Travolta - did he ever ditch an aircraft? [Archive]

Paul Tomblin

March 14th 04, 12:34 PM

In a previous article, SD <sdatverizondot.net@> said:
>On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 02:20:53 +0000 (UTC),
>(Paul Tomblin) wrote:
>>In a previous article, (HankPilot2002) said:
>>>I think that was in his Gulfstream if I'm not mistaken.
>>
>>You're not mistaken. And from what I've heard, his handling of the
>>situation is taught at Flight Safety as "What NOT to do".
>Hey Paul, give us some details. You have my curiosity up now...

I've seen him on TV bragging about how after the electrics went out, he
flew out to sea and spiraled down through clouds until he broke out over
the water and then scud-ran into a very busy coastal airport (JFK or
Boston, I think) and landed NORDO.

This is only rumour, and I've never been able to find confirmation, but
what I've heard is that he DIDN'T follow the emergency checklist, and he
DIDN'T reset the breakers and he DIDN'T switch to auxilliary power (I
don't know enough about Gulfstream systems to know if that's a manual
process). Obviously he DIDN'T follow proper lost-comm IFR procedures.
Rumour has it that Flight Safety gives Gulfstream pilots that scenerio in
the simulator and if they do what Travolta did, they fail.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Ayn Rand's writings never make perfect sense. She never realized that
people will choose short-term profits which require long-term payments.
-- David P. Murphy

Rick Durden

March 14th 04, 02:12 PM

Paul,

> In a previous article, (HankPilot2002) said:
> >I think that was in his Gulfstream if I'm not mistaken.
>
> You're not mistaken. And from what I've heard, his handling of the
> situation is taught at Flight Safety as "What NOT to do".

You might check your source. Word is that he did an excellent job
with a total electrical failure, at night, in IMC and arrived safely.
He's got a reputation as a very good stick. After all, any filmstar
who promptly goes out and buys a DC-3 when he starts making good money
is the sort of person who is a good reflection on general aviation.

We can certainly use all of the folks like Travolta that our little
industry can get. He's certainly gotten a lot of good press and
attention for general aviation.

All the best,
Rick

Roger Long

March 14th 04, 04:08 PM

Except when he buzzed his island cottage up here in Maine at 500 feet in his
707:)

We'll they never did prove it was him. Maybe the other guy with a private
707 did it just to show him up.

--
Roger Long

Peter Duniho

March 14th 04, 05:31 PM

"Rick Durden" > wrote in message
m...
> [...]
> We can certainly use all of the folks like Travolta that our little
> industry can get. He's certainly gotten a lot of good press and
> attention for general aviation.

Such as?

As near as I can tell, the handful of "famous pilots" who might have gotten
more involved with aviation and done things to foster the industry have not
bothered. People aren't going around saying "hey, did you see that
interview with Travolta? I guess we don't really need all these silly
restrictions on general aviation after all", or "hey, did you see that
interview with Harrison? Turns out you DON'T need to be a rich actor to
learn to fly".

What little press people like that have received, all they've done is
reinforced the idea that flying is for rich folks who can afford the fancy
toys, and that when you restrict aviation, you're not really hurting anyone
who can't afford to be hurt a bit.

These are people who, if they cared to, could use their substantial media
presence to fight on behalf of general aviation. I've seen absolutely no
evidence that suggests they've ever bothered to try.

Pete

Wayne

March 14th 04, 05:52 PM

The TV show I saw said he was able to safely land where most pilots
would have failed. Either could be true though. As for the rich and famous,
I know several rich people that own aircraft and pay people to fly them and
let them have a turn at the conrtols. I think Travolta did the school work
and deserves his ratings, whatever they are. What about the interview with
Harrison? I never saw that one although I had heard he does fly...

Wayne

Paul Tomblin

March 14th 04, 06:45 PM

In a previous article, "Wayne" > said:
> The TV show I saw said he was able to safely land where most pilots
>would have failed.

Yes, that is how *he* tells the story. However, any instrument pilot
knows that there are procedures for lost comm and lost electrics which
would have worked for "most pilots", and he didn't use them.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Illiterate? Write for help!

Steven P. McNicoll

March 14th 04, 07:00 PM

"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message
...
>
> Yes, that is how *he* tells the story. However, any instrument pilot
> knows that there are procedures for lost comm and lost electrics which
> would have worked for "most pilots", and he didn't use them.
>

The procedures for lost comm assume you haven't lost electrics. What are
the procedures for lost electrics?

Dave

March 14th 04, 07:08 PM

>
> We can certainly use all of the folks like Travolta that our little
> industry can get. He's certainly gotten a lot of good press and
> attention for general aviation.
>
> All the best,
> Rick

Harrison Ford is another prominent example who comes to mind. He has
a reputation as a straight shooter, no nonsense pilot who flies within
his skillset and not his wallet. Yeah, he owns a G4 (and a Bonanza,
and a twin and a helicopter), but he flies in back with the family.

Billy Harvey

March 14th 04, 07:31 PM

>Yes, that is how *he* tells the story. However, any instrument pilot
>knows that there are procedures for lost comm and lost electrics which
>would have worked for "most pilots", and he didn't use them.
>--
>Paul Tomblin

Why is it you criticize his actions here and yet a few posts ago you
stated:

> This is only rumour, and I've never been able to find confirmation ...

meaning you have no idea what actually occured and whether the
decisions that pilot made that day in that aircraft in those weather
condition with those system problems were appropriate to safely land
his aircraft in an emergency situation? Did the FAA have any beef
with his actions or deviations, if any, from established procedure?
If not, then on what basis do you criticize his decisions?

Billy

Ted Huffmire

March 14th 04, 08:38 PM

Will it make you feel better about yourself
and your piloting skills to
know that somebody *else* made a mistake?

