Originally posted by Fakshon


I am not an expert at FAA regulations but isn't a flight plan always required before taking off?

Would a plane of that size actually create the amount of damage that was shown (I can say they are a good size and the fire seemed to affect the whole building.)?

And is it possible for a "supposedly sane person" (according to his friends) to snap and flip a switch causing him to fly a plane in to a building traveling at that rate of speed?

Now I do live in Austin and I did work in the Echelon Buildings (glad I don't any more) but I do have friends that still work there. And I am glad that none of them were directly injured or affected by this. I won't justify this issue as a course of action, justifiable, crime, or terrorist act. It's too soon to name, and I can say that knowing Police Chief Acevedo well that he is not wording the press conference material as a terrorist act because he doesn't want to alarm the community and he wants to be 100% sure before pointing the finger. I am sure the FBI had a lot to say in the matter, but if you watched the live press conference as I did here on a local channel in Austin you would have seen that Acevedo and the Fire Chief didn't follow FBI suit and shout nix at the questions and story. All of the local emergency offices in Austin should be commended for their expedient actions and the only offices which never answered questions were the federal divisions. Thank God for the Texas spirit that has blessed our police chief and fire chief in saying screw the fed's idea of shouting nix. I only wish more public figures had the spirit.

No flight plan is required unless the weather is below VFR minimums or you are crossing an Air Defense Identification Zone or the flight is international.
The Pier Dakota can carry 84 gallons of avgas (100 Low Lead) which has 110X10e8 joules oThat works out to about 8 MJ per cup of gasoline compared to 2MJ of energy per pound of high explosives. so 84 gallons of gas is equivalrny to 1344 pounds of high explosives. The most common bomb used in war is the Mark 82 500 pounder. Drop 3 of those into a glass facade building and measure the damage. The modern GBU-28 Bunker Buster only has 647 pounds of high explosives.
Sanity is a temporary state and can be undone by many things. Like reading the same "manifesto" 50 times in this thread. I'm not sure I have ever really met a truly sane Texan. Isn't Texas the place where Texas hospitality means being nice to other Texans?

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher

What am I not free to do?

I totally agree. In my 36 years I've never been told that I couldn't do whatever it is that I wanted to do...save for my mother and my wife...both of whom have given me "no, no rules" at some point in my life

Oh, except for police officers telling me I can't speed....fascist pigs <--sarcasm

It is very hard to leave the US and 'move' to another country...without MONEY. Usually a LOT of it, and skills to boot. Most countries aren't like the USA where they just let anyone in that is willing to come and work and learn basic skills.

I was talking to several 14 year old guys this weekend and they are all extremely distressed by the daily 'news' - you know, these guys saw 911 when they were 6, and it's been nothing but terror, terror, terror, fear, fear, we need more money when every child already owes 50k on the deficit before he's out of highschool - and THEY know it.

I hope that someone UP there in govt. is not just knee jerking, but thinking about this. I'm older and hopefully a little less hot headed - the guy that flew his plane into the IRS was in his 50's....I guess they BETTER be happy our youthful men are lullified with X-Box. Once they start losing their video games and escapes and see how bleak the future is getting for them, it might be heck to pay.

Oh, and what are you NOT free to do? ha! Try to build an extension onto your front porch without a 'permit.'

Try to keep just 3-4 chickens so you have healthy free eggs - in a lot of the country - you CAN'T.

Try to be a pagan chaplain in the military. haha

Geez, how long you want this thread to be? I have to ask myself, when people ask that question - What are you not free to do in the US? - if those people have ever really tried to do anything to be self sufficient -FOR THEMSELVES.

[edit on 22-2-2010 by hadriana]

Fly fly baby, here i come