The Difference Between Them and Us.

I have 12-16 young folks show up Saturday to work on the three airplanes we're building they are genuinely interested and learning all kinds of new concepts.
 
EppyGA said:
I have 12-16 young folks show up Saturday to work on the three airplanes we're building they are genuinely interested and learning all kinds of new concepts.
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Encourage them all you can. Just don't be disheartened that there are > 4000 other 12-16 year olds at the schools they attend who DGAF . . . .

Meanwhile, I'm the only active pilot and only airworthy plane at my airport.
 
Anyone take apart a rifle?

I know engines, and I get the basics of jets (just from the Jeppesen text, frankly).

I know nothing of rifles; so when they speak of the sear, I have zero clue what they mean. Being somewhat mechanical means a guy can get through it, thanks YouTube and google... but this new language doesn't mean anything to me yet. I'm learning.

Oh geez, about to hit post, and it hit me how many military people are likely on here... I expect I'm likely one of the few who doesn't know the sear. :oops:
 
asicer said:
Just imagine how much easier it will be too explain once she gets an electric car.
Click to expand...

I've found the hardest part about explaining an electric car to folks like that is when they ask me how can the electrons flow uphill from the underfloor batteries to the motor. I just tell them there's a boost pump...electric, of course.:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I think the experience with the 16 year old is nothing out of the ordinary or to be unexpected. This forum is about GA flying - I get on other forums that match up to my other interests of fishing, hunting, archery, etc. Some of the participants on this forum would be lost and clueless if visiting on those forums.

I have no interest in lots of other things - motorcycles, fly fishing, hang gliding, base jumping, art, the list goes on.

Anyone of average intelligence or physical ability can legally and safely fly an airplane. Let's not kid ourselves - I have met alot of pilots that are not geniuses or "gifted" in any way. We are just interested in this activity and alot of people aren't. No big deal.
 
denverpilot said:
Some people want to know how stuff works, other people drive the car and call AAA when it breaks.
Click to expand...

Those insurance commercials where the teenage boys don't know what a lug wrench looks like...OMG! When I was a teenager, any boy that couldn't change a tire probably drank his coke with one pinky in the air... (Disclaimer for those offended: not that there's anything wrong with that...)
 
I don't think the difference is a "generational" thing.
I have the same experience with people my own age, who are also aghast that I still fly at all. (My God! You are going to kill yourself or someone else if you keep flying!!) Hey, you do get it! :)
I have the same experience when talking to High School kids, and teachers, college kids, college professors, blue collar workers, white collar workers, stolen collar workers (politicians and political appointees).
And yes, I agree it's a special skills differentiation. But, the gap between pilots and non-pilots is far greater than the gap between skiers and non-skiers or chefs and non-chefs. The only place where you see a gap like ours is in the far end of the physical sciences and laymen.
Just getting philosophical in my old age.
The only cure for that is to keep on flying.
 
Stephen Shore said:
I think the experience with the 16 year old is nothing out of the ordinary or to be unexpected. This forum is about GA flying - I get on other forums that match up to my other interests of fishing, hunting, archery, etc. Some of the participants on this forum would be lost and clueless if visiting on those forums.

I have no interest in lots of other things - motorcycles, fly fishing, hang gliding, base jumping, art, the list goes on.

Anyone of average intelligence or physical ability can legally and safely fly an airplane. Let's not kid ourselves - I have met alot of pilots that are not geniuses or "gifted" in any way. We are just interested in this activity and alot of people aren't. No big deal.
Click to expand...

But you can explain basic concepts of all of those things. Non-flyers probably can't discuss even the basics of flying, beyond putting their arms out and making airplane noises.
 
I've read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" any number of times over the years.

In it, Pirsig breaks people down into "classicists" and "romantics". I think as a very broad rule it applies to what you're talking about.

A brief explanation from the Wikipedia page:

"With this, the book details two types of personalities: those who are interested mostly in gestalts (romantic viewpoints, such as Zen, focused on being "In the moment", and not on rational analysis), and those who seek to know the details, understand the inner workings, and master the mechanics (classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis-a-vis motorcycle maintenance) and so on...The Sutherlands represent an exclusively romantic attitude toward the world. The Narrator initially appears to prefer the classic approach. It later becomes apparent that he understands both viewpoints and is aiming for the middle ground. He understands that technology, and the "dehumanized world" it carries with it, appears ugly and repulsive to a romantic person. He knows that such persons are determined to shoehorn all of life's experience into the romantic view. Pirsig is capable of seeing the beauty of technology and feels good about mechanical work, where the goal is "to achieve an inner peace of mind". The book demonstrates that motorcycle maintenance may be dull and tedious drudgery or an enjoyable and pleasurable pastime; it all depends on attitude."
 
