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Some people????

C

[email protected]

Well Known Member
Some people???? We had a fly-in breakfast a few weeks back and to make room for tables in the hanger I volunteered to leave my RV6A outside for the weekend. On Sunday morning while helping out I noticed a father helping his 8 year old son climb up on the wing of my RV6A. When I asked him to please not climb on the plane the father seemed kind of indifferent. I suggested that he might not mind if my daughter got on his motor bike and played with it. I got this look??? His son asked what the static port was and what it was for. I explained it was for the instruments and told him why you never blow in them. The father at that point said good by, took his son and left. Two weeks later I take the RV up for a flight. My altimeter is reading 2400 ft off…. I did not connect it right away but after thinking about it I realized that the kid climbing on my plane had blown into the static port and destroyed my altimeter and possibly my encoder as well as VSI. That would explain why they left so quickly after I explained about the static port. (AND SAID NOTHING) How do people like this make it through life. The plane will not be leave the hanger next fly-in
 
[email protected] said:
Some people???? We had a fly-in breakfast a few weeks back and to make room for tables in the hanger I volunteered to leave my RV6A outside for the weekend. On Sunday morning while helping out I noticed a father helping his 8 year old son climb up on the wing of my RV6A. When I asked him to please not climb on the plane the father seemed kind of indifferent. I suggested that he might not mind if my daughter got on his motor bike and played with it. I got this look??? His son asked what the static port was and what it was for. I explained it was for the instruments and told him why you never blow in them. The father at that point said good by, took his son and left. Two weeks later I take the RV up for a flight. My altimeter is reading 2400 ft off?. I did not connect it right away but after thinking about it I realized that the kid climbing on my plane had blown into the static port and destroyed my altimeter and possibly my encoder as well as VSI. That would explain why they left so quickly after I explained about the static port. (AND SAID NOTHING) How do people like this make it through life. The plane will not be leave the hanger next fly-in
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That's something that drives me crazy!!!

You try to help, volunteer for it because you feel good, and what do you get back?

RRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr
 
Aw don't let one idiot ruin your fun! Repair the damage and buy some cool pitot covers with "Remove Before Flight" on em' Then proudly display your bird at the next fly-in.
This is supposed to be a fun hobby. Don't become a grumpy old man. :)
 
I have had similar experiences. I don't know how you get around it other than to stay with it, post signs, etc. I had a new paint job and came back to find two people having a picnic on my wing! They didn't seem to understand why I didn't want them leaning on the plane and putting their lunch on it. I have a hard time responding nicely to people that are so indifferent about other's property. Signs do work fairly well. For a new paint job that isn't cured, I would use a barrier around it with signs in the future or keep it put away. If you can't show it off, it takes away a lot of the fun.
 
I was at a small fly-in in Texas where I witnessed several cheerleaders being posed for a picture by an adult. They were sitting/leaning on the open front canopy edge of Judy Stock's RV-6A while standing on her seats inside the airplane. She was way more gracious than I would have been.

This is one of the great things about LOE. I have never seen such problems there.
 
uhhuh35 said:
Aw don't let one idiot ruin your fun! Repair the damage and buy some cool pitot covers with "Remove Before Flight" on em' Then proudly display your bird at the next fly-in.
This is supposed to be a fun hobby. Don't become a grumpy old man. :)
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This is a real classy guy. Sounds like he would let anybody do whatever they want to his airplane.
I agree with John Collins. I had three kids running on my 6A wing while the parents stood by and watched. My conversation with them was not pretty.
I also quit going to fly in's. It's not worth the agravation and worry.
 
static port?

[email protected] said:
I did not connect it right away but after thinking about it I realized that the kid climbing on my plane had blown into the static port and destroyed my altimeter and possibly my encoder as well as VSI.
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Was it the pitot tube or static port that was "blown" into? Pitot would affect airspeed only. I believe blowing into the static port would not apply much pressure to the instruments if you have the dual static ports, since the port on the other side of the plane would relieve any air pressure applied. Could all be an unfortunate coincidence.