It seems that some pilots have a perverse feeling of
satisfaction when they find out another pilot's
operational misfortunes. Why is it necessary to
dig it in?

Are you on a moral highground because you have never
had an operational mistake or violation? There are
thousands of ways to run afoul of the FARs.

Does it comfort you to know that one of the fathers of
Silicon Valley, Steve Wozniak, was at the controls of
an aircraft for which he was not rated, when the
aircraft rotated prematurely and crashed on takeoff,
critically injuring himself and his three passengers?

Why does it seem that some in the general aviation
community have such a "good old boy" mentality?
I am sure that those people who are the loudest and
most outspoken about "violators" probably have quite
a few skeletons in their closet to hide from public
view.

It seems to me, after reading an excellent book by
Keith Bumsted titled "Please Call the Tower," that
if the FAA is determined to ground somebody, there
is nothing to stop them. They can ground you for
any reason -- look at the Bob Hoover example.
Even student pilots who inadvertently
deviate from the FARs very early in their careers
can be subject to vigorous enforcement actions by
the FAA. For example, a misunderstanding between
the pilot and the tower at an unfamiliar airport
could result in severe sanctions for improper
taxi violations. Who has never been lost at a big
airfield? Let him cast the first stone.

Even someone as experienced as General Chuck Yeager
can make mistakes. He recently had a fender-bender
in one of the vintage aircraft he was flying.

--Ted

"TheShootingSports" <james-No > wrote in message >...
> Hi all,
>
> I had once heard that John Travolta once ditched an aircraft. I have
> never heard this, but to settle a "discussion" could someone tell me if
> he did in fact successfully ditch an aircraft ever in his years of
> flying?
>
> Supposedly, he was all alone when this occurred.
>
> Your help is appreciated!
>
> -- Jim
>
> PS - reply to james-No (remove -No spa*M
> and ^ )
> --

TheShootingSports

March 14th 04, 09:12 PM

Uh - NO!

You have completely misunderstood my inquiry.

All I was asking was "did he ditch"?

Man, talk about moral high ground dude... Ease up a bit.

I myself am NOT a pilot, and, would not judge a person for an honest
mistake, aviation related or not.

Of course, your reply opens the floodgates about human mistakes, and that we
all need to take into consideration that we are not perfect. We also make
various mistakes, and hopefully, they are "honest" ones, just like your
reading WAY too much into my simple question.

I sure hope you do not fly the way you reply....

--

"Ted Huffmire" > wrote in message
m...
> Will it make you feel better about yourself
> and your piloting skills to
> know that somebody *else* made a mistake?
>
> It seems that some pilots have a perverse feeling of
> satisfaction when they find out another pilot's
> operational misfortunes. Why is it necessary to
> dig it in?
>
> Are you on a moral highground because you have never
> had an operational mistake or violation? There are
> thousands of ways to run afoul of the FARs.
>
> Does it comfort you to know that one of the fathers of
> Silicon Valley, Steve Wozniak, was at the controls of
> an aircraft for which he was not rated, when the
> aircraft rotated prematurely and crashed on takeoff,
> critically injuring himself and his three passengers?
>
> Why does it seem that some in the general aviation
> community have such a "good old boy" mentality?
> I am sure that those people who are the loudest and
> most outspoken about "violators" probably have quite
> a few skeletons in their closet to hide from public
> view.
>
> It seems to me, after reading an excellent book by
> Keith Bumsted titled "Please Call the Tower," that
> if the FAA is determined to ground somebody, there
> is nothing to stop them. They can ground you for
> any reason -- look at the Bob Hoover example.
> Even student pilots who inadvertently
> deviate from the FARs very early in their careers
> can be subject to vigorous enforcement actions by
> the FAA. For example, a misunderstanding between
> the pilot and the tower at an unfamiliar airport
> could result in severe sanctions for improper
> taxi violations. Who has never been lost at a big
> airfield? Let him cast the first stone.
>
> Even someone as experienced as General Chuck Yeager
> can make mistakes. He recently had a fender-bender
> in one of the vintage aircraft he was flying.
>
> --Ted
>
> "TheShootingSports" <james-No > wrote in
message >...
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I had once heard that John Travolta once ditched an aircraft. I have
> > never heard this, but to settle a "discussion" could someone tell me if
> > he did in fact successfully ditch an aircraft ever in his years of
> > flying?
> >
> > Supposedly, he was all alone when this occurred.
> >
> > Your help is appreciated!
> >
> > -- Jim
> >
> > PS - reply to james-No (remove -No spa*M
> > and ^ )
> > --

Peter Duniho

March 14th 04, 09:47 PM

"Wayne" > wrote in message
...
> The TV show I saw said he was able to safely land where most pilots
> would have failed.

I doubt that's the case. But even if it were, so what?

> [...] I think Travolta did the school work
> and deserves his ratings, whatever they are.

So what? I never said he didn't deserve his ratings.

> What about the interview with Harrison?

What about it?

I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what your point was.

Pete

Paul Tomblin

March 14th 04, 11:01 PM

In a previous article, Billy Harvey > said:
>Why is it you criticize his actions here and yet a few posts ago you
>stated:
>
>> This is only rumour, and I've never been able to find confirmation ...

Because he goes around making himself out to be a big hero, telling the
non-flying public that "most pilots" wouldn't have been able to handle it.

I refuse to believe that this was a failure mode that would kill "most
pilots".

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,
for there you have been, there you long to return." -- Leonardo da Vinci.

lowflyer

March 15th 04, 12:36 AM

Actually, according to news accounts including an article in either
Flying or Pilot, Ford is an accomplished pilot and flies his own
planes (I don't know about the G4). He even rescued some stranded
hikers off a mountain using his helicopter.

