I've been meaning to post this. This is serious as a heart attack.

[DemoTex]

George W. Bush, with his "record" - even the scrubbed record - could not qualify for a job as an airline pilot today. Nor could he qualify for a job as an airline mechanic or flight attendant. He would be considered unreliable and untrustworthy. Is Bu$h's ineligibility for my job due to Draconian company rules at the airlines? No! It is due to Federal Government regulations. Bu$h can't qualify to change a tire on a Boeing 737 and he still has his finger on the button.

[Eric J in MN]

1. which federal regulation? nt

nt

[DemoTex]

2. FAR Part 121

Actually, his licensure under FAR 91 would be in doubt to.

On edit: Sorry. The FARs are the Federal Aviation Regulations. All FARs are available online. Google for them.

[buckeye1]

5. FARs are the BOSS!

I worked for many years repairing Garret turbines. It was common to work 70 hr. weeks. Then came a new FAR that required more time off. The overtime junkies complained,but I was glad.

FARs are why air travel is so safe. Four more years will bugger that too.

[Jim Sagle]

3. George W. Pffffbbbtttt doesn't even qualify as a washroom attendant.

[Poiuyt]

6. On the contrary...

I would hire bush to scrub my toilets. I think it would be fun to watch!

[knight_of_the_star]

7. It would be

But I would have to watch him to make sure he does the job right!

[DemBones DemBones]

4. What would be the specific thing or things that

would disqualify him? In other words, is it something proven beyond a doubt, like his DUI arrest that was revealed just before the 2000 election?

And what the heck does it say under the photo in your sig line? You not wearing bifocals yet, DemoTex? I know you're old enough! ;-) (I've been wearing them since I was 40, back in the eighties.)

[DemoTex]

8. DUI would disqualify him now.

Under the photo? It IS an eye test, isn't it! Actually, it says: Vietnam Veterans Against the War: No War in Iraq.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. I did a search and found your op ed, which is

superb, and kicked it up to the front page. So now I know the answer: it's all about the physical!

I just read most of your op ed aloud to my husband, who began to sing "Cocaine" at an appropriate point.

:evilgrin:

(Thanks for the info -- I could read the Vietnam Veterans Aginst the War line, it was that second line that was driving me crazy.)

[AZCat]

10. You're probably going to eat me alive for this...

I think it's Part 61 that he'd run into problems.
Part 91/121/135 are all flight-oriented stuff-right?
And I think it's been long enough that he's in the clear. The regs (61.15) use November 29, 1990 as the cutoff date for DUI convictions.
And even then, a DUI seems to only be grounds for suspension/revocation of a current license, or denial for up to a year.

Sorry to be a buzzkill...
Flame away.

[DemoTex]

11. 61/91/121/135 whatever. I don't flame, AzCat. I just emasculate (kidding)

Part 61.15 might, but 121 and 135, affecting airline pilots, looks way back. Part 121 now requires that new hires at airlines, for all sensitive jobs, be - virtually - crime free. Even free of the small, chickenshit stuff that ChickenHawk Bu$h has been charged with. Unless you are an FAA lawyer, you are up against the wrong guy.

[AZCat]

12. Don't get me wrong...

I really respect your opinion- and I love the piece you wrote earlier.

I worked for FlightSafety in Tucson on FAR records though- so I am familiar with the regs- that's why I asked. I couldn't place where in 91/121/135 the section about DUI's might be and my copy of the FARs is incomplete- it's the one they bundle with the AIM. I looked at the FAA website (new- so here's the link)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr/
Anyway, I couldn't find it there either and I thought I'd bring it up.

P.S.- I didn't do much 121 stuff, so I don't know much about that and certainly could have missed it. I'll look again.

[DemoTex]

13. FlightSafety Tucson? I trained there for years on the Lear 25/35/55!

In fact, before that I worked for FlightSafety! Houston. I was a MU-2 guy there.

[AZCat]

14. Crazy! What was the last year you were in Tucson?

I started there in March 2001, and have worked on-and-off during college/grad school. Rudy Rostash was my boss- Dir. of Stds, and I was in the office with Lora Johnson.

Small world... :)

Edit: Jeez, I can't spell her name... (shame, shame, shame!)

[DemoTex]

15. Let me put it this way ...

I was sitting there, in the lobby of FSI Tucson, waiting for a sim session in the Lear 25, when the news of Palm 90 (Air Florida) came on the tube on 1/13/82.

Here is the public version of the CVR of Palm 90:

http://www.avweb.com/news/safety/182404-1.html

Sad, huh? In my ALPA Accident Investigation Course I had to listen to the entire, unfiltered tape. You-just-don't-know! I still have nightmares. Ironic,though. The connection.

[AZCat]

16. Yes- sad

I don't remember that when it happened (I was only 6) but I remember reading about it later in life.

Let's see... There are still a few of the "mature" guys hanging around FSI Tucson. C. J. Hawkins was there until last summer (he retired), I might be able to remember a few other names.

By the way- they still have the Lear 25 sim there (level B) but I've never hopped in it. I like the LR-60 (but I am a HORRIBLE pilot).

[DemoTex]

17. I flew the LR-60 in 1993 with Pete Reynolds, Chief Test Pilot for Learjet

We flew out of Nappa Valley. Pete and I went to near 50,000 feet for some steep turns, then to 45,000 for some deep stalls. Down at 15,000 feet we did loops, and rolls in the Lear 60. That was all for a Pro Pilot article that ran in summer of 1993.