Wonder what the father would have said if you had handed him the repair bill for the indicator? (probably just shrugged his shoulders)
 
dbgrosch said:
This is a real classy guy. Sounds like he would let anybody do whatever they want to his airplane.
I agree with John Collins. I had three kids running on my 6A wing while the parents stood by and watched. My conversation with them was not pretty.
I also quit going to fly in's. It's not worth the agravation and worry.
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I do not totally agree with "Uhhuh35" but do not think it is fair to say that he would have no concerns about this himself.

It is a touchy issue to be sure. The fly-ins we attend need to be treated like car shows. How many car shows have you attended where people were allowed to crawl all over that pristine 1962 corvette? Not only do the car show organizers and car owners take precautions to keep it from occurring I would also say the general public recognizes that these are special machines that need to be treated with respect.

I think the reality is that we need to educate, educate, educate. I would lay no blame on a child for doing something inappropriate if that child had not been instructed to behave but I would be likely to come unglued on the parent for allowing their child to do so as I believe it should be the parents duty and responsibility to educate that child. I guess the reality is we cannot assume that someone has educated that parent on proper behavior in these situations.

I am sorry if my ideas offend anyone but the reality is it does take a village to raise a child. Sadly though our society does not accept the notion that someone outside the immediate family of a child can discipline that child. In my opinion we have a generation of adults who are now parents that never had to accept authority figures outside of their family and in some cases they really never had to accept any authority even within their own family. In fact, we now live in a society that views authority figures as negative influences in our lives and should be rebelled against whenever possible.

For those of you who have children, I would ask you to answer these questions as honestly as you can. Have you ever had someone outside your immediate family discipline your child? How did you react to that once you found out they had done so? Did you see it as a positive or negative incident? These are some of the issues associated with why we face these kinds of problems.

Adults should have enough sense to know the importance of not messing with other people's property. If they do not then I think they should be made aware of how rude, inappropriate and in some instances, down right dangerous it is for them to be touching, poking and prodding our machines in no uncertain terms.

I currently own a tube and fabric aircraft that I have flown to several fly-ins that allowed the general public to roam around the aircraft. I have had adults push the airplane around grabbing a control surface and tugging the airplane. I have had someone take a finger and poke the fabric to the point where if they had a sharp fingernail they could have poked a hole through the fabric. It is irritating that the adults who come to these "airplane shows" are unwilling to conform to a sense of appropriate behavior around these special machines.

The way I see it, I have to become a very diligent guard constantly watching out for my aircraft whenever it is around the non-flying public. I have never flown into Oshkosh but would like to some day. However, I have mixed feelings about doing so as I have observed some people doing some ridiculously stupid things around some of those aircraft at Oshkosh. Sometimes it truly does amaze me that individuals in our society today have such little respect for other's property.

Well, sorry for my long winded rant. I will continue to educate any non-flying adults I can about these issues whenever possible. Hopefully, one at a time, I can do some good for the next time that individual is around other aircraft.
 
Spectator abuse

Signs and cautions help but some people ignore everything including verbal warnings. I used to fly our Pitts to OSH but one year a family of obese folks and kids sat all over the airplane and walked on the wing roots. When I explained to them about fabric and possible damage they laughed and ignored me and wouldn't get off my airplane! Had to get some of the line volunteers to get 'em off. The Pitts hasn't been back to OSH. Fortunately it's not a bad drive from Milwaukee. I guess I'm not as tolerant as some folks, and although metal's tougher than fabric I don't want people walking on or getting in my -8 when it's done unless I'm there and give them permission and guidance on how to do it. Hope you don't think I'm too crabby. I'd love to show the plane to anyone who's interested, answer their questions and even have them sit in the plane if they are nice and appropriate - but don't want them on or in the plane on their own. Am I out of line here? Bill
 
Not just the public

I've been fortunate to win a couple of awards with my plane so I'm pretty careful. I've had three incidents of damage.

1) At the Cable airshow in CA I was directed to location to shut down. Before I could get out a worker grabbed my wing tip to pivot my plane 90%. A short time later I discovered the wing tip cracked.

2) At a Jean NV event someone dropped a camera on my RT wheel fairing causing a chip in the paint. A worker told me about it.