(Dave) wrote in message >...
> >
>
>
> Harrison Ford is another prominent example who comes to mind. He has
> a reputation as a straight shooter, no nonsense pilot who flies within
> his skillset and not his wallet. Yeah, he owns a G4 (and a Bonanza,
> and a twin and a helicopter), but he flies in back with the family.

Dan Luke

March 15th 04, 01:24 AM

"Paul Tomblin" wrote:
> Because he goes around making himself out to be a big hero,
> telling the non-flying public that "most pilots" wouldn't have
> been able to handle it.
>
> I refuse to believe that this was a failure mode that would
> kill "most pilots".

Travolta is also a $cientologist, which I consider prima facia evidence
of unreliability.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

Paul Tomblin

March 15th 04, 01:32 AM

In a previous article, "Dan Luke" > said:
>Travolta is also a $cientologist, which I consider prima facia evidence
>of unreliability.

Battlefield Earth was proof enough of that.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Alright. Talk. Don't make me reach over there and pull your still-pumping
heart out from the gaping hole you used to call a chest whilst breaking
your sternum and playing air guitar with your ribcage. -- Tai

Jens Krueger

March 15th 04, 01:38 AM

TheShootingSports > wrote:

You might want to adjust your Outlook settings to not post html. Set it
to text-only. Currently I see this:

> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. [...] > Content-Type:
text/html; > charset="iso-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding:
quoted-printable > > <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0
Transitional//EN"> > <HTML><HEAD> > <META http-equiv=Content-Type
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> > <META content="MSHTML
6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> > <STYLE></STYLE> > </HEAD> > <BODY> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi all,</FONT></DIV> > <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> > <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I
had once heard that John Travolta once ditched an > aircraft. I have
never heard this, but to settle a "discussion" could someone > tell me
if he did in fact successfully ditch an aircraft ever in his years of >
flying?</FONT></DIV> > <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Supposedly, he was all alone when this
[...]

Which doesn't make your post very easy to read. Mind you you, Usenet is
supposed to be a non-html medium...

Just a friendly hint.

Cheers,
Jens

--
I don't accept any emails right now. Usenet replys only.

Rick Durden

March 15th 04, 02:03 AM

Peter,

Thank goodness we have little people in this world who work so hard to
tear down those who happen to have worked even harder and succeeded in
doing well. I was never a fan of Mr. Travolta until the movie
"Phenomena". Nevertheless, I did pay attention to a very successful
actor who liked airplanes and who took the trouble to learn a great
deal about them and how to fly them rather than behave as do so many
musicians and actors and simply trash the interiors of the bizjets in
which they ride.

Travolta bought and was type rated in the DC-3 fairly early in his
career. Do you have that rating? He later was type rated in various
jets, including the 707, having completed the training and passed the
checkride required by Qantas which put its name on Travolta's airplane
on an around the world flight he made as a part of a fundraiser for
charity. Have you done an aviation charity flight recently?

Travolta has given numerous interviews in which he has spoken
enthusiastically about his love for aviation. How the interviews were
slanted, I don't care, he spoke of his love for flight. "Worf" an
actor on Star Trek has given a massive number of interviews in support
of general aviation and worked with the EAA's Young Eagles program.
Harrison Ford is one of the biggest supporters general aviation has.
He just signed on to do another project in support of it.

BTW, a question for every single one of us general aviation pilots:
when was the last talk or program you gave on general aviation in your
area? How about the last time you testified or argued in front of
your local government in support of your airport?

It's real easy to cast aspersions on famous folks on the Internet,
yeah, that CB radio for those who can type, but how many of us are
actually getting out there and doing something to support the aviation
we care for?

All the best,
Rick

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message >...
> "Rick Durden" > wrote in message
> m...
> > [...]
> > We can certainly use all of the folks like Travolta that our little
> > industry can get. He's certainly gotten a lot of good press and
> > attention for general aviation.
>
> Such as?
>
> As near as I can tell, the handful of "famous pilots" who might have gotten
> more involved with aviation and done things to foster the industry have not
> bothered. People aren't going around saying "hey, did you see that
> interview with Travolta? I guess we don't really need all these silly
> restrictions on general aviation after all", or "hey, did you see that
> interview with Harrison? Turns out you DON'T need to be a rich actor to
> learn to fly".
>
> What little press people like that have received, all they've done is
> reinforced the idea that flying is for rich folks who can afford the fancy
> toys, and that when you restrict aviation, you're not really hurting anyone
> who can't afford to be hurt a bit.
>
> These are people who, if they cared to, could use their substantial media
> presence to fight on behalf of general aviation. I've seen absolutely no
> evidence that suggests they've ever bothered to try.
>
> Pete

Rick Durden

March 15th 04, 02:10 AM

Paul,

Suppose you give us the procedure for "lost electrics" that is to be
followed....

Travolta was faced with a dark airplane in IMC. Let's put you in a
simulator and let's see how you handle it.

The published procedures in the FARs for lost comm assume the ability
to navigate. There are no published procedures when you cannot do so.
Travolta pulled it off. He and everyone in that airplane survived.
There is no way in the world that I will criticize him for how he
handled a total, complete and absolute emergency.

I've had a total electrical failure at night, once. Fortunately, it
was above a solid deck of clouds, not in it. Nevertheless, it was
pretty damn scary. I also had enough fuel to fly into forecast VMC
and was able to find an airport and land safely. I'm assuming you
have had much the same situation or you would not have the temerity to
criticize someone who had without having the experience yourself.
Please let us know the procedure you followed.

