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Clarification of title at www.CometClones.com

"Mythology of the Airframe -- A Plague of Paragliders"
Hi Joe,                                                                10 Sept. 2011

Know that there is at least one person who read your entire wonderful letter. Me.

Bob Dylan always refused to interpret his lyrics. It was an effective strategy because it created discourse that swelled the popularity of his works. My intent is the same, although I am not adverse to interpretation.

The Greek and Roman gods never existed, yet they live on in quite detailed myths. Despite the fact that these myths are falsehoods, passed down through multiple generations, they were taught as truths by the people who believed them. Note that a fable is a story always with a moral, while a myth describes an event that did not happen.

Nowhere in the aerial world do we see an analog for frameless aerodynamic flight. This is because airborne flying creatures evolved under the constant threat of acceleration of gravity. Wings needed to stay wings all the time lest turbulence bring their evolutionary progress to a sudden end. This lack of history has driven the paragliding community to create myths about flying.

If I were to concoct "The Fable of the Airframe," I might write a story about an engineering triumph over difficult challenges. But to regard the airframe as a myth -- "The Mythology of the Airframe" -- is to diminish its importance; to marginalize its existence; to imply that the airframe "is just a myth."

So "Mythology of the Airframe" is the name of this myth from the perspective of one who believes the myth -- the paraglider pilot. And "Mythology of the Airframe" is only one of several myths. Another is "The Pilot is Always at Fault." Another is "All Aircraft Have a DMC." They have created a string of mythologies to obfuscate reality. I have never seen anything like it. It is so delusional that it surpasses all other sports and may stand on par with some notable historical manias.

"A Plague of Paragliders" is a direct quote of a British hang glider pilot who was run out of his native soaring hills by increasing numbers of paragliders taking up all the soaring space. He was forced to give up local flying and regularly travel to Spain on holiday to pursue his sport.

Thanks again for the letter in PG Forum. You possess a rare quality of reasoning and patience that will likely fall flat on those Attention-Deficit-Disordered Nanny-Fascists you are trying to reach -- but will serve as an important reference for those who bother to think.

Rick Masters
Joe's struggle is part of the linked letter posted in ParaglidingForum. Here is the clipped paragraph that shows some struggle and missing of some of R.M.'s intent:

I look.
I see the top headline: QUOTE BY R.M.: "Mythology of the Airframe -- A Plague of Paragliders"
That is simply a headline; the phrase is challenging to me, as I am not sure of unwritten verbs, etc. For a very long time, I have wrestled with his headline; so far, for me, I simply get that he aims to forward "mythology of the airframe and somehow bring in something about a plague of paragliders." That does not firm much information for me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology is reviewed in my effort to get some sense of R.M.'s headline. Evidence in the site via collection of stories leads me to consider that R.M. is using the headline to introduce stories (myths) of the airframed gliding realm. He has an extensive set of stories involving airframed gliders; so that part of the headline phrase matches his site's sector that holds those stories. Then his "--A Plague of Paragliders" confuses me; that phrase just seems to sit there and invites me to get a handle over the phrase. My background text recalls 8th grade studying of the giant disease events of history; and so, from my personal space, I wonder if he is going to present something that regards a disease aspect of paragliders ; but I remain open for the author to reveal more precisely what he intends by the use of the phrase. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_(disease) was sought to prepare me.

How is the author going to mix his stories of airframe with a plague regarding paragliders?...so I wonder as I faced the site. And my interest focused: just what does he mean by a "plague of paragliders"? The headlines do not put forward any firm answers; I will have to look deeper into his site and prose to find resolution to the matter. Will he be having the plague affect his airframe stories? Will he be having a run on two themes with or without close tie? Will he be defining what he means by "plague" or not? I cannot conclude from headlines any statement, but I am pulled to wonder what the author will be presenting in his site.         ~joefaust