3) At the Watsonville CA airshow I was being directed out by a ground worker. It was tight between two highway type barricades. I knew the one on the left was close but he kept waiving me forward. I was watching him as this was very close to where we made the transition from dirt to pavement. As we checked in ready for take off the temp tower radioed to me that the worker said I hit the barricade with my left wing tip.

It scraped the edge of the tip and my speed mod. The damage cost me $300 to get fixed. I tried unsuccessfully for weeks to get in touch with any of the airshow administration to report the event.

I've found the people at Osh to be very respectful of the aircraft in the RV section.

I'm not sure what I'd do if someone was letting kids climb on the plane. My initial response would be to knock the dog pooh out of the parent and let them explain that to their kid!!! Although, extensively trained in media and public relations, I might not follow the conventions of diplomacy:eek:
 
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Bill Dicus said:
<snip>When I explained to them about fabric and possible damage they laughed and ignored me and wouldn't get off my airplane! Had to get some of the line volunteers to get 'em off. The Pitts hasn't been back to OSH.<snip> I don't want people walking on or getting in my -8 when it's done unless I'm there and give them permission and guidance on how to do it. Hope you don't think I'm too crabby. I'd love to show the plane to anyone who's interested, answer their questions and even have them sit in the plane if they are nice and appropriate - but don't want them on or in the plane on their own. Am I out of line here? Bill
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No,
You are NOT, in my opinion, out of line here!! It's one thing for someone who is careless to do something like that when noone is there to stop them, but to laugh at you and keep doing it.....I'd have lost it right there.:mad::mad:

I agree that society has completely lost respect for anyones property, and if you tell someone not to lean on your plane, or truck for that matter, they act like you are the bad guy, and you are just trying to protect your investment. You have a lot of $, and with Vans planes, a lot of blood sweat and tears invested. It would really anger me to see someone **** on that. (stars put in on purpose)

That being said, I also agree that it is OUR responsibility to educate the general public about our planes when they come to airshows. Everyone knows not to poke a 68 Mustang with a pointy object. I'd bet allmost no one knows you shouldn't try to move a plane by pulling on the rudder, or even what a rudder is....

Josh
 
Sometimes people disrespect others property because of jealousy. This behavior can manifest itself in many ways, stares, comments, damage, or even vandalism/sabotage.... or by proxy (letting the kids do it)

Here is an example of vandalism to a private airstrip that ultimately took the life of a fellow RVer.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20030701X00993&key=1

I like the locking gas caps Vans sells and a remote opening oil service door has merit. The public use airport closest to my home is unattended and the perimeter is not fully fenced. The transient tie downs are in an unlit area across the street from a trailer park. I would not park any aircraft there overnight. Great place to gas up though, usually the cheapest fuel in the state.

I do understand the “grumpy old man” comment. Look at people as you drive down the road. Many seniors have a permanent scowl etched in their face from unresolved issues built up over a lifetime. I don’t want to be like that.

But,

It’s not being “a grumpy old man” to be vigilant and on guard. Yes these planes are meant to be “fun” but the event that started this thread could have been lethal under a different scenario.
 
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Sun-n-Fun permitted spectators access to the flight line for the first time this year. Previously, only pilot escorted parties had access. I definately disagree with their decision. I always felt that the pilot escort always was an educated group. My twin boys were always instructed to respect the property of others.
Not sure, if there were any issues, but I did feel uncomfortable with the decision to allow public access to the flightline.
 
thats why

when i went to sun n fun i didnt even go near the experimentals. i saw some i knew of like paul rosales (pretty sure it was him his paint scheme is unmistakeable.) and just kept on walking.one day i'll have my own and wont need to look at anyone elses.(except on here:D) i have been looking at planes a and not touching them and the mother hen comes over like a 40 year old man is gonna doo something to their plane. :rolleyes: some come over to chat which is incredibly helpful. i understand the kids stuff. as far as a village to raise a child that sounds like some of Hillary Clintons garbage. thats whats wrong in America right now. every body wanting someone else to raise their children. parents should raise their children not their neighbors. and if the intent was to be able to set them straight im all for that. for those of you that dont like to share i understand completely. ive had nice stuff pawed over. for those of you that still share thank you. my .02
 
Arms behind back...

