AvGas - Why arent you suppose to smell it
Treize
lead and you know how lead is poisonus. Sometimes I unintentionally and
sometimes intentionally smelled avgas out of curiousity smellwhen
taking fuel sample. And the smell of it would linger in my book bag for
hours, where I keep my fuel tester.
What are the side effects of this fume? The reason I ask this is
because I think I may be suffering the side effects, being forgetful,
unattentive, or is only phsychologically in my mind that I have the
symptoms if the case proves to be true.
I've only came across a warning only once saying not to smell the fume
of AvGas in a jepessen book. It feels stupid because common sense
should dictate this.
Robert M. Gary
it and eventually got a nasty headache and pretty light headed.
Malcolm
isn't the real problem in smelling avgas, or mogas, kerosene, or any
aromatic petroleum product for that matter. Tetraethel lead is a
heavier compond. The lighter weight aromatics that are easily
volitized are the things that you can breath in easily. They're also
the compounds that have been found to help cause cancers too.
I've read that consistent exposure over long times can either help
cause or promote cancer. I would guess that it also would be an
irritant to the lungs, etc.
I agree with you that common sense dictates not smelling it. Just like
we don't smell the gas when gassing the car either.
-Malcolm Teas
Cecil Chapman
news:1130031954.0...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I once thought I had water in the fuel of the Aeronca. I kept smelling
> it and eventually got a nasty headache and pretty light headed.
I can't find the original poster's query, but smelling the fuel is just not
a healthy thing to be doing. I've lived in the city of San Francisco all my
life and a handful of years ago, and just once I reached the point that I
had 'heard everything'; I read an article in the local newspaper about
some practice among a small amount of kids who would inhale gas fumes to
'get high' (<jeez>)- apparently the practice was/is called 'huffing' (or
something like that). Of course, they find some of these kids dead and if
they manage to live long enough they reduce themselves to mental
'vegetables'.... Of course these kids are concentrating the vapors on
purpose - but I'd still err on caution and not go around sniffing the avfuel
for contaminants.
Just a distantly related side note - but I just shake my head sometimes to
see what risks some kids will take with their health and minds..... Life
just has so many avenues for experiencing the 'rapture of being alive' and
it doesn't come from a pill, hypodermic or a bottle - whether watching a
mountain or ocean sunset/sunrise or pulling out a favorite book and reading
by some gentle creek or quiet lake - it's all there and it will enrich you
and not drag you down. {hopping off my soapbox}
--
--
=-----
Good Flights!
Cecil E. Chapman
CP-ASEL-IA
Student - C.F.I.
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 -
>
SR20GOER
"Treize" <aduqu...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1130024652.9...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Both are also absorbed thru the skin - wash hands after fuel checks.
I have been working with fuel/oil regularly on the hands for 40 years and
treat it with caution.
Ask your refueller for a look at the Material Safety Data Sheets - very
interesting.
brian
Dave S
Dave
john smith
A known carcinogen.
John Clear
Treize <aduqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>What are the side effects of this fume? The reason I ask this is
>because I think I may be suffering the side effects, being forgetful,
>unattentive, or is only phsychologically in my mind that I have the
>symptoms if the case proves to be true.
>
The fuel truck drivers at PAO have recently started wearing
respirators and heavy gloves when fueling planes. They of course
have a much higher level of contact with the fuel/fumes. I spoke
with one of the fuelers, and he said they he and the other guys
were tested and came back with slightly elevated lead levels, but
still in the 'safe' level. Of course, there isn't really a 'safe'
level of lead. He also said one of the senior A&Ps at one of the
maintenance shops had some serious medical issues related to decades
of lead exposure. The fueler also said that he had memory loss
issues, and since starting to use the respirator, his wife had said
he was much less forgetful.
Lots of anecdotal evidence, but it is something I do worry about.
John
--
John Clear - j...@panix.com http://www.clear-prop.org/
NW_PILOT
"Cecil Chapman" <bayare...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:rlC6f.6449$tV6....@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
Hey Cecil, they don't use GASOLINE to get HI! they "Kids & Adults" use Paint
& Other Inhalants, You live in a fairly large city why don't you just go
walk down the street & take your upscale blind fold off and do a look see of
your surroundings may surprise you a bit! At what you may see!
