ArtW

This morning I was reading MSNBC.COM and there is an article about a Would-be model plane bomber who admited to a plan to attack Pentagon, Capitol.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/21/12870497-would-be-model-plane-bomber-ferdaus-admits-plan-to-attack-pentagon-capitol?lite&__utma=14933801.257888007.1342888098.1342888098.13 42888098.1&__utmb=14933801.1.10.1342888098&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1342888098.1.1.utmcsr=%28direct%29 |utmccn=%28direct%29|utmcmd=%28none%29&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc|cover=1^12=La nding%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www. nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Earne d%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=82541974

There is a photo of the plane. It looks a like a BVM F-86 with drop tanks. So I go to the BVMJets.COM website and Bob Violett has a picture of the F-86 dropping its drop tanks as the head line for his website!

The photo was updated 7/19/12 by Scott Harris.

My opinion is that this is bad publicity for RC modeling. It is difficult enough to have an RC airfield without being associated with terrorists. We just lost our airfield in the San Francisco Bay Area after 35 years. We are under a TFR today secondary to President Obama's visit to the Bay Area. The news is filled with stories about the murders in Colorado at the the Batman Movie. What is the benefit to RC modeling of Bob Violet using the same plane to advertise his company as the terrorists?

So I called BVM Jets to warn them of the bad publicity. Bob Violet answered the phone. It was one of the most insulting phone calls of my life. He started out with "What is your station in life that you think you can tell me what to do with my business?" I gave my name and said I was an RC modeler who was warning him of really bad publicity for RC modeling. He replied that I was an idiot, who didn't know anything, and the FBI was taking care of everything.

Well, I am not an idiot. I am a person who is warning a very prominent RC aircraft business about the potential for really bad publicity and I was intentionally insulted by the owner. In a few minute conversation I have lost all respect for BVMJEts, Bob Violet, and am stunned that someone could be so insulting to someone who was calling to warn a business of impending disaster for his business and our hobby.

Art Wallace, M.D, Ph.D.

DrScoles

My Feedback: (18)

Wow, maybe he was having a bad day? Even if he thought you were cuckoo for cocoa puffs, he should have been polite. Zero reason to be rude. Too bad. Silly to lose a potential customer. And I agree that it wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the F-86 from the home page!

ddennison

My Feedback: (15)

Art,

I agree, there is no reason for insults/rude behavior.

Please also understand the BV/BVM have gone to great lengths to provide safe and reliable jet aircraft and Bob has often been on the forefront of reminding us all to be responsible and safe pilots especially in this charged setting these days. You can view some of his posts on the bvm site.

We are all counting on one another to enjoy our hobby and also keep our ear to the ground for anything that sounds "off" and report as needed.

Dave Dennison

bcovish

My Feedback: (8)

That is an old photo of the F-86. That plane is owned by a friend of mine in Houston and the photo was taken in his backyard. The photo has been floating around the internet for a few years.

u2fast

My Feedback: (37)

OMG! i would have hung up on you. the story is old. the pic is old. bob is right, our friend built that jet many years ago. the scheme is common. so, should we never post a pic of a china lake scheme because of this fool. lets come to our senses here. this guy was a nut. that has nothing to do with a china lake scheme. im sure the news didnt even know it was a bvm kit til you posted it here. geez! barry

invertmast

My Feedback: (23)

Since that article with the terrorist started over a year ago, I doubt there was any disaster for BVM, especially since a large majority of the general public is probably to lazy to do their own research to find out if what the news reports is really possible or not (or true). I think the reason for the rude behavior, was the fact that someone thought they had the right to tell the owner of a company how to run his business. Personally, if it was me and some joe-blow called and told me how to run my life or my business I would get a little ticked off to. Granted there is no reason for the rude behavior from BV, but maybe it was a bad day for him and you just so happened to call at the worst possible time.

siclick33

He must have an awesome back yard The photo being spoken about is the airborne shot on the BVM webpage showing the bombs being dropped, taken at TG 2012 so it can't have been around for years.

bcovish

My Feedback: (8)

I'm talking about to photo that was shown in the article. Not the one on BV.s site. If you would have read the story and looked at the picture, it was the China Lake scheme

