Fresh Air Matters... with Capt. Yaw
Once again, this past week I have been challenged by the (lack of quality) output of retained education around us. There are some bits of general knowledge that are supposed to be, well, GENERAL. That means that 'generally people should know it'. There are some questions that raise more questions than answers. Many of them may appear a little out of the ordinary, but frankly each of the questions we will look at this, and in coming weeks are relevant to our world, and our ability to understand not only where we have all come from, but where we are going. Generally, knowledge is about to be gained by some, and to be remembered or just checked off by others. Whatever it is, please ask some of these questions to your family, staff and especially to children and young people - and share the answers to ensure that learning takes place!
1. Where are the pyramids?
2. What is a volcano?
3. What is the composition of earths atmosphere?
Ok, so, how did you do? Maybe, as a regular reader of this newspaper you knew all three! But before you read the answers below, ask them to a few people around you....
1. Egypt is the country most renowned for its Pyramids. Many people I have spoken to do not seem to be aware that Egypt really is a country in (North) Africa. (They know that Egyptians play football though!). Interestingly, there are actually more pyramids, over 220, but generally smaller and more recently constructed, in Sudan (also an African country), but the Egyptian ones (less than 140 of them), are the most famous. Other pyramid structures are found around the world, and some which have been constructed in the last few years can be found, such as the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach California. When we refer to 'the pyramids' we generally refer to those ancient constructions found in Egypt. But what are the pyramids? They are massive, monument structures in the geometric shape of a pyramid! A geometric pyramid is a three dimensional shape with triangular sides, meeting to form a point at their apex. It can have three or more sides to its base. Four sided, or a square base, pyramids are the most common. They probably, originally, had a religious value in relation to worship of the Sun, and are shaped in reference to the rays of the sun. There are many mathematical, scientific and symbolic components - and they represent amazing engineering achievements in the many centuries before mechanisation! They were often used for burial chambers for the Pharaohs/Kings of the time, and although built a long time ago, are still amongst the largest constructions on the planet. The tallest Egyptian Pyramid is that of Cheops, also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza with a height of nearly 500ft - built around 2560BC! For the record it took thousands of years before a taller structure was built. What is most amazing is that 3500 years on, this building is still standing and still awe-inspiring. Oh, and for the record, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt AFTER the pyramids were built, and that debunks many of the Hollywood movies stories (which I only recently learned were incorrect) about Hebrew slaves being used to build the Pyramids. But that is another story!
2. This question was sparked by the apparent construction of model volcanoes at roundabouts in Accra. I asked 'what are they doing putting volcano models in Accra for? To which so many people asked me 'what is a volcano?'... Surely, this is a standard learning material in primary schools about understanding our planet? Anyway... A volcano is a 'pressure relief valve' for the hot rock under the surface of the planet. We all live on a ball of hot dense materials. The earth is built up of layers, rather like an onion. We know that the core of the planet is much denser than the surface - we can calculate it quite easily, but not today. We live on the outer or surface layer called the crust. Below the crust there are pockets of molten rock which are quite close to the surface layer. As pressure builds in these so called 'magma chambers' it can burst upwards, spewing hot rock, ash and steam into the atmosphere above. Over time the hot rock cools and forms a cone shaped structure, with a crater at the top - which is where the next 'release of pressure' will come from. When a volcano throws out hot rock (lava), etc. it called an 'eruption'. Volcanoes erupt around the world on a fairly regular basis. One in Hawaii has been erupting for about 30 years, streaming molten rock into the sea - and still going! During strong, expulsive eruptions large quantities of volcanic dust can be ejected many thousands of feet into the air, and can affect aircraft navigation and even reduce surface temperatures through the dust cloud blocking the sun's rays from reaching earth. For the record, the core of our planet contains a lot of iron. Without the massive iron core of our planet, we would die. Our iron core provides the magnetic field that helps keep our atmosphere around us and protects us from many threats from solar activity. It also provides the field that allows our navigation compasses to work - and probably the source of navigation for the migratory animals on the planet
Understanding that volcanoes exist, and the inherence to all that keeps us alive, is important general knowledge.
