Aviation Information

Young Men Trying to Imitate the 9-11 Scenario, Part I


Why did the young man near Tampa, FL fly a little private aircraft into the Bank of America building there? A Cessna 152; What damage could that possibly do? We must figure out a way in preventing our youth from growing up into homegrown terrorists.

Young men crashing into buildings in airplanes is simply insane; how could this happen. Although in the scheme of things this act in itself is irrelevant to life on Earth, we should explore it. First let's say that we need a mentoring program for those who excel in whatever it is they choose. The young man in Tampa chose to fly. He caught the flying bug as aviators say and that was that. Many others too had caught that bug. Myself included.

My brother flies a C-130 for the US Marines, my dad was a Navy jet jock and grandfathers flew in WWII. Realize that many other famous people caught the flying bug. Including our current President and his father also a President and pilot in WWII. So we cannot condemn a person who wants to reach beyond the norm, someone who wants to achieve, some one who strives and ultimately fulfills that need through flight. There was nothing wrong with a young man wishing to fly. It is actually quite admirable.

While other kids are poking pencils at each other in classrooms, ditching school, and cheating on tests, this young man was studying his homework during his classes to give him extra time to fly, his true passion. So do we need more FAA rules against flying at a young age? No. We need a better mentoring program for those who excel in other areas besides the typical sports, student government, grades, music or extra curricular activities that all kids do. For those who are different, want to achieve different objectives or are simply not cut from the same mold, we need to pay attention to these needs. These are also our future leaders. Gates for instance took apart computers designed little programs and operating systems and we called him a geek. Why? We needed his expertise and driven nature to help propel PC use, which has now simplified life for nearly one-third the population on the Planet and helped in the productivity and betterment of all mankind.

If you read biographies as I do, at least a few hundred of them of great people, you will see that many achieve or excel at an early age at something way away from what we call the norm. Einstein was thrown out of school, they said he would not amount to anything. Even on the dark side. The little Hitler youth who studied in Vienna to become an architect was unable to do go after his dream. Had he had a mentor he could have followed in those years after his mother died or even a supporting father, his innate abilities to draw buildings, may have helped him become one the world's leading architects of the time. Fore it is often the drive and human spirit which is the wild card of human endeavor. But instead we all know what happened.

There is a program for those young flying kids. It is called the Civil Air Patrol. I was a member. It is to develop strong aerospace leaders for the future. Yet the IRS came down on private pilots and aircraft owners for using it as a tax write off for fuel for their private planes. Many of these pilots used this extra fuels to take students or cadets in the CAP-Civil Air Patrol up for rides. They took the youth on field trip type weekend events and searches for crashed or lost aircraft and looked for the locations of ELT-Emergency Locator transmissions.

Our company, The Aircraft Wash Guys, www.aircraftwashguys.com , has helped raise money for the CAP with fundraising events in the past. To help build leadership and camaraderie without giving away free fish, teaching them to fish if you will. This is something that the young man who flew into the B of A building was clearly missing. Others in his peer group and older people who understood his dreams to fly. His counselor at school told us of the young man's statement; "I wish I could do something to help my country, I would like to join the air force and fly an aircraft to help." That does not sound like a bad or evil person to me. At the airport he washed aircraft and he traded for pilots lessons. I did the same thing as young person. It takes a lot of aircraft washes to pay for fuel and instructor and a plane for an hour these days. With liability insurance at FBOs-Fixed Base Operators so high; nearly 30% of the cost to rent the damn airplane is insurance. Why? Attorneys. They sue every time someone crashes. They sue the manufacturer Cessna, they sue the flight school, they sue the estates of the instructors, the pilot himself and any other person they can think of. We are talking millions, not thousands. That is the problem with the cost. Read Airport Business, Flying, AOPA, Sport Aviation or Private Pilot, you will see. When the luxury tax law was enacted 30 years ago the aviation market tanked and never really recovered. People who had aircraft they bought leased them back to a flight school to afford the monthly payments. It worked good and lots of aircraft and lots of people learning to fly. That was wonderful for general aviation, aircraft sales prices and the entire general aviation industry. With a lease backed plane to an FBO an owner could also have the ITC-Investment Tax Credits on the purchase and then write off the payments. This caused more aircraft to be sold and Piper, Cessna, Mooney, Beechcraft, Rockwell, Aeronica, Robinson, Grumman all did well in aviation.

