At what point are people completely worthless?
I had two run-ins with geriatrics yesterday.
The first, two old codgers at the airport tried to kill me, I filed the following complaint with the FAA:
"I am a new pilot in Melbourne Florida, I was doing pattern work at Valkaria airport, X59. As I taxied up to the hold short line there was a red opened cockpit experimental aircraft, with no tail number in front of me, the pilot had no radio headset. There was a C182 on short final to runway 10, he pulled out directly in this pilot's landing path causing him to do last second a go around, the pilot was less than 30 feet off the ground when this experimental pilot pulled out in front of him.
Though my plan for the day was to do pattern work, I decided to take off and exit the pattern and do a short cross country down the coast for an hour. When I re-entered the pattern I saw the red open cockpit a good distance from the taxiways and runway and commenced my landing work. After about 6 landings the red experimental had pulled into the grass strip (10 grass) that is adjacent to runway 10. The pilot was taxiing up and down that runway. On my 8th landing as I was on short final this pilot abruptly turned his plane 90 degrees and crossed the paved active runway just ahead of me, causing me to abort my landing at the very last second and fly a go around. I mean a 2 second hesitation would have possibly been fatal. If I would have landed it would have no doubt been a collision and with serious damage / injury.
After the incident, I landed and went to discuss the safety issue with the pilot. I confirmed he was not monitoring a radio, and he was completely oblivious to the fact that he had made 2 aircraft do a go around. When I first approached him, he wasn't wearing a hearing aid, he asked me to hold on while he put it in, when I explained to him the safety implications of what he'd just done, he said "The plane is new, it's a tail-dragger and it's uncontrollable on the ground". I asked him if he understood that airplanes on final approach had the right of way, and he just said that he hadn't seen any planes on final approach.
I don't have the name of the pilot of the experimental aircraft but they occupy hanger 39. When I went to talk to them there were two men there, I have a photo of them and the plane, there is one with a long beard and one who is clean shaven that wears a hearing aid, the clean shaven man was the pilot from the events above."
"There were two other witnesses to these runway infractions; here is their contact info:" xxxxx xxxxx
Obviously that is what went to the FAA, my confrontation with these guys was a little more animated, and the language a little more salty. These morons are habitual violators out there, there have been several egregious safety violations, basically they either just don't care for safety or are too stupid to understand that what they are doing is dangerous. I was practicing landings a few weekends ago and there were about 6 planes in the left pattern for runway 14 when one of these yahoos just hopped in his plane, again with no radio and took off on runway 10 right through the traffic pattern full of students. These guys are at least in their later 70's. They are going to kill someone, I just hope it isn't me.
When you get old and can't have a pilots license anymore because you can't pass your flight physical and for instance you're friggin deaf, for some reason it is still legal for you to fly non FAA certified "experimental" aircraft, ultra-lights etc. It would be like if you lost your drivers license and they said "well sir, you can't drive a car built in a factory, with modern safety features, but whatever sh1tbox you can put together on your own in your garage, feel free to take that for a swing around town, don't bother paying attention to stop lights or signs anymore"
Second issue. I was walking into Publix, I parked toward the back of the parking lot yesterday because with the hurricane coming it was a mad house. As I was walking toward the front of the parking lot there was a lady, probably early to mid 70's with no handicapped sign, she was parked with her blinker on blocking the entire front of the grocery store main crosswalk. She was there from when I first got to the parking lot, so I went around the long way. There were at least 20 cars stuck because she wouldn't move, she was waiting for the second parking space. As I walked up, I noticed the lights in the van there were on. She clearly thought someone was in the van and about to pull out.
I knocked on her window and she rolled it down, I said "Maam, there is no one in that car, they just left their lights on" She said "I'm getting that spot", I said "Maam, you're blocking traffic, take a look behind you, there are several spaces just up ahead" She said, "I'm waiting for this one"
Well lady, you're dumb a$$ will be here a while. You just know that woman had a change purse full of expired coupons.
At what point do people just lose their minds?