Larry Pardue took a great picture a few years back of the 'perfect look-at-my-plane' posture:

RV-9.jpg

Larry Pardue photograph (from this article)​

Personally, I've always found that if somebody approaches my plane with their arms folded behind their back (and no camera dangling from their neck) I am COMPLETELY at ease with them sticking their heads in the cockpit. I try to do the same each time myself with others and always ask permission to shoot a photograph of the panel.

b,
d
 
Robert M said:
Parents these days seem to let their children run wild in public!
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You left out and important word. "some"

There are some really fine kids and really fine parents out there. The fact that the incident rose to the level of a post (as opposed to being just another day) proves that.

There are jerks everywhere and some become parents.. and some are their kids. But I've found most parents are doing the best they can... and most kids prove that they're doing well.

Don't give up on them.
 
no doubt

DeltaRomeo said:
Larry Pardue took a great picture a few years back of the 'perfect look-at-my-plane' posture:

RV-9.jpg

Larry Pardue photograph (from this article)​

Personally, I've always found that if somebody approaches my plane with their arms folded behind their back (and no camera dangling from their neck) I am COMPLETELY at ease with them sticking their heads in the cockpit. I try to do the same each time myself with others and always ask permission to shoot a photograph of the panel.

b,
d
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this is the stance i take. just like at any car show. some cars are worth as much or more than these little RV's, and are somewhat more perfected in fit and finish. the paint is usually out of this world at a real show.it is a shame you have to gaurd your stuff. and yes some people are rasing good kids. but this post is just like the media. easier focus on a situation that makes our blood boild than one that is good. but that is the nature of the beasts. us that is,you know the deal one ah **** ruins 10,000 attaboys
 
Bob Collins said:
You left out and important word. "some"

There are some really fine kids and really fine parents out there. The fact that the incident rose to the level of a post (as opposed to being just another day) proves that.

There are jerks everywhere and some become parents.. and some are their kids. But I've found most parents are doing the best they can... and most kids prove that they're doing well.

Don't give up on them.
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You're right Bob, I apologize for that. :eek: I did include ALL parents and that was not fair - my bad. I actually know some parents with well behaved children.
 
DeltaRomeo said:
Larry Pardue took a great picture a few years back of the 'perfect look-at-my-plane' posture:

RV-9.jpg

Larry Pardue photograph (from this article)​

Personally, I've always found that if somebody approaches my plane with their arms folded behind their back (and no camera dangling from their neck) I am COMPLETELY at ease with them sticking their heads in the cockpit. I try to do the same each time myself with others and always ask permission to shoot a photograph of the panel.

b,
d
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I allmost mentioned that in my earlier rant because I was just showing someone at work the other day the pictures you posted of LOE. In one of them, someone is checking out a panel just like that. I said to my co-worker, "thats how you look at someone elses airplane"

Josh
 
Robert M said:
You're right Bob, I apologize for that. :eek: I did include ALL parents and that was not fair - my bad. I actually know some parents with well behaved children.
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h

Oh, geez, I didn't mean to preach. That was stupid of me. I didn't mean to come off as calling you on it. My apologies.

BTW, people say building an RV is the toughest project you'll ever undertake. After getting both kids raised and out of the house, that still has me frightened. :D
 
Be realistic

I think we all have to be realistic here. Until you actually build an aeroplane you have no concept of how easy it is to damage them. Even pilots often damage control surfaces by grabbing them in the wrong places and leaving thumb impressions in the thin skin when doing the daily inspection.

Many adults who are respectful citizens and good people can cause potential damage to aircraft (not just kids) simply because they do not understand how fragile these things are.

There's always a risk that this can lead to damage when a plane is left unattended in a place where there is unrestricted public viewing. And the sad irony is that the more spectacular the plane the more attention it will receive.

I really don't think there's any solution to this problem other than constant supervision...or leaving the plane at home in its hangar.
 