3. The most common answer I get to this question is 'Oxygen'. WRONG. The atmosphere of planet earth is approximately 78% nitrogen (N2), 21% Oxygen (O2), 0.95% Argon (Ar) and 0.05% Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - plus some tiny amounts of other gases such as ozone, methane, neon and helium. It is one of the amazing things about the planet earth - it keeps its atmosphere, its water, oxygen, etc, without it blowing away in the solar winds that ravage the space all around us, thanks to that dense 'rich-in-iron core' structure of our planet. The belief that we breath 'oxygen' is clearly false, because if the atmosphere on earth were pure oxygen we would soon be engulfed by raging fires and metal structures would corrode faster that ever - possibly sparking away like fireworks! It is the relatively high percentage of Nitrogen gas in our atmosphere that balances the oxygen that we need, as we breathe, and keeps us alive. Breathing 'only oxygen' can result in death, as can 'no oxygen', we need just the right amount! Underwater divers, who breathe special mixtures of Oxygen and Nitrogen called Nitrox, need special training to identify and avoid 'Oxygen poisoning'! Pilots must adjust their oxygen supplies based on altitude and supply method to avoid health issues - even death. Yes, oxygen can kill you!
We only fear what we do not understand, and if we do not hold a good grasp of our maths, science and history, we are handicapped in our ability to progress.
Share some knowledge today - and seek out the implications of it all!
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and lead Pilot with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
Monday, December 2, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
November 25th, 2013
Fresh Air Matters... with Capt. Yaw
Most of the world's news channels have enjoyed the story of the Boeing Dreamlifter landing at the wrong airport last week. Boeing's modified 747 cargo plane - reputedly the most voluminous cargo plane on the planet - is used to carry 787 Dreamliner aircraft parts from one factory to another. Whilst on one of its delivery runs, the pilots mistook one airport for another, and landed in the wrong place - about 16 kilometres away from their intended destination. Not a big deal, except that the runway where they landed was a tad on the short side. Aircraft need to have enough runway to land - and take off again. Generally, landing uses less runway than taking off. The runway at which this misfortuned crew landed was officially 'too short' for the aircraft to depart from, based on the 'handbook'. To make matters worse, the aircraft needed a special ground handling vehicle to facilitate its manoeuvring - just turning such a large aircraft is a challenge - made more challenging by the very narrow, relatively speaking, runway that they had put down on. At the airport where they landed no such vehicle was available. Not a big deal, just drive one up from the actual destination - just a 16km jaunt... except that that vehicle broke down on the way to the rescue! It should be noted that even at its top speed the support team would take over an hour to go the distance. All part of the adventure and learning process - and nobody got hurt, and no damage done - at least to the team involved. Apparently, some cars ran into each other on the main road near the airport, when drivers were distracted by the sight of such a large aircraft on the tarmac!
Finally, the tug arrived, the aircraft was positioned and some careful calculations later the massive 'whale of the air' departed on, what may well be, the shortest flight of a 747 in the history of cargo flight - from one of the shortest runways! The accidental runway was only 2000m long - about 1000m shorter than would be acceptable for a 'recommended departure'. A fresh crew were flown in to make the trip (a big word for a 16km flight with 5km of runway involved between the two aerodromes), and they carried out a lot of calculations to make sure that their departure would be safe. All the same, the police did close down nearby roads in case of the aircraft being rather low over the road, and to avoid any more 'distracted driver accidents'. All in all, a rescue mission that worked, without incident, and ends this particular story of 'wrong place landing' with a smile. It is a nice story about aviation that has grabbed the worlds attention, and diverted it from the more depressing news of the week.
In all honesty, landing at the wrong airport is not totally unexpected. Especially in places where airports are pretty close together. In Ghana you would be hard pressed to mistake Kumasi for Accra or Takoradi for Wa! They are far apart, and totally different in appearance. In some parts of the world the airport density is high - and the runways can even be aligned - I have misidentified airports in the past - but not landed at the wrong one - YET! From the sky, especially in reduced visibility, it can be easy to mistake one for another - it really can. In the past, a passenger aircraft from the USA has over-flown its expected destination of Paris, France - and landed in Brussels, Belgium by mistake! Well, the pilots fell asleep and woke up looking at the wrong country! It is always embarrassing when mistakes like this occur - and even more so in aviation - because we expect aviators to 'always get it right'. It is worth noting that aviators do generally get it right, and therefore, when they get it wrong, it makes news. What is worth noting in this case is 'they got it wrong, they admitted their mistakes, they fixed it, nobody and nothing was damaged' (well, apart from a bank balance and some egos!). Best of all, they shared it with the world to learn from!