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

Because of an idiot with an implausible plan we now have to remove pictures from Top Gun and pics of our jets dropping 5 oz plastic wing tanks that couldnt carry anything?
Just like not letting people dress up to go to movies cause of some idiot.
always some idiot ruining it for the rest of us.
your not going to save the world trying to remove toy airplanes pics or enforce no costumes at movie theaters.
please remove modelers name from your post.
scott

u2fast

My Feedback: (37)

yes, the photo on bvm's page is current. the news photo is old. whats the point? the original posters way of thinking is, all jet companies need to take down pics of their models carrying or dropping fuel tanks etc? that will surely prevent the next nut from choosing a jet. lets post a pic of a cub carrying a centerline tank and turn some heat their way.

siclick33

I may be wrong but I don't think the OP was complaining about that photo. He was concerned about a large photo on a manufacturers web page showing a model jet dropping bombs.

rcjetsaok

My Feedback: (7)

That is a fact...!!!!


Dan

ArtW

I have been a radio control modeler for more than 40 years. I am manage 70 people at work. I own a business. When someone speaks to me about a problem for my business, or my profession, or my colleagues, I listen. I consider their opinions. I consider the ramifications of my decisions. Then I act to protect my business, my profession, my patients, whoever is at risk. The first thing one is taught in management training is to never, ever get angry. When one gets angry one loses. For an owner of a business to get angry at someone calling to warn them about a front page newspaper article about their product, is extremely poor judgment. First, they lost a customer. Then they didn't consider the effect of their actions on their business. Then they didn't consider the ramifications of their actions on the hobby.

The world is watching RC aircraft. People are watching our hobby and restricting it. We lost our airfield this month. There is a TFR restricting RC flight throughout the Bay Area. Having a callous disregard for adverse publicity demonstrates extreme poor judgment. If Bob Violet had any sense at all, he would have said, thank you for the call. We consider publicity and will consider the ramifications of our current website. Thank you.

Attacking a customer when they are warning you of a potential publicity disaster for the hobby is extremely poor judgment.

rcjetsaok

My Feedback: (7)

That twice you have brought this up... That has nothing to do with your gripe or the price of tea in China... I think you are throwing that in there to add to the drama of your post.. We had the same TFR here in Austin on Tuesday.. So what ??? I'm sorry you lost your field, but don't blame a TFR Presidential visit, the BVM Website or the price of tea in China on that !!!! That being said, I'm curious now... Why did you guys loose your field??? The official reason or your your reason will do, I can figure it out from that...


Dan

rgburrill

I don't  know which is more pitiful, NBC for rehasing old, old news or an rc modeler who doesn't know it is old, old news.

u2fast

My Feedback: (37)

im sure there are two sides of the story regarding the phone call. so you own a biz, so do i and a lot of people that are in this very forum. i, too, manage people and patient care. still, calling bvm and telling them that a pic of a jet at top gun doing a scale maneuver is bad publicity is just foolish because an idiot in another state bought an rc jet with bad intentions. you did call all the other jet companies too? did you notify rcu to pull all of there warbird bomb drop pics? where does it end? good day or bad day for me, if i took a call like that and possibly had a person on the other end of the phone with too strong of an opinion, i might have a few choice words too. we get it, you think bvm should pull down some of his innocent pics because msnbc might be surfing his site. come to think of it, you may have a point there. rachael maddow would love to twist this story around. however, bob probably isnt running his business like a coward. like him or dislike him, he is at the very least a man's man. we could use a few more of them around today. barry

rgburrill

And it isn't the plane or even type of plane the nutjob was going to use.

Another job of great reporting by the liberal media.

RickBoyer

My Feedback: (37)

Well said Barry! Yo art, stick to helicopters... Your logic is pathetic!!

Rick Boyer

Top Gun 2004 to 2012
Pitts Special S-1S (#1)
Ryan STA
Pitts Special S-1S (#2)

JeffH

My Feedback: (43)

Oh my, better not post any pics of our airplane haulers either. They have jugs of liquids, and gizmos with wires attached....gasp!! The horror s of daily life. I will be sure to tell my wife to lock the flour in an ammo can next time she leaves FoodLion for fear of folks thinking she is hauling anthrax.

Harley Condra

My Feedback: (4)

Time to take a breath guys.
I was there when the call came in today. It sounded confrontational to me.

