TC,

Like SS and maybe a few others I have received a PM from Barry.
Like SS and maybe a few others I have respected Barry's request for privacy regarding the content of the PM and quite rightly so.
As far as I am concerned this is not a witch hunt to discredit Barry, more a criticism of those who were supposed to maintain the GE website and keep all informed as to what was going on.

I am not AAC, never have been and never will be. I personally have no axe to grind and am/was just another PPRuner sharing in the excitement of a great adventure. Like many others I am totally pissed off that the mission has probably come to end and I say that most sincerely.

Think I said to you several weeks ago over the "ring of fire " issue that you need to lighten up or stick to the more serious threads.

Oh.........one more thing,

" This thread has clearly lost its' reason for being. It is courting the ridiculous. No one else comments because it is a pitiful thread worthy of ocassional viewings just to see the latest pathetic comments you have heaped on this person."

If you are intent on being one of Baden Powell's finest would suggest that you don't let your curiousity get the better of you and........STAY AWAY !!


E5

TC why the anger? why are you so intent on raising a stupid argument from SS whom I guess is far more senoir than to step down to your petty level...anyway bye and dont forget your coat;)
I too had a PM from Barry and as Echo 5 stated I likewise will not post that PM as Barry requested not to. I would like Barry to post it as its not contentious but informative. I wrote my reply to Barry and I am happy for all to see it. No doubt whatever we say TC will take a contrary view, that is his right and good luck to him.

I will wait to see if Barry posts before I make a decision on posting my reply to Barry.

Silsoesid, Volrider, Missing Lynx, and Gobbie...
 

What have you contributed to aviation in your lifetimes that is so stellar that we should bow to YOUR "petty level?" From where I sit, you folks have spent an enormous amount of time on personal attacks. To be fair, parts of this thread have been funny from time to time... but the recent comments have become repugnant.

Further, many of your comments have been so negative that it goes WAY beyond gentle humor or good spirited fun... it's clearly personal. Simply put, you've crossed a line and have lost what little respect others may have had for you all.

There are a lot of lessons learned for the GE team and for Barry, as well. But let's not understate the FANTASTIC accomplishments of this venture. One example is Barry's longest flight over open ocean in an autogyro in the history of aviation! Sounds like a time to crack open some champagne and celebrate some REAL accomplishments!

How many times did Steve Fossett attempt to go around the world in a balloon? How many times did he fail? In your view, I suppose this multi-millionaire and generous philanthropist is just another loser. I guess the world would be perfect if we could live up to the standards you propose behind the comfort of your computer console... better to criticize others than to actually do something yourself, eh?

RDRickster I ask no one to bow to my level as you put it! I gather we are not allowed to make conjecture of what we were assuming happened?
I was until today unaware of the full facts..Barry replied to the PM I sent him regarding GE
I wont put his PM on here thats for Barry to do if he so wishes. However I did appreciate what he had to say. He answered every question I asked some where not easy to answer for him but to his credit he answered in full. I think I asked most of the questions that were posted on this forum.
Ok So I only have Barry's side of the story but from what he had to say I do not doubt his word. I never doubted his courage I doubted why we had heard nothing and rumours were abound, I am not justifying myself to you or making excuses for being involved in this interesting thread. I would as any other, wish this had been completed but now I have a more fuller picture of what happened I can see this was going to be an uphill task for Barry. But he must be praised for his efforts because I doubt if I would have done the task under the same circumstances.

I backed this project but also asked questions also posted hunour and crtical comments, that is the right of freedom. Do you deny me that mr Rickster or are you the same as Mr TC ?? happy to shoot the messenger but always wanting him to ask and ask again..No it easy for you to sit behind a PC screen and dictate, its not so easy to have the courage to ASK..
So I bow gracefully in your direction as you a wiser man than me.... A giant amongst dwarfs:)
Good luck to Barry as I wish him well for the future, where ever that takes him.
I now have all the answers tothe questions I sked. So nothing further to add so I will bow out.
:ok:

Sorry to disappoint but I am the one and only Gobbie, no other names. Bitter no, not at all, just fed up of the lack of truth from Barry. Not trying to hound him, you might find those having a go actually know him and know what he is like and boy have we supported him!!!!

