out of the sky – THERE WILL BE NO PRISONERS!

As pilots somehow we all belong to a pretty small group of people, who are either in the process of learning, at the verge of, or beyond our best days in mastering flight.  That’s natural, normal, acceptable, totally fine. As a perk of flying, comes the sheer endless availability to associate ourselves with interest groups, created to enhance our joys of flying, but also as a tool to funnel our collective efforts towards a common goal. Existence. Hardly a secret, these days, without lobbying and political representation by associations, General Aviation as such would no longer exist. If some sensational politicians or some mind numbed press writers had their way, flying small airplanes would be a major boo boo. For years and decades, politicians, citizen groups and the press have done their best to shine a dim light on what used to be one of the biggest successful adventures of recent mankind.  Today,  hundreds of millions of people travel this planet on the very same principles and physics which allowed Clement Ader (1890) to launch into the sky, entirely unaware and blind to the fact that Aviation itself was not made possible by the Airlines! It was made possible by people who watched birds fly, and started to scratch their heads, wondering: “How can I do that?” While many of them may have reverted to simply spreading their arms and jumping off a barn, some sat down and tried to find out what makes stuff fly. It took years and years to create flying structures. Those early aviators had heavy chips on their shoulders, after all – they had set out to accomplish what no one had done before. While the “normal” citizens in their hometowns may have scratched their heads too, wondering what may have happened, others watched in amaze as flying machines became reality!

These true hero’s of aviation made much of what we see today, possible. Flying was a grassroots thing. It caught on, developed, developed some more and then rocketed off, like barely any other science. In these short 120 years we have gone from fabric covered stick structures to fully automated cockpits, taking off, flying, and if necessary landing hundreds of living bodies almost entirely without any help (other than programming) from its pilots. Looking into today’s cockpits barely leaves a hint, everything is full electronics, a few hundred people shifting from one cheek to another back in the cabin does not cause death, as it may well have, by the early flying machines single occupant, just 110 years ago.

Moving from the spartan history was accomplished by consistency and respect for the very physics, which allow heavier than air structures to fly. People got together, brainstormed and developed, pushed and pulled, built and crashed, all kinds of  “Aeroplanes”. When Governments finally adjusted to this form of “collective insanity” in travel and started to regulate and license pilots, machines and new developments, things changed in a hurry! With the Governments intrusions and the subsequent rules came great hassle. People are funny animals and so it was only logic that regular, non flying citizens, without the slightest clue about flying and aviation, would increasingly turn towards the government to regulate such pioneers and their machines away from their back yards. Ernst Udet (a long gone German Flying Ace) once picked up a hanker-chief with his right wing while flying low enough to scare a common Ant into paralysis, today he would need a multitude of waivers, permissions, background checks and he would likely go through a four-week administrative ordeal to do it again. Our history is full of such hero’s, unfortunately many of them remain unseen and unacknowledged by the new generation of Aviators.

As a group, we Pilots needed a way of funneling our voices to avoid extinction, and created Associations to represent our interests with policy makers, politicians and the public, but also to keep each other in the loop on developments and new accomplishments. Today a multitude of such Associations exist, some very large, some very small, some even smaller! It is possible to belong to  many of them and all of them initially served these two purposes: NETWORKING & ADVOCACY!

Many of these Associations prevented General Aviation from certain DOOM and still do so! Without some of them, we would have no Gas, no Airports, and no way to develop and approve new machines for flight. The bureaucracy of such feats, today – is too much for the average business who may spend years and years and MILLIONS of Currency, trying to get something they developed approved and permitted for use. Once they do, they depend greatly on the NETWORKING opportunities to let others know what they have! Today it has become IMPOSSIBLE to spread the word to a collective pilot community without facilitating the available advertising spaces in these associations member magazines, forums and newsletters. And heck, did we make a business out of that?! Wow!

Associations have become very, very powerful not only in their way of advocating – but also in enabling fellow members to spread the word about a grassroots effort. A huge monopoly exists, largely unnoticed by the average pilot, who may want to buy or sell a plane (readily available for free or fee). While much of todays upright walking individuals facilitate the internet, many more of our pilot population can only be reached  by paying tremendous amounts of money. For example: I could build an airplane, get it approved for a few million dollars, fly it successfully across the country for a few thousands of dollars more, without ever being noticed by the majority of people who happened not to be on the airport that day, or sitting in their bathroom, thumbing through a bunch of strategically placed advertising’s in their favorite association magazine! Scary!

