From: amazon@sgi.com (Stormwind)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.piloting
Subject: Re: Any tips for a pilot-to-be?
Date: 12 Jan 93 00:34:06 GMT
Organization: X Industries, Heavy Weapons R&D

(Hoi Chong) writes:
>(PROF D. Rogers (EAS FAC)):
>> Easy Mr. Chong. Most of us on the net would not care if you were purple
>> and came from Mars. You'd get the same sort of response.
>> 
>> As I recall in your first posting you did not indicate that you were
>> a student. Consequently, most assumed that you were a PP and were
>> behaving incorrectly. You got told about it. That is the nature of
>> this group. Most of us are VERY concerned with safety and what you
>> did was basically unsafe. Learn from the comments.
>
>From the beginning I had said that it was accidental, and I learned from
>it (stay away from cloud).  The main point of the post was to alert other 
>pilots, student or otherwise not to mess with cloud. 

it may perhaps have been precisely this
that alarmed people.  the FARs are pretty
clear about clouds.  there is a table in
the FAR that explicitly lists what distances
you need to maintain from clouds, and 
also other sections that state who can fly
in IMC, etc. etc.

pilots, student or otherwise, who know about
this FAR (it is VERY important, perhaps one
of the more important regulations) grow a
little concerned when another pilot (student
or otherwise) phrases their statements in 
such a way that it implies that they did not
know about maintaining clearances from clouds.
their concern stems from a worry that if someone
missed a regulation that is that obvious, there
may be other critical knowledge points that
are missing.  and believe it or not, a good
portion of this concern is for your own continued
longevity.  pilots are *never* happy when another
pilot plows it in.

>But it seems some people has to have the last word, like accusing me
>of delibrately going into cloud, or the general "flying unsafely" 
>accusation, when I had said that it was accidental and it taught me
>a great deal.  These people seems to think that they are God when it
>come to flying, and that other people who commit mistakes have no right 
>talking about their experience on the net, and that the same people will
>never learn from their mistake. 

see my second paragraph above.  it's not
so much that people think they are god
(ha!  i know *i'm* not.), so much as they
are concerned for your own health.  it's
not apparent, from any of your postings 
so far, that you knew of the cloud clearance
distances, or that you had even seen the
cloud before you entered it.  were you 
aware of either of these?  i myself have
twice encountered situations with clouds
where i have turned around rather than 
continue.  on both occasions i was VERY
aware of EXACTLY where the clouds were.

clouds (also known as "continued VFR flight
into IMC) are one of the largest pilot-killers,
if not *the* largest.  hence the alarm.

>As for Mr Ginsberg, he implied that I don't have the ability to learn, 
>hence my instructor should not allow me to solo.  

er, no.  it is not uncommon for an instructor
to neglect or gloss over some aspect of flight
training.  there is, after all, so VERY much
to learn and to teach.  in this circumstance, 
it's best for both student and instructor to get 
together and go over this material, as they
both profit from the experience.

my own instructor finds me very funny.  i'm 
continually calling him to clarify things 
that i don't think i'm clear enough on, and
have on occasion forced him to ride with me
when i feel that it's been too long since my
last flight.  we discuss things that i'm unclear
on, so that i get them straight, and he knows
of new ways to present topics so it's clear
the first time around.

i don't believe matt was implying that you 
don't have the ability to learn so much as
he was observing that it might be a learning
experience for both of you to get together
and discuss the situation, if you haven't 
already.  

>The only thing 
>I could conclude from that is that since Mr Ginsberg does not
>know me personally, and the only thing he know is that I am not white, 
>then he must think that I cannot learn because of the nature of my 
>anchestry.  Mr Ginsberg may not be racist, and I am very sure he is not, 
>but he was as just plain ol' asking for it.  

<snort>  one thing you've missed: you're 
on the net.  the written word carries no
guarantee of color, gender, or background.
many people (myself included) use psuedonyms
or nicknames.  the name of the author is
rarely a good indication of one's background
when one posts to the net.  most longtime 
net inhabitants are aware of this and don't
associate racial connotations to logins.  for
instance, what race would you say *i'm* from?
rather hard to tell, isn't it?

			stormwind

			hell's amazon