Opinions of the Mid America Flight Museum

[Mark Allen M]

I didn't say they didn't read it. Most don't contribute and most don't have much good to say about it,

Soooooo! .... your saying there's still a chance?

[Old Shep]

Tim is right....and Mark, I love your many posts with thos incredible photos.

[CoastieJohn]

IMO the context of the motto For God and Country is an old school rallying cry. Much like Win One For The Gipper, Mom and Apple Pie.

[Mark Allen M]

Tim is most likely right unfortunately. I'll somewhat agree with that. The only problem I have is it's extremely unfair for "most" warbird owners to have not much good to say about WIX. (if this is true anyway). I have noticed for a good long time now that the WIX forums have seemed to be quite civil and respectful. Very rarely now do you see a keyboard fist fight going on. Does it happen? of course it does ... it's an internet forum with thousands of people with an 'opinion' on everything!. It is what it is and that will never change, but rarely in all my years hanging out on WIX have I seen anyone actually seriously bad mouthing a warbird owner directly unless he/she deserved it for some obvious reason that 99 out of 100 would concur. And even that's been rare.

Look! you put two people in a room and you'll eventually have a difference of opinion in due time. This website has thousands of folks from all over the world and every now and then someone will come along that has a beef about something (example: me). But most beef's that I've seen on WIX have been tame compared to literally all other forums I've seen. That's why this one is it for me.

My point being Tim is sadly correct most likely, and that's a shame. It's too bad that some people tend to take things harder than others (example: me again), but there's a guy here on WIX who has never done anyone wrong and has never been unfair, disrespectful, rude or a jerk to anyone. Not to warbird owners, not to go-cart owners and not to passive-aggressive types (example: me again, shoot!). All he does is put his heart and soul into this website to keep it up and running so thousands of us can attempt to contribute, learn, teach, bicker and enjoy warbirds. It's a tough job for Scott and one he does quite well even while attending to family obligations, serious health issues over the years and working two or more jobs to pay the bills for this site to stay alive. Many of us take it for granted that what Scott does is not that big a deal and WIX will never go away, and that is simply untrue.

So the rambling is to state that Scott Rose does not need nor deserve to see negativity for any reason directed toward his website, not even if it's perhaps true. Luckily for this forum you have some real heavy hitters who know their warbird stuff, so the Trolls usually don't last long and the one's who do last are usually well reformed to be better contributors (example: ah! forget it!)

Tim's a good guy and well respected, he's one of my "Breakfast Club" members and I'm proud to have him a member. He knows what he's talking about as well. So I can only point out that for this particular thread, there was just one guy who expressed his opinion of an issue that he didn't see eye to eye with. He didn't start a thread bashing a warbird owner, he didn't insult the guy, he just asked the WIX community what their thoughts were on the subject. I thought it was harmless and the OP was being as respectful as need be. The feedback he got was 99% disagree = everyone, 1% agree = OP. I'd say that if the warbird owner in question (any warbird owner for that matter) has seen this thread he/she wouldn't be too miffed or offended. I'm fine with it.

I've learned the hard way over the years how to act and treat people on these forums, and at times it is difficult and d*mn near impossible, but Scott has allowed me to keep sticking around and I think I'm finally getting a bit better. The one thing that stands out about my time on this site is I've come to the conclusion that without Scott Rose and his amazing hard work, we would have nothing remotely close to this level of "all things Warbird". I think all of us can agree with that .... even the warbird owners.

There's a LOT of good to see and say about WIX, I hope the warbird owners see that as well even if they don't care to contribute.

[C VEICH]

Well said Mark. Scott deserves far more praise than he gets, although he probably doesn't think so and I'm sure would never say. But I do! Thank you Scott for providing a place for us "nuts" to gather. It is the only warbird related web site that I visit every time I get on the computer.

[JohnB]

IMO the context of the motto For God and Country is an old school rallying cry. Much like Win One For The Gipper, Mom and Apple Pie.

That's what I said several posts back, but I did some research and I was very surprised to see (that according to the book listing B-17 nickname), no Flying Fortress has that name.

That doesn't mean we are wrong about the slogan being used in a non-religious way, just that it (at least in one type) wasn't used as a nickname.
As I said, I was surprised, so I thought I'd pass along my finding.

[warbird51]

If you are uncomfortable with supporting or visiting them because of their motto then all I can offer is that you not support or visit them. I'm sure the owners would agree. Many of us, me included, would consider supporting them precisely because of their motto. That's the beauty of the good old USA. As a privately owned collection they are free to use any motto they like and even to engage in evangelism should they choose to do so. Although I have a hard time equating the motto "For God and Country" with evangelism. My .02 cents only of course.

Plus 1

[b29driver]

Our country is in decline. I am sad.

So many mouse turds on the road of life that must be pole vaulted over.

[p51]

Boy, folks are sure touchy!

I would say, "Welcome to the internet," but you know that already.
The internet gives a voice to those who never would have one originally. In many cases, that's not such a great thing. This is why the flat earth concept has gained traction again after being a punchline for centuries.
But people are looking for things to be offended by. It's not tough to find them in such a case.

[seabee1526]

I've joined a group called P.O.O.P., People Offended by Offended People

[WIXerGreg]

So many mouse turds on the road of life that must be pole vaulted over.

Never heard that one but I intend to reuse it. Thanks!

[Boeing666]

I was curious what everyone's opinions of the Mid America Flight Museum were. They're a relatively new museum, so I don't I have a lot of history to go on, but from what I've seen so far, there's a couple of things of which I'm not a fan.

First, the "motto" of their museum is "For God & Country". I'm not here to start a discussion on the rightness or wrongness of religion – I have no problem with people believing whatever they want – but supporting or visiting the museum would make me feel uncomfortable. I think it's wrong for a museum to be involved in what I see as a form of evangelism.

Secondly, while I have to give them props for the frequency with which they put out excellent videos on their YouTube channel, they recently posted a three videos (1, 2, 3) that seemed to me to be essentially an infomercial for someone's cleaning product. Again, I have no problem with aviation museums thanking their sponsors – it's a necessary part of funding – but these extended demos came off as blatant product placement.

Does anyone else find fault with these things, or am I making a stink out of nothing?

I'm a definite atheist. I have no problem with their motto, it's an old saying if anything. I'm there to see the planes, not their motto. Hell I talk to the guys from the Mission Aviation and JAARs when they are at Oshkosh or Sun N Fun - not interested in their religion but interested in the aircraft that they fly.