Thanks for the heads-up, Nate. I agree that General Aviation and old warbirds are well worth defending. I'm a member of the CAF and donate to the Chino "Planes of Fame" museum. Once a historical aircraft, or regional airport are gone, they're gone forever. There's an excellent DVD called "One Six Right" that has a section on what happened to Meigs Field in Chicago. 73, Jim KQ6EA
--- On Thu, 2/26/09, Nate Duehr [email protected] wrote:
From: Nate Duehr [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: [OT] Urgent request - probably off-topic but please read... To: "AMSAT BB" [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009, 10:05 PM Folks, I am not a spammer by trade or by choice in normal circumstances, but I BEG of you to please read this.
If you are even a SMALL enthusiast of Aviation, Aerospace or anything related to breaking the surly bonds of earth and reaching skyward, PLEASE take a moment, I beg of you.
To my friends and members of:
Boulder, CO Linux Users Group Colorado Linux Users and Enthusiasts Rocky Mountain VHF+ Amateur Radio Group Colorado D-STAR Association Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation and Mailing List Repeater-Builder Mailing List MIT PIC Microcontroller Mailing List Yaesu FT-857 Mailing List VHF Contesting Remailer Mailing List The Internet Radio Radio Linking Project The D-STAR Digital List
And other friends and acquaintances who will receive this message privately... and anyone you care to forward it to...
Tonight on my way home I fired up my iPod to listen to a podcast by well-known and very well-spoken Steven "Force" Tupper, an aviation enthusiast from Michigan. What I heard chilled my heart to the bone.
The TSA under the auspices of "Homeland Security" has floated a proposal to restrict and in my opinion, DESTROY numerous legendary aircraft, by limiting their use so heavily that you will never see them in the skies over America again. While this may sound
"alarmist", please trust me, it's not.
You all know me, and know that I can write well, expressing my concerns with politics, living, and even the banal things of life in words, fairly well -- but I can not possibly top the writing of Mr. Tupper.
Even more eloquent is his VOICE in his podcast, where he perfectly expresses the frustration, and sheer TERROR that the TSA itself has brought down on the United State's Aviation community with the proposal they've recently released, inappropriately entitled, the "Large Aircraft Security Program", or LASP.
For the best and most intelligent commentary I've heard on the topic to date -- PLEASE ... LISTEN to his podcast at:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedLASP.mp3
You really must just hear... his voice. I do hope his server can handle an onslaught -- if it can't, wait, and listen later.
(I fully intend to help him with the costs associated with
distributing his podcast if he needs it this month, it's just that important. Steve, please let me know if you need assistance. I have worked in data centers and web-based businesses, and I understand that publishing these things online to large numbers of people, is NOT free.)
It's just over 30 minutes in length, and he NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT -- even if you are NOT a pilot. He gives instructions in the podcast.
If you honestly do NOT have time to listen, at least READ and RESPOND to his letter in response to the TSA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. He needs your input by TOMORROW. The entire text of his podcast is also available at the link below, if you read faster than you listen -- so to speak.
<http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2009/02/large-aircraft-security-program-c...
If this non-legislative rule change comes to pass, you and your family may never SEE many historical aircraft or have an opportunity to purchase a RIDE in any classic "warbird" aircraft in the skies over America ever again. The rule is BROAD and affects modern aircraft also, but the aircraft we will miss the most, are the ones of our history that tell our story as a country.
To NOT take action and RESPOND means that you've let a small group of tireless aviation historians, restoration specialists, mechanics, pilots, and everyone who's ever watched an airshow with aircraft from the classic Warbird fleet down. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.
PLEASE read or listen. Mr. Tupper explains it far better than I possibly can. The TSA's proposal adds NO security to our nation whatsoever. It's simply government run amok.
Here's a list from Mr. Tupper's website, of aircraft that I personally believe you will RARELY see in the skies of America again, if the TSA's "LASP" passes into being without even so much as a single legislator overseeing it, and little to no due-process available to anyone who violates it.
