[clue-talk] Re: [OT] Urgent request - probably off-topic but please read...

Fri Feb 27 08:18:55 MST 2009

I saw something yesterday about the TSA wanting muleskinners to be certified because of terrorist anxieties. They only walk about 2 mph and they are pulling a barge in a reenactment. 

Whatever happened to the time when the only thing we had to fear was fear itself? 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nate Duehr" <nate at natetech.com> 
To: "CLUE talk" <clue-talk at cluedenver.org> 
Cc: steve at airspeedonline.com 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 11:03:39 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain 
Subject: [clue-talk] Re: [OT] Urgent request - probably off-topic but please read... 

Folks, I am not a spammer by trade or by choice in normal 
circumstances, but I BEG of you to please read this. 

If you are even a SMALL enthusiast of Aviation, Aerospace or anything 
related to breaking the surly bonds of earth and reaching skyward, 
PLEASE take a moment, I beg of you. 

To my friends and members of: 

Boulder, CO Linux Users Group 
Colorado Linux Users and Enthusiasts 
Rocky Mountain VHF+ Amateur Radio Group 
Colorado D-STAR Association 
Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado 
Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation and Mailing List 
Repeater-Builder Mailing List 
MIT PIC Microcontroller Mailing List 
Yaesu FT-857 Mailing List 
VHF Contesting Remailer Mailing List 
The Internet Radio Radio Linking Project 
The D-STAR Digital List 

And other friends and acquaintances who will receive this message 
privately... and anyone you care to forward it to... 

Tonight on my way home I fired up my iPod to listen to a podcast by 
well-known and very well-spoken Steven "Force" Tupper, an aviation 
enthusiast from Michigan. What I heard chilled my heart to the bone. 

The TSA under the auspices of "Homeland Security" has floated a 
proposal to restrict and in my opinion, DESTROY numerous legendary 
aircraft, by limiting their use so heavily that you will never see 
them in the skies over America again. While this may sound 
"alarmist", please trust me, it's not. 

You all know me, and know that I can write well, expressing my 
concerns with politics, living, and even the banal things of life in 
words, fairly well -- but I can not possibly top the writing of Mr. 
Tupper. 

Even more eloquent is his VOICE in his podcast, where he perfectly 
expresses the frustration, and sheer TERROR that the TSA itself has 
brought down on the United State's Aviation community with the 
proposal they've recently released, inappropriately entitled, the 
"Large Aircraft Security Program", or LASP. 

For the best and most intelligent commentary I've heard on the topic 
to date -- PLEASE ... LISTEN to his podcast at: 

<http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedLASP.mp3> 

You really must just hear... his voice. I do hope his server can 
handle an onslaught -- if it can't, wait, and listen later. 

(I fully intend to help him with the costs associated with 
distributing his podcast if he needs it this month, it's just that 
important. Steve, please let me know if you need assistance. I have 
worked in data centers and web-based businesses, and I understand that 
publishing these things online to large numbers of people, is NOT free.) 

It's just over 30 minutes in length, and he NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT -- even 
if you are NOT a pilot. He gives instructions in the podcast. 

If you honestly do NOT have time to listen, at least READ and RESPOND 
to his letter in response to the TSA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 
He needs your input by TOMORROW. The entire text of his podcast is 
also available at the link below, if you read faster than you listen 
-- so to speak. 

<http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2009/02/large-aircraft-security-program-capt.html 
> 

If this non-legislative rule change comes to pass, you and your family 
may never SEE many historical aircraft or have an opportunity to 
purchase a RIDE in any classic "warbird" aircraft in the skies over 
America ever again. The rule is BROAD and affects modern aircraft 
also, but the aircraft we will miss the most, are the ones of our 
history that tell our story as a country. 

To NOT take action and RESPOND means that you've let a small group of 
tireless aviation historians, restoration specialists, mechanics, 
pilots, and everyone who's ever watched an airshow with aircraft from 
the classic Warbird fleet down. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. 

PLEASE read or listen. Mr. Tupper explains it far better than I 
possibly can. The TSA's proposal adds NO security to our nation 
whatsoever. It's simply government run amok. 