All the best,
Rick

(Paul Tomblin) wrote in message >...
> In a previous article, "Wayne" > said:
> > The TV show I saw said he was able to safely land where most pilots
> >would have failed.
>
> Yes, that is how *he* tells the story. However, any instrument pilot
> knows that there are procedures for lost comm and lost electrics which
> would have worked for "most pilots", and he didn't use them.

Rick Durden

March 15th 04, 02:17 AM

Paul,

Please tell us how you would handle a complete electrical failure, at
night, in IMC when your flight instruments are not vacuum powered, but
are electrically driven.

It's funny, but very accomplished people, such as actors, sometimes
become very accomplished pilots as well. Ability in one area is not
necessarily mutually exculsive with the other. Danny Kaye, for one,
who set an around the world speed record in a Learjet. Another was
Bob Cummings who flew a Cessna Airmaster all over this country.
Arthur Godfrey flew his personal DC-3 (often single pilot) all over
the place and because he regularly landed it on his 2,500 foot long
farm strip in Virginia and because an Admiral who was also a naval
aviator was once aboard for the exercie, his short field technique was
later taught to naval aviators in piston powered equipment. You may
not like Mr. Travolta, but it just may be the case that he can truly
fly well.

But then again, because we in the aviation community are such a small
group of people, we do our best to promote aviation among the general
public by sniping at anyone within the community whom we perceive as
getting to big for his britches; thus we are assured that lots of
people will want to join our community.

All the best,
Rick

(Paul Tomblin) wrote in message >...
> In a previous article, Billy Harvey > said:
> >Why is it you criticize his actions here and yet a few posts ago you
> >stated:
> >
> >> This is only rumour, and I've never been able to find confirmation ...
>
> Because he goes around making himself out to be a big hero, telling the
> non-flying public that "most pilots" wouldn't have been able to handle it.
>
> I refuse to believe that this was a failure mode that would kill "most
> pilots".

Kevin Darling

March 15th 04, 02:18 AM

"Wayne" > wrote in message >...
> The TV show I saw said he was able to safely land where most pilots
> would have failed. Either could be true though.

Half the stories say he was in the back with his family when the
electrics failed and that it was a one-in-a-million outage that
couldn't be prevented.

The other half of stories claim he and his professional copilot goofed
up with the electrics checklist.

In either case, after trying for a while to debug things, they
spiraled down towards the brightest lit portion of the clouds using
only their tiny backup AI, by flashlight. I recall articles at the
time quoting the Tower personnel saying how weird it was to see a
totally dark plane land at night, but that it was no big deal all
around since they had noticed the transponder/radio failure and were
expecting the plane to land. They did blow the tires stopping since
they had no reverse thrust.

The upshort is that they managed to get the jet down safely, which is
better than others have done in similar situations.

> [...] I think Travolta did the school work
> and deserves his ratings, whatever they are.

See a description of his ratings at:

http://www.fly-net.org/aeromedia/travqagb.html

> What about the interview with
> Harrison? I never saw that one although I had heard he does fly...

Harrson is well known as a diligent pilot. For "Seven Days Seven
Nights" he learned to fly a Beaver, and he made sure the movie got a
lot of it right, too, down to pumping down the flaps. I'm sure
everyone also remembers not long ago when he (as a volunteer air
rescue squad member) flew his helicopter to save some climbers out in
the Tetons.

Best, Kev

Peter Duniho

March 15th 04, 02:22 AM

"Rick Durden" > wrote in message
m...
> [irrelevant tirade snipped]
> It's real easy to cast aspersions on famous folks on the Internet,
> yeah, that CB radio for those who can type, but how many of us are
> actually getting out there and doing something to support the aviation
> we care for?

In other words, you have NO examples of instances where Travolta got "a lot
of good press and attention for general aviation".

It's funny that in your own post, at the same time that you make a lame
attempt to discredit me rather than answering the question, you criticize
the very sort of behavior that you are engaging in.

IMHO, if there were really "a lot of good press and attention for general
aviation", you'd be able to come up with at least a half dozen specific
examples of situations where Travolta actually made a real attempt to use
his public profile to improve general aviation.

Pete

Paul Tomblin

March 15th 04, 02:35 AM

In a previous article, (Rick Durden) said:
>Please tell us how you would handle a complete electrical failure, at
>night, in IMC when your flight instruments are not vacuum powered, but
>are electrically driven.

I don't know, I don't have a type rating in a G4. People I know who *do*
have type ratings in jets assure me that there are ways to do it and it
wouldn't kill "most pilots", unless you count people without type ratings
on that aircraft in the list.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Gerald Sylvester

March 15th 04, 04:28 AM

> Harrson is well known as a diligent pilot. For "Seven Days Seven
> Nights" he learned to fly a Beaver, and he made sure the movie got a
> lot of it right, too, down to pumping down the flaps. I'm sure
> everyone also remembers not long ago when he (as a volunteer air
> rescue squad member) flew his helicopter to save some climbers out in
> the Tetons.

2 years ago, I moved to Germany for work. Two days earlier I had
solo'd. When I got to Germany, the only English I heard was
CNN. They had an interview with him about acting in which they asked
him how long he plans on acting. He replied, "There is nothing
that he finds more challenging and stimulating, other than flying,
than acting." Although it was more directed to the non-pilot, it
left me with the impression that he is a very serious pilot....
of course I can't back this up but just the impression.

Gerald

Tom Sixkiller

March 15th 04, 04:36 AM

"Rick Durden" > wrote in message
m...
> Paul,
>
> Please tell us how you would handle a complete electrical failure, at
> night, in IMC when your flight instruments are not vacuum powered, but
> are electrically driven.
>
> It's funny, but very accomplished people, such as actors, sometimes
> become very accomplished pilots as well. Ability in one area is not
> necessarily mutually exculsive with the other. Danny Kaye, for one,
> who set an around the world speed record in a Learjet.

