RE: smoking in the pitts
Seems funny to me that a guy kneeling down holding your plane while you warm it up a bit can get glow fuel all over his hands. Have the good ol nitro smoke blowing right at him and everythings cool. But the second he gets a tiny wiff of your cig then he raises the second hand smoke banner and complains that us smokers are taking the pleasure out of this hobby for him. I have only ever had one guy at our club try to discourage me smoking in the pits or on the flightline and I pretty quickly let him know that he may as well just get over it.
For all of you no smoking fanatics I only have a few comments.
1. Have you EVER,,, and I mean EVER,, heard of even ONE incidence where smoking was the cause of a fire or other accident in the pits?
Anybody with an ape like or better intelligence can manage their cig around fuels.
2. Guys. We are OUTDOORS! the quick whiff of smoke that you may get won't turn your lungs into a black mass of pudding and the smell will go away in seconds.
3. I'm certain that on a daily basis most everyone is exposed to something far more offensive than a few downwind whiffs of cig smoke so why all the fuss.
4. You are perfectly free to move to a different area upwind of me versus trying to tell me to accommodate you.
No I don't advocate smoking. I am just sort of tired of people acting like we smokers are some sort of inferior beast that can be told what to do and nonsmokers that think they have more of a say.