RE: Fighter Pilots and a Scientific Temper

No.

To a certain extent, it is a function of civilisation. Austria produces more than Zimbabwe for instance.

But there is more to being a fighter pilot than being a scientist. It’s just a fable that pilot=scientist.

It’s like airline pilots “having” to have Physics or aeronautical engineering degrees. Or Physics students being genius mathmeticians. Or accountants being the same.

Guess what – I did Physics and I’m doing accountancy. I have the appropriate mathematical ability, but I never studied it as such beyond about 16 years of age. What’s the deal? If you’re intelligent and diligent, you’ll be OK.

What IS important mentally, is the right attitude and obviously some intelligence. Whether you can explain the bonding mechanism of Benzene or what a Quark is, has bugger all relevance to shooting someone down!

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

I remember when I was about 14 (height of the recession in the early 90’s) I wanted us to get satellite TV.

Trouble was, our home was in negative equity and we couldn’t afford it. But I could see all the council homes for unemployed people, and at least 25% had dishes up.

My point is that the State will always spend a fortune on someone or other. It’s what they do. It’s all they know.

Given that I will never get any of it (I’m not foreign, or in an ethnic minority, my folks had jobs, they weren’t divorced) I am pretty ambivalent. Whether there are refugees or not, it’ll still cost me. The governemt will just confiscate my cash for some other purpose.

Who knows, if they move into Liverpool or Newcastle they might teach the natives how to speak English!

RE: Here’s an Idea!

Good idea Ja, quite logical.

But why bother with sensible solutions to a problem, if you get to shoot some A-rab (from I-raq or Kew-ate) instead? And somehow stick it to the commies too..

Sorry, I’m being a little fasceitcous, but some of these guys wielding power in the US need to get their act together over airline security. I’m not saying anywhere else in particular is any better, just that given 11/9 the US would reasonably be expected to have better security than say, Australia or Belgium.

No offence meant GD, or anyone else!

RE: KLM orders two Boeing 777

Hang on…

767, 777 and A330. Aren’t there big capability overlaps there?

Why????

RE: A330 v A340

Until RR Trents claim their place on the A340-500 and -600!

RE: SIA keeping options open!

This is weird.

Doesn’t SIA own a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic? As VA own 50% (I think) of VB, then SIA are roughly 25% indirect principals in VB.

You don’t think they’ll be “friendly” competitors and share facilities?

RE: I Give Up !!!

This seems to be a high horse kind of issue, what?

As I stated above, my objection to smoking is just the usual social one – ie. the smell and the reduction in air quality.

As Greekdude articulated, it is hard to find an accident that has caused by smoking. I’m not sure what happened with the Saudi Tristar – judging from wysiwyg’s post, it was a crash which was caused by smoking? Was it entirely due to smoking?

I probably admit in this case then, that smoking should not be allowed for safety reasons. The legal status still confuses me though. Anyone care to elaborate further?

My real objection is with the crass inconsistency amongst airlines. They preach safety, and some airline employees here seem to get hot under the collar at the suggestion that Greekdude and I are “disregarding” safety. As I stated above, maybe I was wrong. I stand corrected. HOWEVER – At the same time, safety controls are not particularly good in my opinion. They are inconsistent as far as I can see them. And beating people up over smoking seems like a bit of a cover up?

In my earlier post on a different thread, I mentioned my experience with being given plastic cuttlery on one sector, and metal cuttlery on the second sector of the same flight. This was only three weeks ago and was with Qantas. I’ve experienced similar with BA and SAA, all of them post 11/9.

There was no such villification of this particular issue.

This leads me to the conclusion that some members think it is more dangerous to have a cigarette inflight than it is to give people metal knives and forks.

This is not correct. It is not logical, it is not consistent and is an overreaction based on thinking whatever management tells you to think!