3 inches, 1 issue = $150, 3 inches, 6 issues $650….. :

When little people set out to develop new things, they depend on networking, help, support and sometimes goodwill of fellow aviators, to reach others, who may be interested in such things. If you decide to build something from scratch, you will need the help of your fellow pilots to get it out there. If you cater to only a very small population of pilots you will face INCREDIBLE headwind – while doing so. Why? “Just pay the money and put an ad in the magazine…” right? Wrong! When we little people join associations our interest is in the benefits of being represented (for better or worse), the common cause and the subsequent ability to see what our fellow aviation nuts want! Many times, the decision to push and pull  something new is based on PASSION and may, just like the Seaplane Forum – I launched ~ 4 months ago, be aimed at the very values and mindsets which run today’s Seaplane Industry. It’s ultimate goal is to bring people together, free of the political downfalls and stonewalling and sometimes the associated censorship that may arise from the sometimes all to prevalent “big boys vs. little boys”  attitude portrayed and lived by some. Suddenly the politics and “keeping up appearances” game becomes a hindrance, a hassle. The membership fee no longer gives us an option to spread the word without paying big bucks. Next time you thumb trough your favorite aviation magazine, do yourself a favor and look at the advertising’s and hints, placed in such magazine. Count them. Divide them in Small, Quarter Page, Half Page and Full Page advertising’s. Then add them all together and see what percentage of your magazine is composed of advertising. Then, go and read a few articles. See how many hints and links and company names appear in these articles. Mark them! Articles who are aimed at educating you or helping you understand certain subjects better. Read the “Letters to the Editor”. Realize that everything in this magazine is aimed at a certain goal. Every article, be it a news brief or an advertising, or a letter to the editor, has (supposedly) been carefully read, evaluated and found to be in compliance with the associations goals, mission profile and values. Compliance with such is oftentimes no longer regulated by the members of such organizations, it is left to the elected or staffed professionals and subject to their personal or professional opinion. If such is affected – your chance to spread the word with that association has ceased. It’s almost an equivalent to “pay to play, but not everyone is equal”…

Suddenly – the magazine and it’s associated political message or purpose becomes clear. It’s either a money-making machine or it’s a personal playground for the big guns. If there is not much else available to the associations membership; to share a word or news, the true value of the membership itself becomes $0.00. Especially small organizations, like the local “Cucumbers Growing Club” can really make a difference. The Question: How do you get local cucumber growers interested in what you have? I have recently researched all the aviation associations, (newsletters and magazines) I belong to, in terms of my ability to reach fellow members. Woof! Surprise! Except for AOPA: I can’t! Back to the local cucumber growers club…

Fly Safe!

As pilots we are subjected to all kinds of challenges, some minor and others life threatening. Now consider putting yourself in the following scenario. We were just lucky enough to survive a wheels down water landing in our brightly coloured amphibious aircraft, along with three of our best friends. Now scrambling madly through the pilots door of the inverted aircraft seconds after the crash we are lucky to reach the surface of the freezing cold water for a breath of air.

Thankfully all of our fellow aviation enthusiasts have safely egressed by following you out the exit and are now bobbing in a group around a set of silver upside down floats. With the damming evidence protruding upwards we grab onto one of the wheels for support and we all pull our selves to a dryer environment, then assess the situation.

There was frost on the dock planks and also aircraft which was tied securely last night while floating in the same body of water we now find ourselves. Our shivering and discomfort is a reminder of just how cold the water we are immersed in really is on this late fall afternoon. Soaked through sensing time is against us, and with the cold wind blowing our disabled ship even further from the shore that we most desperately need to reach we realize the gravity of the situation we are involved in. After a brief discussion we all agree that to wait for help in this predicament here at this remote location only hours before darkness would be suicide. The swimming distance for shore is a concern to all involved but in particular to one of our members who is a total non swimmer and extremely high anxiety. We decide someone must return down to the submerged aircraft we are floating on in hopes of securing one or more life vests located under the four seats. As captain of the ship and feeling responsible for the entire situation you elect to be the hero in hopes of saving the day and getting everyone back onto dry ground before night sets in.

