Is it time to arm crop duster pilots as well as airline pilots?

[Larry Dighera]

Is it time to arm crop duster pilots as well as airline pilots?


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AOPA ePilot Volume 6, Issue 14 April 2, 2004
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RACE FAN GETS SIX MONTHS FOR FIRING AT CROP DUSTER
A NASCAR fan armed with a deer rifle and emboldened by a high
blood-alcohol level has been sent to prison for six months after
firing on a North Carolina crop duster last year. The man opened
fire on D. Wayne Slaughter, who owns Wa-Lu Aviation in Farmville,
North Carolina. Medication may have enhanced the effects of the
alcohol, the shooter's attorney told the court. The shooter
couldn't hear the televised race while Slaughter was legally
dusting pine trees nearby, so he successfully drove the airplane
off after a 12-shot volley. Three of the shots hit the aircraft,
one piercing the wing a foot from the Air Tractor's fuel tank and
another causing the battery to explode. The pilot was not hit but
suffered mental anguish. Slaughter, past president of the National
Agricultural Aviation Association, said he hopes publicity about
his case will encourage other ag pilots to report similar
incidents.

[C J Campbell]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
>
> Is it time to arm crop duster pilots as well as airline pilots?

Nah. You just bomb the shooter the way you do all the other pests.

[Cecil E. Chapman]

Ya know the real problem is that idiots, such as the one you mentioned 'fuel
the fires' of the stereotype of the buck-toothed, ignorant country 'bumpkin'
and make a beautiful part of the country (with many people who truly have
hearts of gold and are the very soul of what is good about America) the
brunt of an onslaught of 'hick' jokes. :-(

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL
Student-IASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -

[Wizard of Draws]

On 4/5/04 12:42 PM, in article
, "Cecil E. Chapman"
> wrote:

> Ya know the real problem is that idiots, such as the one you mentioned 'fuel
> the fires' of the stereotype of the buck-toothed, ignorant country 'bumpkin'
> and make a beautiful part of the country (with many people who truly have
> hearts of gold and are the very soul of what is good about America) the
> brunt of an onslaught of 'hick' jokes. :-(

Living here in the South after growing up in California, I can attest that
the 'bumpkin' stereotypes did not become stereotypes without reason.
And that's all I have to say about that.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
www.wizardofdraws.com
www.cartoonclipart.com

[Ditch]

>Living here in the South after growing up in California, I can attest that
>the 'bumpkin' stereotypes did not become stereotypes without reason.
>And that's all I have to say about that.

Same situation...but I was able to escape and head back west. They have earned
the sterotype.


-John
*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
American*

[SelwayKid]

(Ditch) wrote in message >...
> >Living here in the South after growing up in California, I can attest that
> >the 'bumpkin' stereotypes did not become stereotypes without reason.
> >And that's all I have to say about that.
>
> Same situation...but I was able to escape and head back west. They have earned
> the sterotype.

John
Perhaps many of them moved to central California? I was shot at a
number of times in the San Joaquin valley in both airplanes and
helicopters with at least one hit.
Having sprayed in many parts of the country, and world, I've been shot
at more than a few times. On at least one occasion I shot back and
dumped a load of highly toxic chemical on terrorists who were shooting
at me in Mozambique. But it was a time of civil war and I also carried
a sub-machine gun everywhere I went. Had to use it in the house one
night when my wife woke me to say someone was moving about....but
thats a story for a different time.
Ol Shy & Bashful
BTW, even the locals ridicule the "redneck" stereotype who seem to
crop up in every part of the world.
>
>
> -John
> *You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
> American*

[Malcolm Teas]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message >...
> "Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Is it time to arm crop duster pilots as well as airline pilots?
>
> Nah. You just bomb the shooter the way you do all the other pests.

Assuming that I'm NOT flying an ag plane, what's a good altitude to be
above to avoid gunshot in hunting season?

-Malcolm Teas

[Cecil E. Chapman]

Yikes.... really opened a 'wound' out there ;-)

Okay, I've lived in the city of San Francisco, proper, ALL my life. My
father and all my relatives (except for my mother) are from West Virginia.

If you want to address a different type of ignorance or 'stupidity', lookey
here at good ole S.F. where some people think that the only thing that the
poor in Appalachia really need is access to more latte' stands and that
owning a BMW, really IS the way to solving the woes of mankind.

I've certainly had the misfortune of meeting those that give life to the
'redneck' and 'country bumpkin' stereotypes. Those that make you question
if the 'missing link' still exists in our populations. ALL I was attempting
to say, is that when I've been in Kentucky (where my mother ((long
deceased)) was born) or West Virginia, or the sleepier parts of Louisiana,
etc... I've generally met perfect strangers who share a warm good morning
and welcome to you (instead of averting their gaze, afraid to talk to
anyone - like here in the city), open their homes to you once they see you
are a good person. I've eaten with families that have invited me over for
dinner, when, as I saw their circumstance, it was clear that they barely had
enough to keep themselves going. I've seen great generosity come from those
that have little. Indeed, I've found some of the most giving souls in our
country out in the far reaches of rural areas and some of the most selfish
souls here in the cities; conspicuously spending to accumulate goods to the
point of gross excess, but wouldn't share a dime or a smile with you.

