Luis,

With all due respect; do not set youself up as an expert as to who I should "stick up" for or who I should not. Also, I do hope you realize that there have been many lives lost in developmental aviation by those who "push the envelope". I dare say that most non-experimental aviation fatalities occur not because of unknown factors, rather know factors which are ignored. I, personally, would fly with Dick or in any aircraft of any flavor he cares to design and build. Just for the record, I was a pilot until I lost my medical cert. and have been involved in model aircraft since the middle 1950's. I am somewhat familiar with both sides of the coin. I am sure that all the advances in any endaevor one might name were not made by perfectly "balanced" (by everyone's standards) individuals. I do not think that discovery is tied to personality. If it were, we would still be sitting in caves, beating on a rock, and complaning that "we ain't never going to have television".

This thread seems to oscillate from theoretical areodynamics to the practical side of things, depending upon which sacred cow the posters are trying to worship. If one is to learn, one must look past the labels, personalities, prejudices, and any other perceived personal faults of either the student or teacher. If one digs through a pile of cow poopie, he is likely to find the seed of a tree. Years ago, I attended an event called "solo de-brief". It is held as each class of Naval Aviators at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, complete their solo flights. You could not, generally speaking, find a more cocky,
self-assured, and yes, some might say arrogant, group of people if you had three months to look and an unlimited expense account. Thank God for them. I only mention this to say: Do not discount self-assurance and the ability to "do it" as arrogance, which in itself is not necessarily a bad thing.

Sense of humor.......... one of the most effective offenses or defences one can possess. Hmmmm......? Narcissism; now we are branching out into psychology......... I don't think this thread is long enough. I'll just take your word for it that narcissismis not a flower. Sure sounds like one, though.

Regards to all.