Youngest Carbon Cub Builder

[sj]

Great Article by Clay Simmons!

Blister Flight - Six Pilots and an Angel : Air Facts Journal

I touched the wheels down in the soft green grass, and all I could think about was Jim Richmond looking down on me. Smiling with his soft grin, as I, the youngest Carbon Cub builder, had just landed back at the same airstrip where I developed my love for aviation.

airfactsjournal.com

sj

 

[RedOwlAirfield]

I'm glad the kid is with us, but I found the article very very sappy and melodramatic. I'm not trying to run the kid down, but I seem to recall Richard Collins tending more toward the rational. Certainly there is an intangible emotional aspect involved- we are humans after all - but this was just a little breathless for me.

I hate to even say it, but I wanted to when I saw the article on Air Facts and I just can't rid myself of the need to say something. Must be the effect of too much internet. So I apologize to you all - and especially to young Mr Simmons - but if no one ever says anything but positive nothing is going to change.

 

[Farmboy]

Yeah so I’ll be that guy. There are very few “youngest pilot to…” stories that ever held water to me. And there’s far too many of them. I’m probably to realistic to buy into that fluff.

 

[sj]

Man, tough crowd. I know Clay, and his father, and I knew Jim Richmond so you guys seem like you had a bad day to me, but maybe I'm biased because I know what outstanding inviduals all of them are (Clay is also a great pilot). If there were no "romance" in aviation, none of us would still be doing it.

sj

 

[Dan Gervae]

Very heart warming…Steve is right…this is what it’s all about. Sappy, romantic, passion…these are good words that I often think of when I ponder my aviation journey, Good job young man…..I love that there are other dreamers out there.

 

[Steve Pierce]

Awesome piece SJ, thank you so much for posting it. I fondly remember Clay as a kid running around Johnson Creek as a I do his Dad and uncle in that PA11 many years before. That is what it is all about.

 

[jrussl]

I too remember meeting Clay, his dad, and Jim Richmond at JC in 2014. Kudos to Clay for a great article on his great accomplishment.

 

[Farmboy]

My post isn’t about Jim Richmond or Smith, and so perhaps this thread likely wasn’t the place for the comment.

My issue is generic and likely too stereotypical of the tens(?) or hundreds(?) of people that claim a blue ribbon for achieving something from an outsiders viewpoint is due to their social economic situation rather than drive, skill set or ambition.

Picture the teenagers that claimed the ribbon for first solo over the pond, although there’s a safety pilot in the right seat of the PC12 their flying. The 18 year old that flew around the world after his sister did it earlier in the same plane sponsored by their parents, a number of corporations, et. al. …
A seven year old girl set off to be “the youngest to pilot an airplane from coast to coast”. She was killed in Wyoming in a cardinal with an instructor flying and her dad in the rear seat. Enabled for sure, but apparently she became the youngest to attempt to do this. So wrong.

I’m all about helping someone achieve goals. But they have to put more into it than simply being a descendant or a kid with a want. It can be simply the media spinning it, but the perception is one of privilege. It sounds like this wasn’t Clay, but the article is written as RedOwl described.

I appreciate and cherish the real deal, genuine people that achieved something for themselves, not for the recognition of it. Just one of my many social faults.

 

[sj]

I appreciate and cherish the real deal, genuine people that achieved something for themselves, not for the recognition of it. Just one of my many social faults.

If you are saying that people with means are not the real deal, you are eliminating an awful lot of people in aviation - and a lot of what we considered to be other pretty important acheivments throughout history.

You are focused in on "first carbon cub builder", that's really not an important piece of the article.

sj

 

[cubdriver2]

I appreciate every young person that takes a leap forward. But I really appreciate the kid who on his own without any help from family works 2+ jobs and sacrifices everything else to fulfill a dream on their own merit.
Clay sounds like a great guy just not the calloused hand one I'm looking for

Glenn

 

[Farmboy]

You are focused in on "first carbon cub builder", that's really not an important piece of the article.

sj

That is the literal title of this thread my friend.
But I’m not eliminating anyone. Al Caruso was the real deal and a man of means. I could name many more. Please don’t misunderstand my point.

 

[RedOwlAirfield]

Man, tough crowd. I know Clay, and his father, and I knew Jim Richmond so you guys seem like you had a bad day to me, but maybe I'm biased because I know what outstanding inviduals all of them are (Clay is also a great pilot). If there were no "romance" in aviation, none of us would still be doing it.

sj

I didn't question the character of the individual - just that example of his writing - as it relates to my personal taste in literature. I'm sure he's a swell fellow and going to be a valuable addition to the aviation community. I just don't think that piece of writing has much merit - and certainly not enough to be awarded a prize. Of course I was not privy to the other entries. I'm happy for you to disagree with my opinion. I agree that most folks find a healthy degree of what you refer to as "romance" in flying. I just think that the piece in question dramatically overdid it - to the detriment of our mutually revered pastime.