Mark, I was not aware that you were chosen by the EAA to speak for them. Love your " my way or the highway " attitude. Very helpful.
Mark, I was not aware that you were chosen by the EAA to speak for them. Love your " my way or the highway " attitude. Very helpful.
1996 Quad City Challenger CWS w/503 - Sold
1974 7ECA Citabria - Sold
1986 Pitts S1S
I'm sure he isn't. Mark has a different opinion than some of us, with perhaps less suspicion of the evils of the online world than some of us have. That doesn't make him a shill or in any way responsible to or beholden to EAA.
I'm sure his opinion is sincere, and his own. If the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all his close relatives, his medical history, and copies of his fingerprints were in a file folder in Beijing like me and the rest of the victims of the OPM breech, his opinion might be different. But, frankly, I feel less at risk from the Chinese Ministry of State Security than from the for-profit data collectors like the outfit EAA hired.
Ron Wanttaja
I do know that for years the annual benchmark was set at 100,000 per year and more than 150,000 Young Eagles were flown in 2003.EAA announced the 1.9 million Young Eagle in December 2014. The counter says 1,977,003 by May 31, 2016. So, a run rate in the low 50 thousands.Quite a decline. Don't know how much the new policy has contributed, but it cannot have helped. Gas price is at a historically low level so that can't be blamed.I can see now why EAA has been pushing participation unusually hard: they are starting to sweat making the 2 million number by Oshkosh. International Young Eagles Day will spike the numbers but 23,000 in less than two months, it will be tight.
The back and forth (mostly from one against mostly the rest on this forum) reminds me of an observation on society by Robert Heinlein. Forgive me for sharing it with you:
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from the highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort."
I have no doubt that those promoting the YPP program are idealists with high motives. Count me, however, among the surly curmudgeons.
One more comment for the idealists. The issue -- as far as I can tell -- has not been whether there should be a program and especially whether training might not be appropriate. The push back has been about particular elements of the program and how it has been promoted. It is much less of a disaster than it was but is still has some way to go.I will keep pushing until the program is fixed or I reach the point where I say I have done all I can and walk away.
One day, a bunch of years ago, a group of local town politicians got together for a meeting to discuss various ways they could protect their town and keep it clean. One of them got the bright idea that it ought to be illegal for an elephant to take a dump on Main Street. With unanimous approval they created and passed what became known as the "Elephant Anti-Defecation Law." Among other things, this law called for an express prohibition against an elephant taking a crap on Main Street.
Years went by, and the politicians once again found themselves at another meeting, part of which was dedicated to reviewing the effectiveness of laws currently on the books. In going down their list, they came upon the "Elephant Anti-Defecation Law," and the group immediately started clapping each other on their backs for creating such an effective law. To prove it, several members remarked that indeed not one single elephant had taken a crap on Main Street since that law was passed. With tremendous approval, the law was voted to remain.
'Course, no elephant had ever set foot on Main Street. Ever. . .
The YPP remains insulting, unnecessary, and - like the "Elephant Anti-Defecation Law" - a solution in search of a problem. There is no 'fixing it.' Only its elimination will suffice.
It should be noted to the peanut gallery that the email she is referring to was an email in reply to an email I sent. The email that STILL has not be replied to (the one I have posted in this thread) was sent as a reply to the email she claimed to have.
So to recap:
I sent an email on Jan 21 at 6:49PM
EAA replied on Jan 22 at 3:04PM
I replied with the email posted in this thread on Jan 22 at 7:24PM
To date, I have never received a reply to the email from 1/22 at 7:24PM
1996 Quad City Challenger CWS w/503 - Sold
1974 7ECA Citabria - Sold
1986 Pitts S1S