End Part I

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs


MORE RESOURCES:

Aviation Week

TSA catches heat over private aviation proposals
Atlanta Journal Constitution,  USA - 5 hours ago
About 200 pilots, directors of corporate flight departments and representatives of the business aviation community from across the Southeast packed a ...
Air Security Could Involve Private Jets New York Times
Graves finds aviation rule proposal excessive St. Joseph News-Press
TSA rules could hurt business jets The Wichita Eagle
Private Jet Daily - Aero-News Network
all 34 news articles


Boston Globe

Aviation industry strives to find alternative fuels
SmartBrief, DC - 4 hours ago
The aviation industry wants to find an alternative to jet fuel after it got burned last summer. Continental Airlines is testing fuel made from the tropical ...
Jet Biofuel May Be Commercially Viable Soon, Point Carbon Says Bloomberg
Flying on Vegetables New York Times
Biofuels gain momentum in aviation industry Washington Energy Services
Los Angeles Times - Aero-News Network
all 257 news articles


Great Lakes Aviation December load factor down 8 pts
RTT News, NY - 16 hours ago
(RTTNews) - Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (GLUX.OB: News ) reported preliminary passenger traffic results for the month of December 2008 and year ending ...
Great Lakes Aviation announces Montana flights Montana's News Station
Great Lakes Aviation releases December traffic results Trading Markets (press release)
Air service returning to four more Montana cities Billings Gazette
Great Falls Tribune - The Missoulian
all 38 news articles


Art and aviation
Reno News & Review, NV - 13 hours ago
By Brad Bynum Count Guido Roberto Deiro was a pilot and businessman “heavily involved with aviation matters in Nevada,” when he met Michael Heizer, ...


Army aviation officials seek to improve communications
FCW.com, VA - 4 hours ago
By Doug Beizer Army aviation commanders are developing ways to use technology to share up-to-date information about the problems faced by deployed troops, ...


Aviation firm buys airport manager
Poughkeepsie Journal, NY - 15 hours ago
Aviation Facilities Company, Inc. announced Wednesday it purchased AvPORTS, which manages day-to-day operations at seven US airports, including Stewart ...
Albany Int'l Airport's management co. acquired Bizjournals.com
AFCO buys out AvPORTS, contract operator of Stewart operations ... Mid-Hudson News
Some change, and stability, at airport: New owner agrees to ... Trading Markets (press release)
Branson Courier - Bizjournals.com
all 16 news articles


Are Aviation Biofuels Are More Hype Than Hope?
Wired News - 3 hours ago
By Dave Demerjian January 08, 2009 | 3:00:00 PMCategories: Biofuel The commercial aviation industry, hammered by rising fuel costs and increased pressure to ...


NBC4i.com

Southwest: Pilot on paid leave pending alcohol investigation
USA Today - 3 hours ago
"The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident Tuesday at Port Columbus in which two passengers accused a Southwest Airlines pilot of ...
Travelers say they smelled alcohol, confronted pilot Columbus Dispatch
Southwest pilot called in sick after passengers accused him of ... Gadling
Southwest Puts Suspected Intoxicated Pilot On Leave Aero-News Network
NBC4i.com
all 5 news articles


Phillips 66 Aviation Adds To Its FBO Network
Aero-News Network, FL - 18 hours ago
Phillips 66 Aviation rang in 2009 with a number of Midwestern fixed base operators now offering its branded services. Butterfly Aviation in Goodland, ...
Fliers get fuel choice Denton Record Chronicle
Reps press for lower air fares, invite operators The Guardian - Nigeria
Appalling state of airport facilities The Guardian - Nigeria
all 4 news articles


NZ Herald Hamilton Metro

Data Retrieved From Airbus Crash as Investigation Continues
Wall Street Journal - 7 hours ago
The crash has been closely watched by the global aviation community because the twin-engine A320 is a workhorse of airlines across the globe. ...
French police recover data from Air NZ black boxes NZ Herald Hamilton Metro
Breakthrough in Air NZ crash investigation BusinessDay.co.nz
Useful data retrieved from Air NZ Airbus black boxes Newstalk ZB
Radio New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz
all 21 news articles

Aviation - Google News

home | index |site map
© 2006