John (Wal-Mart) Walton Killed in Ultralight Crash

[DashTrash400]

Gawd, thought I was at airliners.net for a few posts...

 

[say again]

Wait, you are going to call me names than run. Now that is a man that certainly deserves my respect.. Run, Run as fast and as far as you can. Run forsest run..

Yes I am, and I don't want your respect !!! PS-Names not Forrest, or as you spell it, forsest (way to go). Adios pendejo!!!

 

[cforst513]

Sometimes it is better to keep ones mouth shut and have people wonder if you are a fool than to open it and prove you are one beyond any doubt.

that's deep...

 

[nitrogen]

Are you actually comparing the risk level of mowing your lawn with flying an ultralight experimental home built?

I think what theyre saying is that he could have afforded a real airplane if he wanted to fly. Why risk that much if you don't have to?

Maybe he just enjoyed it. There was a discussion in the Mil thread the other day ("Astronaut Candidates") about guys and gals who are super-smart and fly fast movers in the military instead of.... how did they put it..... "drafting government policy"?? Why do people automatically assume that certain vocational (or avocational) preferences are beneath-- or off-limits to-- certain individuals because of their status/mental prowess/financial portfolio?

The guy could have died when his John Deere rolled on top of him..... bet that woulda thrown a few people for a loop.

If I was worth $18 bil I'd fly a Waco-- not a -900EX-- and I'd cut my own grass.

 

[nitrogen]

Lol

I don't know many (any) corporate pilots with 600 hours.

And I don't know many part time corporate pilots. Do you work for a temp agency?

Either way I think its funny that you called your ill advised, in poor taste joke to be an act of courage on your part. Judgment really aint your thing is it?

You do one thing well though. You're good at digging yourself deeper into the hole your idiocy gets you into.

Whatever fag.

 

[crash-proof]

I'm amazed that no one thought of this yet...maybe he was in an ultralight because...it's fun???? Does anyone here think that he traveled business in his ultralight as opposed to the 900EX? No, it's fun, fun, fun! Wind in your face, seat-of-your-pants, kinda fun. Ever try an ultralight before? Try it, you might like it!

Matter of fact, it makes me respect the guy even more, knowing that despite being so far up in the food chain, he knew how to enjoy life with the simple stuff.

 

[say again]

I don't know many (any) corporate pilots with 600 hours.

And I don't know many part time corporate pilots. Do you work for a temp agency?

Either way I think its funny that you called your ill advised, in poor taste joke to be an act of courage on your part. Judgment really aint your thing is it?

You do one thing well though. You're good at digging yourself deeper into the hole your idiocy gets you into.

Thank you!!!!!

 

[ISaidRightTurns]

I'm amazed that no one thought of this yet...maybe he was in an ultralight because...it's fun???? Does anyone here think that he traveled business in his ultralight as opposed to the 900EX? No, it's fun, fun, fun! Wind in your face, seat-of-your-pants, kinda fun. Ever try an ultralight before? Try it, you might like it!

Matter of fact, it makes me respect the guy even more, knowing that despite being so far up in the food chain, he knew how to enjoy life with the simple stuff.

I agree. The funnest flying I ever did was gliders. Learned a hell of alot they didn't teach me in a classroom.

 

[9GClub]

Are you actually comparing the risk level of mowing your lawn with flying an ultralight experimental home built?

I think what theyre saying is that he could have afforded a real airplane if he wanted to fly. Why risk that much if you don't have to?

Sure he could have afforded it, that's not the point. As crash-proof noted, flying ultralights is fun. I too admire the guy for being a purist, maybe that was his cup of tea.

I'm not making any risk comparisons between flying an ultralight and driving a Deere, I'm just saying that there are lots of creative ways to get yourself killed, so you might as well go doing something that you love. I could fall off my chair and break my neck on the edge of this desk when I get up. I'd rather strap a JATO bottle on my Taurus......

You asked why risk that much if you don't have to?

Let's not judge the guy for taking risks, that's his prerogative. Why do people ride motorcycles? Why is there another dude on this forum inquiring about simultaneously buzzing mosquitoes and dodging TV antennas in a BE90 at 200' AGL with NVGs? Because we have balls*, we might as well use them.

*or the female equivalent

 

[Yank McCobb]

Run forsest run..

Wow. Stay up past beddie-by time thinking of that zinger?

How 'bout I just stop by, kick the ever lovin' sh!t out of you, teach you some manners and respect, then leave you bleeding and broken so your mommy can kiss it and make it better.

Punk.

 

[cforst513]

Wow. Stay up past beddie-by time thinking of that zinger?

How 'bout I just stop by, kick the ever lovin' sh!t out of you, teach you some manners and respect, then leave you bleeding and broken so your mommy can kiss it and make it better.

Punk.

No, no, no... Yank, seriously, come on man, don't hold back: tell us how you really feel!!!

 

[FL000]

I don't report people. I don't care that much. That's their job.

 

[MVSW]

Don't hate me because I have the guts to say what everyone else wants to say. Who cares if I offend you. Wal-mart is the reason retail is in the trouble it is in. You make a deal with the devil and sooner or later he comes to collect. So yeah, actually I think it is cool. Dude bites it in an ultra-light. Those things crash at what, 5 MPH? Did he forget to make certain the wing was attached? Oh and the Park service is going to investigate the accident. Didn't even register high enough to be investigated by the FAA, or NTSB. Forest Ranger Rick is going to determine the cause. In the end of the investigation we will learn that K-mart was responsible for the accident.

