airliners.net mentality... the downfall of aviation?

[FN FAL]

Yeah the pictures are great, I didnt mean that. But the forums are bizzare to put it nicely

If they were nicely bizzare, they'd be here or with the pilotpro silver spooners. :laugh:

 

[g4800xp]

Hey Big Al, I first learned about plane and train spotters in 1998 when flying in Europe for the first time. It is a harmless past time for 99.99 percent of them, but the potential is there for abuse, in many forms. I was suprised to find pics of myself landing in places like Malta and Helsinki, and be able to see my face in the pic!! Ya know, we operate in the public domain, and things like tail numbers are in documents that can be viewed by anybody interested so it falls on us to protect our interests, act, appear, professional, take security seriously and think of plane spotters the same as a cockpit voice recorder. I have seen guys take a leak behind their plane, thinking they were hidden, and one pretend to preflight, and pee froom the hell hole of a G5. I think we are a greater danger to ourselves and our jobs that planespotters. Just my two cents.

 

[Cardinal]

Yeah, quit reading their forums and stick with the photos.

Their forums have one of three types of people. Kids who think they know it all because they have flight sim games, airline employees, and people who have stock in the company and want to make money.

Click my link below to get started on the photos!
8x10 and 16x20s are available.

Oh yeah, and no, I do not post in their forums and try not to read them unless I get really bored!

Incidentally, really good pictures, I know what a challenge it is to get something excellent when you're fighting haze, lighting, vibration, and the need to accomplish your job. Enjoy insturcting, you'll learn alot. And keep applying to Lakes, these days anything over 500TT is "high time."

 

[FlyingSig]

but for example, the mentality of some, "richard branson is my hero! I cant wait for virgin america" without even thinking that they will drive down salaries even more. Or "cool! a new operator in hawaii!"

If they are not professional pilots why would they care one iota about pilot salaries? No more then I care about what my doctor makes... it's up to us, not our customers, to defend our profession. More competition is good for the consumer and ultimately that is what drives the market. Again, it's up to us to defend the profession. You don't have to take that Airbus job.

 

[F9 Buff]

Incidentally, really good pictures, I know what a challenge it is to get something excellent when you're fighting haze, lighting, vibration, and the need to accomplish your job. Enjoy insturcting, you'll learn alot. And keep applying to Lakes, these days anything over 500TT is "high time."

Thanks for the comments, as far as lakes goes, I would have been applying there since last fall if I knew for sure I was going to be in Denver for more than a year or two. Wife got a really good job on the east coast recently and I am not sure how practical a commute from DC to Denver would be. Don't really want to fly for anyone else on the east coast either except for maybe AWAC or Expressjet but for now am content on building time, having fun instructing, and seeing what happens.

I would like to be at F9 again and know Lakes can get you there faster than anyone else but like I said, I don't want to sign that contract if I am not sure about where I will be.

 

[Famous Dave]

99% of airliners.net photos cannot be considered photography. The pictures posted there have about as much creativity as a police mug-shot photo does. I think it is wierd that people continually post their boring pictures of the same thing over and over. "Here is an exciting picture of a CRJ taxiing in...", "Here is a picture somewhere over..."
Yawn!

 

[AirBadger]

99% of airliners.net photos cannot be considered photography. The pictures posted there have about as much creativity as a police mug-shot photo does. I think it is wierd that people continually post their boring pictures of the same thing over and over. "Here is an exciting picture of a CRJ taxiing in...", "Here is a picture somewhere over..."
Yawn!

A lot of them are like that, but then again theres a ton in there that are really pretty cool looking.

 

[B1900FO]

While the information in the forums can be a little off, if you want to know about an accident before the media catches is it, that site is pretty good. I've seen a lot of posts on developing stories, but past that I have to agree with most of you. They can be, and usually are just as ignorant as news reporters.

As for the pictures...I really enjoy some of the pictures they post. There are some very talented photographers!

 

[Metro752]

Photography:
http://airliners.net/open.file/0916830/L/

Point N Shoot
http://airliners.net/open.file/1076377/L/


Either way, most of the photographs that get on A.net are pretty good lately.

 

[AA717driver]

I'll admit that I've posted some over there. The occasional intellegent discussion, correcting something that is SO FREAKIN' WRONG..., answering a legitimate question--stuff like that.

But you see these inane threads like 360 posts on the "Peter Max" 777 that CAL has or "Why was G-XRDO in Helsinki today?" Geez.

The pay issue comes in from most of the non-pilots because they would do our job for free and work at White Castle at night to pay the room and board their mom charges them. They have no idea why it's BS for NWA to pay DC9 Capt's. $124/hr.

The pics are a good source for your avatar--if your wife won't let you put a porn star on there. TC

 

[GogglesPisano]

Anyone ever been to a Star Trek convention? Same types, different genre.

 

[Groundpounder]

I'm sad to admit I am kind of a 'spotter'. I enjoy going to the airport and watching airplanes. FLL is great to watch airplanes, there are a few spots, and the cops don't bug you as long as you are in the right areas. Even MIA has some good spots, and there was one time a Miami cop came up to me and gave me his card and said to report anything werid. What pisses me off are the airports that don't allow any kind of spotting at all. What harm does a geek like me pose sitting and watching some airplanes go by?
The guy with the MANPAD isn't going to sit right at the end of the runway, he is going to be over in the Wal Mart parking lot two miles off the approach end. The Miami cop had it right, if anything weird goes on, someone who is around the airport alot is going to be the first to notice.

All that being said, there are some spotters that are a little werid, like the guys that write down every n-number they see. Who cares if you've seen every American MD-80. Same thing goes for the a.net posters.

 

[Deacon]

They are mostly airline buffs, know it alls and CEO wantta bes ..
most of the information on A.net is false and just bs. There are also some real loyalist "fans" who think they know everything i.e World Traveler -he's the biggest Delta cheerleader sychophant...otherwise I lurk just to see the ignorance

 

[CFIse]

but for example, the mentality of some, "richard branson is my hero! I cant wait for virgin america" without even thinking that they will drive down salaries even more. Or "cool! a new operator in hawaii!"

If you've never shopped at Wal-Mart. If you've never worn clothing made outside of the U.S.A. If you've never driven a car that contains anything except US made steel. If you've always driven an American car. If you only eat organic vegetables hand raised by people you know.

THEN you can make that statement. Otherwise you'd better figure out that consumers want the best value they can get, and in the airline world that means the cheapest fare they can find because safety is assumed. If airlines want to compete then they need to lower costs, one of those costs is labor pay and salaries are going down.

Just like Wal-Mart pays minimum wage with no benefits and sells cheap stuff mostly made overseas. Just like the US textile industry collapsed putting thousands out of work and literally decimating towns. Just like the US steel industry collapsed putting thousands out of work and cutting the pay and benefits of those left. Just like the auto companies are threatening bankruptcy and reducing pay and laying off works and squeezing their suppliers for reduced part prices. Just like illegal immigrant labor is destroying the livelihood of rural America.

If you can put your hand on your heart and say YOU'VE never contributed to the demise of another great American industry THEN you can complain. Otherwise shut up, take your food stamps and get back on the flight deck.

 

[big_al]

i do everything I can possibly do to buy American and not support companies like wal-mart (never stepped foot into their stores) who are proud of paying low wages