One of these days you guys will wake up and realize that you are mostly old and entirely out of touch. Not that there is anything at all wrong with that, I suspect it happens to everyone eventually. But it does get in the way of some interpersonal relationships.
 
steingar said:
One of these days you guys will wake up and realize that you are mostly old and entirely out of touch. Not that there is anything at all wrong with that, I suspect it happens to everyone eventually. But it does get in the way of some interpersonal relationships.
Click to expand...


Let me assure you that I was just as out of touch when I was young.


I've read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" any number of times over the years.

In it, Pirsig breaks people down into "classicists" and "romantics". I think as a very broad rule it applies to what you're talking about.
Click to expand...


Eddie, ever read The Existential Pleasures of Engineering by Florman? Some similar ideas.
 
itll-happen-to-you.png
 
overdrive148 said:
itll-happen-to-you.png
Click to expand...

So far the only thing that I feel that way about is kids watching reaction videos and lets play videos where other people do the gaming. It is fun to watch a friend play a game occasionally but I just can't see it as more fun than doing it myself.
 
asicer said:
Just imagine how much easier it will be too explain once she gets an electric car.
Click to expand...

I did have to explain why there was no electric motor under the hood of the Tesla she rode in.

denverpilot said:
Just a side note. “IT Manager” doesn’t denote any knowledge whatsoever about even booting their own computer. :)

I’m not kidding.

When I took said title, the question from other staff at the time was, “So when is the lobotomy scheduled?”
Click to expand...

True.
 
overdrive148 said:
So far the only thing that I feel that way about is kids watching reaction videos and lets play videos where other people do the gaming. It is fun to watch a friend play a game occasionally but I just can't see it as more fun than doing it myself.
Click to expand...
So you don't watch collegiate or professional sports?
 
Part of the challenge was that you had a woman with you. Frankly, other than my wife, I can easily run out out of things to talk about with many woman. Many have completely different interests (and come from a different planet).

It does't help that I only had brothers, joined the military out of High School, became an engineer, worked at Aerospace companies and only had sons.
 
I'm 27 and I feel the same way as you Shep about the kids that I teach (ages 12-13). Completely out of touch with reality. They all have dreams to drive lambos and wear nothing but Gucci clothes but yet refuse to learn to read and write. They see it on instagram and snap chat (social media for all you non smart phone users) and assume everything comes so easily. That isn't even an aviation observation, but on topic for the post I have noticed the disconnect between my interest in aviation and my other friends my age. Almost everyone doesn't want to hear me talk about anything related to it. We will be at an outdoor event and my head is looking in the sky every time I hear something flying. Most could care less. My girlfriend will ask me questions and talk to me about it but I think she does that just because I care about it. She does a good job pretending like she does.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
I'm 27 and I feel the same way as you Shep about the kids that I teach (ages 12-13). Completely out of touch with reality.
Click to expand...

I don’t know anyone who wasn’t completely out of touch with adult realities at that age.
 
denverpilot said:
I don’t know anyone who wasn’t completely out of touch with adult realities at that age.
Click to expand...

Very true point. Maybe I was different as a kid. I was working in a cabinet shop at age 10 and felt I at least had a little common sense.
 
There are plenty of disconnects even within aviation. I’m still trying to figure out what’s so much fun flying around with that vibrator up front. Not when the sun is out and fair weather cu dot the sky. I’m still trying to break my habit of pitching up in updrafts and pitching down in downdraft.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Very true point. Maybe I was different as a kid. I was working in a cabinet shop at age 10 and felt I at least had a little common sense.
Click to expand...

I had to help grandpa and dad fix things. That’s quite different today. “No user serviceable parts inside”. It’s a sub-culture today to void warranties.

One of my favorite YT channels is a dude who wrenches on cars, and he’s not scared to wrench on anything. He’s currently working on a basket case of a Lamborghini. He sells t-shirts that say, “I am the warranty.”

But since I was a kid stuff is a lot more throwaway and not fixable by home gamers. Or so they think. The old tricks to jury rig something safely are also being slowly lost, because people no longer think that way... “Can’t afford this part, but if I make this here out of twine and a couple of sticks, it’ll hold until I can...” or as I called it back then in deference to my grandfather, farmer’s ingenuity.

This lack of hands on generally leads on a macro scale to people who don’t know or care about how anything works. Then you toss them a system diagram in a POH to show them a system and they literally don’t speak the language.