I had two run-ins with geriatrics yesterday.
The first, two old codgers at the airport tried to kill me, I filed the following complaint with the FAA:
"I am a new pilot in Melbourne Florida, I was doing pattern work at Valkaria airport, X59. As I taxied up to the hold short line there was a red opened cockpit experimental aircraft, with no tail number in front of me, the pilot had no radio headset. There was a C182 on short final to runway 10, he pulled out directly in this pilot's landing path causing him to do last second a go around, the pilot was less than 30 feet off the ground when this experimental pilot pulled out in front of him.
Though my plan for the day was to do pattern work, I decided to take off and exit the pattern and do a short cross country down the coast for an hour. When I re-entered the pattern I saw the red open cockpit a good distance from the taxiways and runway and commenced my landing work. After about 6 landings the red experimental had pulled into the grass strip (10 grass) that is adjacent to runway 10. The pilot was taxiing up and down that runway. On my 8th landing as I was on short final this pilot abruptly turned his plane 90 degrees and crossed the paved active runway just ahead of me, causing me to abort my landing at the very last second and fly a go around. I mean a 2 second hesitation would have possibly been fatal. If I would have landed it would have no doubt been a collision and with serious damage / injury.
After the incident, I landed and went to discuss the safety issue with the pilot. I confirmed he was not monitoring a radio, and he was completely oblivious to the fact that he had made 2 aircraft do a go around. When I first approached him, he wasn't wearing a hearing aid, he asked me to hold on while he put it in, when I explained to him the safety implications of what he'd just done, he said "The plane is new, it's a tail-dragger and it's uncontrollable on the ground". I asked him if he understood that airplanes on final approach had the right of way, and he just said that he hadn't seen any planes on final approach.
I don't have the name of the pilot of the experimental aircraft but they occupy hanger 39. When I went to talk to them there were two men there, I have a photo of them and the plane, there is one with a long beard and one who is clean shaven that wears a hearing aid, the clean shaven man was the pilot from the events above."
"There were two other witnesses to these runway infractions; here is their contact info:" xxxxx xxxxx
Obviously that is what went to the FAA, my confrontation with these guys was a little more animated, and the language a little more salty. These morons are habitual violators out there, there have been several egregious safety violations, basically they either just don't care for safety or are too stupid to understand that what they are doing is dangerous. I was practicing landings a few weekends ago and there were about 6 planes in the left pattern for runway 14 when one of these yahoos just hopped in his plane, again with no radio and took off on runway 10 right through the traffic pattern full of students. These guys are at least in their later 70's. They are going to kill someone, I just hope it isn't me.
When you get old and can't have a pilots license anymore because you can't pass your flight physical and for instance you're friggin deaf, for some reason it is still legal for you to fly non FAA certified "experimental" aircraft, ultra-lights etc. It would be like if you lost your drivers license and they said "well sir, you can't drive a car built in a factory, with modern safety features, but whatever sh1tbox you can put together on your own in your garage, feel free to take that for a swing around town, don't bother paying attention to stop lights or signs anymore"
Second issue. I was walking into Publix, I parked toward the back of the parking lot yesterday because with the hurricane coming it was a mad house. As I was walking toward the front of the parking lot there was a lady, probably early to mid 70's with no handicapped sign, she was parked with her blinker on blocking the entire front of the grocery store main crosswalk. She was there from when I first got to the parking lot, so I went around the long way. There were at least 20 cars stuck because she wouldn't move, she was waiting for the second parking space. As I walked up, I noticed the lights in the van there were on. She clearly thought someone was in the van and about to pull out.
I knocked on her window and she rolled it down, I said "Maam, there is no one in that car, they just left their lights on" She said "I'm getting that spot", I said "Maam, you're blocking traffic, take a look behind you, there are several spaces just up ahead" She said, "I'm waiting for this one"
Well lady, you're dumb a$$ will be here a while. You just know that woman had a change purse full of expired coupons.
At what point do people just lose their minds?
