We forget that the fairly well informed and connected pilots we see
here on the internet are only a small slice of the big picture. All
around the country are little out of the way airports with pilots who
have no clue what goes on beyond the county line. Maybe they did fly
into O'Hare once 50 years ago when it was a grass strip, or have an
instructor who did. Their biennial, if they take one, is given by a
good old boy instructor that's just as disconnected as they are. They
can fly an airplane and fly it well, but they have no clue how to
interface with the world outside. Living in the open areas of the
Midwest, I've run into some real characters. I've seen doors tied shut
with baling wire, wires twisted together instead of an ignition switch,
and much, much more. Some have had their run-ins with the FAA over and
over again and the FAA has thrown up their hands and walked away. It's
the 21st century only in the big cities and on the calendar.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.