In the newsworthy story of the big-Boeing, there is much to learn. The radio transcript clearly indicates the crew and air traffic teams were questioning the airport - but the 'false positives' for the pilot and his first officer were enough for them to commit to their mistake. We have all had this happen to us. We think that all the signs are right, that we are on the right road, the people around us are making the right noises - and then we realise 'uh uh' we got it wrong. Driving around central Accra is always like that for me! Never base your navigation in Accra around the Kofi Brokeman sellers - they all look the same!
We have all taken a wrong turn - physical, mental or financial - and the key to recovery and a safe return to normal operations is 'identification of the error'. The sooner we identify the error and take corrective action, the better. At times we have committed to an error and have to land (hopefully without incident). Then we need to plan the 'departure from the wrong place in our lives'. It cannot be rushed - we will have to spend some time in the 'wrong place', we must call upon our friends to come with their tugs to help us reposition ourselves ready for take off. We must make our calculations for a safe departure - and we may have to manage the potential risks from having to use a runway that is not as long as we would like. We may have to change our crew around us - or even reduce our load enough to ensure safe operations. Most importantly, we must continue to head towards our destination - and never accept that landing 16km short is 'good enough'. We must push on, keep our aims and ambitions clear in our minds, overcome the challenges, make it happen - and then look back and learn how to avoid such a thing happening again.
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and lead Pilot with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
Most of the world's news channels have enjoyed the story of the Boeing Dreamlifter landing at the wrong airport last week. Boeing's modified 747 cargo plane - reputedly the most voluminous cargo plane on the planet - is used to carry 787 Dreamliner aircraft parts from one factory to another. Whilst on one of its delivery runs, the pilots mistook one airport for another, and landed in the wrong place - about 16 kilometres away from their intended destination. Not a big deal, except that the runway where they landed was a tad on the short side. Aircraft need to have enough runway to land - and take off again. Generally, landing uses less runway than taking off. The runway at which this misfortuned crew landed was officially 'too short' for the aircraft to depart from, based on the 'handbook'. To make matters worse, the aircraft needed a special ground handling vehicle to facilitate its manoeuvring - just turning such a large aircraft is a challenge - made more challenging by the very narrow, relatively speaking, runway that they had put down on. At the airport where they landed no such vehicle was available. Not a big deal, just drive one up from the actual destination - just a 16km jaunt... except that that vehicle broke down on the way to the rescue! It should be noted that even at its top speed the support team would take over an hour to go the distance. All part of the adventure and learning process - and nobody got hurt, and no damage done - at least to the team involved. Apparently, some cars ran into each other on the main road near the airport, when drivers were distracted by the sight of such a large aircraft on the tarmac!
Finally, the tug arrived, the aircraft was positioned and some careful calculations later the massive 'whale of the air' departed on, what may well be, the shortest flight of a 747 in the history of cargo flight - from one of the shortest runways! The accidental runway was only 2000m long - about 1000m shorter than would be acceptable for a 'recommended departure'. A fresh crew were flown in to make the trip (a big word for a 16km flight with 5km of runway involved between the two aerodromes), and they carried out a lot of calculations to make sure that their departure would be safe. All the same, the police did close down nearby roads in case of the aircraft being rather low over the road, and to avoid any more 'distracted driver accidents'. All in all, a rescue mission that worked, without incident, and ends this particular story of 'wrong place landing' with a smile. It is a nice story about aviation that has grabbed the worlds attention, and diverted it from the more depressing news of the week.
