L-R, the stage has been set. Weekend of the 17th - I'll fetch you at the airport on the 15th. Just make sure you bring Old Sam. Talked to your friend in North Bay, and he's in.
TDK - I’ve looked over your posts, and it seems most of them have some negative or aggressive flavour to them , so I can only assume that you consider everyone to be inferior in your world. Be that as it may, here are some observations – at the risk of being accused of posting on everything…..
You seem to have a problem with the folks who have the highest post count. First let me thank you for pointing that out, because I realized for the first time that I am the ‘King of the Hill’, so to speak. Imagine, an introvert like me, rising to such exalted honours. Mom would be proud.
Second, you doubt the validity of the experience of these individuals – “Or with the years of experience they apparently holdâ€. When I look at the ‘top posters’ here, there is no question as to their experience – in fact, they represent our industry in a way to which most can only aspire:
407 Driver – I can tell you, that whoever you are, you cannot ever hope to even wash this man’s helicopter. He is one of the most skilful and experienced helicopter pilots you will ever have the privilege of meeting, or flying with – if you are ever so fortunate.
Kyle is the boss, so I won’t blow sunshine up his cloacae.
Downwash – Now you have me laughing. This is one of the most respected helicopter pilots in the history of our industry, and a fine statesman and gentleman to boot. Again, out of our league to pass judgement – all of us have a long way to go to ever question anything this guy posts, or says.
MagSeal – Ol’ Maggi has been around the block, and knows a thing or three about our industry. Most of his posts are provocative and insightful, and he keeps a lot of us on our toes. He’s a Tupperware guy, but he’s comfortable with it.
412Driver – Another ‘been there done that’ contributor, who has a varied past and a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Don’t let that hunchbacked avatar fool you.
Biggles – I first met Biggles in 1987. This cat has seen more pilots and AMEs come and go, you couldn’t count them. A wealth of knowledge and insight. Looks nothing like the avatar.
Graunch 1 – Full-on tell-it-like-it-is dude, with awesome background as an AME on everything that flies. Gotta listen to these guys, even you can’t understand what they’re saying….
I’m afraid I don’t know who Rotor Pilot or Elvis are, so I can’t comment too much, but I do know that they are very strong and experienced members of the group.
The rest of the folks who don't make the front page include tens of thousands of hours of experience, and people who are among the finest you'll ever meet. I didn't know Rosco, 100ft, 407Driver, Downwash, or a host of others before joining this group - now I consider them all dear friends. It's a shame that your attitude will prevent you from the pleasure of ever knowing them.
So, where’s your problem? Surely you can’t have a problem with the friendships that exist here, but that may be it – “But I really want to know what makes people chummy with certain individuals to the point it makes my Grandma sick. You know what I'm talking about.â€
No I don’t, and sorry to hear about your grandma.
Chummy? That’s called friendship. Many of us have known each other for some time. Some of us are just getting to know each other. Either way, chummy is what you get. You’re not the first person to object to this:
–Saturnman didn’t like the attention I was getting during my bike trip out west, or the fact that I posted it.
–Somebody had a problem that folks were ‘sucking up’ to me on the association thread, which was the cause of much laughter, because I am not even involved.
The beauty of all this is, you can either accept it and become one of the gang, or you can continue to harbour personal grudges – the choice is yours. In the case of the latter, feel free to remove this site from your bookmarks. As 407 said, free country – nobody’s holding a gun to your head.