Danny might have, but aren't you thinking of Arnold Palmer?
http://www.executiveflyer.com/EFMagazine/Vol2_Issue1/Arnold_Palmer_Ed_M.htm

Also...this is interesting:

http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html

Tom Sixkiller

March 15th 04, 04:42 AM

"Ted Huffmire" > wrote in message
m...
> Will it make you feel better about yourself
> and your piloting skills to
> know that somebody *else* made a mistake?
>
> It seems that some pilots have a perverse feeling of
> satisfaction when they find out another pilot's
> operational misfortunes. Why is it necessary to
> dig it in?
>

And most are awed when other pilots pull of miraculous recoveries.

When they DON'T like is someone BSing their mistake as something heroic.

Gerald Sylvester

March 15th 04, 04:46 AM

How about a list of famous pilots....not pilots for majors or authors
but famous people who happen to be pilots.

We already have Harrison Ford and John Travolta.

My entry is guitarist Steve Morse who has played with everyone
from the Dixie Dregs to Manuel Barrueco (classical guitarist) to
Deep Purple and everyone in between. He's an ATP, private glider
and has an A&P certificate. when the Dixie Dregs got out of
their recording contract and they called it quits, he started
flying Twin Otters (???) commercially. And right out of college,
he was wrote off the cost of (I think) a C310 to fly the band around.
Apparently they couldn't afford the taxi's from teh airport to the gigs
but they/he had a plane. Now after winning best guitarist for 5 years
straight in Guitar Player magazine and touring the world too many times
to count, he has I think 4 airplanes. He also wrote a song for
one of the displays at the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers in
Kitty Hawk.

I took my PPL checkride on 12/17/03 (that's 2003, not 1903 :) ). For
"historical purposes," I took along one of his CD's along (also my
bike pedals since the Wrights were first bike mechanics). :) It's ok,
call it corny. :)

ok, what other famous GA pilots are there?

Gerald

James Robinson

March 15th 04, 07:14 AM

Gerald Sylvester wrote:
>
> ok, what other famous GA pilots are there?

Try this list as a start:

http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html

Chris Hoffmann

March 15th 04, 07:32 AM

Jimmy Stewart flew bombers in Vietnam?? I knew he flew in WWII, but Vietnam?
Come on....

> Also...this is interesting:
>
> http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html
>
>

Rick Durden

March 15th 04, 11:14 AM

Tom,

Arnold Palmer did a circumnavigation in a Lear. Danny Kaye did it as
well, however, now that you mention it, his trip may not have been in
a Lear.

All the best,
Rick

"Tom Sixkiller" > wrote in message >...
> "Rick Durden" > wrote in message
> m...
> > Paul,
> >
> > Please tell us how you would handle a complete electrical failure, at
> > night, in IMC when your flight instruments are not vacuum powered, but
> > are electrically driven.
> >
> > It's funny, but very accomplished people, such as actors, sometimes
> > become very accomplished pilots as well. Ability in one area is not
> > necessarily mutually exculsive with the other. Danny Kaye, for one,
> > who set an around the world speed record in a Learjet.
>
> Danny might have, but aren't you thinking of Arnold Palmer?
> http://www.executiveflyer.com/EFMagazine/Vol2_Issue1/Arnold_Palmer_Ed_M.htm
>
> Also...this is interesting:
>
> http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html

Steven P. McNicoll

March 15th 04, 12:25 PM

"Chris Hoffmann" > wrote in message
...
>
> Jimmy Stewart flew bombers in Vietnam?? I knew he flew in
> WWII, but Vietnam? Come on....
>

Stewart remained in the Air Force Reserve after WWII, he retired as a
Brigadier. During his last active stint he requested and flew one Arc Light
mission.

Tom Sixkiller

March 15th 04, 04:05 PM

"Rick Durden" > wrote in message
m...
> Tom,
>
> Arnold Palmer did a circumnavigation in a Lear. Danny Kaye did it as
> well, however, now that you mention it, his trip may not have been in
> a Lear.

Yes, and as the article stated, it was Palmer's flight that set a world
record at the time.

I know Danny Kaye flew on rides with the Air Force, and had a piston twin of
his own, but I can't find anything that he ever flew a Lear.

One person missing from the list (below) was Fess Parker, who flew his twin
commuting to the film lot while doing the old "Davy Crocket" TV show.

>
> All the best,
> Rick
>
> "Tom Sixkiller" > wrote in message
>...
> > "Rick Durden" > wrote in message
> > m...
> > > Paul,
> > >
> > > It's funny, but very accomplished people, such as actors, sometimes
> > > become very accomplished pilots as well. Ability in one area is not
> > > necessarily mutually exculsive with the other. Danny Kaye, for one,
> > > who set an around the world speed record in a Learjet.
> >
> > Danny might have, but aren't you thinking of Arnold Palmer?
> >
http://www.executiveflyer.com/EFMagazine/Vol2_Issue1/Arnold_Palmer_Ed_M.htm
> >
> > Also...this is interesting:
> >
> > http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html

Kevin Darling

March 15th 04, 06:23 PM

"Tom Sixkiller" > wrote in message >...
> Also...this is interesting:
>
> http://www.aerofiles.com/00stars.html

Thanks. Nice list of pilot actors. On a humorous note, in one second
season episode of Star Trek, you can clearly see Spock use an aluminum
E6B to compute how long it'll take before the Enterprise spirals out
of orbit.

Apparently both Shatner and Nimoy were taking flying lessons at the
time, so it was an inside joke.

Kev

Beam Me Up Scotty

March 15th 04, 06:34 PM

> Kevin Darling > wrote:

> Thanks. Nice list of pilot actors. On a humorous note, in one second
> season episode of Star Trek, you can clearly see Spock use an aluminum
> E6B to compute how long it'll take before the Enterprise spirals out
> of orbit.