Wal-Mart started out just like any other little business. With one store!!! And look what Sam Walton did with ONE STORE. And wal-mart is NOT the reason that retail is in trouble. Every business has the chance to do what wal-mart did!! Sam Walton was a very smart man.

 

[MVSW]

I fly part time for a business owner. I don't work for a temp agency moron. Thursday thru Sunday I fly the owner on business and pleasure. But I guess you already know that because you know me. Wait... you don't know me.

A Corp pilot with 650hrs???? Umm...Thats sounds new to me!! What do you fly, a C-152??LOL

 

[RightPedal]

One artical I read said He was a crop duster pilot in the 70's. This being said, He was once an accomplished pilot. Has anyone ever thought that maybe He lost his Medical and ultralights was the only way to scratch the itch. Just a thought.
Anyway, He lived life to the fullest and accomplished a lot. May God rest His soul.

 

[say again]

And you called me thick. The above underlined sentence should read, " I love it when people think they're being so funny ".

I just had a great time at your expense. The only thing lame is your inabilitiy to think and write in complete sentences.

There you go, just what I expected. Come on man, you can do better!!!! Yes, I still think you're "thick".

WOW, over 13 years of flying with 720 hrs, you're a seasoned pro!! Hail to the King! Enjoy your cabin class, pressurized twin.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

back on topic (for the love of pete...)

Walton Seen As Humble Man Who Loved Flying
Tuesday, June 28, 2005

As one of the richest men in the world, John Walton could have spent his entire life traveling around the globe on luxury jets. But the heir to the Wal-Mart fortune loved to tool around Wyoming in a cheap airplane built from a kit.

Walton died Monday at the age of 58 when the homemade experimental plane he was piloting crashed near the Jackson airport in Grand Teton National Park.

Walton was remembered as a humble man with a passion for education, the outdoors and all things flying.

"He was the kind of guy you'd never imagine had 20 billion," said Michael Collins, a flight instructor at Jackson Hole Aviation. "He didn't put on airs, you know what I mean? He could have just been one of the guys."

Walton's father was Sam Walton, who founded the discount store chain that would later become one of the biggest companies in the world. In March, Forbes magazine listed John Walton as No. 11 on the list of the world's richest people with a net worth of $18.2 billion. He was tied with his younger brother, Jim _ one spot behind his older brother, Rob, who is Wal-Mart chairman.

John Walton was on a company committee that reviews Wal-Mart finances and oversees long-range planning but was not widely regarded as being a potential successor to his brother. Acquaintances described him as one who preferred to avoid publicity.

The cause of the crash was under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said Walton was flying a CGS Hawk Arrow, a kit-built plane priced from about $9,000 up. It was not known whether Walton built the plane himself.

Joan Alzelmo, spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park, said the NTSB informed park officials Tuesday it would take over the investigation.

"There's a lot of national attention being paid to this," said Alzelmo said. "It happened in a national park to a person known nationally. I think everyone wants to make sure no stone is unturned."

Walton served in Vietnam, where he was a Green Beret medic and volunteered for a covert operation behind enemy lines. He won the Silver Star for saving the lives of his team members when they were under fire on a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam.

He opted against joining the family business after coming home from the war, saying it was too confining, according to a Forbes magazine interview last year. He attended company shareholder gatherings, but generally limited his appearances to a wave to the crowd while his older brother conducted the meetings.

In 1998, he and Ted Forstmann founded the Children's Scholarship Fund to provide tuition assistance for low-income families wanting to send their kids to private schools. The fund has benefited 67,000 students.

Friends said Walton also chaperoned regular ski outings for kids at a local ski resort and volunteered at his son's school.

Despite his fortune, "he had no ego in this game, which is why he was so revered," said Dan Peters, chairman of the Philanthropy Roundtable, of which Walton was a part.

One of Walton's biggest hobbies was flying, and he was a frequent face at the airport in Jackson. He also built boats and his own motorcycle and worked as a crop duster in the 1970s. The crash happened while a Cessna business jet he used sat on a runway near his Wyoming home.

John S. Meyer, who was in the special forces with Walton, recalled how decades ago they used to talk over a game of poker, a favorite pastime of Walton's, about what they would do when the war was over.

"'When I get out of here, when I survive this,'" Meyer remembered his friend saying, "'I'm going to go home and get a motorcycle. I'm going to get my pilot's license. I want to see the country.' And he did."

 

[Icelandair]

You are born with nothing, and you can bring nothing to the Father when you go.

 

[Rabble]

Well, lets see...

The man was:

• considered to be humble
• served in his nations military where he was awarded a silver star
• loved and honored his family
• prefered privacy to notoriety
• founded childrens scholarship fund
• volunteered at local schools
• served on the Walton Family Fund
• was passionate about education especially for low-income families

Gosh... sounds to me that he could bring quite a bit to "the father" that had nothing to do with his money.

Regardless of your opinion of his father's company, this was a good man, and a good pilot. The brotherhood of aviators has lost a man who flew because he loved flying.

 

[9GClub]

Well, lets see...

The man was:

• considered to be humble
• served in his nations military where he was awarded a silver star
• loved and honored his family
• prefered privacy to notoriety
• founded childrens scholarship fund
• volunteered at local schools
• served on the Walton Family Fund
• was passionate about education especially for low-income families

Gosh... sounds to me that he could bring quite a bit to "the father" that had nothing to do with his money.

Regardless of your opinion of his father's company, this was a good man, and a good pilot. The brotherhood of aviators has lost a man who flew because he loved flying.

Well said Rabble.