We have supported him and he has let US and more importantly HIMSELF down not to mention the rest of the team, supporters, sponsers etc......

Yes it was a great idea that COULD have been carried out but trust me his mouth was making promises his mind could never keep, no matter how much support and help he was offered !!!!

The truth is out there, I KNOW it is, just the rest of you are not privy to it............YET !!!!

Down to the team to tell you but like I said before they are loyal to the Army.

Barry, got your PM, how about YOU contacting a few of US that gave you support ?????????????

Had enough!
 

Like bazza i have had enough and i am pulling the yellow and blacks. The guy is a cheat and a fraud. I do not say this without some knowledge of him on a personal level. The whole thing was never about charity or living a dream, it was all about him and what he could get from it. He wanted more than fifteen minutes of fame, he wanted the glory and kudos of being somthing important and the world trip was his chosen way of getting there. At the end of the day just how much money will the three charities actualy get? why shy away from comment when asked about this subject? surley a high profile fund raising flight must of raised tens of thousands for charity. Cant wait to see the intresting retort this gets. Would love to know why several offers of financial help to repair the Machine and replace "flood damaged" equipment have been refused. Anybody seen any pics to support his claims yet? I assume that there has been a letter of apology from the members of the Indian Air Force that were tasked with looking after the Autogiro, why not post extracts on the web site?

Well, go away for a weekend and I miss out on all this 2 way conversation stuff.

I agree with a lot of the remarks about this starting to get a bit personal, but it seems that those that are doing the complaining both here and to the moderators, are the ones who are getting a bit touchy consequently going off the rail a touch.
Perhaps trying to steer the thread seems to them to be the only way of getting the thread closed.
Answer me this. Why is this thread so popular? If all those that hated it so much didn't come back as they say, then it seems to me to have a far reaching audience, with or without the righteous!

It's nice to see TC http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/cwm/3dlil/tard.gif back with us, however with his words of wisdom amounting to the likes of "This thread has clearly lost its' reason for being." I shall for ever be in wonder as to why this person comes back to this thread.
As TC http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/cwm/3dlil/tard.gif says, "The fact that 99% of the comments on this thread come from a handful of dissenters intent on driving this thread to infinity and beyond speaks volumes about its ethical standing."
It would seem to me that the standing of this thread is fairly high. There only seems to be a couple of people demanding the closure and for what appears to be the majority, this thread has the entertainment and intrigue they are after.

In answer to RD, "How many times did Steve Fossett attempt to go around the world in a balloon? How many times did he fail?"
6 attempts and failed 5. But the point on Steve was that he did not give up the challenge. Before all these attempts mind you, he was the first to fly solo across the Pacific.
Steve has also swum the English Channel, run Alaska's famed Iditarod Dogsled Race, driven the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race and finished the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.

So I think to compare Barry to Steve is a little short of the mark.

As it seems to be RDs turn, "But let's not understate the FANTASTIC accomplishments of this venture. One example is Barry's longest flight over open ocean in an autogyro in the history of aviation!" "Sounds like a time to crack open some champagne and celebrate some REAL accomplishments!"

And the others are?......................
(put the cork back in, the champers is getting flat!)


I feel slightly honoured that some seem to think that I am doing this alone, with a couple of aliases. One person to keep this going, wow! Now that would be a good enough achievement in itself! But, sorry, it seems that there are some like minded souls out there who like a bit of heated discussion tempered with a little humour. Unfortunately not everbodies cup of tea but one some must retaste to make sure they still don't like it!

Perhaps the reason this thread is so popular is because some knew 'Arfur' before he set out and realised this thread was the disguised reality they knew.
The truth is still to come out and as only so much is allowed in the public domain, slowly but surely the trickles of information now being released, will make the level of the pond of truth rise.