Captain Avgas said:
I think we all have to be realistic here. Until you actually build an aeroplane you have no concept of how easy it is to damage them.
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We have a winner. Most people are familiar with cars. They see, drive and understand cars. Airplanes are transportation. They should be like cars, right? Cars are durable - you can walk / climb over them, poke and prod, etc. They also fly in "big" airplanes. These are not fragile, at least not the parts that they deal with. Small airplanes should be like big airplanes, right? We might know better, but they don't.

Children (particularly those under the age of 8 or so, I'm speaking from a US perspective as well) really have no concept of things being fragile or the value of things. If your child does, my apologies, but I find that most don't. Therefore, IMHO, it is unrealistic to expect a child to treat an airplane with the respect it deserves. If you have a child that has your respect and you trust, then great. Otherwise ....

Those adults that willfully ignore polite requests / suggestions / signs / etc and touch or damage your airplane deserve to be removed from that situation; perhaps more.

TODR
 
Captain Avgas said:
I think we all have to be realistic here. Until you actually build an aeroplane you have no concept of how easy it is to damage them...
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I've owned, personally maintained, and restored everything from gliders to tube & rag antiques and performance stol aircraft, and yet your telling me I have no concept of how fragile some parts of an airframe are just because I haven't built one (yet)?

Sorry, but your statement isn't realistic...

There are ways we can all protect our precious aircraft at these events, starting with simple things like the way we tie our aircraft down, and up to and including portable barriers if necessary. Personally, I've had more troubles with disrespectful looky-loos on the transient ramp than I've had with spectators at fly-ins and airshows, but clearly, some of these stories being related here are of the 'horror' variety from any 'normal' persons perspective.
 
Respect

About two weeks ago I was at a small town fair and saw two kids sitting on the base of a war memorial and beating rocks against the bricks with veteran's names on them. I spoke up pretty firmly and the mother stepped in and stopped them. I was pleased that at least she saw the wrong in what they were doing, even if she did need a reminder. Had that not happened, I would have dialed 911 and reported vandalism. Thankfully we have had little problem at our fly-ins, but some people only understand uniformed authority. "Serve and Protect" sometimes comes in handy.

Bob Kelly
 
Speaking of liability...

Mike_ExpressCT said:
Probably a good thing I didn't see that. At 6'3", 235 lbs, my fist carries a lot of energy when it connects to someone's chin, as that guy would have found out :mad: (Actually, I wouldn't have done that...too much liability...but he would have certainly heard about it)
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The person that damages your plane or the parent of a child that damages your plane should be liable for the repair.
Don't know how to go about collecting, but there should be a way.

It does seam that there are a lot of people that feel that if it wasn't intentional that they shouldn't need to pay for the damage. Grrrrr...

Kent
 
kentb said:
The person that damages your plane or the parent of a child that damages your plane should be liable for the repair.
Don't know how to go about collecting, but there should be a way.

It does seam that there are a lot of people that feel that if it wasn't intentional that they shouldn't need to pay for the damage. Grrrrr...

Kent
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I agree with you 100% Kent...I too think people should be held for their actions. Unfortunately, it seems that most the people out there won't stand up for their actions, and would rather run away and leave things damaged. Very unsafe, not to mention rude.
 
Quite a few years ago at the air show at McDill AFB, a fellow pulled the canopy jettison on a EA-6B. Most of the jettison acess doors were taped over on other aircraft, but apparently this one was not. Yes, alcohol was involved. He was greeted with a face full of M-16's (while still holding the lanyard). Now, an EA-6B canopy is sputtered with gold on the inside for RF shielding so it ain't exactly cheap (or light. I don't know where it landed). I don't know if they billed him for it or not, but a local radio station did interview him the next day (from jail I think) and all I remember was him repeating over and over what a dumb a$$ he was. "I don't know what I was thinking."

I've seen some truely scary things at those shows: cans and bottles in intakes and wheel wells, broken hydraulic lines from people hanging on them, etc. Airshow+general public+alcohol = trouble.

BTW, my brother has had parts stolen off his 67 Mustang convertable at auto shows. He quit going to them.
 
