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Air League: Proposed long distance award Kirk

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Air League: Proposed long distance award Kirk

Old 23rd Dec 2016, 11:10
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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, judgement, and assessment of what constitutes an embarrassment, a liability to GA, and to what would undermine our freedoms. On the last point, most of our freedoms are already undermined, not due to Maurice Kirk, but to authoritative, naive, and overbearing society liberals. True enterprising individuals, are now few and far between. This is a ridiculous indictment on our current society, hence the offended bus, which travels very far and wide, in its search for every morsel to be offended at. We want Scottish independence, up roles the bus. We want to leave Europe, up roles the bus, we want Trump as President, up roles the bus........I could go on all day. Sorry Genghis, MK is not the devil incarnate, just a spirited aviator doing his thing.
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Old 23rd Dec 2016, 11:14
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Whilst the man is undoubtedly well travelled, I think any organisation would have difficulty giving someone with his...mixed reputation an award.

From what I understand he is foolhardy and a bit of a rogue. Luck, (perhaps some skill) has kept him out of serious trouble so far.
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Old 23rd Dec 2016, 12:00
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I have just been enjoying a mental image of MK sharing an award ceremony with TCT. On second thoughts I find it difficult to imagine MK accepting any award from the same organisations who have honoured TCT.
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Old 25th Dec 2016, 21:32
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Robin Says :
However, flying a Permit Cub into an International airport at night, flying with a smidgen of oil, flying from the UK to Australia without a valid PtF, etc etc though fascinating to watch is not necessarily how we want to GA pilots to be seen.
(RESPONSE): I think we need to take into account that Maurice is a very likeable 'loose cannon'. His flying into International Airports after Sunset was something that on at least 3 events I QUICKLY MANAGED TO GET 'SQUARED AWAY' with Authorities, Yes my AFPEX system was on fire with messages between ATC units & myself & also Authorities of AVIATION in Countries where he completed these landings. On the 2001 London to Sydney Air Race Maurice's PtF was current for the duration of that Race, as was his Insurance. I would agree in essence that Maurice isn't how GA Pilots would like to be seen, however Maurice is a Latter Day Louis Bleriot or Jim Mollison.

Jay Sata Says :
My impression of Kirk is he is a pilot who can fix his basic aircraft anywhere in the world and get airborne. You mention paperwork and his suggestions of crash landing. Kirk uses those tales to get publicity. The truth is there are very few pilots who can match his ability in situations such as he found himself in South Sudan. Kirk has never been prosecuted and found guilty of any flying issue as far as I know.
(RESPONSE) : Maurice certainly has the skills to 'cobble together' his Cub to a standard where he would be happy to fly it..... That Standard is the " Kirkified Standard " which does not always correlate into the LAA PtF Standard. Maurice has had Crash Landings on this trip & lets be honest the camera never lies ;-) Maurice's tenacity to get himself into situations & then back out of them is legendary, as to whether Maurice has ever been prosecuted or found guilty of any flying issue I am sure the CAA have assigned the West Wing of CAA House to the Pontification Headquarters of the Maurice Kirk Incident Room, I say that in the knowledge that I was knackered after walking past his Section to get to the department I needed to visit ;-)