Fact: BV did ask him what gave him the qualifications to tell BV how to run his business.
Reason: Who wants hear someone spout off telling him how to run his business? It was half way through the call that BV finally was able to coax the his name from him.


Fact: BV did tell him"You don't know what you don't know".
Reason: The FBI has been on top of this since the terrorist placed the order. They even had BVM and UPS working together to make sure he got the shipment. (There is a reason for that, but I'm going to remain silent). The FBI told BVM to keep quiet about the investigation. BVM was quiet. BVM knows far more than you ever will. BV did a fine job of protecting his company from being associated with terrorists. You are not helping anyone with your ranting. Quit stirring the pot.

Fact: The FBI failed to notify MSNBC.....To quote the Dr. "A front page newspaper article". Since when is MSNBC a newspaper? Do many people watch MSNBC? Since their ratings are near the bottom of the heap, I guess only a few follow their leftward lurching programming agenda.

Fact: BV did not call you an idiot. I was only a few feet from him when you and he spoke. That is your word...not his.
Impending disaster?
Fact: The real disaster you speak of is the Chinese infiltration of the model aircraft hobby. Many others will agree with me. Not many non-modellers willl ever care about this terrorist.

Hell, don't feel insulted. You got off easy! You should have been there when the guy in Ocala threatened to kick his dog! I thought it was going to hit the fan!

By the way, the photo date of 7-15-2012 is the date the website was last updated. Scott didn't have anything to do with "updating" the photo. Photo credit to FTE (Frank Tiano).







The only thing that went wrong IMHO, was the short sentence. 17 years was too short.

bevar

My Feedback: (27)

What! Someone threatened Peanut?

That's an excellent way to get a First Class ticket on the Express Train to the there after if you ask me! Arrrrrrrrg!

Beave [:@]

arfwrecker

My Feedback: (12)

wow, since we are all so busy to take a one sided position about a prominent member of aero model desighn and modeling comunity representation without hearing both sides of the story I say shame on everyone for saying he  was rude, were you privy  to the conversation as it was in session, hmm as a business owner myself there is just so long i will hold out when someone who has absolutely no idea of what it takes to run my business or has give one bit of the blood sweat and tears it takes to make it successful to call me and tell me what to do before I would tell them to take a dive in a shallow pool so in the interest of fairness why dont you poindexters take your pocket protectors and go desighn a product make it a success and the run it any damn way you want to show us how it should be done.

            

u2fast

My Feedback: (37)

maybe u should read the thread first. i think everyone took bvm's side on this deal.

RickBoyer

My Feedback: (37)

Thanks for chiming in here Harley, well said,

Bob Violett in my opinion is the overall best turbine/jet airframe designer, manufacturer, builder and pilot in the US, and probably in the world. I've competed with him at Top Gun for 9 years so I can make this very qualified statement. Several may hold a BVM grudge, but if you truly understand model jet aircraft design/engineering, manufacturing, buiding and flying, you'll understand how incredibly good BV's resume is.

He markets his products very well too !

Rick Boyer

Top Gun 2004 to 2012
Pitts Special S-1S (#1)
Ryan STA
Pitts Special S-1S (#2)

Chris Smith

My Feedback: (2)

Having read the MSNBC/NBC report and looked at the picture on the BVM website, I've finally been able to think for myself, and I must conclude that maybe Scott Harris is a terrorist. I mean, like, think about it ok? Terrorists are fairly nomadic. What was he doing down in FL where they train jihadist pilots? Then he ends up in North Carolina? Last year he was seen consorting with foreigners when they infiltrated an Air Force base in Ohio!

Trouble is i'm thinking he is a dumb terrorist. Why, just the other day at KY Jets when his P-70 threw a bearing and caught fire at altitude he completely missed the crowd and those massive tents and ended up landing on the centerline of the runway and rolling to the pit entrance. Then he wasted a perfectly good fire by using a fire extinquisher.

Dumb terrorist I say. I'm sure if he wore underwear, he'd not be successful with bombing that way either (I say if he wore underwear, as I don't really know first hand, so I'll have to wait for an MSNBC article on that, or talk to his real close Nashville buddies).

But yes, like I now have put 2 and 2 together, ok. But he's still dumb because the CG on those F86 "bombs" is off so they don't drop straight anyway. Phew, dodged that bullet. I'm sure the newsroom is relieved!