Many of the people are poor, abused, and/or are very sick do not understand
or have the funds to go sit & watch weather they live in it! They worry
about the whether, they worry if they are going to eat something today,
have a warm place to stay, or die from the next thing they eat, the weather,
or next person they come across. Most Huff, Take a Pill, Stick a Needle In
Their Arm, Drink from a bottle because they are escaping the world they live
in & coping with their reality! A world that most just close their eyes &
turn their head to!
Cecil, Please Answer These Question?
Cecil, Have you ever had to eat out of a trash can?
Cecil, Have you ever had to sleep in the rain hungry, cold, sick, & wet?
Cecil, Have you ever had no place to go, no mommy, daddy or other relatives
to fall back on?
Cecil, Ever lived on the streets, no transportation, no change of clothing,
no place to shower, no i.d., for month's on end?
Lynne
Does the real fat guy still fuel @ PAO? I can't recall his name but
he's very large, and always wears a straw hat to keep the sun out of
his eyes.
Dan Luke
"NW_PILOT" wrote:
> Hey Cecil, they don't use GASOLINE to get HI! they "Kids & Adults" use
> Paint
> & Other Inhalants, You live in a fairly large city why don't you just
> go
> walk down the street & take your upscale blind fold off and do a look
> see of
> your surroundings may surprise you a bit! At what you may see!
You need to pay more attention yourself; huffing gasoline is common.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=huffing+gasoline&btnG=Search
> Many of the people are poor, abused, and/or are very sick do not
> understand
> or have the funds to go sit & watch weather they live in it!
Yep. I'd love to see Cecil mount his soap box in East L. A. and start
talking about watching ocean sunsets and reading beside quiet streams,
LOL.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
Cecil Chapman
> talking about watching ocean sunsets and reading beside quiet streams,
Nor would I want to do the same in certain parts of my city or other towns
I've visited (by the way, since you mentioned East L.A. which has a high
minority population - I would be remiss if I didn't point out that
Caucasians mess up their lives with drugs as do other racial ethnicities).
You're right, of course - nor should you think I would be naive enough to do
such a thing (standing and making a 'soap box' announcement to the wind)-
but you know,,, the beautiful thing about the truth is that it doesn't
depend on being believed in, to be so. By you or anyone else - the truth
can stand on its' own.
It doesn't stop one from hoping that some will see other possibilities;
most will likely not see the other paths but some will. Even still, in no
way does the latter dilute the poignancy that I was trying to get across nor
the selfless efforts of those who actively go after those kids and try to
show them another path. The difficulty lies in a way of thinking and a
culture some are steeped in. If you've been brought up to think, that's all
there is and this is what it is all about then the belief supports itself
and becomes a self-fulfilling 'prophesy.
> LOL.
No, I don't really find anything funny about a hope that some will find the
goodness in Life. Your kind of cynicism is sad and toxic to the one that
bears it and to those who are exposed to it.
Cecil Chapman
> Paint
> & Other Inhalants,
Nope, they are using gasoline as well, sadly enough.
>You live in a fairly large city why don't you just go
> walk down the street & take your upscale blind fold off and do a look see
> of
> your surroundings may surprise you a bit! At what you may see!
Not 'upscale' at all, I fly because I've learned what is important to me and
always directed my efforts towards the same and away from frivolous
expenditures that are 'antithetical' to the 'goal.
You can't go very far in the heart of our city without seeing some actual
tragedy; though I would counter that much of what is visible on the street
is the direct result of someone not seeking other choices or choosing not to
pursue the paths that would make a difference in their life.
> Many of the people are poor, abused, and/or are very sick do not
> understand
> or have the funds to go sit & watch weather they live in it! They worry
> about the whether, they worry if they are going to eat something today,
> have a warm place to stay, or die from the next thing they eat, the
> weather,
> or next person they come across. Most Huff, Take a Pill, Stick a Needle In
> Their Arm, Drink from a bottle because they are escaping the world they
> live
> in & coping with their reality! A world that most just close their eyes &
> turn their head to!
I am so tired of hearing that uninformed prattle. In addition to my regular
clients I have some charity organizations that I do some 'pro bono' work
for and you know what THEY tell me? Except on rare occasions there is
always food and shelter available in our city,, always (I can't speak for
other cities only, SF). What the various charity workers have told me is
that most of the street people are reticent to place themselves in a shelter
because it involves rules of conduct to be followed. They aren't on the
streets because they 'just haven't been able to find a job' - that isn't the
problem. The issue,, the common thread which these 'angels on earth' who
run these charities tell me; is substance abuse starts them on a downward
spiral from which they make no effort to extricate themselves - period,,,
end of story. And you want to know who I hear the angriest voices from,,,
it's from the people who have made it through the rehabilitation programs,
that I've met and turned their life around. They are angry at the excuses
they hear from those who were once in their position; because they know that
such a dire lifestyle is the result of choice and refusing to make the
proper efforts towards a positive direction.
