I'm not an airplane pilot, as close as I've come to it is RC model airplanes, years ago. But it's my understanding that if you're piloting a real airplane, you'd better at least walk around it and look at it before you go. There's all kinds of stuff on a real airplane that can kill you if it doesn't even look right if you look at it. The pilots say that takeoff is optional but landing is mandatory.
There was a really rich legendary guy in SC, folks talked about he had a small plane, and he just walked out an got into it before he flew. Never inspected it, just drove it like a car. Lots of us just drive a car like it's just a car, I'm more guilty than most until the last few years when I started modifying the car (messing with its factory reliability). By now I know a few things to look at.
We went for a great 6-hour outing in the north Georgia mountains yesterday, in Red, following the Supermans in their family car. I was so beat up from crawling on the concrete in the garage putting the rear brakes back on, and new brake pads on the front...well, yesterday I could barely move. I was hobbling and grimacing at the restaurant in Helen, GA, people were giving me sympathetic looks and getting out of the way, me trying to walk. I'm sure I looked bad trying to even move.
And the night before, so close to finished....all I need to do is to put those wheels back on. I couldn't even bend over, the wheels in the floor. But I did it anyway, the wheels had been laying there for two weeks or more. Check the tire pressures. 3 of them, all just fine.....that hurt. I was staring at the 4th one...why am I even doing this?!?!. The 4th one hurt the worst, bending over again. It was at 20 pounds. Slow leak. THAT could have had an effect doing curves in the mountains. Pumped it back up for the trip.
I struggled to get all the wheels back on the car, that hurt even worse, was done with that when Superman and his kid showed up. Car on the ground, wheels not torqued. SM Jr. said "I'LL do it." Oh hell yeah. I handed him the torque wrench, oh PLEASE do. He said it was real heavy. Interesting, a 60-pound kid, if he jumps up and down and strains hard enough, he can get 90 pounds of force on a torque wrench. He made it click on all 20 lug nuts. Better him than me at that point in the game.
If you just get in and drive it, good luck with it. And it won't just be bad luck when something goes wrong.
There was a really rich legendary guy in SC, folks talked about he had a small plane, and he just walked out an got into it before he flew. Never inspected it, just drove it like a car. Lots of us just drive a car like it's just a car, I'm more guilty than most until the last few years when I started modifying the car (messing with its factory reliability). By now I know a few things to look at.
We went for a great 6-hour outing in the north Georgia mountains yesterday, in Red, following the Supermans in their family car. I was so beat up from crawling on the concrete in the garage putting the rear brakes back on, and new brake pads on the front...well, yesterday I could barely move. I was hobbling and grimacing at the restaurant in Helen, GA, people were giving me sympathetic looks and getting out of the way, me trying to walk. I'm sure I looked bad trying to even move.
And the night before, so close to finished....all I need to do is to put those wheels back on. I couldn't even bend over, the wheels in the floor. But I did it anyway, the wheels had been laying there for two weeks or more. Check the tire pressures. 3 of them, all just fine.....that hurt. I was staring at the 4th one...why am I even doing this?!?!. The 4th one hurt the worst, bending over again. It was at 20 pounds. Slow leak. THAT could have had an effect doing curves in the mountains. Pumped it back up for the trip.
I struggled to get all the wheels back on the car, that hurt even worse, was done with that when Superman and his kid showed up. Car on the ground, wheels not torqued. SM Jr. said "I'LL do it." Oh hell yeah. I handed him the torque wrench, oh PLEASE do. He said it was real heavy. Interesting, a 60-pound kid, if he jumps up and down and strains hard enough, he can get 90 pounds of force on a torque wrench. He made it click on all 20 lug nuts. Better him than me at that point in the game.
If you just get in and drive it, good luck with it. And it won't just be bad luck when something goes wrong.
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