Was that regular aluminum or transparent aluminum???

Paul Tomblin

March 15th 04, 06:51 PM

In a previous article, (Kevin Darling) said:
>Apparently both Shatner and Nimoy were taking flying lessons at the
>time, so it was an inside joke.

Neither is listed in the pilot database at landings.com, so I guess they
didn't finish?

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"I've gone through over-stressed to physical exhaustion -- what's next?"
"Tuesday."
-- Simon Burr and Kyle Hearn

Blanche

March 15th 04, 07:07 PM

Beam Me Up Scotty > wrote:
>> Kevin Darling > wrote:
>
>> Thanks. Nice list of pilot actors. On a humorous note, in one second
>> season episode of Star Trek, you can clearly see Spock use an aluminum
>> E6B to compute how long it'll take before the Enterprise spirals out
>> of orbit.
>
>Was that regular aluminum or transparent aluminum???

*spit take* all over the keyboard!

On the topic of actors -- I remember seeing a list of actors
with PPL or better on the back of an aviation book or magazine.
Can't remember where. But a number of the Star Trek actors
are on the list. Ah, wait...the back cover of Rod Machado's
PPL book:

James Arness (marshall dillon!)
Dirk Benedict
Jimmy Buffett (what? you don't think that's an act onstage?)
LeVar Burton (ST:TNG)
Johnny Carson
Tom Cruise
Bob Cummings
Michael Dorn (ST:TNG)
Hugh Downs
Clint Eastwood
Sarah Ferguson (Duchess of York -- helicopters only, I think)
Michael J Fox (altho I bet he's lost his medical now)
Mickey Gilley
David Hartnam
Geore Kennedy
Harriet Nelson (Hi Mom, Hi Dad, Hi Ricky)
Paul Newman
Leonard Nimoy
Susan Oliver
Dennis Quaid
Cliff Robertson
Kurt Russell
Bill Shatner
Jimmy Stewart

Phil Hartman
Dave Coulir

Nimoy's daughters once described traveling with Dad in his
twin all over the US when he was working in theatres.

Blanche Cohen

March 15th 04, 10:20 PM

Paul Tomblin > wrote:
>In a previous article, (Kevin Darling) said:
>>Apparently both Shatner and Nimoy were taking flying lessons at the
>>time, so it was an inside joke.
>
>Neither is listed in the pilot database at landings.com, so I guess they
>didn't finish?

IIRC you can ask the FAA not to list you. Shatner happens to be
Canadian, so you'd need to check CAA.

Paul Tomblin

March 15th 04, 11:34 PM

In a previous article, (Blanche Cohen) said:
>Paul Tomblin > wrote:
>>In a previous article, (Kevin Darling) said:
>>>Apparently both Shatner and Nimoy were taking flying lessons at the
>>>time, so it was an inside joke.
>>
>>Neither is listed in the pilot database at landings.com, so I guess they
>>didn't finish?
>
>IIRC you can ask the FAA not to list you.

Ah, that explains it.

>Shatner happens to be Canadian, so you'd need to check CAA.

I'm Canadian too, but I have an FAA license because, like Shatner[1],
that's where I happened to be living and working when I decided to get my
license.

[1] If he was working on it when he was working on Star Trek, I assume
he'd be working on it in the US. I don't think he's lived in Canada since
then.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Considering the number of wheels Microsoft has found reason to invent,
one never ceases to be baffled by the minuscule number whose shape even
vaguely resembles a circle. -- [unknown]

Shiver Me Timbers

March 16th 04, 12:42 AM

> Paul Tomblin > wrote:

> [1] If he was working on it when he was working on Star Trek, I assume
> he'd be working on it in the US. I don't think he's lived in Canada since
> then.

Oh come now folks...... You should be checking the right databases.

You need to check the intergallactic federation of intersteller
captains and navigators database.

Blanche

March 16th 04, 01:10 AM

From the late 90s --

Can anyone give me an E-Mail address for any Star Trek characters ?
-----
For the TNG crew, most are awaiting re-assignment, but try

where xxxx is the first letter of the first name followed by the first
7 characters of the last name and rrr is the rank, eg CPT for Captain,
LCR for Lt Commander, etc.

For the DS9 crew, same name format but no rank needed at the domain

-----
So, what would the e-mail addresses be for the voyager crew be? Something
like:

I'd hate to have to set up *that* net server.
-----
>So, what would the e-mail addresses be for the voyager crew be?

>

>I'd hate to have to set up *that* net server.

No provider in the quadrant yet....still dealing with DSL & OC24 lines, the
Communications Decency Act legislation and other hassles....*g*

Wonder if you can string a T1 line thru a wormhole.....?
-----
Dear Miss Manners,

thank you so much for providing the e-mail addresses of the Star Trek
characters. I had a blast talking to them, they are a nice bunch.

I would be forever in your debt, if you can tell me how to contact the
characters in the Mirror, Mirror universe. (fed.gov seems to be the wrong
domain.) These people are so _interesting_!

I would especially like to chat with the intendant. She is so... ambiguous.
-----
> contact the characters in the Mirror, Mirror universe.
>(fed.gov seems to be the wrong domain.)

There are lots of alt universes on the internet...

alt.startrek.creative
alt.sex.fetish.startrek
alt.barney.die.die.die
alt.bald.captains

and so on. Seems like the writers of TtLG have been spending too much time
on a.s.f.s!

>I would especially like to chat with the intendant. She is so... ambiguous.

uh-huh. merely "chat"...?
-----
I'm kind of new at this so I have to ask? You can send e-mail & talk to Star
Trek characters? For example my favorite character is Chief O'Brien, how
would I send a message?
-----
One more time, because many people didn't have time to read the original
message, due to the scroll rate here.

