Warbird Information Exchange

I don't know any of the facts of the event at Oshkosh other than what I read on WIX. However it is common after airshows to have a beer, etc. Oshkosh particularly goes on for a week and it is great to meet people of like interests and go out socially on the town at night.
BUT DON'T DRINK and DRIVE. None of us in our right mind would take a passenger flying after drinking. It is the same with driving. Even if we don't have a passenger in our car, if we are driving on public roads then everybody else is exposed to any danger we cause. We may have the right to risk our own life, either flying or driving, but not someone else's. I know of cases where someone was drunk and speeding and their best friend was killed. There is no way you can ever make that right. No amount of being sorry, no fine, even no years in jail can undo that. There's no second chance if someone is dead. I don't know much about Patty's case, it may not have even been on a public road, may have only been foolish not dangerous. Still, not the thing to do, and I'll bet she is smart enough not to let it happen again.
I know myself at my weight if I drink more than one beer I would not be at my best, even if borderline legal. If I am driving I usually don't drink at all. At most I might have one beer with food over a period of time, IF I only have to drive in good conditions. There is no way I'd drink at all if I was going to drive from Aspen to Denver on a winter night. If you really need or want to drink, find a designated driver before you start, or take a cab, or only drink at your hotel. Our town has free taxi service home when you've had too many. Patty's group could have probably have had a good time at the Hilton or Friar Tuck bar and never needed a car. They'd likely been joined by other airshow folks there. And most of all real friends do stop you if you shouldn't be driving, before it's too late.
PS, And if you REALLY get loaded, you might wake up in the morning and find you just paid $600k for a T-28!

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

We just had a incident here in the valley where a repeat drunk driver just killed a husband and wife, and leaving 3 kids orphened,

I say take him around back, throw a rope over a low hanging tree limb, then hand him a hose to water the tree till it grows tall enough to hang his sorry ass. But while he is waiting, he would be surrounded by the pictures of all those whos life he screwed over.

Having lost a family member to a drunk driver I have zero tolerance for drunk driving. I also have no sympathy for someone who gets a DUI. There is no excuse for it.

I had a girlfriend killed by a drunk driver in highschool. I can say that I have never driven drunk. I still drink and have fun, but I won't drive when drunk. I know that there are cases where someone has a beer and are considered legally drunk, and I am not sure I agree with that, but when you start driving down movement areas of an airport, and almost hit aircfraft, well that is not cool.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

"None of us in our right mind would take a passenger flying after drinking."

I don't drink and fly afterwards.....as a matter of fact I rarely drink at all

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EVERYTHING that CAN fly should be ALLOWED to FLY!
IWO JIMA'S best narative..."GOD ISN'T HERE"
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P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.

I am good at drinking and then sleeping.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

I only drink while reading these posts! Tippin' one for ya now!

My doctor said it was OK to have a drink once in while , "just to steady my nerves". The other day I was so steady, I couldn't move.

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Charles Neely

This is a subject that causes me to reflect every time it comes up.

Back in my fulltime musician days, there are more than a few occasions where I was so stupid I really have no right to have survived them. I thank God on a fairly regular basis for the added balance He provided me so I didn't kill myself on my motorcycle any of the occasions I most certainly should have.

I certainly have a heightened sense of making more responsible decisions since my sons were born...I carry a strict self-imposed two dring limit if I'm driving. It's amazing how many more things I remember than I used to after a night with friends.

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"Anyway, the throat feels a bit rough...the legs have gone...but I'm still able to chant, so let's get going."

Joe Strummer, 1999

Joe, a two drink limit might be one too many, especially if you are drinking hard liquor or extra large beers. If you want a general idea, call the local police and give them your weight, then ask how many ounces it takes to put you over the limit. In Colo. there are two limits, one for impaired and one for drunk, both are bad especially if you are the defendant in a suit after an accident. I can't even imagine riding a motorcycle while impaired.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Bill, not to be funny, especially after the post I just put up over on the Wagstaff thread but limits in your part of the world could be different than somewhere at a lower altitude.

My wife and I had dinner in Canyon City one night and she had two Margaritas. Knocked for a loop. She didn't know about the difference between sea level and drinks with altitude.

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"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass..."
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto

Bill, I am a police officer here in Colorado. There is no formula or chart for a police officer to use to figure out someone's blood alcohol (BA) content using their weight and amount of alcohol consumed. The only way to know someone's BA content is to take a breath, blood, or urine test after they've been drinking. One of the things we're trained on in reference to DUI's is that every person is different. And there are many factors that are involved and influence someone's BA. Some of those factors are, weight, amount of stomach content, type of food in the stomach, metabolism, and type of alcohol consumed just to name a few.

There are many myths out there. One of the big ones is that coffee will sober you up. All it does is give you a wide awake drunk. Another is to refuse to do roadside maneuvers and you can't get arrested.

In Colorado we have what's called DUI per se. That means a full tilt DUI, i.e. over .08 BA content. We also have DWAI (Driving While Alcohol Impaired) which is .05 BA content. But believe it or not you can get a DUI here in Colorado even if you are under that .05 BA number. Some people are real lightweights and if your driving is impaired even if you're under .05, you can be charged with DUI. I've never arrested anyone under .05, nor seen another officer do it, but it is possible.

With all that said, I'm not against going out and having a drinking, or two, or more. I like to drink too. I just stay inside or have a sober driver. But after doing CPR on a 2 year old in the middle of the highway after a drunk hit his family's car on Christmas Eve, I don't ever want to see that again.


Doug

P.S. How's the Spit coming along?

Rick, altitude does not play a factor in blood alcohol content.


Doug

Maybe not in blood content, but alcohol and altitude definitely DOES affect normal body function. You are significantly more prone to hypoxia at altitude after drinking alcohol due to reduced ability of the bloodstream to carry oxygen. I'm guessing that this would certainly affect brain functions.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Ryan, that makes sense. Unfortunately there's no way to measure the effect of altitude on someone that's intoxicated.