Now in the frigid water once again you take a deep breath and dive down to the open pilot’s door and enter the aircraft flailing about feeling for seats and the hiding spot where life vests should be located. Things are confusing and strangely foreign with the limited vision plus mix of cold water and desperate need for another breath of air. After returning to the surface unsuccessful you are now more determined than ever and realize the importance those yellow PFD’s (personal floatation devices) if anyone is going to survive. This time you are numb from cold as you descend into the cock pit, now realizing the upside down seat easily exposes the much valued jacket stowed when you know where to look. Returning to the lake surface once again and desperate for air, you have managed to find the two front seat jackets and decide it best to share them equally rather than continue searching for the remaining back seats. Due to the exhaustive labor while searching frantically in the confined aircraft it has now taken a toll and mild hypothermia has set in.

Climbing back up on top of the floats is extremely difficult as your fingers are rendered useless from cold , thus it’s decided two castaways don the vests one of which being the non swimmer and all three join you for the swim to safety. A team effort is employed transferring the stranded aviators from peril to a warm cabin just in time as each individual has varying degrees of life threatening cold shock and hypothermia. Luckily the cabin was pre heated from the earlier departure that morning as everyone’s fingers are useless and constant shaking would make lighting a fire near impossible.

Looking back at this situation the out come could have been much different and less eventful if each person on board had been wearing an inflatable PFD. They are readily available at a reasonable cost and could have been inflated back when all were clear of the wreckage then heading to shore. Precious time in cold water which could take your life in 30 minutes is wasted when floatation devices are not on your body in the unlikely event of accidental ditching. The only thing worse than being without a floatation devise and having to swim to safety is being inside an aircraft with an inflated or positive floatation device restricting your Egress.

This story is from one of many incidents which happen all too often in Canada ever year. Bryan Webster is a 10.000 hour pilot actively flying a Beaver on the BC coast today. In 1977 he was a passenger involved in a water crash while the pilot attempted to avoid power lines draped over the Fraser River east of Vancouver. For questions or to enroll in the Aviation Egress Ditch training program contact – Bry the Dunker Guy at 1-877-GO-DITCH or per email: info@dunkyou.com

On June 4th began a trip from Luckey Landing SPB to Kendallville Indiana to deliver a wing and several control surfaces to Williams Airmotive/ Airframe Components. The 1085 Mile trip would take ~ 21 hours of driving and a few days of layover in Kendallville, IN. Along the way I had the opportunity to see a lot of our beautiful country, dodge hail & heavy rain with Tornado’s and stay overnight in a town called “Oshtabula, Ohio”. Upon arrival in Kendallville I decided fairly quickly to write and share what I saw in this operation with some of my readers. Owner Roy Williams, gave me a complete tour and allowed me to take pictures within this tremendous facility. Your’s truly had never heard about them- and for some, thats a good thing, as most customers meet them “by accident“. From the corporations location, ~ 5 miles from C62, Kendallville Municipal Airport, nestled deeply into a strange (to me, at least) grid system of roads, I was not expecting to find one of the most impressive facilities, I got to see in a while. Once you drive around the building it becomes painfully apparent that anyone with a pilot certificate will feel rather comfortable in this “toy store”.

Kendallville, Indiana is home to ~ 10,000 people but once you leave town you are on your own. Upon arrival (per TomTom GPS) it was possible to get a routing to the Kendallville Best Western, where I would spend the downtime waiting for the parts to get ready for shipment back to Maine, Yet, the next day it would prove impossible to navigate to their location per GPS. Bring a map, or if you are not grid road challenged, just do what you do.

Visitors get greeted to the facility by Rosie and a retired Air Force Jet, which not only looks nice – it swings to weathervane the wind direction! 