>
> Cecil, Please Answer These Question?
>
> Cecil, Have you ever had to eat out of a trash can?
No, of course I also chose not to get involved in a lifestyle that would
render me unemployable and stoned.
> Cecil, Have you ever had to sleep in the rain hungry, cold, sick, & wet?
No, see the previous answer.
> Cecil, Have you ever had no place to go, no mommy, daddy or other
> relatives
> to fall back on?
No, I haven't stolen money from parents or relatives in an effort to 'get a
fix'; my family trusts me. Those people burned their own bridges.
> Cecil, Ever lived on the streets, no transportation, no change of
> clothing,
> no place to shower, no i.d., for month's on end?
Once again, I can't speak for other cities but our city has free clothing
programs, showers at the larger city run shelter, sign-up with the city's
public programs and they even give you a fast pass (free BART and MUNI
public transit) at no charge. In addition there are numerous vocational
training and education programs offered by the city and especially Glide
Memorial Church (they really do incredible work). So if you are on our San
Francisco streets eating out of the trash cans,,, you really haven't even
begun to try to turn yourself around, you really haven't tried - 'cause the
programs are all there and in-place. Heck there are even outreach workers
that go around to let these individuals know about the programs and even a
VAN service to take them to the rehab program.
My dad was raised with 10 other siblings in the most rural part of West
Virginia, imaginable. My grandfather was a coal miner there and with 10
kids, a wife and a miner's pay, still managed to scratch out an existence
and turn out very morally strong individuals (my dad, uncles and aunt).
Their principle meal were 'hoe-cakes' (potato pancakes). The potatoes were
grown on their property and supplemented with some meat. Despite the latter
my father and uncles always told me that they never (unless the misbehaved)
went to bed hungry.
Now all the latter is not to say that there isn't crime or substance abuse
in my dad's part of the country; rather I'm just trying to make a point that
being poor doesn't automatically doom one to drug abuse and crime. It all
comes to choices.
My mother was raised in the backwoods of the backwoods <grin> of Kentucky.
Her father died of malaria when she was very young and her mother had to
make ends meet by taking on work washing laundry and other jobs with largely
black coworkers (keep in mind that back in those times being a white person
working with blacks meant you were working at the bottom of the rung).
Actually, from her mother's daily experience working side-by-side with the
black workers she came away with positive insights about blacks that
wouldn't have been common back in those days. Once again, despite poor
background, they didn't turn to crime or booze - they applied themselves to
a goal and moral standard and that's what got them through.
Well if you can learn something from all that I took the time to share, then
great! If not,,, doesn't matter I said my piece and I'm done with this -
besides this forum is about learning to fly (but in this case I couldn't
let your remark go by).
So, over, done, finished with this thread. The next thing I want to see
from you is a post about the safety seminars you have invested in and how
you are going to work at being a safe and responsible pilot - a glowing
example to all! :0)
Icebound
> Hey Cecil, they don't use GASOLINE to get HI! they "Kids & Adults" use
> Paint
> & Other Inhalants,
Actually, they DO. Perhaps more so in rural and especially isolated areas,
where gasoline is a lot easier and cheaper to come by than other stuff.
NW_PILOT
Cecile, you know some people do not have a choice, Not every one on the
streets is unemployable or on dope! Not every one burned a bridge with their
parents some peoples parents are either absent, dead or just irresponsible!
As for city, state, & federal services most the time they will not help out
a 17 year old kid and until your over 21 most go off a parents reported
income to qualify for services! Have you ever looked at the service that are
also offerd hahahaha.
I can say yes to all them questions I askerd you! I am not embartesed to do
so had to do what I had to do! I have lived the life booted out of the house
at 17 with the cloths on my back! Denied help from all relatives & all city,
state & federal service because I was not 18 & when I did turn 18 they
denied me because my fathers reported income on his taxes! So as I say
Cecile take the upscale blind fold off for a few minuets and look around in
the world you live.
Hey, Cecile what would you do if you seen a man in from of the store going
through DT's
1, would you ignor him walk away & do nothing
2, would you go in and buy him a beer?