SilsoeSid,

I wouldn't confuse a high hit rate with affirmation of the views posted herein. A lot of tabloids are sold world wide, but do you really think most people believe in them? As I said before, some of this material has been pretty funny (hence, your entertainment factor).

It's the last bit that really turns my stomach, and some of the folks that you claim allegence with have admitted that this is somewhat personal for them. I didn't mention it earlier, but I've also been in the loop concerning Barry's PM and the circumstances involved. It isn't my place to comment on the contents, and I respect his wishes, too.

Not withstanding Barry's PM, it has been obvious that there seems to be some unresolved interpersonal issues between a few folks (both present and former members of the GE team). It's a shame that this thread was leveraged as a way to attack the man's reputation. In my opinion, Barry has some legitimate reasons for not publically sharing all the details... but I hope that a lot of this information is released soon.

Respectfully,
R2

wheres the money?
 

well,baby i am back!,got a window in my flying and felt it was time to tickle the keypad again.Anybody notice that the globaleagle web site has been efectivley shut down or frozen?. How convenient some would say. I ask about charity money and suddenly it all goes very quiet. Before any of our cousins from over the pond jump on their chuck wagons and come after me, let me state my point. As a member of the public who put money into the clearly marked collection pots, labled with the chosen charities, i think we have a right to know how much money was raised. Despite repeated attempts at asking them, there has been no statement from anybody yet. Now that they have closed down the web site we may never know. After firing off emails to NSPCC and Dyslexics institute, guess how much of the money put into those collection pots the charities have recieved? Can only say for sure that my £5 has never got there.So whats going on?. Some may say that calling it fraud or deception is harsh, but that money was donated to the charity direct and not to bankroll barrys trip. Not going to let this go, no satisfactory answer and then no chice but to take it to the next level, over to dibble.

Guys,

Some time ago this thread was bounced off the Military Forum, possibly because of an indiscretion on my part, albeit accidently.

I think we may well be on a Yellow card here on Rotorheads as I believe some individuals may have been bleating to the Moderator about some of the content.

So, let's ease up on the character assassinations and stick to reasonable banter. At least until the whole story is in the public domain.

Regards to all.

E5:)

Barry

????????

By no means has this thread, IMHO, been 'leveraged' to become a personal slating. It naturally came to this point by the expedition allegedly being taken over by an autocratic descision making process.

With this in mind, it is no wonder that the faults within GE are falling onto the shoulders of one person.

As an example, take the 2nd WW.
One man, autocratic leadership style. His generals and troops did the dirty juju (no pun intended:= ).
The leader had no physical blood on his hands, but he gets ALL the blame.
It came out in Nuremberg that to be following orders was no excuse, but in this case, perhaps, it is.

I am no way comparing Barry to this person, but if one adopts the same leadership technique, then it is natural that the blame will also fall onto one person.

It seems that the whistleblowers are still blowing, and as long as they do, then maybe we should have the opportunity to listen.
Despite Tony Blairs reaction to free speech at the labour party conference, PPRuNe still enables us, of course within reason, to listen to someone elses point of view and it seems here that there is a lot more of the story to come.

SS

Point taken
 

Point taken and understood E5, sorry:uhoh:
My comments were probably getting a little out of hand,only through frustration. It is hard when faced with the wall of silence that we are facing not to come up with some speculation, right or wrong. Quite why we get no comment is a bit baffling as i am assured that all the team members avidly read this thread. Was just wondering why they have been sworn to silence. The web site contains what i am assured is the party line so if thats what they say then thats what it is i guess.
Not sure why everybody is getting private secret messages, why not just put one message for all to read, surley that is the purpose of this forum.
Q. How can you spot a pilot in a crowded room?
A.Dont worry he will come and tell you!