I agree with everything said about aircraft damage due to un-educated public (or many just plain ignorance). I have seen some people crawling over airplanes at various fly-in, but one thing that really ticks me off is airport vandalism. Some local kids decided that it would be cool to take their cars out and spin circles all over our grass airfield! We mentioned it to the police, etc, but had to put up with the ruts for some time untill I was piddling around one late night (11:30 pm) out at the hangar when the vandals didn't see my truck and decided to go have some fun on the runway. I walked outside to suprisingly see a car with a bunch of kids ( I use 'kids' here even though all of them were older than I ) standing around a car with a blown tire. The sherrif was called, and they were caught after trying to drive down the highway with a blown tire. I was later asked to take some 'evidence' photos of the runway. If I had 'em I'd post them.

Kinda puts me in a hard position when I went to a small school with these vandals along with their friends that were involved in the act in the past.
 
Mike_ExpressCT said:
I agree with you 100% Kent...I too think people should be held for their actions. Unfortunately, it seems that most the people out there won't stand up for their actions, and would rather run away and leave things damaged. Very unsafe, not to mention rude.
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Being accountable for your own actions and taking responsibility for them is no longer the norm. A couple of months ago I was backing out of my driveway and forgot that my trucks tailgate was down. I creased the leignth of a shiny new parked cars door. Bummer! No one else was around and I could have very easily driven off without anybody knowing. But I knew if that was my car I would really be bummed by not only the damage to my new car but the fact that the person that did it could care less. I knew that cars that parked there usually belong to the church goers behind it. So, I walked over and got ahold of the cars owner and told him, 'I'm sorry but I just backed into your car'. He was nice enough and it cost me $750 ouch!. The point I want to make is not, wow look at me I'm a nice guy, it was the shocked look on the owners face when I admitted I had hit his car. He couldn't believe it, he was so appreciative that I was taking responsibility that he said if it wasn't a newer car he would've rather thanked me for being honest and left things at that!:eek: Unbelievable.
 
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mark manda said:
Sharpie said he returned to his plane at Watsonville and kid was standing on his wheel pant!!!
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It was Salinas, but yeah. Worst part about it was that the parents were standing right there. Oh wait...it got worse. They were TAKING PICTURES of their kid standing on my RV-7's wheel pant. Nice guy that I am, I just kinda yelled, "Hey, don't stand on that!" No apologies, they just scampered away.

No damage, but still! WHAT THE &!@#* ARE PARENTS THINKING?! Some people should not be reproducing. At a minimum, respect other people & their stuff.

(Sidebar: after landing at Salinas on air show day, I was asked if I wanted my plane on static display. Sure! When I got back to the plane later in the day the yellow rope was down and people were paw-printing all over it, slamming controls around, etc. Nobody was keeping an eye out. Who can you trust? You mean I gotta sit right by my plane all day and not enjoy the rest of the show? I have to babysit my property with a watchful eye if I want to be present at one of these events? I know that's not the norm, but it has become increasingly more prevalent at air shows. I'm disgusted.)
 
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I've had a few show cars over the years, and have been lucky enough to never have an issue at a carshow, but after hearing all these stories I may be afraid to ever take my airplane out of the hanger when it's done.
 
Ahhhh, all this brings back fond memories of the airshows I've been to with my planes. Back in my VariEze days, I flew to the Camarillo airshow with a fellow EZ owner. We came back to our planes after lunch with an two families worth of (plump) kids sitting on our canards while the parents were taking pictures. Also had someone walk into my canard with a big bag o' goodies - broke a chunk off of the trailing edge. They looked at me (staring at them), then walked off quickly without saying anything. Awesome. So far in my RV I've only had chips on the wingtip trailing edges.

It's all part of the fun. Gives me a great excuse to go work on the plane. ;)
 
Sounds Good!

