Risk versus reward

6º 01.081s 131º 20.089w

Fri May 03 2019

Sports bookies and the insurance folks sure get it. The higher the risk, the higher the payout. At the big aerospace company where I made my career, the flight crews got flight pay based upon the risk. Chief pilot Mark Metzger used to say to the program managers paying for the helicopter development, “you want us to do something risky and dangerous, it’s going to cost you. You want us do something really stupid? It’s going to cost you more.”

Sometime back I was fortunate to work with a couple of guys who were willing to accept risk in search of a greater reward, as well as to make a more satisfying professional contribution. Jon Stewart was a bright young flight test engineer (FTE) who inherited my robot helicopter program when I bailed. He had a secure, cozy deal, but his ambition was to be a test pilot. Wasn’t going to ever happen at our place, so he hung his ass out and landed at a smaller aerospace company with a different point of view. Promote and train from within. He did a bit of time as an FTE there, and now they’ve decided they would rather have him become a test pilot. Yatzee! He risked a lot, and now he’s beginning to realize his professional dream.

My last boss, Ramy Mourad, was about half my age. Had done brilliant FTE things at two different biz jet companies, then showed up on our doorstep to take on a project management role. He took on the most troubled programs and helped turn them around. Kept taking on bigger and bigger assignments (and the associated headaches), and now I bet he’ll run the whole giant company someday. The best part is that he’s still a devoted dad and husband, and reserves plenty of time for his family.

Try skydiving. Nothing mellow about it - a total adrenaline rush. Same thing flying airplanes upside down in a contest, or racing sailplanes cross country. To the outsider, those activities look dangerous, but those of us who participate understand and manage those risks. We think it’s worth it.

Isabel and I could have bobbed around Mexico until we were creaky old farts, and it would have been fun and mellow, with an occasional exciting moment. We gave it three years, but it just wasn’t doing it for us, so we launched across the Pacific. It’s a big step into an unknown world, perhaps more so at my age. When I got into all those other high risk activies I was in my teens or 20’s. Couldn’t be killed. Since then lots of friends have died, and mortality is well understood.

The insurance company sure thought we had assumed more risk; they doubled our premium for an annual policy and laid all sorts of other requirements upon us such as essential safety equipment and a current survey. Thank you Rick Cummings for accommodating that requirement on our ridiculously aggressive schedule.

We’ve now traveled more than 2400 miles on this passage, and still have 550 to go. Pretty sure we’re committed now. It’s been over 2 weeks since we saw land, and that was a little island about 400 miles from the coast of Mexico. No sighting of any ships for about 10 days, not a peep on the VHF or AIS. It’s lonely out here.

We’ve had boring days, and we’ve had moments that really got our attention. Short lived, but tense and exciting. Just the way we like it. We’re optimists, and figure we ought to go find out just how much fun the unknown has to offer.

Might as well, can’t dance.