Genghis The Engineer says :
I'm very happy to be regarded as sat on the offended bus. I think that Kirk is an embarrassment and a liability to general aviation, whose antics undermine our freedoms. He has also achieved considerably less than some other solo fliers, far more deserving of prestigious awards. To throw a few names in; Polly Vacher, Dave Sykes, Eve Jackson - did more, with equally limited resources, and without controversy, criminal records, or pointless anti authority grandstanding.
(RESPONSE) : I am backing Maurice 100% on his penchant to complete such epic trips, I am not saying I agree with him being put up for a Prestigious Award or anything like that, however there is something that does warrant our respect.... this is an Old Man who is doing more with his Cub than most flyers are doing with their High Tech Hotships. I look at such names as Vacher, Jackson, Sykes & a few others and comparing them to Maurice is a total disparity. Polly Vacher had an immense 'background team' so everything was very co-ordinated for her. Eve Jackson also had a very well processed team behind her who were there to help out on her very structured trip. Dave Sykes was as close as we could get to Maurice in that both have a Very Gung Ho attitude towards their flying and both managed to get to Sydney by hook or by crook. Lets not forget that Martin Bromage also set out on a UK to Australia Microlight Flight and was so well organised that he should have completed the trip with relative ease, the fate of Martin was sadly sealed by peer pressure and contrary to his better judgement he took off into inclement weather just to appease the media, Martin lost his life in a fatal incident just short of Le Touquet. Martin was a very experienced flexwing pilot as well as an accomplished helicopter pilot with skills far superior to many. Quite easily any of the names you mention could have fallen into the Liability category as can any of us. With regards to Maurice's criminal records, or pointless anti authority grandstanding I really don't see why that bears any relevance on a flying debate. Maurice is certainly not your run of the mill type of guy when it comes to his flying, however I would much prefer there to be a few more of his kind than the ' vanilla ' circuit bashers who want to decry the guy having a swansong trip.
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 10:44
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I take issue with your statement that Dave Sykes has a Gung ho attitude. He most certainly does not. His planning and preparation for his trip to Sydney was nothing like the way Maurice plans in any way shape or form. Just because he flew a Flex wing to Sydney doesn't make him a cowboy. Please don't use him in comparison with Maurice.

I do have some admiration for Maurice and he is keeping many of us entertained on a daily basis. I hope he gets where he wants to go and as a bystander look upon him as an eccentric, who cares very little about what others think of him and why should he?
He is neither an inspiration nor a hero, but he is an adventurer.
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 16:33
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Having met both David Sykes and Maurice Kirk on several occasions, and flown with DS - I agree with you ak.

G
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 19:39
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I wonder if there will be a thread to get any award to MK retracted? If he should get one.

Hopefully awards will go to less divisive recipients in future.

Not that I'm a fan of mediocrity or mob rule. But neither THT or MK are the sort of person I would give an award to.

Maybe someone could donate funds to start the Jay Sata award. This award is to be awarded to who ever Jay thinks is a good example. Or how about a crowd funding campaign if no one wants to put their hand in their pocket, or put their money were their mouth is.
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 20:05
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Jay Sata must be winding us up.

MK is a liability to the GA community and the wider public. Mildly amusing he might be for a minute or two but an ambassador for aviation? Get real guys.
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 20:45
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......bolts flew off his propeller.....25ft above the Timor Sea.......half an inch of oil left in the sump....
These comments could have been lifted straight from one of TCT's breathy renditions of her rose-tinted world. If they had we'd all be ripping in to her (and rightly so) while firing off angry missives to any society, club or association to have given her an award.

Yet here not only are some people lauding this idiotic display, they are proposing he be given an award by the very people they berated for supporting TCT when she did the same thing.

If/when they do award Kirk what will you say when she and her publicity team point out the double standards? She has played the misogyny card before and while I have no respect for the woman whatsoever she would be right and you will have undone all the hard work that went in to exposing her.
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 10:32
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Must be great fun having enough money and free time to bugger off on an adventure through Africa, blaming everyone else when it goes pear shaped, insulting people along the way, expecting everyone else to pick up the pieces and then be recommended for an award at the end of it all. Waste of space.
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 11:28
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Originally Posted by thunderbird7
Must be great fun having enough money and free time to bugger off on an adventure through Africa, blaming everyone else when it goes pear shaped, insulting people along the way, expecting everyone else to pick up the pieces and then be recommended for an award at the end of it all. Waste of space.
Well said ��
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 12:43
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"insulting people along the way" - Just like the 1990s TV show of a grumpy old man Victor Meldrew which was well received as TV comedy entertainment.