Aircraft and Max Takeoff Weight (Varies within Type) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - 65,500 Chance Vought F4U Corsair - 14,449 Consolidated B-24 Liberator - 65,000 Curtiss C-46 Commando - 48,000 Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - 16,800 Douglas A-26 Invader - 35,000 Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain/Dakota - 31,000 Douglas B-23 Dragon - 32,400 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar - 64,000 Fairchild C-82 Packet - 54,000 Ford Tri-Motor - 13,500 Grumman AF-2S Guardian - 25,500 Grumman Avenger - 17,893 Grumman F6F Hellcat - 15,415 Grumman F8F Bearcat - 12,947 Grumman HU-16 Albatross - 33,000 Grumman G-73 Mallard - 12,750 Junkers Ju 52 - 24,200 Lockheed C-60 Hudson - 18,500 Lockheed L-18 Lodestar - 17,500 Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon - 31,077 Lockheed T-33 - 15,100 North American B-25 Mitchell - 41,800 North American P-82 Twin Mustang - 25,591 PBY-6A Catalina - 64,450 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - 17,500
You may not be a pilot, you may not even care about ANY aircraft -- but if you care about the pilots who fly them, the mechanics who wrench on them, the crowds at hundreds of airshows across the country who see them, and the thousands of thousands who lived their lives building an American legacy in Aviation -- one of our best legacies ever -- please follow Mr. Tupper's request, and add your name to the list of people who AGREE with him in his response to the NPRM sent out by the TSA.
I, like you, am a busy person -- I had other things to do tonight. I would much have preferred an enjoyable evening pursuing other things. Hell, I would rather have just forwarded you all a few jokes or stayed "on-topic" on our favorite mailing lists, but I can not sit by idle and watch this come to pass.
Mr. Tupper needs your support no later than mid-day tomorrow, please listen, read and RESPOND.
Thank you for your time, and I apologize if this is FAR off-topic for some of the mailing lists you all know me from. Some lists, it's more on-topic than others. This is so aggregious, so saddening, so frustrating, that I just HAD to share. Like Mr. Tupper -- I'm trying hard to keep this message "PG Rated". VERY hard.
I just can't think of any more caring, thoughtful people in all of the other hobbies and passions of my life to share this critical information with, and to BEG for your support of Mr. Tupper's letter in response to the TSA. Mr. Tupper also points out that the rule isn't far from encompassing other iconic aircraft, and says that if the TSA enacts this rule and LOWERS the weight limitations low enough to encompass such iconic aircraft as the North American P-51 "Mustang", then... as he so eloquently puts it:
"Be very careful. You might get away with decimating other grand dames of the skies, but every redneck, suit, line worker, banker,
lumberjack, lawyer, cop, fireman, landscaper, fast-food cashier, and child able to stand recognizes the mighty P-51 Mustang. Not that aviation would fail to miss the other aircraft that the TSA would so cavalierly tear from the sky, but at least we have the P-51 Mustang still guarding the 12,100-pound boundary."
Thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart if you take the time to listen or read, and especially if you will send your full name as a U.S. Citizen to Mr. Tupper with your comments.
Aviation is one of my deepest passions, and I can't imagine that even the most disinterested person in Aviation would let these great ships of our past be virtually banned from our skies in a single powerful and misguided attempt at "security" over liberty, in this great country.
Enjoy the rest of your evening in peace, please help, and thank you again.
-- Nathan Duehr, [email protected]
Private Pilot, Single-Engine Land (since 1991) Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association Member (since 1992) Amateur Radio Extra-Class Operator (WY0X - since 1991) Current President, Colorado Repeater Association Former Secretary, Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs Former Member, USAF Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol Linux, Electronics, and RF enthusiast ... ... Or however else you know me. -- Nate Duehr [email protected]
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb