JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

I am an officer in a small flying club. One of our older members, who has been with the club for many years, seems to be losing his flying ability. He was once a competent pilot but over the last several years he has become a problem for the club. He has crashed several times this season, most recently into a parked car with damage to the car. We have considered grounding him altogether, or requiring him to always fly with an instructor with buddy cord. We all like this gentleman and don't wish to be excessively mean.

I'm looking for other ideas. Has anyone else had to deal with this situation?

Thanks.

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Have your most diplomatic club member, maybe his best friend, express your concerns for his safety as well as the safety of others and see if he is willing to accept some help. If not then just stay alert when he is flying, if he is flying over the parking area or behind the flight line then gently remind him and offer to take over for him. How would others in the club react if they were in his situation? It is not a pleasant situation but one we all will have to face, God willing, sooner or later.

Hossfly

May I suggest the following two threads in this forum for your consideration.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5904307/tm.htm

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5878525/tm.htm

I had some notification of cataracts for some years, yet with my glasses being renewed each 3-4 years for the past 20 years I had no problems. Only last Fall did I start noticing problems. Then I headed for a real eye doctor rather than the eyeglass warehouses.

Am I ever happy now! I have a new lease on life with new eyesight that I never thought possible in my remaining lifetime. I'm now 71.

There are several elders in my club that refuse to either see an ophthalmologist or even admit they can't really see the airplane. That is very sad as they are a crash waiting to happen.

You may well be able to assist your elder to take advantage of what is a very easy operation, and only takes a take-it-easy approach for a few weeks, back to being that good flier you don't mind having flying next to you. Worth a try!

These quick-sell glass places only want to sell you another pair of heavy weights on your nose. A real ophthalmologist will fix your eyes, if they can be fixed.

Good luck with however you handle things.

edit: replace an 'if' with 'in'.

Live Wire

JPmacg
Would it be to much trouble just to have a spoter stand by him and not ruin his hobby or yours. That helps even the best Pilot and you have no hard feelings keeps a great person from leaving the fun of fellowship.

OOOOOOOOOoh yes I forgot to say it works for me, I enjoy haveing some one at the flight station with me

CCRC1

My Feedback: (13)

As a long time club president I have dealt with all sorts of issues and controversy, but this issue was the toughest problem the club threw at me. I have a member who is 90 years old who's wife passed a way a number of years back. His eyesight isn't what it used to be and members began to complain to me that he was a safety problem. I had spoken with his daughter who verified what I knew deep down was going to happen. If I grounded him and took away his passion, I would be attending his funeral shortly thereafter.
I got a lot of pressure from long standing members to put him on the bench, but I held my ground and asked the club to work with me to find a solution. I believe that as a club, we should look out for our members and not toss them away when they begin to have problems.
I directed the membership to allow our senior flyer a little bit of extra space when he wanted to fly. Members began to walk out to the flight line with him to act as a spotter and to assit him if he needed it. Funny thing happened, my senior member actually liked the attention and the interaction with the other members. He appreciated the help and became more active at the field. I even designated a spot right on the flight line for active members over 85 years old to pull their vehicle up next to a flight table. It is a place of distinction and he is the only member authorized this priviledge.
Our senior members deserve much more from the club than just taking the easy way out and grounding them. Remember, many of these senior members are the folks who founded and built the clubs as they exist today. Don't take the easy way out on this one and take away the passion that keeps your member active. Its more important to them then you realize.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

CCRC1, you have hit the nail on the head. While safety is of primary concern always, you need to work out a way to keep this person in the air. Model avaition may be one of the few things that keeps him going from day to day. Sit down with your board and membership and come up with a way to help him. You will not regret it. Good Luck, Dave

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I also agree with CCRC1's comments, and I can relate - My dad is 85 and still at the field every chance he gets.

One thing you never mentioned is what TYPE of plane he flies. If he's flying performance planes, maybe it's time for him to switch to a Cub?

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. They are good ideas. We (the club instructors and officers) have talked the situation over among ourselves, and we are thinking that we will require him to fly with an instructor using a buddy box for now. We think he will be agreeable to this, and may even welcome it. The instructor will also check over his plane to make sure it is airworthy before each flying session. He has a good personal relationship with our instructors already.

We have had him fly with a spotter for some time now, but unfortunately that did not prevent the accidents, which usually occur on landing or takeoff. He flys mainly 40 size trainers. We do not believe that his vision is the problem. It is more of reaction time issue.

Thanks

Live Wire

Looks like some one guffed and not the guy he was supposed to be spotting for Spotters help not stand out there and injoy what is goiing on

rcjake

Instead of a 40 size trainer, maybe he could fly a Kadet Senior or an old timer. They are much easier to see & fly. Hey! I enjoy flying them and I am not that old of a timer...

Jake

CCRC1

My Feedback: (13)

Tread lightly and try and use another senior citizen member when you have a talk with him. This restriction can have the same effect as the MVA telling him he can no longer drive alone because he is to old. These kind of obstacles can be very frustrating, demeaning and insulting to senior citizens. They feel like they are being treated like children. I have found that news like you are delivering is far less insulting when presented by someone his own age (or close to it). Diplomacy and kindness will be the key. Good luck!

mscic-RCU

My Feedback: (6)

It is because of gentleman like him that we can enjoy our hobby. Remember he is part of the greatest generation and like CCRC1 has done, he should be honored in the club and at the same time gently helped with his flying. He might find an instructor with a buddy cord insulting. I also agree, find some one closer in age to him and have a talk with him. Suggest he change planes, give him a wide berth when flying and and have a spotter with him. If he felt bad about hitting the car, he might be open to the buddy cord. I think it might not be the right decision to force one on him though. We had an older flier in my club that I tried to help, but he finally admitted to me one day that he has an inner ear imbalance and just couldn't do this anymore. Maybe with some help your member might come to the same conclusion on his own also. I think what CCRC1 did in his club is awesome, good job!

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I am 80 years old. Thats 9 years older than the member you are worried about. I don't have any reaction time problems, its just that I can't see them too well at times. Yesterday,while flying, it suddenly became a blur instead of an airplane. I had a hard time getting it back. From now on I plan to have a good, young flier sitting next to me when I fly. If it happens again I will just toss him the transmitter.
Where I fly, we are mostly retiree's. We help each other. I don't have any problem with someone helping me when I need it.
My dad lived to 102. I suspect I will have to quit flying soon and driving as well.
If your elder is just flying 40 sized trainers, I would just park my cars out of his way and stand next to him when he flies. Yell to the others when he gets out of control. If he crashes a lot maybe he will get the idea and ask for help on take off and landings.