Inside a few true jewels reveal themselves, and after speaking at length with Roy and his wife, it seems clear, that they have the probably most expansive inventory of wings, control surfaces, ribs, spars I have yet seen. Roy states that keeping parts in stock is beneficial to customers as usually, and with regular shops, there is at least one major required part missing to complete the job. Roy and crew do their best to be able to start and finish a job quickly and with the least hassle for the client. Pictures from the warehouse, wing production site and control surface area will follow soon, together with a better, more detailed writeup. Stay tuned and bookmark Williams Airmotive in case you end up with bent metal. These guys can get the job done, and if you manage to visit them in person you will get to enjoy the nice and friendly hospitality of a bunch of very nice people. THEY KNOW WINGS, TOO!

Weight & Balance, Anyone?

“I heard him take off, as I was sitting in the break room with my twisted ankle propped on the back of a chair, sipping too-hot tea to help swallow the ibuprofen. It’s a warm summer afternoon; we have the hangar door open for free light more powerful than any flashlight, every scrap of cooling breeze that might cross the airfield in our direction, and general enjoyment of the weather.

So, that I heard him was not unusual – we hear every plane that takes off. But it sounded wrong. Too low, too loud – every single one of the 300 horses in that engine was straining at the traces, but he wasn’t more than 75 feet off the ground as he passed near the end of a 4000 foot runway. I swung the foot down and winced as I shoved the swollen ankle into my boot, ace bandage trailing out the top like a mummy unraveling, and limped quickly toward the open hangar door. On the way, I heard the first BAM! followed by more engine sound, then WHAM! followed by silence.

As I got outside, every mechanic in the place was already outside, all looking just beyond the first buildings, and through a gap, I saw the first smoke rise. Soon, it doubled them quadrupled in output, in a dense black smudge of fierce avgas-fueled fire rising and roiling along the rooftops as the wind caught it. And all over the city, sirens started to scream as every nearby emergency worker shoved through traffic and prayed they wouldn’t be too late.

I don’t care what you’ve heard, the saying “If you can fit it in a 206, it’ll fly” is flat WRONG!  DO YOUR WEIGHT AND BALANCE!      
The saving grace: he landed right next to a main artery at rush hour and didn’t take out anyone on the ground. 26 regular commuters and everyday people abandoned their cars and rushed to the crash, holding the wings up and pulling five out of six people out, before the sheer heat of the full fuel tanks going up in flames drove them back. He also landed several hundred feet short of a paint distributor, which would have caused a toxic fire like a gateway into hell itself.

If I ever catch you on the airport trying to put this load of lumber into your plane, and then load your family, I won’t wait to call the FAA on you – I’ll slug you myself. Try to press charges if you want – at least your child will still be alive.” (Author remains anonymous)

*Comment by JaJaBa*: Did you know?

• the sounds, just prior to an aircraft accident are later recalled in just as much “slow motion” as the visuals?  
• witnessing an accident causes incredible anger, fear and usually sticks to the people for quite a while?
• people pray everyday, not only for those who perish, but also for those left behind?
• the smell of such a burn will not leave your smelling senses alone for a long time?
• the suddenly missing sound of an aircraft engine that is stopped by impact is deafening?

Accidents happen. They always will. Whatever the NTSB may find as the cause for this one, it appears, as if one of the reasons may have been the aircrafts incapability to aerodynamically overcome its own weight.  A Cessna 206 is not exactly weak on its chest. Neither is Super Man! However we wish to turn and twist it… both have limits and one of them is a comic character who almost never fails. Please do your weight and balance! A plane that has flown over gross may not do so again, and a small nuance may be the reason it cannot perform as well on it’s very last flight, as it did before. For those wondering how a weight and balance issue may “feel like” on the controls: “If you pull and try to get more lift from the wings, you stall – if you let go of the elevator to gain more speed you sink heavily without gaining much speed”. The pilot feels right then and there, that there is NOWHERE to go. Flying through it takes probably more luck than skill - and the smallest movement or mis-coordination ends the flight. Don’t be there! Prayers to friends and family of those involved and to the helpers who got more out of their commute than they bargained for.

Another ~ 150 body bags were filled with the remains of passengers of an Indian B737-800 that overshot a runway in supposedly good and calm weather. According to the news, all kinds of officials, representatives, ministers and others ‘in the know’  have been touched, the United States is sending NTSB professionals to the scene in trying to help put the pieces together on this most recent crash of Air India’s Flight IX- 812.

