Do we more experienced posters have an obligation to temper what we write to downplay or completely mute our experience with certain manoeuvres?
It's an interesting question PDAR.
But what is an experienced poster? There is an element of "in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king" here. To the pre solo student, the recently qualified PPL is a sky god. To all students, their instructors are sky gods.
To the recently qualified PPL, someone who knows how to fly to the next country is a sky god.
A 'more experienced poster' is always relative to your own place in the scheme of things. You are clearly more experienced than the vast majority of us here, but clearly
if you should downplay your experiences, then others lower down the food chain, should also do the same, as they are 'more experienced posters' to those even further down the food chain
The trouble with that, it that the forum then becomes a place filled with answers consisting of 'don't do that' preaching and finger wagging. No matter how well intended, that tends to send people away without finding the information that they need to make proper informed decisions, and less inclined to ask someone else, and more likely to experiment quietly on their own.
It's not about what is said, but how it is said.
I think it's far better that more experienced pilots be honest about their experiences. If someone asks about doing something that isn't very sensible, then they are more likely to take on board the info they get, if it's presented in a manor such as:
Yes I did that. However I often look back with great regret for how foolish I was. What I hadn't taken into account, because of my lack of experience was 1, 2, 3 and 4.
A few years later, I noticed a fault on an aircraft that I was flying. Had that happened to be on the one I flew that day, I'd have never of know the implications, but it would probably have killed me. If you really want to do this, then what you need to do it safely is get the required instruction on an aircraft that is designed for....
rather than a "Don't be so stupid to do that" sort of answer.
I have to say that you are probably one of the best posters here for relaying your experiences in an open and honest manor, and it makes for powerful replies
A lack of honesty in advice, just leads to a vacuum. People will wonder what's being left out of the replies
For those of us who are around the forums for a bit longer, we know who to watch out for
Whenever you post something, I know that it's based on the vast sort of experience and knowledge, that I'll never achieve. It's always balanced, and never condescending, and always correct. If for some reason I don't agree with your opinion, I'll read it a secon time to see what I missed the first time
If Peter337 posts on some subject that he has researched, then I know that it's been extensively researched, and what he has found can be trusted.
If BEagle or Bose X post on something to do with licensing, I know that unless they qualify their post themselves, then they are invariable correct in what they say.
I know if Genghis posts on something to do with engineering, that he is invariably correct.
I know that if Bookworm posts on something to do with aviation law, regulations or licensing then without fail, he's correct. And if he asks someone about their own position in a debate about the law, then he invariably has seen something or considered something in the wording, that the poster themselves hasn't seen the implications of yet
I know if Backpacker or Fuji Abound posts something, then it's usually well thought out, well considered and honest.
Of course for new ppruners, it's much harder to know who's consistently reliable and who's just loud
dp