I doubt that the current discussion of 'good' versus 'bad' pilot is
really about an arena where a half a second controls life or death...
The vast majority of us GA pilots will never fly in that arena.

I think he's talking about an "attitude of safety", which applies in
every arena. But (for me) the discussion is not about how to be safe,
or how safe to be. It is about us "good pilots" sitting back in our
easy chair judging others as "bad pilots" (a term with predicitive
value) based on the outcome of one error. Of course =we= would never be
so dumb as to do =that=.

There simply is no reason for LOW LEVEL
aerobatics to exist in general aviation.

There is no reason for =any= risky activity to exist. What is special
about low level aerobatics? But people do take risks in exchange for
benefits. You may not appreciate the benefits of low level aerobatics
any more than my aunt appreciates the benefits of flying little
airplanes in the first place. But it is up to each of us to make our
own determination of risk and benefit, and to respect the choices others
make.

I specifically
exempted the mechanical failure that cannot be predicted or
prevented...

But most mechanical failures =can= be predicted or prevented (by good
maintanance, and the choice of shop or FBO) or at least mitigated (by
altitude, fuel reserve, backup devices, etc). Why not call somebody a
"bad pilot" because he chose to trust an FBO who was not worthy of such
trust, and did not bring a handheld navigation unit as backup, when the
battery catches fire on an instrument approach?

Did you get a weather briefing and are you making good judgements -
versus the old, 'well, let's go take a look'...

"Taking a look" is not in itself a bad thing. Given a weather briefing,
and weather that is not quite as forecast, sometimes it's worth taking a
look anyway, so long as you have sufficient outs should the look not be
so inviting. Although I think you meant flying without a briefing at
all, you cast aspersions on the entire concept of "taking a look".

There is no excuse for most pilot error. But there are reasons.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
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