To: thechopper
Yes it does hurt and the hurt manifests itself in the form of arthritic pain in just about every major joint in my skeletal system. The only thing that RW-1 ever got right in his assessment of my capabilities or of me is that I am an old man.
To: Nick Lappos and RW-1
I really appreciate the both of you taking the time to explain to the participants of these threads that I have certain positive qualities and mostly negative qualities that manifest them selves in the form of not understanding things relative to aviation. Nick stated that I address certain subjects from the position of someone that is steeped in maintenance and has nothing to do with design.
Let’s address the first point. The subject that was being discussed that prompted his comment was gyroscopic precession and retreating blade stall. Having conducted training classes for US Army helicopter mechanics and Aviation Maintenance Officers (AMOC) I taught these subjects as a part of POF. I can only assume that these same subjects were taught in the training syllabus for Army Aviators. Based on this I addressed the subject as it was taught in a technical school. As Nick implied I didn’t use college level text material to explain the subjects. I would assume the only place that text material of this nature would be used is in the university, The Air Force academy or, test pilot school. This level of training material is beyond most pilots and far exceeds what he / she must know to understand how his machine flies. The mechanic must understand this material in order to understand how problems manifest themselves in the dynamic system.
Here is another point that requires explanation. Nick Sez that I have certain skills but I do not understand design. Let me put this subject to rest. If Nick were to ask me if I could design and aircraft or a helicopter I would answer yes. If he were to ask me if the helicopter or aircraft were able to fly I would answer most likely not for as many reasons as there are different aspects of aeronautical engineering. However if Nick were to ask me if I understood the various aspects of aeronautical engineering and if I could manage a major program I would answer definitely yes.
There is nothing in my job description that states that I be expert in all aspects of aeronautical engineering. However, it does require that I have a detailed understanding of the different elements of the engineering process and that I have a detailed understanding of the function and operation of those elements that I have responsibility for in the process of my work.
Nick has formed a lot of opinions relative to my capabilities and makes no bones about mentioning them in his posts some of which are directed at me and in others where he is just making his opinion known. Well here are a few opinions I have formed about Nick. It appears that Nick has a way of telling someone that they don’t know Jack Sh!t about a certain subject by telling everybody how much he knows about the subject. He makes no bones about telling the participants in these threads that he is a senior test pilot working for the most important rotary wing firm in the world and I don’t know what I am talking about.
Let’s play a game of what if: What if Nick Lappos had never gone through flight school in the US Army. What if he was a mechanic on AH-1Gs as opposed to being a pilot? What if when he got out of the Army he enrolled at Georgia Tech and studied Aeronautical Engineering. Let’s assume he had a good GPA and went to work for Sikorsky and a bunch of his classmates went to work for Lockheed or Gulfstream. Now, based on my experience in the engineering departments of some of the largest aerospace firms in the world the new engineer is so full of himself and feels that he is capable of designing the entire aircraft. However his supervisors in his assigned department would have him designing brackets or, doing hand calculations of stress levels on those brackets. This engineer would spend the next ten or fifteen years trying to work his way into mid level department management. He may have even taken an MBA to accelerate his promotional possibilities. Would this Nick Lappos have received the many awards or would he have all of the patents and most of all would this Nick Lappos be receiving all of the adulation from the participants on these threads. I could even ask if he would have a similar website that is full of self-praise and imploring the individual who stumbles across the site to see how important a person he is. Well that Nick Lappos does not exist. Our Nick Lappos can lay claim to every one of the positive things said about him in his website and all of the awards for positive participation in his field. He can show that he has made a positive effect on the field of rotary wing flight and he can show a solid job progression and level of responsibility and he deserves all of the praise. Having dealt with him only on these threads and not in person the only thing I can say that he is lacking is humility. If we ever get the chance to meet in person we might even find that the other guy is not only a nice person but he deserves respect. As far as RW-1 is concerned all of the above is pure trash and is totally wasted on him.