Here's a list from Mr. Tupper's website, of aircraft that I personally 
believe you will RARELY see in the skies of America again, if the 
TSA's "LASP" passes into being without even so much as a single 
legislator overseeing it, and little to no due-process available to 
anyone who violates it. 

Aircraft and Max Takeoff Weight (Varies within Type) 
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - 65,500 
Chance Vought F4U Corsair - 14,449 
Consolidated B-24 Liberator - 65,000 
Curtiss C-46 Commando - 48,000 
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - 16,800 
Douglas A-26 Invader - 35,000 
Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain/Dakota - 31,000 
Douglas B-23 Dragon - 32,400 
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar - 64,000 
Fairchild C-82 Packet - 54,000 
Ford Tri-Motor - 13,500 
Grumman AF-2S Guardian - 25,500 
Grumman Avenger - 17,893 
Grumman F6F Hellcat - 15,415 
Grumman F8F Bearcat - 12,947 
Grumman HU-16 Albatross - 33,000 
Grumman G-73 Mallard - 12,750 
Junkers Ju 52 - 24,200 
Lockheed C-60 Hudson - 18,500 
Lockheed L-18 Lodestar - 17,500 
Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon - 31,077 
Lockheed T-33 - 15,100 
North American B-25 Mitchell - 41,800 
North American P-82 Twin Mustang - 25,591 
PBY-6A Catalina - 64,450 
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - 17,500 

You may not be a pilot, you may not even care about ANY aircraft -- 
but if you care about the pilots who fly them, the mechanics who 
wrench on them, the crowds at hundreds of airshows across the country 
who see them, and the thousands of thousands who lived their lives 
building an American legacy in Aviation -- one of our best legacies 
ever -- please follow Mr. Tupper's request, and add your name to the 
list of people who AGREE with him in his response to the NPRM sent out 
by the TSA. 

I, like you, am a busy person -- I had other things to do tonight. I 
would much have preferred an enjoyable evening pursuing other things. 
Hell, I would rather have just forwarded you all a few jokes or stayed 
"on-topic" on our favorite mailing lists, but I can not sit by idle 
and watch this come to pass. 

Mr. Tupper needs your support no later than mid-day tomorrow, please 
listen, read and RESPOND. 

Thank you for your time, and I apologize if this is FAR off-topic for 
some of the mailing lists you all know me from. Some lists, it's more 
on-topic than others. This is so aggregious, so saddening, so 
frustrating, that I just HAD to share. Like Mr. Tupper -- I'm trying 
hard to keep this message "PG Rated". VERY hard. 

I just can't think of any more caring, thoughtful people in all of the 
other hobbies and passions of my life to share this critical 
information with, and to BEG for your support of Mr. Tupper's letter 
in response to the TSA. Mr. Tupper also points out that the rule 
isn't far from encompassing other iconic aircraft, and says that if 
the TSA enacts this rule and LOWERS the weight limitations low enough 
to encompass such iconic aircraft as the North American P-51 
"Mustang", then... as he so eloquently puts it: 

"Be very careful. You might get away with decimating other grand dames 
of the skies, but every redneck, suit, line worker, banker, 
lumberjack, lawyer, cop, fireman, landscaper, fast-food cashier, and 
child able to stand recognizes the mighty P-51 Mustang. Not that 
aviation would fail to miss the other aircraft that the TSA would so 
cavalierly tear from the sky, but at least we have the P-51 Mustang 
still guarding the 12,100-pound boundary." 

Thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart if you take the time to 
listen or read, and especially if you will send your full name as a 
U.S. Citizen to Mr. Tupper with your comments. 

Aviation is one of my deepest passions, and I can't imagine that even 
the most disinterested person in Aviation would let these great ships 
of our past be virtually banned from our skies in a single powerful 
and misguided attempt at "security" over liberty, in this great country. 

Enjoy the rest of your evening in peace, please help, and thank you 
again. 

-- 
Nathan Duehr, nate at natetech.com 

Private Pilot, Single-Engine Land (since 1991) 
Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association Member (since 1992) 
Amateur Radio Extra-Class Operator (WY0X - since 1991) 
Current President, Colorado Repeater Association 
Former Secretary, Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs 
Former Member, USAF Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol 
Linux, Electronics, and RF enthusiast ... 
... Or however else you know me. 
-- 
Nate Duehr 
nate at natetech.com 

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