GA Serves America

oh and BTW, do you think we can get a law passed that makes government officials take commercial anywhere and everywhere they need to go?? please help me i will start this if it can happen??

Who's "Obama's mama"?
I don't believe anyone does much of anything single-handedly anymore... Sometimes a miracle occurs, but usually the pump is already primed or they are credited for something that was a collective effort.

And then there's the concept that there are two sides of every coin... When people watched for decades while a whole new class of corporate tycoons developed that brought methods and attitudes of excess and a disregard for the American people into practice that were never acceptable in this country in any time or place in history, (including the Wild West), that's how the pump got primed.
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If only corporate aircraft were just used for legitimate business use... But they weren't for a long time. I know, I've flown a few. Coupled in many people's minds with other aspects of the corporate world, "corporate aircraft" have become symbols of arrogance, conspicuous consumption (waste), excess and the demise of the middle class standard of living in America.

It isn't the jet per se, it's everything that's happened and accumulated for years now: the corporate raiding, the dot-com boom and busts, globalization (and it's alter ego, outsourcing), political lobbying and cronyism among politicians and CEO's, and all the other generally unsustainable business practices that boomers brought to new heights that have just soured Joe Sixpack on big business in general. The jet is just the hood ornament on the Bently: a highly visible symbol that is the first thing crushed when it runs into the wall.

If GA wants to change the public perception of corporate aircraft, especially high-end corporate aircraft (BBJ's, G-V's, etc.), then they'll have to change the public's perception of "Corporate America". Good luck with that one,- for a long, long time. They've put their foot in it bigtime and we've all been harmed personally in ways that won't be forgotten for many years.

I see GA faring better by putting distance between itself and corporate jets. Practical, utilitarian uses of aircraft that benefit people are harder to argue with, and everybody loves the concept of the innovative farmer who builds a new gizmo that flies. The dream and love of flying still appeals to many people. It's a hard sell to convince the public that the perks and playtoys of the very rich deserve any sympathy at all. They abused their privilege for too long.

( Yes, it is still a privilege to be rich, despite our founding documents. We're talking people's feelings here, not business.)

And I bet he makes a mean pot of coffee. You can't have that kind of an amazing flight career without losing a little sleep.

he has help from the north american aerospace defense command, in colorado springs. the radars from the very far northern reaches of the continent, keep him from flying into things he is not suppose too.

Tatjana: I agree that it is not. But I am fairly liberal in my outlook and it is a relative term here. The US has swung so far to he right that anything less is labelled "socialist" now. I apologize for falling into that same gutter of thinking, - I'm just used to speaking to locals. ;-) Germany has been held up as an example by most American capitalists here for years as being a "socialistic state" (often, I think, as an excuse by US manufacturers and politicians to explain our inability to compete with German products while providing their comparable benefits to workers...) I do understand that total socialism is communism, but distinctions between shades of gray seem lost on many of my countrymen today.

Let me rephrase and clarify: In the relative sense that they are more concerned with providing for the welfare of workers, I think Germany is percieved in the US as being more "socialistic". :-)

In my book, that is a great thing and, quite frankly, Germany makes a wonderful example in my arguments that a nation does not having to go down the road of laissez-faire unregulated capitalism at the cost of its' middle-class workers' quality of life in order to succeed in the world markets. ... Read More

As you stated, Germany maintained its standards for loans and avoided creation of toxic assets generated in the US. There is a lot to be said for enforcing laws that have been written, which we seem to forget constantly in every aspect here in the US.

Ironically, US banking lobbyists cited competition with large multinational & foreign banks, including some in Germany, as reason why they needed the US to de-regulate US financial institutions, which permitted safety firewalls separating financial products and restrictive regulations to be removed. Our politicians on both sides, liberal and conservative, opted to help out big businesses yet again, leaving the door open for this catastrophe which has hurt so many people worldwide. Why these politicians and regulatory officers have not all lost their jobs is totally beyond me.

@Matthew: Thanks for your response. There is lot of change going on in the german economy too. Especially in the finacial sector since the last 15 years. And it still is ... I worked more than 20 years for really big insurance companies in different positions and what I saw made me finally feel I am ready for a change myself. There is too much ... Read Morefocus on the shareholder value going on. Don't get me wrong - I always liked the american idea that you have to work for the things you need. I never received or even asked for 1 DM or Euro (ups, where did the euro sign go on this keybord) in times I was laid-off by one of the global players ... I never needed to because I always found myself a decent job in the most precarious situations ... then I decided to switch to the aviation business because I thought it would be more what I love to do in the future. So I got out of business and started my flight training here in Florida. I gained some interesting experiences in the last 2 years. And for newbies it"s quite hard to get back in the saddle again. But I think there is always an option and you don't have to accept each and every situation life throughs at you ... and I totally agree that those managers should not get any bonus for a job they didn't accomplish. I have to read your book I guess :) ...best of luck for you!

they also have soaring at the air force academy. i am a former sailor that lives in colorado springs. I root for navy only once a year, when they play AF. the AF academy has the best pre-game in college football. flyovers when weather permits, some times fast jets, sometimes trainers, its all good in co. springs.

One of the two games I went to at the AF Academy years ago was AF vs Navy. The other was AF vs. Notre Dame. AF won both IIRC. 1982. Had a friend on the faculty.

The midshipmen of the US Naval Academy also fly as members of my soaring club, the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association (M-ASA). Come join the fun. http://www.m-asa.org/

SOARING....FANTASTIC. My husband and I are going soaring tomorrow in Vermont....soaring and the fall color...what a treat!!!