Accidents happen and will continue to happen. Its natural and can be expected in a system of worldwide mass passenger transport, which on average transports passengers for ridiculously low amounts of money. The non-flying public is extremely quick to judge, several self-declared experts usually jump on the wagon and make scary statements about the airlines, the alcohol level in the pilots blood, the shape and form of the runway, the weather, the general state of the fleet, the professionalism of the crew and so much else and if it will rain in their neck of the woods… However, when we (as pilots) read such comments we may feel as if the ‘idiocy carousel’  just got another heavy push for the worse. People seem to excel at their way of coming up with sometimes helpless stories as to what may have caused this last (or any other) aviation accident. We call it “Monday Morning Quarterbacking”.   The press throws the word “Human Error” around like warm chocolate cookies. That helps in selling sensational news but leaves the majority of readers under informed and moreover, it does nothing. When we take the word “Human Error” we find several meanings and associations:

• “Human Error/Reliability” is related to the field of human factors engineering, and refers to the of humans in fields such as manufacturing, transportation, the military, or medicine. …
• “Human Error” is a Swedish Punk Rock Band.
• “Human Error” is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the third season of House and the seventieth episode overall.
• “Human Error” is the stage name of Rafał Kuczynski (born 21 may 1982), a polish electronic musician, working mostly in the ambient music genre …

Here is a more logical explanation of Human Error & Reliability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_reliability. The point I am trying to make is that when we try to determine the reasons for an accident we need to make sure the non flying public understands the depth and complexity of the issues at hand when we talk about “human error”. What happened in India has caused quite some outrageous responses. Upon Colgan Air’s accident in Buffalo NY which killed 50+ people we had these same discussions with the same outrage. Every once in a while a Pilot is caught arriving for work with rest alcohol, or makes a mistake that is (by the general public) considered stupid. In Buffalo NY, once the press had picked up that the Captain had failed one or more Pilot Exams & Tests in the past we were extremely quick to pay political attention to an issue that has been bogging our industry into despair for decades. People started to gain a glimpse at the fact that being a pilot is no longer what it used to be in the not so distant past. We have, and will continue to have, Pilots who sleep on recliners, couches and sometimes a  futon, because they cannot afford hotels on their lousy salaries. We have and continue to have pilots who travel for hundreds of miles to fill a seat for less money than an average Star Bucks employee. We continue to have stressed pilots, under tremendous pressure. Idiotic schedules, idiotic rules or the fact that they will simply lose their job if they say no!, has a tremendous effect on the people in the pointy end of todays average airliner.

What can cause a Runway Overshoot accident?

• Aircraft to high or fast on approach (problem related to the human)
• Tailwind (selection of runway & compliance issue = problem related to the human)
• Malfunction of reverse thrust, brakes or spoilers (technical issue= ultimately related to the human)
• Miscommunication upon realization of the fact that something is wrong (related to crew & human)
• Lack of attention, situational awareness or a simple other, small mistake that is allowed to progress into a big issue (human)…

