Fending off the flying car

[spiderweb]

We have to unite. Please. Please. There is a reason we have a hard-earned certificate that allows us to operate a "vehicle" above the ground. Don't encourage the enthusiasm for flying cars! [Rip me apart if I'm wrong!]

 

[Jim Logajan]

I'm not saying that. I'm saying this: I don't want the freaking morons I face everyday on the road to be in the air with me. I think that's reasonable.

Those "freaking morons" manage a lower accident rate by a factor of 10.

The blanket ad hominem for your fellow drivers makes it easy to accuse you of being elitist and have entitlement issues.

I think your take is purely emotional nonsense and unreasonable.

 

[Jim Logajan]

What did you go through to get your driver's license? Compare that to flying.

Your first post railed against flying cars. Now it rails against flying with only a ground vehicle license. Clearly you think the two concepts are inextricably linked. Based on that and your subsequent xenophobic posts, the most diplomatic assumption I can make is that you are trolling.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Secondly, I ask--do you feel entitled? I sure do. Why? Because I busted my behind to get my certificate and ratings, and that ENTITLES me to pilot an aircraft.

I hate to break it to you, but one does not need to even earn a certificate to pilot an aircraft - that's been the case for decades (at least in the U.S.) You could have saved your behind if you had considered flying ultralights.

(The amusing (in a sad way) thing about flying ultralights is that the uncertificated ultralight pilot can fly at altitudes that are off limits to sport pilots, who are required to have formal training. An ultralight aircraft can fly up to the top of Class E; sport pilots aren't allowed over 10K MSL or 2K AGL, whichever is higher.)

 

[Jim Logajan]

Statistically GA is way more dangerous than bikes.

I disagree. The cross-modal statistical studies I'm aware of generally find that most normalized rates indicate motorcycles are more dangerous than small airplanes - and that helicopters are the least safe mode of transportation. Here's the information I've found:

http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/36229/cross_modal_safety_comparisons.pdf

http://www.caa.govt.nz/Towards_2010/Cross_Modal_Safety_Outcome_Comparisons.pdf

So far as I know, the U.S. NTSB once said they were going to produce their own cross-modal study but I don't believe they ever got around to it. But I haven't searched for what they may have done lately.

 

[Jim Logajan]

I'm not going to argue about this any more. It is utterly absurd. Tell your life insurance agent you ride a motorcycle. Then tell him (or her) you fly an airplane.

A reasonable suggestion - but I don't have a life insurance agent, but the net might give some insight. So I did some searching:

According to this link, premiums for a 45-year old male, non-smoking, private, instrument rated pilot for a $500,000, 20-year guaranteed level term life policy ranges from ~$700/year to ~$1200/year:
http://www.piclife.com/compare/index.php

I couldn't find any simple ways to determine what impact motorcycle riding has on life insurance rates, but a couple online quoting systems that appeared in Google ads seem to indicate that the same hypothetical person (sans pilot certificate) for the same coverage gets quoted premiums of ~$1500/year to ~1700/year; e.g.:
http://www.accuquotelife.com/
https://www.thrivent.com/

(Leaving the name and contact info still yielded quotes.)

I am very sorry if you think I am being absurd - when I see assertions on the net that interest me, I go looking for as authoritative information as I can find (without making a career of it) to determine whether they are valid. The truth of some assertions seems to vary with time, and this may be one of those cases.

(If you meant this entire thread is absurd I would tend to agree.)

 

[Jim Logajan]

The statistics don't agree with you.

You also have terrible luck on motorcycles. I've never been hit by a car - I've had cars try to hit me - but I always decided not to let them.

I posted links to two cross-modal studies that indicate motorcycles generally result in more fatalities and serious injuries per hour or mile traveled than light airplane travel. If you have references indicating differently they would be appreciated.