My viewpoint
 

I figure that in response to the e-mails and calls that i have had, it is about time i was to put the record straight on the story so far. The colapse of the expedition has affected everybody and i doubt that there is a single person in the aviation comunity who does not have an opinion on what happened and what went wrong. Having not been briefed on what the "party line" is then i see no harn in telling it exactly how it is. There has been much speculation about what has gone on and indeed what is going on now. That is one area where i have no comment to make and will not be drawn into speculated answers. When viewed in isolation ,sailient points seem out of proportion but when put into context, complement themselves and allow us to see the bigger picture.
As i am sure you are all aware, the cancelation of the trip was put down to the damage sustained to the Autogyro during its brief tenure in India. To the very best of my knowledge, no pictures of the damage in either still or video format have been made available. Magni Gyro, the original designers and manufacturers of the Autogyro and sponsorers of the expedition were not involved in the classification or estimated repair bill for the Autogyro. Indeed they were never given the oppertunity to make good on their pledge of engineering support and technical back up. They are not alone. There was offers of support and assistance in financial and technical areas and this was rejected by the team. The continuation of the expedition was not stopped by any insurmountable technical reasons and could of continued, if that was the wish.
At no point during this expedition or during the whole of the world range record preparation and execution have i made any money from or taken any money from any of my work with Global Eagle. It is very hurtfull for sombody to accuse you of holding the expedition to ransom and not giving technical support in favour of a larger fee, quite simply this is not the case. The cost of all of this has been massive. It extends way beyond the trivial matter of money spent out,favours called in,luck pushed,parts begged borrowed and stolen,hundreds of unpaid hours and crap taken. The true cost is friendship and that is the one irreplaceable cost of it all. The whole thing has destroyed all of that and left in its place an air of mis-trust and resentment. Flying round the world is easy,just make sure that you are ready to pay the price for it.

Sorry to hear that
 

All of us who know you know that those acusations are boll*x!!!!
remember what you get told on grading"those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail!"http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/icons/mpangel.gif
Angel

ML,

I think you have confused a lot of us on here with your last post. You seem to be contradicting yourself.

Firstly you rubbish the accusations of skulldugery, bad planning, inadequate preparations, autonomy, yet confirm that if one fails to prepare they will ultimately fail.

Perhaps, ML, there are those that know more than you do about the behind scenes goings on and you are still grasping in the hope of 'keeping the faith'.

SS

ps. Are there any pics of the damage available for us outsiders?

Congratulations
 

I hear that congratulations are soon to be in order for Barry as far as his career is concerned.

Far be it for me to say anything one way or the other, but congratulations Sir. :ok:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/00...ier/salute.jpg

Do I hear an apology for Paula Radcliffe?

NO!

I think even I could run 2 marathons for over £1 million a year !!!!!

£272,000 for the NY marathon
£725,000 for the guaranteed place in next years London.
Plus all the sponsorship deals, advertising etc.

So much for amateur sport, Eh! :confused:

No doubt, now she has completed a Marathon, coming back after such a crushing time in Athens, she'll be up for BBC Sports Personality of the year. :yuk:
The hints are there, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/default.stm it says "Follow Paula Radcliffe's seven steps to become a better runner."

As Jane Tomlinson hasn't even got a mention on the BBC sports pages I don't suppose even gets a look in.
------------
Terminal cancer sufferer Jane Tomlinson has set a new world record after becoming the first terminally ill cancer patient to complete a full Ironman triathlon.

The 40-year-old, from Rothwell, Leeds, completed the gruelling Florida event in 15 hours and 47 minutes.

The mother of three took to the sea on Panama City Beach for a 2.4-mile swim. She followed that with a gruelling 112-mile bike ride and then began a 26-mile night-time marathon.

Only a week ago the Yorkshire woman was in casualty, unable to walk or even dress herself.
------------

Yes, but would you be good enough to win?

NO, but even she didn't have to win in order to get the money!

This is just attendance money, let alone 'placings' money!:yuk:

Jane runs to gather money for charity and pushes her body to its limits even though she is terminally ill, Mrs pack it in Radcliffe runs to swell her purse. No comparison as to who is the winner there.
Re winning thats not the point..Completing what you set out to do is the real point.:ok:

Hang on a minute...........I always thought that the idea of these Marathons, London and New York, was all about raising money for charities.

Radcliffe will be handing the dosh over...............won't she ?:rolleyes:

Was there a lot raised then? by Paula? :)

Money?
 