In all honesty, landing at the wrong airport is not totally unexpected. Especially in places where airports are pretty close together. In Ghana you would be hard pressed to mistake Kumasi for Accra or Takoradi for Wa! They are far apart, and totally different in appearance. In some parts of the world the airport density is high - and the runways can even be aligned - I have misidentified airports in the past - but not landed at the wrong one - YET! From the sky, especially in reduced visibility, it can be easy to mistake one for another - it really can. In the past, a passenger aircraft from the USA has over-flown its expected destination of Paris, France - and landed in Brussels, Belgium by mistake! Well, the pilots fell asleep and woke up looking at the wrong country! It is always embarrassing when mistakes like this occur - and even more so in aviation - because we expect aviators to 'always get it right'. It is worth noting that aviators do generally get it right, and therefore, when they get it wrong, it makes news. What is worth noting in this case is 'they got it wrong, they admitted their mistakes, they fixed it, nobody and nothing was damaged' (well, apart from a bank balance and some egos!). Best of all, they shared it with the world to learn from!
In the newsworthy story of the big-Boeing, there is much to learn. The radio transcript clearly indicates the crew and air traffic teams were questioning the airport - but the 'false positives' for the pilot and his first officer were enough for them to commit to their mistake. We have all had this happen to us. We think that all the signs are right, that we are on the right road, the people around us are making the right noises - and then we realise 'uh uh' we got it wrong. Driving around central Accra is always like that for me! Never base your navigation in Accra around the Kofi Brokeman sellers - they all look the same!
We have all taken a wrong turn - physical, mental or financial - and the key to recovery and a safe return to normal operations is 'identification of the error'. The sooner we identify the error and take corrective action, the better. At times we have committed to an error and have to land (hopefully without incident). Then we need to plan the 'departure from the wrong place in our lives'. It cannot be rushed - we will have to spend some time in the 'wrong place', we must call upon our friends to come with their tugs to help us reposition ourselves ready for take off. We must make our calculations for a safe departure - and we may have to manage the potential risks from having to use a runway that is not as long as we would like. We may have to change our crew around us - or even reduce our load enough to ensure safe operations. Most importantly, we must continue to head towards our destination - and never accept that landing 16km short is 'good enough'. We must push on, keep our aims and ambitions clear in our minds, overcome the challenges, make it happen - and then look back and learn how to avoid such a thing happening again.
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and lead Pilot with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
Friday, November 22, 2013
Photo of the week November 20th, 2013
Patricia Mawuli (left) , pilot, flight instructor, engineer and role model, as well as Principal at the AvTech Academy, hands well earned certificates of experience to (from left to right) Fauzia Doe Kuebunya, Bernice Klutse and Mary Soda. These youngsters have spent the past three months living, working and learning at Kpong Airfield in the Eastern Region. Having hands on experience in jobs from mowing runways through basic woodwork, painting to engine servicing and CNC production to radio operations has widened their horizons and made them much more confident individuals. They have, alongside, covered a number of related technical topics including principles of flight, meteorology and engine components. In 2014 the non-flying training operations at Kpong will be focused on one day courses, for teachers, lecturers and students interested in using aviation and engineering to promote learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). To find out more please contact info@waasps.com
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
November 18th, 2013
Fresh Air Matters... with Capt. Yaw
Aviation is full 'catch phrases', we use them to assist us in matters of safety and promoting good judgement. One of my personal favourites is 'A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid demonstrating his superior skills'. It means that a pilot who may well be able to fly his aircraft in heavy weather, or manage an aircraft with a defect, is smart enough to make the decision not to fly, or to land as soon as possible, in such conditions, thus avoiding the need to use 'superior skills'. It is a also a warning to those who may try to 'show off', without the skills to underpin their exploits. It reassures us that a 'no-go', or 'time to land', decision is the decision of a superior pilot, not a coward or a wimp. I remember being on a KLM flight out of Amsterdam, bound for Ghana, that was cancelled due to extremely strong winds, the team at KLM took a 'superior' decision - even if it was not a popular one - in the interest of protecting the lives of the passengers, crew and aircraft. All the same, the passengers went into 'riot mode' with cries of 'it is only wind'. Sadly, such persons failed to grasp the damage that wind can do - and perhaps did not value their lives as much as the pilot did! The decision to ground the aircraft was taken to protect, to keep the aircraft in a safe place, and then to resume operations once the storm was over. Such decisions are tough, economically damaging in the short term, but are taken to ensure the long term sustainability of the aircraft, airline and protect all of their passengers - as well as the crew. Some will be upset, some may bad mouth the airline - but at the end of the day 'they are alive' because of a 'superior' decision. To paraphrase the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, 'it is better to be a live donkey than a dead lion'.
