Ebay Trauma !!!!!!!!

fit90 wrote:When talking about all the "fun oddities" in general aviation do not forget insurance. Several years ago a few of my friends and I were going to buy a Citabria together. I was the only one in the group with a tail wheel endorsement. Since the insurance company required everyone, regardless of time and experience to get 25 hours of dual in the plane and I was an instructor I would be allowed to give my partners the dual they needed but I would still need to get 25 hours of dual myself before I could be PIC. Before all of this, though, I would be covered for maintenance flights, demonstration flights and delivery flights. I thought that this was so incredibly stupid that only the FAA could have thought it up. I was wrong.

Bob

Kim wrote:

fit90 wrote:When talking about all the "fun oddities" in general aviation do not forget insurance. Several years ago a few of my friends and I were going to buy a Citabria together. I was the only one in the group with a tail wheel endorsement. Since the insurance company required everyone, regardless of time and experience to get 25 hours of dual in the plane and I was an instructor I would be allowed to give my partners the dual they needed but I would still need to get 25 hours of dual myself before I could be PIC. Before all of this, though, I would be covered for maintenance flights, demonstration flights and delivery flights. I thought that this was so incredibly stupid that only the FAA could have thought it up. I was wrong.

Bob

Yeah, insurance was the final nail in the coffin for my involvement with the Young Eagle Program. I'd raised my liability coverage enough to meet the EAA's requirements for them to provide a million dollar coverage when I flew Young Eagles. During a discussion with an official coordinator of the program, he commented that they'd "probably drop me like a hot potato if anything happened".

About a week later, we were having a Young Eagle Rally (had mixed feelings about that too). One of the ladies that was helping us with paperwork came running out to my plane after I'd already started the engine (dangerous), and handed me one of the wavers parents must sign to allow their kids to take the ride. Across the bottom where the form releases EAA from liability in case of an accident was written, "Unless due to pilot negligence."

It takes a lot to tick me off, but this went right through me. The rides were free to everyone. I'd gotten up before dawn on a Saturday, dragged the plane out at sunrise, and flew it cross-country to the Rally. I was spending my own money, burning my own fuel, putting wear and tear on my plane, getting in and out and prop starting it for each flight. Suddenly the whole deal just made me want to vomit. I decided I just didn't NEED this kind of hassle....trying inspire a kid, while his parents saw the whole thing as buying a lottery ticket.

I shut down Piet's engine, told the lady to tear up the waver, got the kid out, restarted and flew away. I heard she didn't destroy it immediately, using it to explain my sudden exit.

That was some 18 years ago, and as bad as it sucked, that was actually a better time than now. Have to wonder if the kid is part of the occupy losers, squatting in his crap outside some building somewhere....