3, would you call the police
SR20GOER
"Icebound" <ice_bound@rogers.!!!EXTRACT!!!.com> wrote in message
news:1t6dnaf9So5...@rogers.com...
Brian
tony roberts
> Hey Cecil, they don't use GASOLINE to get HI!
Yes they do - it's a huge problem with kids in Northern Canada
Tony
--
Indiacha...@hotmail.com
Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE
tony roberts
where :)
If you don't smell it, you are losing one one of the tests to check
that you have the correct - and uncontaminated - fuel.
Is it tinted blue?
Does it contain impurities/water droplets/whatever?
Does it smell like 100ll?
When I fly at night it is pretty hard to see that pale blue tint - but I
can still smell 100ll.
How can you be sure - really sure - that the fueler didn't deliver Jet A?
Treize
Roger
wrote:
>I'm somewhat worried because AvGas atleast from what I've read contains
>lead and you know how lead is poisonus. Sometimes I unintentionally and
>sometimes intentionally smelled avgas out of curiousity smellwhen
>taking fuel sample. And the smell of it would linger in my book bag for
>hours, where I keep my fuel tester.
Never heard such a warning.
I always sniff the stuff coming out of the hose to make sure it's av
gas and not Jet A.
>
>What are the side effects of this fume? The reason I ask this is
Like most hydrocarbon fumes it'll give you a headache. There is a big
difference between taking a "whiff" and a deep inhale.
>because I think I may be suffering the side effects, being forgetful,
>unattentive, or is only phsychologically in my mind that I have the
>symptoms if the case proves to be true.
If you are over 20, it's just age. Don't worry about it. A good nights
sleep and you'll forget all about it.
For the fumes to cause problems you'd need to inhale a lot of them. I
worry about carbon monoxide and other stuff much more than what the
gas smells like.
As I understand, lead is a nerve toxin, but again it's unlikely to
cause you problems unless you've been bathing in it which many a
mechanic has done.
OTOH the fumes from many of the paints used on airplanes and cars (the
two part cyanolics) are really nasty and can be fatal.
>
>I've only came across a warning only once saying not to smell the fume
>of AvGas in a jepessen book. It feels stupid because common sense
>should dictate this.
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
tony roberts
> cant you just use a flashlight when checking fuel samples at night?
Yes, but it's much harder to see the blue tint with a flashlight - also
you don't really want to be looking at a white light just before you go
night flying
HTH
Morgans
"NW_PILOT" <NW_PILOT@"(nospammeok)"Warflying.net> wrote
> I can say yes to all them questions I askerd you! I am not embartesed to
do
> so had to do what I had to do! I have lived the life booted out of the
house
> at 17 with the cloths on my back! Denied help from all relatives & all
city,
> state & federal service because I was not 18 & when I did turn 18 they
> denied me because my fathers reported income on his taxes! So as I say
> Cecile take the upscale blind fold off for a few minuets and look around
in
> the world you live.
NW, it is you that should take the blindfold off and then look in a mirror.
You will see the reason you were kicked out of the house.
--
Jim in NC
Morgans
"tony roberts" <nos...@nowhere.ca> wrote in message
news:nospam-630502.18091023102005@shawnews...
> I read somewhere that it makes you forgetful - but I can't remember
> where :)
> If you don't smell it, you are losing one one of the tests to check
> that you have the correct - and uncontaminated - fuel.
A quick sniff is not going to do any damage. I agree. Smell it; don't huff
it.
--
Jim in NC
cjcampbell
lead, if any at all from the fumes. Although the fuel contains lead,
you could probably drink it without suffering from lead poisoning; the
quantity is so small. Of course, petroleum all by itself will kill you.
Dan Luke
"Cecil Chapman" wrote:
> It doesn't stop one from hoping that some will see other
> possibilities; most will likely not see the other paths but some will.
> Even still, in no way does the latter dilute the poignancy that I was
> trying to get across
Your poignancy *needs* a little diluting, Cecil: "...pulling out a
favorite book and reading by some gentle creek," indeed.
>> LOL.
>
> No, I don't really find anything funny about a hope that some will
> find the goodness in Life. Your kind of cynicism is sad and toxic to
> the one that bears it and to those who are exposed to it.
Oh, stop it. What's funny is the idea of your trying to sell your
idyllic world view to drug abusers. Do you have any experience at all
with addiction treatment?
There's nothing cynical about pointing out the smugness of suggesting
viewing ocean sunsets as an alternative to huffing inhalants. It
reminds me of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign.