Have i missed the point or what?
When you raise money for charity you have to give it to them?
Sounds like a bum deal to me, dont you think it would be much better to raise the money and then simply keep it for yourself?
If anybody asks simply dont say anything and put your fingers in your ears and say"LA LA LA"loudly till they go away.
If it all gets too hot then you could simply say you were keeping it and was going to give it all at once, sure fire winner!

So if you collect money for charity then you have to give it away? Bugger!
Think the idea of keeping it and spending it on yourself is much better,wonder if thats ever been done before?

Ther is a down side to collecting money for charity;
1. Those collection pots are hard to get the money out of, stiff lids!
2. You look like a busker paying for you lunch and petrol with loads of coins!
3. They make such an annoying noise in your car when you go over bumps!
4. Only a few people put useful notes in the pts!









Alledgedly!!!

Ther is a down side to collecting money for charity;
1. Those collection pots are hard to get the money out of, stiff lids!
2. You look like a busker paying for you lunch and petrol with loads of coins!
3. They make such an annoying noise in your car when you go over bumps!
4. Only a few people put useful notes in the pts!









Alledgedly!!!

ML,

What ARE you trying to tell us ? :suspect:
Nothing about the original subject of this thread I trust. :ooh:

They use 'Allegedly' a lot on 'Have I Got News For You' don't they? They say it to stop themselves being done for slander.
Guess you're safe then. :ok:

-------------------

On watching this mornings 0600 News, I saw the report on Paula in NY, Oh how the press regard her as a heroine.
Well done for winning, I have no probs there, it is when she says that this race was important to her!
And I suppose the Olympics weren't important, TO HER!!!

Also, as she was competing against 'sportswomen', I wondered in the closing stages, how much Susan Chepkemei challenged Paula, (the rival to Kelly Holmes title of 'Britains Sports Heroine').

Especially as this was the closest women's race in the New York City Marathon's 35-year history
Paula Radcliffe (30) NIKE, GBR 2:23:10
Susan Chepkemei (29) NIKE, KEN 2:23:14

Makes me wonder anyway. :ooh:
-----------------------

When is Barry making his come back? :p

No comparison!!
 

SS, at no point in my post was there any reference to the original subject of this thread but is it not funny how people somtimes jump to conclusions? I guess it is up to the viewer to read what he wants and think what he likes.
I suppose you could say charities are like intrest free loans that you only have to pay back when you can, you know, like getting money from your Grandparents to buy a car or motorbike, cool!
The best bit is nobody knows how much you got and so there is always enough left over for a few lunches and a tank of petrol, allegedly.

It's a sad state of affairs when some of us, myself included, have to resort to discussing a bloody road runner just to keep the interest in the thread going.

Someone out there must have some snippets that will keep us amused until such time as the whistleblowers start to whistle.

E5;)

The damage
 

Just my opinion but why has there been no pictures of the damaged aircraft on the web site yet? Surley this cannot be classified information and would go a long way to dispeling all the roumors that abound.ould it be that there is no damage to the gyro at all other than some weathering from having been left in a hot humid enviroment by a pilot who was in such a hurry to get home that he failed to do even the most basic of preservation. This would explain everything with a simple flood story covering his ineptitude and give a very convenient way out. Simply dump it all on somthing or sombody else and walk away playing the part of the wounded hero.
Remember the stories of soldiers during the war who used to have mates shoot them, just enough to be evacuated back home and return as a hero and escape having to do their duty, "of course i wanted to stay and fight, it was my duty, gutted i got wounded and evacuated back home for the rest of the war" yeah right!.Wonder if they thought they were now in a good position toget a commision in the Army Air Corps?, you know,having done enough to get their name noticed.
:ok:

Now that is probably too far!

There seems to be a lot of "rumours" banging around on this thread all of a sudden??
Instead of all the guess work how about someone says what they mean to say...then hopefully Barry will post what he sent to me in the PM and this can be cleared up once and for all??

Whats happening?
 