Being accountable for your own actions and taking responsibility for them is no longer the norm. A couple of months ago I was backing out of my driveway and forgot that my trucks tailgate was down. I creased the leignth of a shiny new parked cars door. Bummer! No one else was around and I could have very easily driven off without anybody knowing. But I knew if that was my car I would really be bummed by by not only the damage to my new car but the fact that the person that did it could care less. I knew that cars that parked there usually belong to the church goers behind it. So, I walked over and got ahold of the cars owner and told him, 'I'm sorry but I just backed into your car'. He was nice enough and it cost me $750!. The point I want to make is not, wow look at me I'm a nice guy, it was the shocked look on the owners face when I admitted I had hit his car. He couldn't believe it, he was so appreciative that I was taking responsibility that he said if it wasn't a newer car he would've rather thanked me for being honest and left things at that! Unbelievable.
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Thanks for the refreshing account.

I have heard the saying,

"The only thing you get to bring from earth to heaven is your character"

Of course that is assuming that you get to go!:)

Do unto others......
 
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When I was at LOE last year, there was a gentleman walking from plane to plane to look inside them while carrying his folding aluminum lawn chair in front of him.
I had a brief chat with him about that not being cool. I"m pretty sure that aluminum can scratch aluminum. Or at least it can scratch paint!
 
Tomorrow, my local Chapter is co-hosting a Wings & Wheels event with Cars, Motorcycles and Planes. For all of the reasons listed in the previous posts, I'll be going to Llano, TX for Cooper's BBQ instead. Too bad, but that's how it is.
LOE is about the only fly in I feel comfortable going to and just leaving the plane open for everyone to look at.
 
Gurrr!

Yep, there a few Fly ins I do not go to because the unwashed public is allowed in.
I too have had to chase children off my plane.

Steve what time will you get to Lano?
 
Jaypratt said:
Yep, there a few Fly ins I do not go to because the unwashed public is allowed in.
I too have had to chase children off my plane.

Steve what time will you get to Lano?
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Jay
I should get there between 11 and 11:30 AM. (Need to beat the big lunch crowd, and the line gets really long!)
Several of us are going up for lunch, so come on down!
 
We used o have a SNJ, N3N and a TBM that we took to airshows and it was truly amazing what the public would do. I had a father put his 5 year old on the fabric wing of the N3N and was miffed when I yelled at him, kids doing chin ups on the SNJ pitot, Trash stuffed in the carb intake and on and on. It seems people think it is their right to crawl all over a warbird. I was always having to politely tell people to keep off the airplane when going anywhere. I had lunch at one airport and when I came out the canopy was open on the SNJ and every switch in the cockpit had been turned on. Needless to say I had a dead battery. One thing good about it it made me do thorough pre-flights every time I fly. Don
 
An interesting juxtaposition.

My 9yr old step-son is typically a terror. Whining, crying, pouting, etc. The boy can make himself cry on command. Pretty useful skill but he knows I don't buy it.

In any case, we went to the RMRFI this summer and directly outside the gate I knelt down and said,

"You know how people with nice cars hate it when kids touch them?"

"Yeah."

"OK, these guys spent YEARS putting these airplanes together and if you touch them they take it REALLY personally. Don't do it. Just don't touch anything unless invited."

"OK"

To my shock and amazement he actually stuffed his hands in his pockets (imitating me) when going up to the airplanes. I saw lots of owners eying him as he walked up, then they would see him with a respectful stance and start to look for other threats. There was my (then) 8yr old step-son actually GAINING THE TRUST of airplane builders. Amazing.

I'm convinced he didn't leave a single fingerprint on any of the planes.
 
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Today (Sunday) Nora, myself, and Torque, the Wonder Dog, went to a local fly-in BBQ. We left the plane, visited with friends, ate, etc. Upon returning to the plane, I found the battery side of the master turned on. Apprently someone wanted to check out my EFIS. :mad: Lucky for me we didn't stay long.

What are these people thinking?
 
SERFI

My daughter and I just got back from SERFI. Lots of folks came by to look at my RV while we were sitting there and many were quite talkative. After each of our excursions out for snowcones, sausage, ettoufee, more snowcones, etc... I came back to find no finger prints on the canopy or anything out of place. I understand that the people who attend SERFI are more aviation interested than the GP because the event is some distance from population centers.

It was a very nice time with VANtastic weather and I'll return next year. :)
 
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