I'm sorry Greg, what have I "lost"? I made a number of points including the regulations and as a former accident investigator plus being a professional pilot for a long time it concerns me that your rebuttal was focused only on the regulation point. If I lose someone because I pointed out regulations then I shouldn't even bring it up?

I hate internet arguments and really try to meter my responses. I get a lot out of this forum and as one of my students read it and asked me offline about this thread I thought I'd weigh in. But, as I said, I'm not going to be able to change someone's mind that has justified and rationalized their decision. I simply hope someone who is on the fence or needs a little reinforcement or nudge to fly within their limitations thoughtfully takes in all the input and decides and acts eyes wide open.

Points to ponder:

In making a concerted decision - the rules do play a valid role. Will I be violated, will I be held criminally or civilly liable? What is my responsibility? Picture yourself on the stand being cross examined by a pit bull attorney in front of a jury of aviation ignorant "peers" - your "Few Good Men" Jack Nicholson moment.

As an instructor and or mentor, is it "do as I say and not do what I do?"

Did just I do something that has huge impacts and consequences for others?

Once the slippery slope of risk/reward decision making is headed downhill and positive reinforcement is helping in gradually letting one's standards slip - where is the tipping point?

What is my prevalent hazardous attitude and how does it effect my decision making process?

Hey - I have lot fun flying. I've had to manage a lot of risk/reward from many different perspectives and professions - I've seen some awful consequences when people have not done their due diligence or didn't know what they didn't know. I wanted to contribute in a thoughtful way about what we do, how we decide and how we manage risk. Not everyone thinks about these things - the human factors that play such an important role.

Have fun and be safe,

Tom