BTW, I had to address the post reply about the hooded cross-burners....
Yes, unfortunately those people do exist and in all fairness they probably
exist, but in a more subtle way out here in the city. More sophisticated in
their 'hangings', they block careers, close doors of opportunity - same ugly
prejudice,,, just shows itself in a different way. Once again, though, I
remind myself that those people are such a small part of the population and
not the measure to judge 'the whole', by.

Despite maintaining a healthy amount of cynicism, I truly believe there is
exceptional goodness out there and I must say that I've seen it most from
those that give freely even though they have little themselves.

That's all I was trying to say.....

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL
Student-IASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -
"Cecil E. Chapman" > wrote in message
. com...
> Ya know the real problem is that idiots, such as the one you mentioned
'fuel
> the fires' of the stereotype of the buck-toothed, ignorant country
'bumpkin'
> and make a beautiful part of the country (with many people who truly have
> hearts of gold and are the very soul of what is good about America) the
> brunt of an onslaught of 'hick' jokes. :-(
>
> --
> --
> =-----
> Good Flights!
>
> Cecil
> PP-ASEL
> Student-IASEL
>
> Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
> checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
> Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com
>
> "I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
> - Antoine de Saint-Exupery -
>
> "We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
> this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
> - Cecil Day Lewis -
>
>
>

[G.R. Patterson III]

Malcolm Teas wrote:
>
> Assuming that I'm NOT flying an ag plane, what's a good altitude to be
> above to avoid gunshot in hunting season?

1,000' AGL will keep you well out of shotgun range. A good rifle can carry several
miles, but that's measured on the flat when the rifle is fired upwards at a 45 degree
angle. Accurate range for a rifle is only from about 300 yards to 1,200 yards. Most
rifle hunters will not be firing in the air unless they're deliberately shooting at
you. In that case, your best hope is the fact that few of them have much practice
trying to hit objects moving as fast as you are. Most rifle hunters don't know how to
lead a target, either. Most shotgun users are quite good at it.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

[Bill Denton]

I have a friend who used to fly petroleum pipeline patrols in Piper Warriors
at 50' AGL looking for leaks.

And at that altitude, the airplane is well within reach of the weapons
carried by people who might be out there near the pipelines growing things
they shouldn't be growing.

He told me that on a couple of days he picked up two hits, but mostly he
would just get a single hit a couple of times a week when he flew in certain
areas. He said it was obvious they weren't trying to bring him down as the
hits were rarely in a critical area; they mainly just wanted to scare him
away. If they'd brought a plane down it would have attracted even more
attention which was what they were trying to avoid in the first place.

And I imagine there are a lot more stories out there that we never hear
about!


"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Malcolm Teas wrote:
> >
> > Assuming that I'm NOT flying an ag plane, what's a good altitude to be
> > above to avoid gunshot in hunting season?
>
> 1,000' AGL will keep you well out of shotgun range. A good rifle can carry
several
> miles, but that's measured on the flat when the rifle is fired upwards at
a 45 degree
> angle. Accurate range for a rifle is only from about 300 yards to 1,200
yards. Most
> rifle hunters will not be firing in the air unless they're deliberately
shooting at
> you. In that case, your best hope is the fact that few of them have much
practice
> trying to hit objects moving as fast as you are. Most rifle hunters don't
know how to
> lead a target, either. Most shotgun users are quite good at it.
>
> George Patterson
> This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band
to
> play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come
home
> a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

[Ditch]

>Perhaps many of them moved to central California?

Could be...but these days, many of the sleepy towns in the Valley or becoming
subdivisions to someplace. Tract housing abounds!

>I was shot at a
>number of times in the San Joaquin valley in both airplanes and
>helicopters with at least one hit.

I was shot at while flying an Air Tractor in Georgia. Didn't get hit, tho...


-John
*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
American*

[Peter Duniho]

"Bill Denton" > wrote in message
...
>[...] He said it was obvious they weren't trying to bring him down as the
> hits were rarely in a critical area; they mainly just wanted to scare him
> away. If they'd brought a plane down it would have attracted even more
> attention which was what they were trying to avoid in the first place.

I think he was being too optimistic. Anyone dumb enough to grow illegal
crops near a relatively high-traffic area like a pipeline is also dumb
enough to attempt to shoot an airplane down. That's before even bothering
to consider the unlikelihood of the shooter being able to intentionally
avoid making a critical shot at a moving airplane.

Sounds to me like your friend was just plain lucky not to have been shot
down.

Pete

[G.R. Patterson III]

Bill Denton wrote:
>
> He said it was obvious they weren't trying to bring him down as the
> hits were rarely in a critical area; they mainly just wanted to scare him
> away.

I think he's lucky. It's a real bear trying to hit something the size of a light
aircraft moving at perhaps 100 miles an hour. These guys must've been excellent
marksmen to score at all. Assuming that they can choose to hit a non-critical part
instead of a critical one is folly. The only thing that kept him alive is the fact
that so much of an airplane is non-critical when we're talking about a 30-06 shell.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".