Been a long long time with very little in the way of activity from the boys up there in North Yorkshire. Still no change of information on the web site or any pics of the "flood Damaged" gyro yet. Whats going on?.Are we to assume that this is the end and no further information will be forthcoming?
Bay way of mild criticism,imho,this is a pretty crappy way to wrap things up and will give credence to all the rumors of miss-doings and stuff. Barry,you need to put a brave face on and face up to your responsibilites or skulk back under a stone and stay there for the rest of your life and hope that people will forget about it all in a few years time. The hardest thing to belive that the MOD sanctioned this folly and just let you all do as you want and dont put out an official line on things. Suppose we wont be reading about this chapter in Soldier mag!. In hindsight i would never of sponsored a mile and you will have my worthless certificate back in the mail soon,recycle the paper and hope it is used for somthing wothwhile next time!

Good books
 

Have you seen that Paula Radcliffe is writing a book about her life and the lessons we can all learn from it, good stuff.
Reckon we will get a similar title fron the guys up there at Global Eagle? Reckon it would be a best seller one day.

And with an offer from David Bedford of £500,000 to attempt the London marathon next year, yet another event to complete. :suspect:

£500,000 + advertising + placings prizes, 'tis a rotten life as an amateur athlete. :hmm:
Sorry, thats just for the Olympics isn't it! (Didn't Torville and Dean have to do without 'professional status' for a time in order to qualify for 'amateur status' to defend their Olympic title?)

Anyway, what's this got to do with Barry?

Paula = Acclaim, wealth, sympathy, despite what happened in Athens.
Barry = Acclaim, (Commission), despite what happened in,.... well the whole thing really.

Then again, Paula can't fly an autogyro, Barry can't run a marathon and I can't do either,.......well not yet anyway. :E

Paula is still the sweetheart of British Sport ..well in her own mind that is... so Sid you gonna run a marathon?? my advice is to eat one instead..ok so they call them Snickers now! Huh price of being in bloody Europe I suppose......

Barrys book
 

I wonder if like Paula,barry will write a book on the highs and lows of life and the lessons we can all draw from it. should be a good read,full of detail and stuff(sic).
As a good source of inspiration perhaps the folowing could be read first and help set the pace:-
"Making money the easy way" by Robert Maxwell
"Navigation for dummies"by Amelia Arheardt
"What price integrity" by Richard Nixon
"The beginers guide to man management" by Adolf Hitler
I am sure we can all think of some more so any contributions the the Global Eagle library are willingly accepted-get your thinking caps on.
I once did a marathon but it melted before i got to the end!!!
Word is the flys on the wall at dishcloth are putting on crash helmets and pulling their lap straps tight....

Might be worth bookmarking this page,think this thread is going to come very much alive again,very soon-watch out watch out

"so Sid you gonna run a marathon?? "

As it happens volrider, I was in training to go for the 2005 London and then unfortunately picked up an injury. :{
Hopefully, once I'm up and running again, (pun intended and free advertising for the excellent running shop in Harrogate until this is modded!), I can get back on track. With any luck my application can carry through to 2006. :ok:

In the meantime, anyone got an MS Flight Sim model for an autogyro.:8

Funny you should mention that Sidley, take a peek at this
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/...mages/gyro.JPG

FS2002/2004 Models

a visit to www.avsim.com or www.flightsim.com will show the file. So you can practice all you like now..mind you you may need a granny rail to get in and out:E

Brilliant Volrider, thanks.

I've gone for a more modern version, hopefully it will work, being a FS98 model on FS04. :confused:

http://www.flightsim.com/h/wa120rr2.gif

Failing that, I'll go for the open cockpit version and have to calculate the right season in which to start my global voyage!!

Looks like it's the open cockpit version for now.:{

Sad I know, but here I am doing circuits around Dishforth and a few auto's. Piece of pi$$ as long as you keep the airspeed on :ugh:

http://www.geocities.com/pprunessils...odishforth.jpg

Now to get the Zimmer frame out and go for a Sunday stroll, planning my round Britain trip!

After that ,.....THE WORLD, Ha! Ha! Ha!
:E :E :E