"free time" yes he is 72 and by state rules retired long ago. And he is on this long trip when he knows what it is like to be swimming in the ocean 75 miles from the coast in the Caribbean, with his Cub sinking, when he was around 63 or 64 years old.

Controversial? Yes. But fascinating and riveting for many. If others wish to help why try and stop them?
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 13:11
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I've met him, had a conversation with him and saw the way he arrived at our airfield. I know first impressions should not be relied on to heavily. But he would have to do a lot to undo the negative impression I got from him as an aviator.
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 14:17
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The focus that an award or similar recognition is not for assessing what he is like as a pilot in routine humdrum of life, but for when facing challenges and hardship that many people or pilots would not cope well with, but where he shows his more exceptional abilities in pushing the boundaries of what a 72 year old can do 'unsupported' in a very primitive aeroplane that is even older than him and when flying long distances to the more remote and dangerous places of the world.
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 15:16
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Great stuff. I spent 7 hours one night searching Morecambe Bay in a Nimrod, (Sea King searching as well) for just such a character, attempting to sail to America in a 22' clapped out yacht using the blue bits of a road atlas to navigate by. When the sun came up, a rig spotted he was tied up to one of the legs, fast asleep on board.

Same attitude, same disregard for the 'normal conventions' with a worried family wondering where he was. Nothing to admire, just a stupid **** who thinks he's better than everyone else.
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 17:29
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Originally Posted by thunderbird7
Must be great fun having enough money and free time to bugger off on an adventure through Africa, blaming everyone else when it goes pear shaped, insulting people along the way, expecting everyone else to pick up the pieces and then be recommended for an award at the end of it all. Waste of space.


Kirk or TCT?
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Old 27th Dec 2016, 18:20
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I've not met the man but..... Earlier this summer, whilst at Dunkeswell, I watched him fly through the overhead of the nearby North Hill glider site in G-KURK. He was well below the cable release height for the winch-launched gliders. He then landed at Dunkeswell with no contact over the radio. Parachuting was taking place at Dunkeswell at the time.
Not someone I'd be happy to fly with!
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Old 28th Dec 2016, 06:49
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'Yet here not only are some people lauding this idiotic display, they are proposing he be given an award by the very people they berated for supporting TCT when she did the same thing.

If/when they do award Kirk what will you say when she and her publicity team point out the double standards? She has played the misogyny card before and while I have no respect for the woman whatsoever she would be right and you will have undone all the hard work that went in to exposing her. '

Well said Right Hand Thread. Spot on.
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Old 28th Dec 2016, 07:31
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There is no risk of misogyny or comparison with TCT as he obviously displays special skills when his Cub donkey stops, is unsupported and with no sponsor and he is personally rebuilding his 1940s aeroplane in a remote part of Africa right now as here:-

https://mauricejohnkirk.wordpress.com/

This is something special if not unique.
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Old 28th Dec 2016, 11:06
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From a photo elsewhere on PPRuNe, I opine that MK might at best somewhat repair his Cub. In the context of his adventure thus far, I have doubts that his repair would be one which is conforming, and airworthy. It won't be a rebuild.

If, (and it's a big if) he makes the Cub safely flyable, his award worthiness would be based upon what he does next:

If he flies a dubious aircraft onward to continue a recreational trip, he is being irresponsible, and undeserving. This would be re enforced if in doing that, he had yet another unsafe event, which could be attributed to the Cub not being properly repaired, airworthy, and he, medically fit for the flight.

Or, he makes the Cub safe for a ferry flight, has it duly inspected and issued a flight permit, is declared medically fit, and ferries it to a place where proper repairs are performed. That, in my opinion would be conduct which might make the trip award worthy as being adventurous and determined.

I hope that awarding agencies are avoiding issuing awards to people who blatantly disregard the norms of established safe piloting. Such piloting disregard dishonours those who work to make flying safe. Awards should be something which everyone can support, not something which leaves a large segment of the group holding their nose.
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