cardiomd

I was mostly angered after I donated $$$ THEN I saw their insulting posts!

I didn't throw the first punch, before "dc8" and his classy friend "cheaptrick" got exceedingly uncivil. I doubt they would be like that to my face. Again I donated to the memorial / emergency cash fund in response to that *********'s plea. It started as $50,000, then raised target to $75,000, and now stands at $131,000. I'm not going to take my donation back, but you decide if this how things should be done, or not.

In my field if you become exceedingly defensive instead of honest and open after a tragedy, well yes, that is suspicious. Getting all defensive and throwing back wild punches is not doing their team any good in this situation.

Sorry if I hurt their team's feelings asking obvious questions. Your faith in RB "I never met the guy" is much higher than mine.

Grumble, in a relatively short time, I have almost as many hours as the test pilot/engineer that was killed. I hang out here because other pilot BBS have advanced topics such as "HOW DO I REQUEST FLIGHT FOLLOWING" or "I CANT SEEM TO GET LANDING DOWN".

Their feelings are hurt but they will heal, and we will get the full NTSB report, and aviation will hopefully be stronger as a result. RIP.

John Carr

But does your time include all the ratings and experience that the pilot killed had?

Forgive me if I can't really take it serious if your GA time in that pretty plane in your avatar pic some how equated to the experience of the guy that perished.

UAL T38 Phlyer

I've held off saying this out of respect for the deceased, but no one has really said what kind of experience Michael Alsbury had.

According to published data, he was hired at Scaled Composites in 2001, had 1800 hours, of which 1600 were with Scaled Composites.

This means he was 26 years old and had 200 hours when hired as an engineer.

It means he gained 1600 hours over 13 years, or about 110 hours a year, on average.

If hired at that age, he did not go to a military Test Pilot School.

The national Test Pilot school is at Mojave; Scaled's home base, so it is feasible he went there. But did Scaled pay $300,000 to send him there? Further, I believe the most sophisticated aircraft in their curriculum is the T-33, the L-39, and possible a Drakken.

A friend of mine worked at Orbital Sciences on the Antares and had some contacts in the industry. He said he knew at least one of the five pilots at Scaled was a military test pilot with a high-performance background. (David MacKay).

But so far, that is the only one I can verify.

My point: Michael's death is a tragedy, but right now there is a lot we don't know about he and Peter Siebold's backgrounds and training.

John Carr

Agree with/don't dispute ANY of that. But even so, I'm hard pressed to compare CardioMD's GA experience in ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM to the deceased.

RhinoPherret

Cardio,

I see no reason for you to be angry for donating money because of statements made to you by dc8, etc. Your sole purpose, I presume, was to make a donation on behalf of the deceased pilot, not to please dc8 or anyone else. That was a great gesture.

Folks in this AP forum can be quick to start analyzing situations, posting thoughts, and giving opinions, usually well before the smoke is cleared, to be sure. This is to be expected when situations are reviewed and shared by fellow pro pilots. That being said, citing preliminary reports (that were only hours old) from an article(s) in the press and furthering accusations about this incident that early in time just comes off as rather callous. Time and the NTSB investigation (I trust) will sort it all out and the chips will certainly fall where appropriate.

Folks make rude and insulting comments in the AP forum all the time. I try to never take it personal. I just view it as coming with the territory because pro pilots have strong opinions, biases, and tend to be extra critical of fellow pro and non-pro pilots (as any profession would). The same as a group of Dr’s would be in your profession, right?

It is futile to try compare your type flight time hours as a rebuttal in this situation and tends to make you sound arrogant, IMHO. Kind of chew on that one a bit and see if you can tell what I mean.

For the record, I have all the respect in the world for anyone that is a medical Dr.

727C47

I for one do not mind the presence of the good DR. or his weighing in on the forums, this is an OPEN forum and his questions had some merit, I was a private pilot for six years before I went all in, the condescension I experienced when talking to some " pro's" rankles me still, welcome aboard Doc, and God rest and speed Michael Alsbury.

cardiomd

Nowhere did I ever say it equated, and I absolutely do not claim that it does. I was more responding to the cheeky dismissal as a "hobbyist" - I am lucky to fly quite a bit by any standard, and was saying that more to distinguish myself from the 30 hour per year MDs of whom I know plenty, and as many of you recall I have an engineering background.

Simultaneously I was pointing out that the accident pilot didn't exactly "live and breathe" in the cockpit, although he was obviously involved as an engineer in the aviation field, his flight hours reported are relatively low.

I noted the same thing, again I hope that those that would have a personal or emotional reaction don't see it as direct accusations or anything. Also to be fair this private endeavor seems to be somewhere between rocketry and aviation, so it is not inconceivable to train somebody from the start in this unique craft. Probably will be hearing more about this aspect in the future.

Thanks I really appreciate it. I also run into that a bit, fortunately it is only from a vocal minority. Sorry for responding in kind, which is not right.

Totally agree RIP and may we learn from his sacrifice.

Yoda2

I like you too Cardio, If some of these comments upset people, they should never go out on an accident investigation. It gets a little raunchy sometimes, though that is largely a method of detachment and a coping mechanism during the process. Everyone has their methods of coping with something like this, though everyone cares just the same.

FDXLAG

If the guy was hired as a test engineer how much time would you expect him to log?

RhinoPherret

Rapidly judging the qualifications of the pilots in this incident this soon seems way out of place.

I think all should set egos and self arrogance aside for a bit until more facts are developed and released from the pending investigation.

Not a sermon, just a thought.