One of the DPEs around here likes to tell Commercial and CFI candidates to draw a simple diagram of how the constant speed propellor works from cockpit handle to prop hub. It’s harder than it looks to draw it simply and for the CFI ride to explain it simply, to someone who’s never seen a needle valve or a spinning set of fly weights or even a rack and pinon type steering gear.

Anyone who’s worked on old cars or tractors, “gets it” nearly immediately even without formal terms for the components. They’ve seen how that type of valve or gear works even if they don’t know what it’s called.
 
denverpilot said:
Anyone who’s worked on old cars or tractors, “gets it”
Click to expand...

I saw a Tv show about a mechanic in California that works on cars made before 1964. He said he makes 100K a year adjusting points.

Silly me, I used to do it for 3 bucks an hour.....

I was talking to the owner of the local GM dealership Sunday. He tells me that very soon cars will not have a dipstick or oil drain. You are not expected to do anything with a car except get in a drive it. Drive it to the dealer that is.... to have the oil sucked out and replaced. (I know, already being done at quick oil change places)

Cars already do not have dipsticks on the automatic transmissions. I am having enough trouble trying to get my wife to learn the warning (idiot) lights.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I know a lady just like that. I had to explain the concept of pistons and crankshafts in her car. And she's a college educated IT manager in her late fifties.
Click to expand...

The scientific side of our business has several employees with PhD's. One guy with an astrophysics degree who ended up leaving to work for NASA did not know his truck had rear brakes, he thought the only brakes were on the front wheels. (you could see the rear discs too). Another guy who used to work for us had a masters in biomedical engineering, he didn't have a clue either. Drove his truck to work everyday with a squealing belt for months, when I finally asked him if he needed help fixing it, he said "oh, so that's whats making that noise?"
 
My son started flying with me at an early age. Then, as life got in the way I took a long break from flying. My son didn't seem interested in it. When he joined the Navy, he went through Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) training and made a deployment.

When he came back, he announced that he'd been accepted into flight training. He's now in Pensacola, flying Texan II's.
 
What happens if ‘us’ becomes ‘them’? ...or ‘them’ become ‘us’?

Can I fly a Cirrus, drink Zima and eat canápes?
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Very true point. Maybe I was different as a kid. I was working in a cabinet shop at age 10 and felt I at least had a little common sense.
Click to expand...
When I was a kid there were no jobs for kids. Labor laws. My old man couldn't fix a damn thing, he told me he made money so he could hire guys to fix stuff.
 
Ronbonjovi said:
My girlfriend will ask me questions and talk to me about it but I think she does that just because I care about it. She does a good job pretending like she does.
Click to expand...

WARNING WARNING WARNING

When I was about your age I was seriously into scuba: wrecks, caves, reefs, underwater photography, member of several clubs, etc. My girlfriend at the time wanted to learn to dive and go with me. I bought her dive gear, paid for her cert, and took her on several nice dive trips to the Keys and other places.

Then I married her.

In 24 years of marriage (25 this June) she's gone diving with me twice, and the last time was about 23 years ago.

You've been warned. A word to the wise....
 
I just heard this on the radio so we know it is official.

Young folks think 30 is old, and 50 is dinosaur age.....And I sort of remember thinking that myself 50 years ago when I was a kid....

So if you are over 50 and interview for a job with someone younger than 30, your screwed....
 
Zeldman said:
I just heard this on the radio so we know it is official.

Young folks think 30 is old, and 50 is dinosaur age.....And I sort of remember thinking that myself 50 years ago when I was a kid....

So if you are over 50 and interview for a job with someone younger than 30, your screwed....
Click to expand...

Unless they need a dinosaur because they’re in over their heads and know it. :) It happens.
 
Clark1961 said:
What happens if ‘us’ becomes ‘them’? ...or ‘them’ become ‘us’?

Can I fly a Cirrus, drink Zima and eat canápes?
Click to expand...


I had to google "canápes".

Also, I thought Zima is what pilots drink...?

plane=avgas/pilot=zima
1=1
true
 
Zeldman said:
I just heard this on the radio so we know it is official.

Young folks think 30 is old, and 50 is dinosaur age.....And I sort of remember thinking that myself 50 years ago when I was a kid....

So if you are over 50 and interview for a job with someone younger than 30, your screwed....
Click to expand...
In the sixties, people in my age group used to say "Never trust anyone over thirty."
 
steingar said:
One of these days you guys will wake up and realize that you are mostly old and entirely out of touch. Not that there is anything at all wrong with that, I suspect it happens to everyone eventually. But it does get in the way of some interpersonal relationships.
Click to expand...

I was born an old out of touch grumpy curmudgeon. My age is finally catching up to my personality.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top