The worst part about the 911 debacle (though this did benefit air charter / air taxi somewhat) is the fear. The Fear, as Oscar Acosta refers to it in various films and books, is a bit like “The Birds” in the famous Hitchcock film of the same name: Before you know it, they are all around you and you are swatting at stuff whether it is there or not. Since fear is the most primal emotion that governs our behavior, it is a mainline to manipulation. If you have someone afraid enough, you can make them do just about anything. While us marketing gurus like fear to some extent, I’d have to admit, it is no way to run a society… not if you want to belong to it much longer anyway.
When I read about the passengers turning the plane back 90 min. into the flight, I surmised that “the fear factor” has really hit an all time high in the UK, and is surely well on its way here.
Popularity: 17%
Shampoo and cell phones banned on my “carry on” luggage? Yep, the day has come. But, due to the recent madness over what we can and can’t carry … there is renewed interest in air taxi as a concept for the everyday traveler. While there are major cultural and infrastructural hurdles to overcome, the fact is that most of us welcome the thoughts brought on by the statements like: “Hey, why can’t we use small planes?”
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Popularity: 11%
When places like slashdot have posts about deteriorating conditions on sched-air and then look to the internet for the air taxi replacement, you know the culture is getting primed for air taxi. While the debate rages about the viability of air taxi, the fact is that there is a growing demand for it - the problem is, in its present form, no one can use it.
Popularity: 10%
Gilles took me up in a Hughes 300 (Schweizer to some) and I must say.. a bit terrifying for a fixed wing guy to be going so slow with so little altitude, but eventually the cyclic and collective thing clicked, and good times were abundant. Nonetheless, my fragile and hyper-sensitive ego really liked the continuous stream of these: “Adam, c’est impeccable..vraiment impeccable.”
That was great to hear, then I realized.. if I did do the helo rating, I would have to ask for more english (or all english) since I was facing enough challenges on that hot windy south shore day in Longueuil, QC. Improving my french is always important, just not with that much moving metal nearby. There are only so many parameters the weak minded can handle simultaneously.
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Popularity: 14%
People use big words and concepts like ADD and other equally household acronyms to describe what I’ll call “my people.” Some say we are crazy, but I’d argue.. that given enough time we can make anyone crazy. Mike Heaton simply refers to them as the “fun” guys & gals. (As in, we might be troublesome, annoying, hard to manage…but so much more interesting.)
It has been said that sales people, hunters … you know, ADD & creative types all share one thing: An intense desire to feed the need for novelty, change and thrills. While others prefer the comfort of predictable activities, some just prefer daring commando raids that involve rapelling out of a helicopter, deep inside enemy territory to show just how tough they really are.
Popularity: 14%