# The Great Ongoing Aviation Thread (general and other) (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499 "2011-10-23T02:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 146
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2903 "2022-09-01T20:40:42Z")
Boys, boys… > **[Two Air France pilots suspended after cockpit fight](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/air-france-pilots-cockpit-fight/index.html)** > > The incident during a flight from Geneva to Paris involved an exchange of "inappropriate gestures" but did not compromise safety, an Air France spokesperson said. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2904 "2022-09-02T00:42:10Z")
There have been certain incidents that did not arise to the level of FAA involvement involving MAGATs and normies in the same cockpit. Likewise issues between pilots who were not white hetero cis male and cow-orkers who thought only white male cishets could / should be pilots. Shit happens. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2905 "2022-09-02T01:45:52Z")
Somehow it’s funnier to me that they were French. I’m imagining them girl-slapping each other. “Sacre bleu!!!” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2906 "2022-09-02T01:54:08Z")
One pilot knocks the Galois out of the other’s lips, then he counterslaps the first pilot’s beret across the cockpit. Soon they are insulting each other in Monty Python’s _Holy Grail_ style while the Airbus slowly rolls inverted. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2907 "2022-09-02T16:49:33Z")
> **[GA moves closer to unleaded future](https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2022/september/01/closer-to-an-unleaded-future?utm_source=ebrief&utm_medium=email)** > > The FAA delivered September 1 the long-sought approval of an unleaded fuel now cleared to power every spark-ignition engine on any airframe in the general aviation fleet. > The FAA signed on September 1 supplemental type certificates that allow General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s 100-octane unleaded fuel (G100UL) to be used in every general aviation spark-ignition engine and every airframe powered by those engines. The move was hailed by the industry as a major step in the transition to an unleaded GA future. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2908 "2022-09-02T17:54:15Z")
Wow. I have not been following the play-by-play on this closely, but this is a total game-changer. Which means the next move in this drama is how fast the EPA prohibits the production of 100LL and how quickly the refineries, pipelines, wholesalers, retailers, dispensers, trucks, etc., can retool for G100UL. Which changes are probably largest at the head = production end and comparatively trivial at the final = sales-into-plane end. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2909 "2022-09-02T19:33:16Z")
Huh, that’s pretty great. As I imagine is the case in many places, there’s a local airport (Reid-Hillview) with continuous pressure to shut down, and the leaded gas aspect is a huge cudgel in this fight–especially as the flight path passes directly over an elementary school. It’s also in a poorer area, so there’s a social justice element as well. While a lead-free fuel doesn’t erase all the negative aspects of having an airport in a dense neighborhood, it sure is a big positive step. The AOPA article seems to recognize the political issues as well: > Baker said it’s important to get any fuels approved for use to the California market as soon as practical, in light of the fact that some municipalities have prematurely banned the sale of leaded avgas and threatened a safe and smart transition to unleaded fuel. “It is a politically charged issue there, and this will help keep our airports open with fuel that works with all aircraft.” Hopefully, KRHV and similarly pressured airports can get some of the first batches of fuel. I wonder what the secret sauce is here. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2910 "2022-09-03T15:15:07Z")
> **[Pilot arrested after threatening to crash plane into Mississippi Walmart and...](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/03/us/tupelo-mississippi-pilot-threatens-walmart/index.html)** > > A worker at an airport who stole a twin-engine plane Saturday morning and threatened to crash it into a Mississippi Walmart was arrested after he eventually landed in a field, police said. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2911 "2022-09-03T16:33:56Z")
From CNN: > A stolen plane that flew for hours around Tupelo and other areas of Mississippi is “down,” according to a government source familiar with the situation. > > A separate source told CNN the pilot is in custody. > > FlightAware live tracking of the plane stopped near the town of Ashland, Mississippi, at 10:07 a.m. CT. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2912 "2022-09-03T17:39:34Z")
That was a flight that was going to end in custody or in flames. Seems like we got the right answer for once. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2913 "2022-09-03T17:48:22Z")
Or in Sporting Goods. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2914 "2022-09-03T17:54:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That was a flight that was going to end in custody or in flames. Seems like we got the right answer for once. that wasn’t a simple single engine plane so it had to be someone well experienced in complex aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2915 "2022-09-03T19:59:03Z")
Maybe. @Johnny_L.A’s CNN article says he worked as a lineman at an FBO and was probably not a licensed pilot. Like a few Saudis 20+ years ago he may have been an armchair whiz at Microsoft Flight Simulator or the like. Interesting to me that at the end he elected to land in a field rather than aim at an airport. Whether that was from fuel exhaustion or from planning for a simpler aiming task remains to be seen. Also sounds like somewhere along the way he went from trying to kill others to trying to kill himself to trying for self-preservation. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2916 "2022-09-03T20:15:40Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Like a few Saudis 20+ years ago he may have been an armchair whiz at Microsoft Flight Simulator or the like. None of them took off and by aviation standards their landings were a failure. Maybe the person involved was a taxi-qualified mechanic who understood the skills need to fire up a twin turbine plane. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2917 "2022-09-03T20:48:07Z")
Well, the guy did manage to start up a King Air, take off and fly around, set it up for a final approach, break off the approach, fly around until he was out of fuel then dead-stick it into a field and walk away from it. He’s obviously disturbed, but what he actually managed would not be easy for someone who just had a little flight instruction. MS Flight Sim might be fairly effecetive in teaching some of the basics of flying. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2918 "2022-09-03T20:59:10Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > None of them took off and by aviation standards their landings were a failure. That’s a rather unique way of describing the events of 9/11. The Tupelo guy reminds me of the ramper up in Seattle who took off in a Q400, although the outcome was better this time. People occasionally ask me if flying is “hard”. My answer is a definite no. Doing it well - smoothly, efficiently and consistently - that takes some experience and effort. But just taking off and driving it around the sky isn’t difficult, and there’s a great advantage if safety isn’t a concern. I suspect the most problematic hurdle for the un-anointed is starting the engines. Once they’re turning and / or burning, you’re most of the way into the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2919 "2022-09-03T21:17:02Z")
Sure, taking off is pretty easy. And start procedures can be easily learned in something like Flight Simulator. Dead-sticking a King Air into a field and walking away from it is a little more impressive. If a non-pilot had taken over a King Air that lost its engines and the pilot at the same time and managed to put it down in a field like that, we’d probably be calling it an awesome performance. Actually, the article was a little vague as to whether he actually ran out of fuel or was about to when he decided to land. If he still had power, a little less impressive. I’ll bet the guy who did this has spent a whole lot of time flying flight simulators. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2920 "2022-09-03T21:45:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’ll bet the guy who did this has spent a whole lot of time flying flight simulators. Or it’s someone who has a type rating and went nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2921 "2022-09-03T22:07:31Z")
The article suggested that the guy ‘had some training’ but was not a licensed pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/2922 "2022-09-04T00:47:12Z")
I saw the guy’s name and FB posts on Reddit. From that info, someone was able to find the guy in IACRA and saw that he had fewer than 10 hours and his 3rd class medical expired many years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499.md?page=145) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499.md?page=147)