The lack of proper overrun space is not a cause for an accident like that. The fact that India does not have what we call the NTSB is not a cause. I’d go out on a limb and say the pilots where probably not drunk, drugged or otherwise impaired, did not suffer from a lack of intelligence or skill and where generally probably just as good or bad as you and me. Yet, the lack of proper overrun space greatly limits airport versatility and is cause for concern in quite a few airport management offices. When the issue comes up, and airports try to lengthen available space, the result is, usually and again the human who takes offense in the form of citizen groups who vehemently fight against airports and what they do. However we turn and twist it, when we look at accidents our first action should be to touch our own nose. It is the public, who wanted cheap flights. It is the public who called for and allowed the deregulation of the airline industry. It is the airlines human resources office, which hires and fires the pilots, and determines how many peanuts they get paid for what they do. It’s the laws, which allow them to do what they do, and it’s generally the law that prohibits them from doing things. I believe that we will unfortunately keep seeing such freaky accidents, which wipe out hundreds of lives and leave many thousands of families affected by grief and upset,  before we stop making the same mistakes over and over again.  I believe that our industry worldwide needs a heavy-handed “Integrity Check” and we need to re-evaluate our hiring practices for professional pilots and what we pay them. We also need to start looking at how we educate the non flying public in somewhat easy to understand terms as to what our issues are, currently. Maybe then, the press and John Doe will stop throwing the word “Human Error” around like a worthless, dry and tasteless cookie. Otherwise, I am afraid we will soon hear different comments of passengers when they enter the cabin while boarding. While many years ago, the public evaluated the shape and condition of the airplane (“Oh, I hope this airplane holds up, it’s so dirty!”) as a factor in determining if they are safe, we may soon hear “I hope the pilot does not make a human error!”. Well, the pilots can’t really make any other errors, so chances are, if there is a crash it’s going to be the result of a human error! Our goal must be to improve human reliability and hold people accountable for their decisions. Our goal must be to educate and learn as much as we can about why mistakes are made. The world cannot be free of mistakes, yet the only way to eliminate or reduce mistakes is by education, training and sound decision-making. I doubt we will see improvements as long as John Doe still flies across the country for $99.99………….

This article is aimed at provoking a bit of thought in the readers mind as to what we can do, individually, but also in groups, teams and commercial flight departments, to leave a  “safety footprint” for ourselves and others. By recalling a few common Human Factor Errors and thinking about them, we may spend a few minutes out of our busy lives to evaluate our own status and level of awareness. Maybe you can use some or all of it for your own flying. Refreshing on a few key items may help. If you think about them, you are already doing more than average and that is a good thing. As a guiding document you may wish to refer to the Dirty Dozen which is a listing of the 12 most common causes of human error, and subsequent failure developed by Mr. Gordon Dupont. While the basis of his initial effort was geared more towards the AMT (Aviation Maintenance Technician) his concepts and contributions to the industry have been widely accepted and recommended by the FAA, Transport Canada as well as EASA and apply equally to pilots and AMT’s.

1. Complacency:

“I have done this 1,000 times!”… As we gain experience in whatever we do, we tend to become more comfortable and relaxed in terms of our own standards. Just like a motorcycle driver is not realizing that he is just about to embark on a passing maneuver that is bound to fail, we may misjudge some minor detail that has tremendous impact on the outcome of our flight. We humans tend to categorize our reactions by putting certain triggers and responses and the experienced success or failure of the response into drawers within our brain. When we are triggered to make a decision, our brain automatically and very quickly determines which drawer to open. Experience can compensate for many shortfalls. The more we do something, the better we get at it, however, the better we get at something, the more prune we become, to making a quick mistake by simply ignoring the fact that not all situations are equal and not all reactions, solutions or measures apply exactly as we desire them to. Some say, it takes a certain amount of paranoia to effectively overcome complacency. Another, logical way to fight the effects of complacency is to keep moving the information that has been stored by continuing our education and thinking about our reactions ahead of an event. Just because something has worked well the last time does not mean that the same measure will yield the desired result this time. By staying open-minded and giving each situation or event the space and attention it demands we take a step towards avoiding complacency.

2. Lack of Knowledge:

“I did not know that this TFR was active”… Lack of knowledge is probably one of the most complex and dense areas of human error. We can have a lack of knowledge in regards to new regulations, technical details, new equipment installed in our aircraft, performance details, a new AD or service bulletin, airspace & procedure changes and much more. A lack of knowledge failure could probably best be described as having a large element of surprise hidden within. We find out after making an error that something in our system was not right. Every time we are asked a question we access stored information that could be outdated and obsolete or brand new. In order to create knowledge we need to reach for information. For many the simple way to reach for information is by asking questions. For others, the best way to gain knowledge is to read and research. Both methods come with potential downsides. The person we ask needs to have a solid understanding of how wrong information may affect us, down the road. If the information we have learned is incorrect we are just as well off as before. The gained knowledge is worthless. In turn if we read the integrity of the information must be assured. We could be reading the wrong document or overlook an annotation that specifies the area of applicability of the information. Only by asking and reading in a systematic way can we assure that what we are finding for answers is in fact substantiated. Using common sense can help in finding out if disbursed information is correct. Challenging an answer, or document, is sometimes needed to succeed.