Now, lighten up: go watch a sunset or something.
RST Engineering
{;-)
Jim
"Treize" <aduqu...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1130117236....@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
John Clear
Doesn't sound familiar. Was he Exxon or Chevron? I usually am
using Exxon, which has the same two guys working most of the time.
Cecil Chapman
quick:
> There's nothing cynical about pointing out the smugness of suggesting
> viewing ocean sunsets as an alternative to huffing inhalants. It reminds
> me of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign.
Rather it suggests an alternative; take some time in some quiet place and
confront then consider that which you find is lacking in your
experience/life and devise a plan to move towards that which will bring your
life in-line and impart direction. I was never a big fan of the Regan's,
but I would be remiss in failing to point out that the suggestion in the
'Just Say No' campaign was that someone stand up and say they don't want to
get involved in the first place - then they don't have to ever worry about
the implications (addiction) down the line. I realize its' hard for some
because they never developed a stong sense of self; rather what 'the group'
thought is how some define their self-valuation - still (although its' not a
popular thing for liberals to hear) it does come down to making the right
choices and having a strong moral center/imperative.
> Oh, stop it. What's funny is the idea of your trying to sell your idyllic
> world view to drug abusers.
Not trying to 'sell' anything - except for the role of personal
responsibility, choices and what comes out of a pill, hypo or bottle isn't
going to fix what one is trying to mentally 'run' away from. Oops... I
blew it,,,, it's not P.C. for people like you to hear the suggestion that
one is personally responsible for their choices - it is more attractive to
say that everyone is a victim of everything (very cleverly abdicating them
of responsibility for their own poor choices).
>
> Now, lighten up: go watch a sunset or something.
Looking at the latter line I seem to have hit a personal 'chord with you';
and since that would seem to be the case then I do owe you kudos for
apparently turning your life around and continuing in not falling off the
wagon as it were - that is quite an accomplishment. I would never belittle
that; keep up the good work! You should be proud that you turned your life
around. I want to make clear that in no way, was I trying to make efforts
like yours to get your life back, together, diminished in any manner.
Rather I was just trying to point out (as you've likely learned from your
personal triumph ((of which you should be quite proud))) that at some point
it takes a decision to turn things around and then applying yourself towards
that goal. I would hold up examples like your own success as examples of
overcoming obstacles by applying yourself to a goal - which you've clearly
done and with flying colors! That's all!
Now on to what this forum is supposed to be about.... through with this
thread! :)
Brooks Hagenow
> I read somewhere that it makes you forgetful - but I can't remember
> where :)
> If you don't smell it, you are losing one one of the tests to check
> that you have the correct - and uncontaminated - fuel.
>
> Is it tinted blue?
> Does it contain impurities/water droplets/whatever?
> Does it smell like 100ll?
>
> When I fly at night it is pretty hard to see that pale blue tint - but I
> can still smell 100ll.
>
> How can you be sure - really sure - that the fueler didn't deliver Jet A?
>
> Tony
>
I was beginning to wonder. All these posts about not smelling the
fuel... I always smell the fuel to make sure it has the distinct 100LL
smell. I was taught smelling the fuel sample was proper procedure.
Brooks Hagenow
Chris G.
I'm examining my fuel sample) is "no water, no sediment, looks like
100LL, smells like 100LL, feels like 100LL...must be 100LL!"
Of course, I'm getting only a small whiff to make sure it's the right
stuff and not something else.
Chris
NW_PILOT
"Morgans" <jsmo...@chJUarNKer.net> wrote in message
news:f1Z6f.15613$RG4....@fe05.lga...
Jim, you know nothing about me & my life so let me fill you in a little here
is a summary,
Mother is a Meth, Heroin, Coke, ECT. Addict and has been since I Could
remember My Father an alcoholic abusive flake and always avoided & ran from
responsibility. My Grandparents & Other Relatives If not in to dope resented
me because of my parents & their choices.
I have a older sister by 2 years she is addicted to meth, has been in
prison "real prison not jail" & 2 illegitimate children, I have a younger
brother he is mentally fucked up because he was born addicted to who knows
what drugs! No telling what my mother was doing during her pregnancy. I fell
bad as he will never have a chance of a so called normal life he has no
grandparents & his father is dead "yes murdered during a rather large dope
deal" I try & help but I myself am very limited when the person don't want
the help or can't understand that I am helping!
