A rant.

[LadyO2Pilot]

Thanks for the additonal giggle, Eric. and the encouragement BDK (I've never backed down.....just amazing that in this day and age we would hear such).

Eric,,,,,I plan to be at MAF...hope other Eric (or Bill C) sends me an invite. I was suprised at how well the Vietnam deal went last year with all the various aircraft and people. Rick and I fly together a bunch but with the rest was a first. I'm just glad CAF and Ralph finally included that time period in the show. I was kinda tired of being a funny looking WWII trainer in the parade....LOL. Look forward to flying with you again and we'll just make it better and better

[kzollitsch]

I have a least one person come up to my AD5 and ask me if it's a corsair at every airshow.

That's ok, at Thunder I overheard a man telling his son that the reason the wings were bent on the Corsair was so the wings could fold to fit on an aircraft carrier. He then pointed over the to the Stearmans and N3N and proclaimed "Those are WWI planes over there".

[Steve Nelson]

I'm the pilot and the owner" "There's no way that could be" "Why?" "Because you're a girl...no way that plane belongs to you or you could fly it" <macho man stomps off angrily>

The dude would have s**t a brick if he'd ever seen Sue Parish flying her infamous Pink P-40 (my girlfreind's favorite airplane..she loves P-40s, and anything pink!)

I think it's a good idea for aircraft owners and operators to place a large sign next to the aircraft door outlining the huge costs of operating these rare birds.

The CAF used to do that with Fifi..I seem to remember back in the '90s it was running around two grand an hour.


SN

[aerovin]

I guess it's more fun to make fun of people who can't tell the difference between a Navy blue AD-5 and a Navy blue F4U (or was that an FG?) than it is to make fun of people who write "your" when they mean "you're" or "there" when they mean "their." I guess we all need to feel smarter in some way. But, I just smiled so it's okay.

[EDowning]

Sknight wrote:

Eric,
Your Corsair comment is too funny. You see, my sister lives within spitting distance of the Jackson airport. She called me and was trying to describe the aircraft that she saw. She said there were a couple of Corsairs there. I was proud of her, I figured that my superior tutoring skills were being put to good use....until she said that she knew they were Corsairs because they were blue

Hope you had a good time and were treated well.

Thanks for the comments. I had a great time at Jackson. The FAA there was as easy to work with as any place I have ever been. Dave Volk was flying Jim Read's Corsair and John Lohmar was flying the MO Wing CAF TBM-3E, the 3 of us had a blast beating up the field on many passes for each of the 4 performances over the 2 days. I would welcome the chance to go back again next year.

Aerovin wrote:

I guess it's more fun to make fun of people who can't tell the difference between a Navy blue AD-5 and a Navy blue F4U (or was that an FG?) than it is to make fun of people who write "your" when they mean "you're" or "there" when they mean "their." I guess we all need to feel smarter in some way. But, I just smiled so it's okay.

Thanks for you're post, just seeing it their, makes me feel smarter. Which was of course, was the point of this whole thread.

[Steve Nelson]

Don't forget "its" and "it's," as well as "to," "two," and "too.!"

As for airplanes, I've been a museum tour guide, and try not to be too hard on the uninformed..most tend to be willing to listen, and share a common love of the planes and their history. I freely admit that I learned as much (if not more) from knowledgable visitors than they did from me, especially the vets. The only ones who really bugged were those who insisted that they were right, knew everything, and refused to learn anything new.


SN

[mlenoch]

(Eric: Its Dave Folk...........I'll let him know that I'm not the only whose name is misspelled!)

[skydaddy61]

At Gathering of Eagles, a fellow who appeared to be of a vintage that "should know" (i.e., older than me by a couple decades) asked me whether the B-25 was a B-17.

Not every kid played with aircraft spotter recognition cards, I guess.

Don't feel bad. I've heard tales from NASA visitor centor folks about parents who should remember the moon landings telling their kids about the scientific apparatus mounted on the floor sweeper left inside the ropes by the Lunar Lander.

If we don't educate them, who will?

[EDowning]

Vlado wrote:

(Eric: Its Dave Folk...........I'll let him know that I'm not the only whose name is misspelled!)

Thanks, just a typo. Guess I should proof read my posts better. Even more so, when I am making snide remarks in other parts of the same post.

Well, the flying was fun, anyway. And Dave is a great guy to boot!

[Eric Friedebach]

Reading the posts, I find it interesting those spectators these days have some issues with aircraft tour fees.

Do the airshows advertise “Free Admission”?

[Dan K]

Advertising expenses with a billboard is a good idea, but I think part of the problem explaining aircraft expenses to the general public is this mindset: "Oh sure; I have to pay $5.00 so that you get to go fly in it."

An approach with which I've enjoyed success is explaining how much money the individual is saving. An exchange I had with an old timer years ago (who balked at paying to tour Fifi) went something like this:

OT: "How come I have to pay to tour this old airplane--I'm a veteran/taxpayer/Republican/whatever."

ME: "Sir, if you wanted to see another B-29, how far would you have to drive to get to the nearest example?"

OT: "I have no idea--suppose you tell me."

ME: "I'd be happy to. The next-nearest B-29 is located in Dayton, Ohio. To drive to Dayton and back would cost you several hundreds of dollars, not to mention food, and quite possibly an overnight hotel stay. Now, these fine folks have spent several thousand dollars (per hour) to bring this fine aircraft all the way to Wisconsin so that folks like you could see a restored B-29 for only $5.00. So, what do you say?"

OT: (sheepish grin) "Well...since you put it that way..."

[T J Johansen]

(It's why I'm excited about GML; who wants to bet there are people who complain there aren't enough Spitfires or there are too many Mustangs? )

For the benefit of our American friends, while at GML I intend to do a 7 minute routine with complaining, whining, and general b*tchin. Just to make sure your daily airshow routine stays normal (we don't want you to get spoiled...). This will take place near the commentary booth on the Saturday from 8:30am to 8:37am. Do bring your family and friends...

T J

[Obergrafeter]

You mean to tell me we had people refuse to pay to look at over 40 warbirds at Stinson all those years ago Lynn? Should have told him the warbirds were free, but the Hooters girls were extra. Send him over to the oyster bake where he could pay three times as much in order to go in and pay for everything in existence if he could force his way thru the crowds and get beer spilt over him. After all we only flew those birds all day, an average of nine hours of entertainment for 5 bucks.........what were we thinking?

[mustangdriver]

(It's why I'm excited about GML; who wants to bet there are people who complain there aren't enough Spitfires or there are too many Mustangs? )

For the benefit of our American friends, while at GML I intend to do a 7 minute routine with complaining, whining, and general b*tchin. Just to make sure your daily airshow routine stays normal (we don't want you to get spoiled...). This will take place near the commentary booth on the Saturday from 8:30am to 8:37am. Do bring your family and friends...

T J

Will you be selling T-shirts as well?

[Ollie]

Every now and then, at airshows where I'm displaying the Focke-Wulf, I get people commenting on this Nazi aircraft that I'm flying. Now, I wouldn't mind the comment if I was hauling my bulk in a 109 or a 190, but the wee 149 with her Maltese crosses and Federal Republic flag doesn't look so Nazi at all...