Reflections On Fossett
by Kevin Garrison
Aviation is an endeavor unlike many others. There is still some adventure left in the old gal and sometimes our adventurer's and heroes get lost in the most unlikely circumstances.You almost never hear about world records being set in Podiatry or Accounting, but in Aviation there are still people who will hang it out, ride a rocket, or hang beneath a balloon just to set a record or have an adventure. Steve is one of those people. I am not. I have been content to fly my various heavy turbo-jets around the United States and occasionally Europe during the past thirty years. It has never occurred to me to ride a balloon around the world, fly a rocket, or aviate non-stop and un-refueled around the globe. A nice, three-hour, smooth flight followed by a happy hour in SFO and a nice bed with a late wake-up call was all I asked out of aviation.
Thank goodness there are people like Fossett to keep us couch-potato pilots at least mentally on our toes. I hope they find Steve alive and I hope he has yet another great adventure to tell us about. Personally, I'm hoping that he just had to make an off airport landing because of an oil leak and he has been so busy building a little "Swiss Family Robinson" camp that he hasn't had the time or the desire to send out an ELT signal. The truth though may be of a grimmer nature. He may be dead. Most pilots will agree with me that dying a hero in a crash in the high desert and mountains is a far better way to go than waiting around another few years waiting to see what part of you fails next and what kind of cancer will finally claim you.
If Steve Fossett died, he died with his flying boots on.
-- Kevin Garrison
***
Kevin Garrison is a retired airline captain who writes for several magazines. He can be reached at: http://www.kevincreates.comhttp://www.kevincreates.com/blog.html
Kevin is a member of the Transportation Speakers Association (TSA). To have Kevin Garrison speak at your next event call: 515-961-0654
Aviation is an endeavor unlike many others. There is still some adventure left in the old gal and sometimes our adventurer's and heroes get lost in the most unlikely circumstances.You almost never hear about world records being set in Podiatry or Accounting, but in Aviation there are still people who will hang it out, ride a rocket, or hang beneath a balloon just to set a record or have an adventure. Steve is one of those people. I am not. I have been content to fly my various heavy turbo-jets around the United States and occasionally Europe during the past thirty years. It has never occurred to me to ride a balloon around the world, fly a rocket, or aviate non-stop and un-refueled around the globe. A nice, three-hour, smooth flight followed by a happy hour in SFO and a nice bed with a late wake-up call was all I asked out of aviation.
Thank goodness there are people like Fossett to keep us couch-potato pilots at least mentally on our toes. I hope they find Steve alive and I hope he has yet another great adventure to tell us about. Personally, I'm hoping that he just had to make an off airport landing because of an oil leak and he has been so busy building a little "Swiss Family Robinson" camp that he hasn't had the time or the desire to send out an ELT signal. The truth though may be of a grimmer nature. He may be dead. Most pilots will agree with me that dying a hero in a crash in the high desert and mountains is a far better way to go than waiting around another few years waiting to see what part of you fails next and what kind of cancer will finally claim you.
If Steve Fossett died, he died with his flying boots on.
-- Kevin Garrison
***
Kevin Garrison is a retired airline captain who writes for several magazines. He can be reached at: http://www.kevincreates.comhttp://www.kevincreates.com/blog.html
Kevin is a member of the Transportation Speakers Association (TSA). To have Kevin Garrison speak at your next event call: 515-961-0654
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