3. Lack of Teamwork:

“I thought we are climbing to 2500…?” While this point may have only limited space in the single pilot environment we may, at any time ask a fellow pilot on his opinion or procedure to accomplish a certain task. When we look at multi crew cockpits, teamwork suddenly becomes much more important. In the single pilot environment we may consider the fuel truck driver, filling our fuel tanks, as a team member. On a seaplane base, the person who pushes you off the dock is an important part of your team. Whoever it is, who is engaged in the operation or movement of your aircraft or takes any active part in its movement must be part of a team. If a team is to be efficient and effective there must be common ground and a defined goal. Briefing and explaining what you wish to happen to your partner will leave space for questions and clarification before the action starts.

4. Distraction:

“Did I drain the fuel on the left wing or not?” …It is normal to lose track! We all do it, either in the office or on the phone. In many cases we find ourselves returning to a task after a short or long distraction and wonder where we left it off. For the passengers on a plane, occupying an aircraft who’s AMT was distracted during a repair or inspection, the one minute phone call or the 20 second small talk could turn deadly. For us as pilots, a distraction can have equal results, however we are subject to distractions all the time. Focusing on the task at hand requires us to do the simple, dirty things of flying first. “Fly The Plane” / “Look For Traffic” / “Keep The Ball Centered”… are just some of the things we may hear more or less frequently. When we watch other pilots fly, we have an awesome opportunity to gain a sneak peek at how they deal with distractions. A passenger pointing at his house in a turn, an ATC Controller rattling down a clearance or amended routing, a CFI dropping a pencil or a chart, or starting to chit chat just as we had to complete our pre- landing checklist  or a talkative occupant can cause havoc to our ability to focus. Not answering the phone during a pre- flight inspection, not listing to last nights football results when getting ready to launch into the blue yonder…  or keeping a sterile cockpit below a certain altitude can free up major resources in our brain and allow us to focus. It is never possible to remove all distractions. The only way to handle them is to continuously work  on being aware of them and refining how much attention we pay to them.

5. Fatigue:

“Someone got a toothpick”? … We are always fresh and relaxed when we fly our seaplanes. It’s fun! We have all spent time in cars or on airplanes and sooner or later we notice that everyone is asleep! It could have been a long flight, or not enough sleep the night before, or an oncoming cold. Whatever it may be, we may be physically or mentally fatigued and not even realize it. So could the guy or gal pumping JET A 1 into our Husky. Symptoms of fatigue are countless. Slow speech, slow eye movements, slow reaction times, delayed response, constantly doing the wrong thing first, or even physical weakness (trying to get up on the plane to fuel it) may be good indicators that we are dealing with someone who is, or are fatigued ourselves. Asking someone to look (y)our work over, and double-check, and paying attention to the symptoms of fatigue are the best prevention tools we have. Seeing someone walk around with an energy drink could be an indicator of dealing with someone who feels tired and is trying to squeeze a bit more performance out of him/ herself before taking a nap. Yes, there is a chance someone may just like the taste of Red Bull, but the chances of the person being tired or feeling exhausted are equally high. Ask a fellow pilots or share with him/her that you are tired and feeling exhausted. It may well mean the difference between a perfectly contempt copilot and a person who will keep us engaged and stay awake to keep us entertained on this upcoming 4 hour flight. Maybe its just better to take a power nap, sometimes a good nights sleep and a canceled flight are the best solution.

6.Lack of Resources:

“The sectional was sold out”… Missing people,equipment, documentation or time to complete a flight. Arrive a few minutes early and make sure everything is in order for the upcoming flight. By leaving ourselves an out, or a backup plan, in case we are missing anything that will help to complete the flight we have done a good first step. This could be as simple as finding out that the rental plane just recently had a new radio or GPS installed. Taxiing for takeoff is the worst possible time to try to figure out how to get a frequency changed or find out that frequencies for departure have changed.

To be continued…

Today, I have learned from Kevin Kline’s blog that Ola has updated his SQL Server Maintenance Solution.

With updates for SQL Server 2008, Ola Hallengren’s solution now includes full Documentation and FAQ section. You can read about the solution and download the script here.