Pop knows this fella for whom he has expressed pride over the years due to his following in Pop’s footsteps in the airshow arena. The guy has more time in the kinda jet Pop flew than anybody. Says he’s been at it for 34 years now which means he started about 5 years after Pop blazed the trail.
That’s all well and good and, like I said, Pop is tickled for him. He does a good, safe show which is very similar to the one Pop originated. There’s only so much you can do with those early generation jet fighters so most pilots pretty much do the same thing. That said, it’s important to note that some who don’t possess the same skill resort to a more tame flight demonstration which is also fine and dandy. Pop said he respects those folks too for recognizing their personal limitations and staying safe.
Anyway, a while back this aforementioned fella made the substantial claim that he’s flown more than 1800 air shows. He says he’s flown more of ‘em than any other pilot in the world in that type of jet. Now how he figured out that claim Pop says he doesn’t know and just can’t quite figure out.
So, Pop did some figuring on the first part.
If a fella flew 1800 shows in 34 years, that’d be nearly 53 shows a year. Admittedly, most shows happen over a weekend and usually last 2 days and a guy flies one show a day. So that would be around 26 show sites a year. Knowing that the meat of the North American airshow season lasts from approximately April through October (with the odd show a bit earlier or later), and knowing that there are 28 weekends in those 7 months, that means this fella has flown all but 2 weekends a season for 34 years! And he also flies for a small airline. Is it possible? Yup. Is it probable? Hmm . . .
I reckon Pop’s point is that we ought to be content with our achievements without embellishing them to be more than they ain’t. Stroking our own egos kinda taints the true successes and tarnishes the truly deserving accolades that naturally follow unique accomplishment.
One thing you can’t ever take away are bona fide* firsts and records that are beyond reproach. Stickin’ to those in our Curriculum Vitae is smart.
*bona fide (according to Merriam Webster) genuine; real; neither suspicious nor counterfeit; sincere; without intent to deceive