>email addresses for the characters

The TNG crew is currently awaiting orders for their new postings. You can
probably find them at where rrr is a 3 character
rank, eg CPT is Captain, LCR is Lt Commander, etc. And xxxxx is the first
5 characters of their last name and ff is the first 2 letters of their
first name. Once posted to active duty, the domain will, of course, change.

The original TOS crew, for the most part, have retired. Fortunately, all
have aliases thru the Star Fleet retirement plan. Try reaching them at

The DS9 crew is the easiest to find:

However, the non-Federation crew will have slightly different domain names,

Altho I did mention to Anne potential communication with the
other quadrants, I've been assured during the past couple days by TelCal that
currently there is no way to reach the Voyager crew since OC24 lines cannot
be strung thru wormholes. Sorry. Same for the alternate universe crews.

Tom Sixkiller

March 16th 04, 06:42 AM

"Blanche" > wrote in message
...
> On the topic of actors -- I remember seeing a list of actors
> with PPL or better on the back of an aviation book or magazine.
> Can't remember where. But a number of the Star Trek actors
> are on the list. Ah, wait...the back cover of Rod Machado's
> PPL book:
>
> James Arness (marshall dillon!)
> Dirk Benedict
> Jimmy Buffett (what? you don't think that's an act onstage?)

He owns several aircraft and flys his crew around to concerts in a Falcon
(50??)

> LeVar Burton (ST:TNG)
> Johnny Carson
> Tom Cruise
> Bob Cummings
> Michael Dorn (ST:TNG)

Owns/fly his own Sabre (corp jet, not the F86)

> Hugh Downs
> Clint Eastwood
(flys a Bell 206B3, used to have a MD500)

> Dennis Quaid
(leanred to fly when filming "Right Stuff")

> Cliff Robertson
> Kurt Russell
(Cessna Conquest)

Tom Sixkiller

March 16th 04, 06:43 AM

"Blanche Cohen" > wrote in message
...
> Paul Tomblin > wrote:
> >In a previous article, (Kevin Darling) said:
> >>Apparently both Shatner and Nimoy were taking flying lessons at the
> >>time, so it was an inside joke.
> >
> >Neither is listed in the pilot database at landings.com, so I guess they
> >didn't finish?
>
> IIRC you can ask the FAA not to list you.

I would think most celebrities and paranoid types (self-conscious blush) do
that.

Paul Tomblin

March 16th 04, 02:02 PM

In a previous article, "Tom Sixkiller" > said:
>"Blanche" > wrote in message
...
>> Michael Dorn (ST:TNG)
>
>Owns/fly his own Sabre (corp jet, not the F86)

Wasn't Dorn the one who bought a jet warbird and then sold it when he
realized it was registered as "experimental/exhibition" so it wasn't much
use to him?

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
I don't have a sense of humour, merely an over-exaggerated sense
of revenge.
-- Stephen Harris

Tom Sixkiller

March 16th 04, 02:21 PM

"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message
...
> In a previous article, "Tom Sixkiller" > said:
> >"Blanche" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> Michael Dorn (ST:TNG)
> >
> >Owns/fly his own Sabre (corp jet, not the F86)
>
> Wasn't Dorn the one who bought a jet warbird and then sold it when he
> realized it was registered as "experimental/exhibition" so it wasn't much
> use to him?

Larry Ellison of Oracle maybe?

Dale

March 16th 04, 05:32 PM

In article >,
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

>
> Wasn't Dorn the one who bought a jet warbird and then sold it when he
> realized it was registered as "experimental/exhibition" so it wasn't much
> use to him?

Yeah, he had an F-86 for a while.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

Blanche

March 17th 04, 12:30 AM

Dale > wrote:
> (Paul Tomblin) wrote:
>
>> Wasn't Dorn the one who bought a jet warbird and then sold it when he
>> realized it was registered as "experimental/exhibition" so it wasn't much
>> use to him?
>
>Yeah, he had an F-86 for a while.

And annoyed as h*ll when Paramount told him he couldn't fly during
the 8 month shooting season of Star Trek.

Rick Durden

March 21st 04, 09:43 PM

Pete,

While you were busy criticizing John Travolta for not making public
comments that were in favor of aviation, he was busy giving an
extensive interview to Architectural Digest magazine about his love
for flying and airplanes in support of the long article the magazine
did on his aviation-themed home in Florida. See the April issue.
It's pretty impressive and it outlines the comments of some high
rollers who have been guest of the Travoltas at their home and came to
understant the importance of aviation in his life. He designed, built
and furnished the house every one of us would love to own. From the
compass rose on the floor in the entry way to the paintings and
sculptures of airplanes, and the view out the windows of his G-II and
707 parked outside, it's pretty amazing.

You might also take a look at the series of interviews he gave while
doing the around the world flight as PIC of the 707 he owns.

All the best,
Rick

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message >...
> "Rick Durden" > wrote in message
> m...
> > [irrelevant tirade snipped]
> > It's real easy to cast aspersions on famous folks on the Internet,
> > yeah, that CB radio for those who can type, but how many of us are
> > actually getting out there and doing something to support the aviation
> > we care for?
>
> In other words, you have NO examples of instances where Travolta got "a lot
> of good press and attention for general aviation".
>
> It's funny that in your own post, at the same time that you make a lame
> attempt to discredit me rather than answering the question, you criticize
> the very sort of behavior that you are engaging in.
>
> IMHO, if there were really "a lot of good press and attention for general
> aviation", you'd be able to come up with at least a half dozen specific
> examples of situations where Travolta actually made a real attempt to use
> his public profile to improve general aviation.
>
> Pete

Peter Duniho

March 22nd 04, 01:17 AM

"Rick Durden" > wrote in message
...
> While you were busy criticizing John Travolta

"Busy criticizing"? Get a grip. What I was busy doing was calling you out
for making the false claim that he's a strong proponent of GA. I've
invested very little time and effort criticizing Travolta.