There are other expressions that come to mind, not necessarily associated with aviation, but definitely related to living and working in West Africa.
'Don't listen to them, it is only Phd'. The famous 'Pull him/her down'. This is one of the most destructive attitudes that I have come across anywhere in the world. It is incredibly prevalent in certain cultures, and sadly it prevents all from developing positively. It is the desire of those 'who do not have or have not achieved' to damage the reputation of those who have or are trying to. It is often driven by jealousy, lack of understanding, as well as, in many cases, sexism. The ability to attack others, without rhyme or reason, just to try to stop them achieving, because of sour grapes, or simple jealousy, is the basis of the Phd mentality. Recently, Lydia Forson wrote an article about how 'successful women are insulted with the terms prostitute and you will never marry'. It was a classic story of how somebody will readily attack you verbally, attempt to tarnish your name and cast dispersions on your character - just because you have success. When it comes to pulling down the achievements of women, you can add to that list of pointless insults 'lesbian and witch' - and I am sure that successful women out there have a list of other derogatory terms used on them on a regular basis. It appears that the jealousy factor is such that these terms are bounded about to 'destroy' or 'pull down' a successful woman. Women can achieve by hard work, determination and, at the same time, 'preserve their virtue'. Ghana has a wealth of 'Women of Worth', yet it has orders of magnitude more 'Phd-ers' - many of whom appear to target women far more than men. 'Watch out for the Phd!' is wise advice, yet even for the most able and diligent people, the insults and attacks for rising above the status quo are wearing and distracting.
'No good deed goes unpunished' is an old adage, and as true today as it was a thousand years ago. It appears that when you help somebody out, you will often feel 'punished for it'. We are all aware of this reality on our roads. Imagine you are driving from Accra to Tema one evening and see a man lying on the side of the motorway. He looks dead. In the second and a half he is visible in your car lights you cannot tell. He probably fell from a truck that he was sleeping on the top of... My guess is that the following will run through your mind in a few seconds...
'I should stop and see if I can help.'
'If I do is it a trap? Are there armed robbers around?'
'If I try to help, will I be accused of knocking him down, or even killing him?'
'If the police come along, and then there is a court case, and I am a witness, how many court appearances will it take?'
'Will I be asked for bribes if I help out?'
'If he is alive and I send him to the hospital, who will pay his hospital bill?'#
'If he is dead what could I do?'
'Will the family of this person end up hounding me for money for care, just because of being a good Samaritan?'
So, you slow down, looking for a way to pull over, but the other traffic is fast on your tail, their lights blazing and horns blaring, the decision would no doubt be made: - 'I cannot stop safely, and have to hope that somebody else will.' You sense relief at not helping, because you are more likely to be 'punished' than 'thanked' for helping out.
Why? Because we have all experienced our good deeds being punished. How many times have you helped somebody, only to wonder 'WHY?' a little further on. Nobody helps for the 'thanks', but we don't set out to help in order to be 'punished'.
All the same, we all hope that others will do some good deeds for us, and when they do, we must make sure that we do not punish them for showing humanitarian care and support.
At the end of the day, we must all make decisions, tough decisions, always based on promoting each other, within the framework that we can, physically, financially and emotionally. I guess that is all part of 'being a superior pilot' and taking decisions that may be unpopular, but that ultimately ensure that there are more 'live donkeys than dead lions'.