In my life I have personally witnessed people being shot, stabbed, beaten
with a bat, overdosing deaths & homelessness! Being a child of some rather
horrible & very abusive parents all before I was 10 years old. I remember
being about 8 years old my mother sitting my sister & I on the couch showing
us how to give her medicine "yes she was showing us how to cook & stick her
with a needle" At around 10 years old my mother was dating a guy & at the
time he was the head meth cook of the area, Guess what I was living in a
meth lab when she was busted, house was pilled with trash. I have the news
paper clippings of that day! I keep them to remind me every day of what
someone out there is going through & what I went through!
I take that as a insult you telling me I was the one reason I was kicked out
of the house with out knowing anything about me! As I look at today, getting
booted out at 17 with just the clothes on my back it probably was one of the
best thing that ever happened to me!
So, here I am now 29 years old I Have a wife of 10 Years & 9 Year old child,
& I own my home. I don't think I did so bad but I have been in the Gutter &
I know it can happen again! I know what its like having no other choice but
to eat out of a trash can & I don't wish that on anyone! because I know what
its like! I keep my eyes open to my surroundings & help people I never look
the other way or close my eyes like most do!
Oh! Actually the best thing that ever happened to me in my life was the
birth of my healthy baby boy! Sitting there in the delivery room alone in
the dark holding him the day he was born I made him a life long prommis that
he would never ever have to go through the pain I went through in my life
growing up!
Now some say I have poor decision making skills to them I say WHATEVER!
Roger
<christoph...@hotmail.com> wrote:
If it don't you'll probably be wishing it would.
As an old friend said about crossing the Atlantic in a troop carrier.
First you were afraid you'd get sea sick, then you were afraid you
were so sick you were going to die, then you were afraid you wouldn't.
Dan Luke
"Cecil Chapman" wrote:
>> Now, lighten up: go watch a sunset or something.
>
> Looking at the latter line I seem to have hit a personal 'chord with
> you'; and since that would seem to be the case then I do owe you kudos
> for apparently turning your life around and continuing in not falling
> off the wagon as it were - that is quite an accomplishment.
Tee-hee!
You're a riot, Cecil.
Happy flying.
Gene Whitt
I have been in a position where I felt that three of my students should QUIT
all efforts to learn to fly. One of them was a chemist
who worked at a nearby refinery.
We were flying two times a week. Wednesday and Sunday. I soon detected a
marked difference in flying aptitude on the two different days. At the end
of the first month I had figured out the problem.
Wednesday, we would meet at the airport in the late afternoon where my
student had spent the day at the refinery. On Sunday he
had spent the better part of two days away from the refrinery and its
fumes. I immediately suggested that he give up flying while so occupied.
He quit and I never heard of him again.
My other student was a banker with six children. Early on I found that he
had deficiencies in judgment. He was always 'pressed' by time
considerations and would skimp on fuel checks during preflight and never
made the effort to voluntarily get a weather briefing except at my
insistence. What he had in money was lost in common sense. I strongly
suggested that he give up flying. He did.
Three years later, after his death, I found that he had got back into
flying by taking lessons from a friend of mine at a local FBO. He
successfully completed his training and flew to a neighboring airport
to take his flight test. He passed his flight test.
On making his flight back to his home field he had a choice of a direct
route over some hills and under some clouds or a longer route
over low land and water. At the same time I was nearby doining
ground reference over the hills from his departure point. He chose
to fly under the clouds and over the hills. All we found, three days
later was the nose wheel faring. and a burned spot on top of a hill.
His poor judgment killed him.
My third student came to me with nearly 150 hours of instruction. He had
started and stopped training several times. He was in his
early sixties with grown children. I told him that I expected him to
complete his training and not to quit on me.
He went on to get his certificate and proceeded to fly members of
his family. On one tragic day, for him and for me, he opted to take
one of his sons in a C-150 to visit family members having a party of
some kind in the central valley. He was unable to locate the party
location and a nearby landing strip. He landed at an airport, phoned and
arranged to overfly the party at which time some of his family members would
drive a car for him to follow to the landing strip.
While following the car he stalled and spun in killing all aboard within
full view of the family. I was devistated and for the next ten years would
only teach fllying up to the point of solo at which time I would
turn the student over to another CFI. I gave many students a running start
on exercising good judgement related to flying safety.
I only began to take students through their checkrides when I became
unhappy with some of the instructors I had recommended.
Most of my students since then have been a matter repairing the damage
created by previous poor instructions.
Gene Whitt