> for not making public
> comments that were in favor of aviation, he was busy giving an
> extensive interview to Architectural Digest magazine about his love
> for flying and airplanes in support of the long article the magazine
> did on his aviation-themed home in Florida.

You've got to be kidding me. Travolta stroking his ego in a high-end
rich-folk's magazine is supposed to be a promotion of GA?

Could you be any more star-struck?

Les Wilson

March 22nd 04, 03:06 AM

Bruce Dickinson - singer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden (very popular in
the 80's). When he's not doing the heavy metal thing, he co-pilots 737's
and 757's commercially for a charter airline in Europe.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,812005,00.html
http://www.ironmaiden.com/media/images/low/IID00001041.JPG

"Gerald Sylvester" > wrote in message
link.net...
> How about a list of famous pilots....not pilots for majors or authors
> but famous people who happen to be pilots.

Gerald Sylvester

March 22nd 04, 04:01 AM

Les Wilson wrote:
> Bruce Dickinson - singer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden (very popular in
> the 80's). When he's not doing the heavy metal thing, he co-pilots 737's
> and 757's commercially for a charter airline in Europe.

AWESOME!!! Rock on dude.

hehehehehe. Man, that made me laugh really really hard.

Gerald

Paul Folbrecht

March 22nd 04, 04:39 AM

That is too cool - I was a huge Maiden fan for ages. WTG, Bruce!

Les Wilson wrote:
> Bruce Dickinson - singer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden (very popular in
> the 80's). When he's not doing the heavy metal thing, he co-pilots 737's
> and 757's commercially for a charter airline in Europe.
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,812005,00.html
> http://www.ironmaiden.com/media/images/low/IID00001041.JPG

Richard Hertz

March 22nd 04, 04:52 AM

Wow, he keeps popping up wherever I turn. I met him when I was a teenager
in the 80's - didn't know who he was - he came to a fencing club in NYC -
seems he has quite a few hobbies.

"Les Wilson" > wrote in message
...
> Bruce Dickinson - singer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden (very popular in
> the 80's). When he's not doing the heavy metal thing, he co-pilots 737's
> and 757's commercially for a charter airline in Europe.
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,812005,00.html
> http://www.ironmaiden.com/media/images/low/IID00001041.JPG
>
>
> "Gerald Sylvester" > wrote in message
> link.net...
> > How about a list of famous pilots....not pilots for majors or authors
> > but famous people who happen to be pilots.
>
>

Gerald Sylvester

March 22nd 04, 05:52 AM

I forgot to mention in my original post that Steve Morse apparently
would carry a guitar with him at times into the cockpit. Maybe
music for the boarding process.

Gerald

Dean Wilkinson

March 22nd 04, 08:57 PM

Another actor whoe flies is Tom Cruise.

I believe that David Crosby of Crosby Stills and Nash is a pilot (but
since he was recently busted in New York City for possession of
marijuana and a handgun he may not be flying for a while).

Gerald Sylvester > wrote in message . net>...
> How about a list of famous pilots....not pilots for majors or authors
> but famous people who happen to be pilots.
>
> We already have Harrison Ford and John Travolta.
>
> My entry is guitarist Steve Morse who has played with everyone
> from the Dixie Dregs to Manuel Barrueco (classical guitarist) to
> Deep Purple and everyone in between. He's an ATP, private glider
> and has an A&P certificate. when the Dixie Dregs got out of
> their recording contract and they called it quits, he started
> flying Twin Otters (???) commercially. And right out of college,
> he was wrote off the cost of (I think) a C310 to fly the band around.
> Apparently they couldn't afford the taxi's from teh airport to the gigs
> but they/he had a plane. Now after winning best guitarist for 5 years
> straight in Guitar Player magazine and touring the world too many times
> to count, he has I think 4 airplanes. He also wrote a song for
> one of the displays at the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers in
> Kitty Hawk.
>
> I took my PPL checkride on 12/17/03 (that's 2003, not 1903 :) ). For
> "historical purposes," I took along one of his CD's along (also my
> bike pedals since the Wrights were first bike mechanics). :) It's ok,
> call it corny. :)
>
> ok, what other famous GA pilots are there?
>
> Gerald

Steve Robeson K4CAP

March 23rd 04, 12:51 PM

>Subject: Re: Travolta - did he ever ditch an aircraft?
>From: (Paul Tomblin)
>Date: 3/14/2004 8:35 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>In a previous article, (Rick Durden) said:
>>Please tell us how you would handle a complete electrical failure, at
>>night, in IMC when your flight instruments are not vacuum powered, but
>>are electrically driven.
>
>I don't know, I don't have a type rating in a G4. People I know who *do*
>have type ratings in jets assure me that there are ways to do it and it
>wouldn't kill "most pilots", unless you count people without type ratings
>on that aircraft in the list.

Three questions:

Did this "emergency" really occur?

If the answer to the first was "yes", then was there a smoking hole at
the arrival end of the approach?

If the answer to the second was "no", was there an FAA/NTSB inquiry as to
his fitness to continue as an IFR rated aviator, let alone continue flying at
all?

If we assume the answer to the first was yes, and since we know the answer
to the second was no and the third one was no, then we have to assume that
whatEVER he did was sufficently adequate to get him home safely, the aircraft
is still in one piece, and he never made the headlines with an "ACTOR DEAD IN
CRASH" headline.

That is a good thing, regardless of who he is.

Steve @ BGF