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and lead Pilot with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
Aviation is full 'catch phrases', we use them to assist us in matters of safety and promoting good judgement. One of my personal favourites is 'A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid demonstrating his superior skills'. It means that a pilot who may well be able to fly his aircraft in heavy weather, or manage an aircraft with a defect, is smart enough to make the decision not to fly, or to land as soon as possible, in such conditions, thus avoiding the need to use 'superior skills'. It is a also a warning to those who may try to 'show off', without the skills to underpin their exploits. It reassures us that a 'no-go', or 'time to land', decision is the decision of a superior pilot, not a coward or a wimp. I remember being on a KLM flight out of Amsterdam, bound for Ghana, that was cancelled due to extremely strong winds, the team at KLM took a 'superior' decision - even if it was not a popular one - in the interest of protecting the lives of the passengers, crew and aircraft. All the same, the passengers went into 'riot mode' with cries of 'it is only wind'. Sadly, such persons failed to grasp the damage that wind can do - and perhaps did not value their lives as much as the pilot did! The decision to ground the aircraft was taken to protect, to keep the aircraft in a safe place, and then to resume operations once the storm was over. Such decisions are tough, economically damaging in the short term, but are taken to ensure the long term sustainability of the aircraft, airline and protect all of their passengers - as well as the crew. Some will be upset, some may bad mouth the airline - but at the end of the day 'they are alive' because of a 'superior' decision. To paraphrase the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, 'it is better to be a live donkey than a dead lion'.
There are other expressions that come to mind, not necessarily associated with aviation, but definitely related to living and working in West Africa.
'Don't listen to them, it is only Phd'. The famous 'Pull him/her down'. This is one of the most destructive attitudes that I have come across anywhere in the world. It is incredibly prevalent in certain cultures, and sadly it prevents all from developing positively. It is the desire of those 'who do not have or have not achieved' to damage the reputation of those who have or are trying to. It is often driven by jealousy, lack of understanding, as well as, in many cases, sexism. The ability to attack others, without rhyme or reason, just to try to stop them achieving, because of sour grapes, or simple jealousy, is the basis of the Phd mentality. Recently, Lydia Forson wrote an article about how 'successful women are insulted with the terms prostitute and you will never marry'. It was a classic story of how somebody will readily attack you verbally, attempt to tarnish your name and cast dispersions on your character - just because you have success. When it comes to pulling down the achievements of women, you can add to that list of pointless insults 'lesbian and witch' - and I am sure that successful women out there have a list of other derogatory terms used on them on a regular basis. It appears that the jealousy factor is such that these terms are bounded about to 'destroy' or 'pull down' a successful woman. Women can achieve by hard work, determination and, at the same time, 'preserve their virtue'. Ghana has a wealth of 'Women of Worth', yet it has orders of magnitude more 'Phd-ers' - many of whom appear to target women far more than men. 'Watch out for the Phd!' is wise advice, yet even for the most able and diligent people, the insults and attacks for rising above the status quo are wearing and distracting.
'No good deed goes unpunished' is an old adage, and as true today as it was a thousand years ago. It appears that when you help somebody out, you will often feel 'punished for it'. We are all aware of this reality on our roads. Imagine you are driving from Accra to Tema one evening and see a man lying on the side of the motorway. He looks dead. In the second and a half he is visible in your car lights you cannot tell. He probably fell from a truck that he was sleeping on the top of... My guess is that the following will run through your mind in a few seconds...
'I should stop and see if I can help.'
'If I do is it a trap? Are there armed robbers around?'
'If I try to help, will I be accused of knocking him down, or even killing him?'
'If the police come along, and then there is a court case, and I am a witness, how many court appearances will it take?'
'Will I be asked for bribes if I help out?'
'If he is alive and I send him to the hospital, who will pay his hospital bill?'#
'If he is dead what could I do?'
'Will the family of this person end up hounding me for money for care, just because of being a good Samaritan?'
So, you slow down, looking for a way to pull over, but the other traffic is fast on your tail, their lights blazing and horns blaring, the decision would no doubt be made: - 'I cannot stop safely, and have to hope that somebody else will.' You sense relief at not helping, because you are more likely to be 'punished' than 'thanked' for helping out.
Why? Because we have all experienced our good deeds being punished. How many times have you helped somebody, only to wonder 'WHY?' a little further on. Nobody helps for the 'thanks', but we don't set out to help in order to be 'punished'.
All the same, we all hope that others will do some good deeds for us, and when they do, we must make sure that we do not punish them for showing humanitarian care and support.
At the end of the day, we must all make decisions, tough decisions, always based on promoting each other, within the framework that we can, physically, financially and emotionally. I guess that is all part of 'being a superior pilot' and taking decisions that may be unpopular, but that ultimately ensure that there are more 'live donkeys than dead lions'.
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and lead Pilot with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
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